As it prepares to open a brand new independent specialist provision, one of the UK’s leading specialist education providers has appointed a headteacher to lead its newest autism school in Windlesham, Surrey....
Kedleston Group, which operates specialist day and residential schools and children’s homes across England, is set to open its latest school later this year. Fernways School, in Windlesham in Surrey, will provide a specialist environment for children with autism and associated needs.
Fernways will provide places for up to 50 pupils across Key Stages 2, 3 and 4, including those for whom mainstream schools have not been able to meet their educational needs. The school’s interior and external facilities have been specifically designed to create the best possible learning environment for young people with autism.
Kedleston has appointed Hannah Stroud as Headteacher to lead the school. She will join from Bushy Leaze Children and Families Centre where she is currently Headteacher. The highly experienced educator also previously held senior positions at Dove House School Academy Trust, a specialist provider for children with SEN, where she opened its Post-16 provision.
Hannah said: “I’m delighted to take up the role of Headteacher at Fernways and to be joining Kedleston at such an exciting time. Some children and families need more help than others and throughout my career, I haven’t stopped learning about how much people with Special Educational Needs can do with the right support.
“I want to provide more than just an excellent education for each individual child, I want to provide an education which meets children’s needs both in school and within the community. My vision is one where everyone in the community is informed, proactive and inclusive and all children are provided with opportunities built by my teams, who are dedicated and trained to fashion creative solutions to barriers.
“Kedleston Group has a really strong track-record in positively supporting children with autism to make progress and succeed in their education and part of that is providing, small and very specialist learning environments in which they can thrive.
“Fernways will be no different. Our school, which is being bespoke designed to meet the needs of children with autism, will be a place where they can re-engage with learning. We will create bespoke curriculums alongside our specialist environment and put everything in place to help children thrive.”
Many of the children who will attend Fernways may have found mainstream settings challenging and many will have missed significant amounts of their education as a result.
Hannah said: “Fernways will help children re-engage with education by providing a safe, low arousal environment where they can learn. Our specially-designed environment has been developed to best meet children’s sensory needs and create the best setting for them to learn and achieve their potential.”
To support the needs of children with an autism spectrum condition, the school will use muted colour schemes, specialist lighting, individual work stations and visual communication. This is an approach which has already been extremely successful across Kedleston’s other specialist autism provisions including Brookways, Silverways and the ARC at Leaways School, all in London.
Lynda Mitchell, Director of Quality at Kedleston Group, said: “We are delighted to welcome Hannah as the Headteacher of Fernways. Hannah has extensive experience in supporting children with SEN and she provides visionary leadership alongside a focus on supporting children and their families to achieve positive outcomes. We’re very much looking forward to welcoming our first children to Fernways later in the year.”
Interested in finding out more about the school and what will be on offer for children and their families in Windlesham? Contact [email protected] or 0800 024 6985.
https://www.kedlestongroup.com/our-schools-homes/day-schools/fernways-school/home