Dore partner school, Springfields Academy, becomes the first SEN School to win Overall Outstanding School of the Year at TES Awards

Springfields Academy, Wiltshire, has become the first Special Educational Needs (SEN) School to win the prestigious TES Award of Overall Outstanding School of the Year. In a day of triumph, the school also picked up the award for Outstanding Special Needs School of the Year. The Academy, which has ninety-two boarding pupils and five hundred day pupils ranging from age 7 to 17, caters for young people with Complex Learning Difficulties (CLD) such as behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) and autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs).

The TES Awards were established to celebrate and reward the professionalism and flair of those teams making an outstanding contribution to primary, secondary and special needs schools in both the maintained and independent sectors in the UK. Every school participating in the awards has achieved an ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted rating. When discussing Springfields’ win, the judges said: “Springfields is an extraordinary school, doing groundbreaking work with its own pupils and also providing invaluable support to other schools. In their drive to show pupils that anything is possible, staff from Springfields go to the ends of the earth – literally.”

This last comment refers to the incredible projects undertaken by the staff at Springfields Academy in the name of learning, including participating in the BBC series Extreme Classrooms. As part of the series, in 2011 Springfields Academy Principal Trystan Williams accompanied a party of 10 special needs students on a Polar expedition, and then this year took another group on a 9 day trek across the floor of the Great Rift Valley in Tanzania.

Trystan is also Chair of the Dore Foundation; one of the charities they raised funds for on these amazing journeys. The Dore Foundation provides funding for young people with Special Educational Needs to go on the Dore Programme, a personalised 'drug-free' exercise programme developed to help improve the learning outcomes for students with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, Asperger's and other learning difficulties.

Springfields Academy started using the Dore Programme in 2009 as an intervention method for students who were struggling to make educational progress. Trystan claims: “There are always 10 per cent of pupils who don’t make as much progress as hoped. It’s my job to find the right intervention strategies, such as the Dore Programme, to help the students achieve this progress. As school leaders we are morally obliged to do whatever it takes to help these young people reach their potential.”

Coincidentally, Trystan only arrived back in the UK from Tanzania on the day of the awards and so was unable to attend, instead learning of the school’s victory whilst taking a much needed bath! On hearing about the awards Trystan reveals: “I was in the bath trying to scrub off all the dirt from the trek when I received a text saying we had won the Outstanding Special Needs School of the Year- I was absolutely delighted, and then when the message came through that we had also won the Overall Outstanding School of the Year Award... it was an amazing moment.”

When asked what it means to him to win the awards, Trystan says: “The most important thing for me is the team effort it took to get here. Whether it be senior management teams or administrators - we have one hundred and thirty staff and everyone, including the Dore team, has played a part and made a difference.” He continues: “Winning the Overall Outstanding School of the Year Award just goes to show that labels don’t mean anything. We may be a Special Educational Needs school but we can do just as well and achieve the same, if not better results than mainstream schools.”

Labels are something that both Trystan and Dore feel strongly about. When discussing the pupils’ reaction to winning the awards Trystan notes that: “When I told the students we had won the awards, our Head Boy said to me that if everyone is saying he goes to a good school then he must be a good boy. The recognition amongst peers at other schools and from TES and the Department for Education is a big deal for them.” He claims: “So many young people are given labels which are then used as an excuse for under-achievement. This award shows that this doesn’t have to be the case.”

Managing Director of Dore, Crishni Waring, agrees: “We at Dore concur with Trystan that there are many interventions for Special Educational Needs, such as the Dore Programme, for those willing to find them.” She continues: “In the same way that Trystan feels it is his obligation to find a learning solution for every one of his students, we aim to provide a carefully considered, personalised Programme for every child we work with. 

Notes to Editors

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Springfields Academy is based in Calne, Wiltshire.  It has ninety-two boarding pupils and five hundred day pupils on alternative learning programmes coming from 38 primary schools and 22 secondary schools. Covering Key Stages 2-5, the children’s ages range from 7-17. The school mainly caters for those with Complex Learning Difficulties (CLD). To learn more about the school visit: http://springfields.wilts.sch.uk/

The Dore Programme is designed to improve the function of the cerebellum; the part of the brain which some researchers believe plays a major role in coordination, concentration and in making skills become automatic. The programme is aimed at children over 7 and adults with Special Educational Needs such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Asperger’s and ADHD. To learn more about the Dore Programme, please visit: http://www.dore.co.uk/

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Lucy Black – Livewire PR
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Lucy.black@livewirepr.com

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