Greenhill is a special school, maintained by Cardiff City Council, that provides day education for 66 pupils aged 11 to 18. All pupils have statements of special educational needs in relation to their social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Many pupils have specific learning difficulties that may include dyslexia, dyspraxia or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. A few pupils also have particular medical needs.

Almost all pupils live in Cardiff and a very few come from neighbouring authorities. Currently all the pupils on roll are boys. About one fifth of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds. A very few pupils are looked after by the local authority. Currently no pupils speak English as a second language. No pupils speak Welsh as their first language at home. Around 80% of pupils are in receipt of free school meals.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

The school’s vision and values are the driving force behind all interactions, initiatives and developments at the school. The vision is to create a school environment where pupils:

are happy, safe, secure and have the opportunity to develop their talents
thrive in a caring and supportive community
are equipped with the skills to help them to become the best they can in order to make a positive contribution to society

These aims underpin the school’s values of relationships, respect and responsibility and colour every conversation between the adults and pupils at the school.

Most of the pupils are effected by socio-economic disadvantage. As a result, the provision of basic equipment and uniform places additional economic pressure on the finances of the pupils’ families. The staff and governors have taken the decision to provide pupils with a wide range of experiences where there are no financial barriers to participation. In January 2020 the governing body decided to provide all pupils with free school meal provision.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

There are a wide range of strategies to ensure the school provides pupils with full access to all educational experiences. The senior leadership team has played a very active role in sourcing grant funding and donations to the school’s charity. Leaders and staff firmly believe that outdoor education activities and visits to places of cultural interest are an essential part of achieving the school’s vision. As such, the headteacher, supported by the governing body’s finance committee, ensures that a substantial part of the budget is set aside to facilitate this and to fund the purchase and upkeep of the school’s fleet of five vehicles. The school has also developed a partnership with the Storey Arms Outdoor Education Centre, employing two of their staff for three days a week to enable the school’s approach to the curriculum for Wales.

All food at the school is provided free of charge, and includes breakfast, healthy snacks and lunchtime meals. The school employs a chef who provides a daily menu of healthy food and which provides for all pupils individual dietary requirements.

The school uniform is optional. However, it is free for the pupils who wish to wear it. This also extends to sports kit, specialised kit for outdoor activities and work specific wear for work experience. Where a student is in need of new clothing this is discreetly provided and individual needs are met. The pupils are encouraged to take pride in their appearance and receive free haircuts from the school barber.

Links between home and school are extremely strong and supportive. The school holds regular coffee mornings with parents to help foster positive working relationships. These opportunities beneficially develop parents’ understanding and support of children’s social and emotional needs. When a parent finds it difficult to arrange transport, the school provides it for them. During the pandemic, fundraising and food donations provided by local shops were used to provide food parcels for all families in need within our school community. This successful practice continues for those families who find themselves in need. In addition, the local authority has provided every student with a laptop to support learning.

Visits and educational experiences

There are ‘well-being visits’ each week to various places of natural beauty or of cultural interest. The focus of such visits is the development of positive relationships and appropriate social communication skills. For example, pupils who had never travelled by aeroplane or stayed in a hotel were taken to Edinburgh for a two day visit as a Key Stage 4 to 5 transition activity. This was fully funded by the school.

Outdoor education is an essential part of the school’s work. The curriculum provides valuable opportunities for pupils to learn and enjoy the natural environment of Wales, via the school’s COED (Creative Outdoor Education Development) programme. Each child experiences the whole curriculum through the medium of visits, activities and experiences throughout Wales. Residential visits include expeditions to Eryri National Park, Bannau Brycheiniog, canoeing on the River Wye, developing camping skills in Hereford, fishing in Tenby, activities at Storey Arms such as caving, SUP boarding, orienteering, white water rafting and surfing. All pupils have the opportunity to attend one of the residential visits which are fully funded by the school. In addition, the school provides pupils with the opportunity to study music, cook meals for their families and to study vocational courses with no cost to the pupils.

At Christmas, all pupils can choose a present to take home for themselves and we arrange a raffle where all pupils choose gifts for siblings or other family members. The school also arranges an Easter egg hunt at Easter.

The development of social skills is an important part of the work at Greenhill and pupils are taken to restaurants as part of this work. It also aims for all pupils to experience the arts and theatre – for example, pupils have attended performances of Matilda and Bugsy Malone at the Millennium Centre. All these activities are funded by the school.

Qualifications and life skills

The school ensures that all pupils experience a range of positive experiences to help to develop self-confidence which prepare them well for the next steps in their lives. Pupils are taught to use public transport with staff accompanying pupils on journeys that they will be required to make as part of everyday life. The cost of this transport for staff and pupils is funded by the school. Older pupils apply for provisional driving licences, are coached for driving theory tests and have driving experiences at no cost to the families.

Pupils gain qualifications in climbing and motorcycling, as well as more traditional qualifications such as home cooking skills, work focused skills such as a certificate in Barista training, construction skills and work experience with the Local Authority Parks Division in landscape gardening. Pupils also have the opportunity to achieve the Duke of Edinburgh bronze and silver award. Pupils are actively encouraged to find places of education, training and employment after Key Stage 5 and are given additional support with career or higher education choices. Pupils who decide not to stay at the school’s Key Stage 5 provision are accompanied to various places of training or employment until the pupils feel confident about their decision.

What impact has this work had on provision and learners’ standards?

The impact of this approach to funding has been significant. The well-being at the school is monitored closely and data shows that nearly all pupils have a reduction in their barriers to learning and an increase in their prosocial skills. There has been a reduction in negative incidents throughout the school over the last three years and exclusions have reduced significantly.

Due to the improved relationships and trust forged via the many experiences provided by the school, nearly all pupils show improved focus on their learning in class and have increased their reading and numeracy scores. They also show improved attitudes to learning. Pupils also demonstrate a greater capacity to regulate their emotions as a result of being trusted when taking part in extreme sports and activities. Older pupils offer help and sit with younger pupils who have become dysregulated and share strategies they use to regulate.

There is a calm atmosphere at the school and behaviour during break and lunch times has improved significantly. There are positive relationships between staff and pupils and an openness to share feelings. Staff training in trauma informed practice has supported a positive change of culture and improved ethos at the school. Positive handling has reduced over the last three years.

How have you shared your good practice?

The school has ‘Flag Ship Status’ for the inclusion quality mark and has shared its practice through regular teams meeting with many schools who belong to this national network. The school has an open door policy and welcomes visits from other educational establishments and has been visited by other special schools and PRUs in Cardiff and the Vale. The school was also invited to the national TIS Wales conference to share its practice with a wide audience and has been featured as a case study for trauma informed practice with Key Stage 5 pupils. More recently, the school has been invited to share its journey on the TIS UK website.

Information about the school

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

Description of nature of strategy or activity

Visits and educational experiences

Qualifications and life skills

What impact has this work had on provision and learners’ standards?

How have you shared your good practice?