The St Marylebone Church of England Bridge School

Since 2018, Kate Miller, a drama specialist with a diploma in SpLD. Very much on the ball, and that goes for every aspect of the school. Friendly and down-to-earth too. Parents describe her as ‘energetic’, ‘approachable’, ‘caring’ and ‘fun but still

A school for students with speech, language and communication needs. Some also have additional needs including autism, ADHD and social, emotional and mental health needs. All are verbal, and some have dyslexia and DCD or DVD. A special free school

First cohort of year 11 leavers in 2018. No NEETS (Not in Education, Employment or Training) then or since, with students moving on to a range of settings including special colleges, mainstream colleges (with or without a special unit), sixth forms

Modified national curriculum allows all students to gain around 12 qualifications at GCSE, functional skills or entry level including an English, maths and science qualification. Prince’s Trust and Home Cooking Skills courses on offer, with others in

Two full-time SENCos: one for younger students, one for older ones. They ensure learning support is integrated into the teaching, learning and curriculum – a very collaborative approach. No one-to-one support outside lessons both because ‘everyone

Drama and music on curriculum until end of year 9, and as enrichment in the top two years. Given the head is a drama teacher, school excels in this area, with Bugsy Malone, Shakespeare and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time among

Three PE lessons a week for all. In the old school premises, the lack of outside space meant they often took place in the park, but pretty much everything is on site now, thanks to zoned outside areas including an Astro which hosted a lively game of

Three full-time speech and language therapists whose work is ever-present throughout the school. They work with, and train, the teachers, each having a weekly planning slot in the timetable. ‘I recently asked them how to make my evacuees teaching

Parents say the school feels ‘safe’ and ‘small enough that they know everyone well’. There are five leads for mental health and wellbeing, and if a student is experiencing difficulties, they are put on a path incorporating the most relevant, eg comms

A display in reception shows the 26 languages spoken by the rich ethnic mix of students here. Good diversity among the staff body too. Pupils we met were chatty and polite, and we were impressed by how articulately and confidently they spoke about

All funded by their local authority and have an EHCP with the primary need of developmental language disorder (DLD) or a language disorder associated with a biomedical condition.

A wonderful school where a combination of evidence-based measures and a lovely group of caring staff mean students thrive, not survive. Atmosphere is positive and calm and the all-round approach to staff working closely together means no slipping