Slated Row School

Since 2024, Zoe Baines BEd NPQH. Trained as a PE teacher at De Montford University before working in mainstream secondary schools, climbing the ladder to assistant principal and inclusion and welfare lead at a school in Bedford borough and then

A school for a range of levels from moderate learning difficulties to complex needs. Some are pre-verbal, some have life-limiting medical conditions, a few have profound sensory needs, eg visual impairment. Entrance with EHCP via local authority. If

Students leave for local colleges with a SEND setting, of which MK College is most popular. Their progress is tracked for three years. A bridging year (year 14) allows children to build a relationship with their future FE college.

All children follow one of three pathways, depending on level of support needed: structured, sensory or scaffolded. Class sizes are small – between six and eleven, with three TAs supporting the class teacher. TAs bring a range of skills and

Therapy and sensory needs are indivisible from learning with a raft of communication strategies, sensory menus and adaptations to the environment as standard. We saw braille door signs and widget symbols wherever we looked; some children wore ear

No dedicated art studio, but art and music are part of the curriculum, with a mixture of practical and appreciative targets, depending on the child’s level. We admired a room full of guitars, ukuleles and drums, which a musical TA plays with the

Outdoor activities and forest school for lower and middle school play a big part in the curriculum, with the younger children learning to look after a small aviary of finches. The school is a lead in the Sports Youth Trust, which organises

The school employs its own OTs and speech and language therapists, who train therapy assistants to carry out interventions such as Lego therapy or intensive interaction, as well as offering parents workshops on subjects like interoception and sensory

The school treats behaviour as a form of communication, so dysregulated moments are met with a positive behaviour plan, eg finding an outdoor task, like helping the caretaker, to relieve classroom activities. ‘Pastoral is such a big part of special

Largely from the MK area, taxis arrive with children dressed for school in royal blue jumper, white shirt and black trousers or skirt – with a school tie at secondary level. Sixth formers wear uniform, except for year 14s who dress smart for their

LA funded via EHCP. Several local authorities involved, including Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire. Friends of SR raise funds for extras.

Slated Row school offers highly individualised teaching for a complex needs population. Its carefully modified curriculum, adapted spaces and specialist staff are a recipe for happy learners all round. ‘If you ask him his favourite place’ said a mum,