Many of you will be aware that we have spent much of this academic year reviewing and when Headteacher Mr Pavis arrived at Kingsley 15 months ago he pledged to ensure a fully inclusive educational experience for all our students, and much work has been done, and is on-going to fulfil this promise.
Steps taken this year have included a review of our classroom practices and pedagogy; additional training for all Senior School staff in Quality First Teaching which supports all students of all learning styles and differences in the classroom; and a full review of our SEND provision in the Prep School, the Senior School, the Edgehill Centre, the Grenville Centre and the Stella Maris Centre.
We will have a new SEND Leadership Team in place from September, overseen by Mr Adam Kilner, Deputy Head Academic, to ensure that no child is left behind or side-lined because of a particular learning style, preference or difference. The new Leadership Team will be headed by Mrs Samantha Hammond who has been appointed to the new position of Director of Inclusive Education. We believe we are the first school in the country to have made such an appointment which reflects how committed we are as a school to ensure that all students of all abilities, including gifted and talented, and all learning styles, preferences and differences are fully included in the education that Kingsley provides. Mrs Hammond is an experienced SENDCO and comes to us from a local state school where she has also had some experience as a Headteacher.
A new whole school SENDCO, Mrs Naomi Howlett, joins us from Hollygirt School in Nottingham. Mrs Howlett is a Level 7 trained SENDCO who brings a wealth of experience and expertise from both the state and independent sectors, and from both prep schools and senior schools. Mrs Howlett will be monitoring and supporting each individual child on our SEND register (outside the Edgehill and Grenville Centres) throughout their journey at Kingsley which has obvious advantages and provides better support at key transition stages, particularly between the Prep School and Senior School. Both Mrs Hammond and Mrs Howlett will be reviewing the classroom support offered by TAs and HLTAs and will be reviewing our assessment, monitoring, auditing, recording and communication processes to enhance both the child’s and parents’ experiences and outcomes.
Ms Michelle Young has already taken over as Specialist Centres Manager and SENDCO in both the Edgehill Centre and the Grenville Centre where she has already made a considerable impact, building on the excellent work she was already doing in the Edgehill Centre. Ms Young is also part of the new SEND Leadership Team which will begin work in September on a SEND Improvement Plan to inform short, mid and long term improvements in our practices.
We would like to thank Ms Rachel Rudd for all of her work across many of the above areas in recent years and I wish her all the very best in her new school as she leaves Kingsley at the end of this term.
Mr Pavis is personally very excited about all of the above appointments and the opportunity we have had to restructure the leadership of such a key part of any school. More importantly, our Head looks forward to working closely with this team to enhance not only the teaching and learning at Kingsley, but all aspects of the exciting new Expansive Curriculum too, ensuring that we truly are offering a fully inclusive experience to everyone.
