Community
School Community
‘St. Joseph’s is a school where families feel wanted and recognised for their strengths and potential’
At St. Joseph’s we believe it is extremely important for families to become fully involved partners in their child’s learning. We try to involve and consult with families on as many school level decisions as possible. St. Joseph’s continually seeks new ways to extend and improve this involvement.
St. Joseph’s recognises that the school and the home share responsibility for the children’s and young people’s learning. It acknowledges that both parties have expertise in this area, and that by sharing this knowledge fully with one another, they can increase the learner’s progress and well being. In order to support learning at home, carers and teachers discuss strategies with families that will assist learners with skills they need to improve. To increase the success of this process, the school and families agree how they will work together, through our Home School Agreement.
For further information click the parents tab on this page
Connexions
St. Joseph’s has a dedicated Connexions area that has information on personal, social and health issues as well as careers and future placement information. This area also has a phone, with a direct link to advice, from a team of dedicated professionals. This resource is available to all learners and their families.
Our Connexions SEN Advisor, Ginny Willis, also our Independent Visitor, knows the learners at the school very well. Ginny attends all SEN Annual Review meetings from Year 10 onwards.
School Improvement Groups (SIGs)
All members of the school community belong to one of 12 School Improvement Groups. These groups are a collaboration of learners, parents, staff, governors, and often community members. Members of the group bring their own perspectives, experiences, and skills to the various small scale projects they work towards. The leaders of these groups help families to be involved at home or in the community even if they cannot attend the meetings.
This partnership approach gives families and community members greater opportunities to determine options for school involvement, to participate in the wide range of activities, and to assume key roles and responsibilities in school-improvement efforts, including participation in the school's decision-making processes.
School Community Resource Area
St. Joseph’s has developed a small resource area for use by the whole community. This contains journals, books, videos and DVDs. The Educational Administration Assistant leads this.
Wider community
‘The best relationships are those that are productive, rewarding and satisfying to all’
Our wider community is a tremendous resource that does much to increase the effectiveness of the school.
St. Joseph’s positive partnership with the community is based on trust, mutual respect and the belief that community participation is a shared responsibility that enhances achievement and opportunities for all our learners.
Successful links have been built with Glebelands, our local comprehensive school, where a small number of learners join lessons each week. We also have good links with many other schools in the locality.
St. Joseph’s has strong links with the Deanery Schools and has been involved in sharing CPD, belonging to learning networks and participation in events such as speaking and listening ‘competitions’.
St. Joseph’s maintains excellent relationships with local businesses, industries and community organisations. Many of these support our extensive supported Work Experience Programme. Our employers have built up an extensive knowledge of how best to work with our learners, giving them the opportunity of an extremely positive experience of the working world.
The school is presently applying to become a Specialist School to further enhance the partnerships it has established. It will aim to share its expertise and experience in Communication and Interaction with 5 schools and a number of local enterprises.