September 2010
RNIB Rushton School and Children's Home (now known as RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning) has become the only non-maintained special school in England to be awarded specialist status in Special Educational Needs (SEN) cognition and learning.
The recognition by the Department for Education means RNIB Rushton - which offers specialist education, residential care, therapies and healthcare for young people with complex needs and sight loss - will be awarded £220,000 to spend over the next three years.
Enhancing support for young people with complex needs
The funds will further improve the way Rushton supports its young people, for example by purchasing specialist classroom equipment. It will also finance new partnership research with other educational establishments, local authorities and care providers looking at ways we can improve the learning experience for young people with complex needs and sight loss, not only at Rushton but at other learning centres across the country.
The mark of distinction was given to Rushton after it proved to the governing body that it already provided an excellent education to the young people - proven in its latest Ofsted report - and detailed how it would develop further with the specialist status.
Research partnerships
Rushton will now work with both Birmingham and Warwick Universities to research how better to work with young people who are blind or partially sighted with multiple disabilities, helping to improve their experience of learning. This could include learning how to better engage with the young people in the classroom.
Model classroom
With the funds Rushton hopes to set up a 'model classroom' at the school showcasing the latest high-tech equipment and technology. The classroom will house both RNIB products and items from other leading manufacturers. It would be open to the public and used as a learning tool for other education professionals.
Pears Foundation sponsorship
Pears Foundation, which has committed millions of pounds to various charitable causes, sponsored Rushton's bid for specialist status making a significant financial investment.
Andy Moran, Head of Education at Rushton, said: "As a SEN specialist school, Rushton will develop as a centre of excellence for cognition and learning. We are very proud that Pears Foundation have sponsored us in our bid, and will be supporting us with a significant investment for our specialism work. They will also be taking a keen interest in the research that will take place and in the development of effective practice in the education of young people with visual impairment and complex needs."
What are specialist schools?
The Specialist Schools Programme (SSP) helps schools, in partnership with private sector sponsors and supported by additional Government funding, to establish distinctive identities through their chosen specialisms and achieve their targets to raise standards. Specialist schools aim to develop centres of curriculum excellence which are catalysts for accelerated whole school improvement by making a step change in the way they develop educational provision and raise standards for all students.
Any maintained secondary school and any maintained or non-maintained special school in England can apply for specialist status in one of ten curriculum specialisms: arts, business and enterprise, engineering, humanities, languages, mathematics and computing, music, science, sports, and technology.
Special schools can, alternatively, apply for a SEN (Special Educational Needs) specialism in one of the four areas of the SEN code of practice.
Rushton was awarded Specialist School for SEN in cognition and learning.
For more information please contact us.