..We make dreams come true

Our Story So Far

At Red Rose School we provide for the educational, emotional and social needs of boys and girls, aged between 8 and 16 years who experience Specific Learning Difficulties and / or conditions and experiences that cause them to become delicate and vulnerable in a mainstream setting.

Children with Specific Learning Difficulties may have been assessed as having Dyspraxia, ADHD, Dyslexia, Specific Language Impairment or Autism Spectrum Disorder such as Asperger's Syndrome, as their primary need.

All these children are eligible to be registered in the SchooL We have experience and specialism in these areas.

Many children who experience difficulties associated with these conditions can be sensitive to some educational environments. At Red Rose School we recognise that many of our children are delicate, particularly in a school situation and we strive to ensure that all children feel comfortable and happy.

Our Package

Take a chartered educational psychologist, highly experienced and expert in Learning Difficulties, behaviour management and ‘delicate’ children.

Add experienced specialised teachers and at least one dedicated assistant from each class.

Mix in the latest research and resources.

Season with an ethos of Christian love and pour with care into a multi-sensory container. Cook for a year or two and watch the wonder of 'self esteem' grow.

At last there are ingredients to 'crack the code' of each child's problems. Difficulties are overcome, coping strategies and skills are developed and the child learns the values of respect and kindness to others.

Then it happens!

The underconfident, 'I am stupid', no eye-contact child has gone. Now parents have 'little Jonny or Mary' back again - the smile and confidence return. The child can stand tall: 'Let me read that to you Dad', 'Mum, I've got the grades, I am going to University!'

Our job done, the child has gained their wings and can fly in the anticipation of the many good tomorrows.

That is our package: It is our commitment each day!

What is SpLD?

Specific Learning Difficulties (or SpLD), affect the way information is learned and processed. They are neurological (rather than psychological), usually run in families and occur independently of intelligence. They can have significant impact on education and learning and on acquiring literacy and numeracy skills.

SpLD is an umbrella term used to cover a range of frequently co-occurring difficulties, more commonly:

• Dyslexia
• Dyspraxia /DCD
• Dyscalculia
• ADHD
• ASD (such as Asperger Syndrome).
• Specific Language Impairment

N.B.similar terminology can lead to confusion. For example, the term ‘Learning Difficulties’ or 'general learning difficulties' is commonly applied to people with global (as opposed to specific) difficulties, indicating an overall impairment of intellect and function (CAUTION: A full IQ score that is based on the average of subtests, can 'cover-up' learning strengths: See 'About our school'.)

A student may be diagnosed with SpLD where there is a lack of achievement at age and ability level, or a large discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability (Sometimes described as having 'a spiky profile').

SpLD occurs across intellectual abilities. Persons identified as having a Specific Learning Difficulty or Difficulties all show different intellectual and emotional profiles, strengths and weaknesses, learning styles and life experiences. 

SpLD can be identified as distinctive patterns of difficulties, relating to the processing of information, ranging from very mild to severe, which may result in restrictions in literacy, language, number, motor function and organisational skills.

Delicate Children

Children who are in a potentially failing situation can become delicate. This will impair their ability to learn and co-operate with other children and adults.

They may have specific learning difficulties, or are 'delicate' / 'vulnerable' because of change in their situation at home or school. There may be educational, social or medical reasons for a child being described as delicate or vulnerable. It is important to address this as soon as possible otherwise their learning and emotional needs can become more difficult to deal with in the school setting.

At Red Rose School we place a high priority on providing a learning environment that caters for the diversity of emotional and learning needs, to help children achieve their potential.

Training Eagles

Just as the eagle shields and cares for its young, the school shields and cares for the pupils in its charge. All of our pupils have felt previous 'failure' caused by their learning difficulties and, as such, it is essential that they feel safe and unthreatened in their new school environment.

Pupils must learn to trust before they can be successful in learning.This can only be achieved by staff establishing a caring relationship with each child in their charge, enabled by very small class sizes (9 or fewer pupils per class).

When an eaglet reaches maturity the mother eagle takes the nest out from under it. The eaglet tumbles but is caught and carried to safety. This process is repeated until nature takes over and the eaglet spreads its wings and flies for the first time. Soon the young eagle is independent and soaring high above the storms.

This analogy relates to the challenges needed for our pupils. Once they have regained confidence, they are stretched or challenged until they can 'fly' on their own. Our job is complete and they can reintegrate back into mainstream school or go on to their chosen college.

Inclusion

The aim of inclusion is that the needs of all children, including those with Special educational needs, will be met in the mainstream setting.

At Red Rose we are committed to the principles of inclusion, of social equality and full curriculum access for all children.

We recognise however that some children, because of their social, emotional or learning needs, may not be able to learn or cope in a mainstream setting. Our aim is to build resilience and promote the skills in our pupils, so children can re-enter mainstream education at the appropriate time. We firmly view our role as part of the inclusive educational process with the local education authorities who place children at our school.

There are examples in practice of children who have initially failed in an inclusive setting, but after a period of supportive teaching in a structured and dedicated resource for dyslexia, are able to return to a mainstream setting and benefit more effectively, socially and educationally, from mainstream schooling.

Most of the children admitted to our school have failed in the mainstream setting and have low levels of self esteem, as well as low attainments. Our specialised resource exists to help each child progress emotionally and academically. This may enable a child to re-enter mainstream school or, dependent on varying factors including social or emotional needs, he or she may grow within the school until transition to further education.

At Red Rose School we see ourselves as a vital part in the full inclusion process for all children with specific social, emotional, communication and learning needs (from Dyslexia and Inclusion: Classroom Approaches for Assessment, Teaching and Learning. Reid, G. 2004, David Fulton/NASEN publications).

Progress 

The earliest signs of progress in all our students is the strides of improvement to their self esteem. Our package for progress is to ensure each child has a high ratio of teacher attention (class sizes consist of 9 or fewer children to 1 teacher and 1 or more Teaching Assistants); Each child also has personal provision. Of the 150+ students who have left the school the average improvement in basic skills is 8, 7 and 8 years for reading, spelling and number respectively.

We hope you enjoy your visit to the Red Rose School Website.