Welcome

Thank you for your interest in the opportunity of becoming Headteacher at Brookways School. We are looking for a Headteacher who shares our passion and ambition for our students at what is an exciting time for the school, with plans at an advanced stage for it to double in size over the next 2 years.

Brookways School is an independent specialist day school in North Cheam, London for pupils aged 7-16. It opened in 2018 and is part of the Kedleston Group. We were rated ‘Good with Outstanding features’ in our most recent Ofsted report.

There are currently 38 pupils on roll and we will be opening a new building, on the existing site, early in 2021 which will provide the capacity to increase our numbers to 80 and to extend our age range to 19.

We provide a safe learning environment for pupils, all of whom have EHCPs and are living with autism (ASC), mainly Asperger’s Syndrome and higher functioning autism, who also face other challenges such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia and pathological demand avoidance (PDA). The school is a state-of-the-art learning environment and offers a calm, quiet, low arousal, safe, positive and nurturing place where young people can learn and grow.

We are experienced at working with young people who have been out of education for a period of time, or who have become school phobic. We pride ourselves on the support we give for reintegration back into school and provide young people with opportunities to develop friendships.

Our class sizes are very small, and classrooms are ‘enabling environments’ with sensory lighting, muted colours, individual work stations and visual timetables. The curriculum is designed to meet the specific academic, social, emotional and sensory needs of each individual child.

Through close partnerships with families, professionals and the wider community, at Brookways we ensure that all young people develop and thrive. This is reflected in the positive feedback the school receives from parents/carers.

The staff are a close-knit team who are hugely dedicated and committed to making each day a positive and successful experience for every child. There is an emphasis on the social curriculum for the children that allows the school to instil an academic focus for progression.

The children are genuinely happy at the school and this nurturing approach is how the school has been successful, a model that we wish to continue and build on particularly as we start to gradually increase our capacity over the coming year. As we grow, we want to ensure we keep the family feel and focus on progression for all the children.

Having previously been the winner of a ‘UK Autism Hero Award’, outgoing Headteacher, Melanie Whitfield, was awarded the 'Education Professional of the Year Award' at the recent 'National Autism Society Autism Professional Awards' in recognition of her great work at the school. To build on Melanie’s legacy, the role would lend itself to an experienced and confident leader, with successful experience as a Headteacher or Deputy Headteacher, who lives and breathes the values and ethos of the school on a daily basis and is comfortable being in the classroom and amongst the children during the school day.

We believe we are a good school but are ambitious to be even better. As well as allowing us to support more pupils, the new building will also provide exciting opportunities to further improve our curriculum and offering so that our pupils can be even more successful.

If you are as motivated by this opportunity as we hope you will be, please contact our recruitment advisor, Martin Blair at Hays Leadership (T: 07736791138, E: martin.blair@hays.com) for an informal conversation, to arrange a visit to the school or discuss making an application for the role.

I look forward to hearing from you and thank you for your interest in Brookways School.

Richard Gadd
Executive Headteacher (London and South)