Redefining education
We don't just educate; we nurture support and propel our pupils towards a future where their potential knows no bounds. Join us on a transformative journey, where education extends beyond textbooks, therapy nurtures resilience, and futures are shaped with purpose and promise.
Love of learning
At Ashbrooke School, our bespoke curriculum allows us to deliver learning that is accessible, engaging, and packed with adventure and discovery through educational visits and field trips to support and enhance learning experiences.
Our commitment to a well-rounded education includes a focus on social development. Through enrichment activities that promote collaboration, friendship, social interaction, and teamwork, pupils build interpersonal skills, empowering them to navigate relationships, contribute meaningfully to their communities, and succeed in diverse environments. We take pride in focusing on friendships and a strong sense of community. By doing so, children and young people learn to appreciate diverse perspectives and support one another, contributing to a positive and inclusive learning environment.
Young people leave us with nationally recognised outcomes at a level that is right for them, ranging from entry-level certificates to functional skills awards, BTECs and GCSEs. This equips them to confidently take their next steps into further education, apprenticeships or employment.
Our outstanding offer
Our Key Stage 2 and 3 learners follow a topic-based curriculum, which helps teaching and learning become more interesting, relevant and motivating. This approach enables pupils to make connections, transfer knowledge and build their understanding and confidence. This has ultimately resulted in continuity, and comprehension of topics being more thorough, as the pupils are able to apply critical thinking in order to identify, categorise, compare and find themes. This approach facilitates the engagement of learning and acts as a gateway for children and young people to enjoy subjects that they previously disengaged from. For example, in Key Stage 2 the topic of Greece will see pupils exploring the country’s geographical profile and the climate, while in History they discover the Olympic Games. In RE, pupils explore polytheism and monotheism while in Food Technology they cook traditional Greek food. This approach sparks conversations and provides pupils with the opportunity to collaborate, share their ideas and take ownership of their learning, resulting in the strong development of knowledge, skills and meaningful learning experiences.
We nurture a love of reading. Reading is integrated into the curriculum, serving as a key skill that enables children and young people to engage with learning more effectively. This approach builds their confidence as they navigate subjects, helping them to better understand and participate in their education. We also have a vending machine stocked with books, where pupils can redeem the points they’ve earned through excellent behaviour and academic progress. Ultimately, reading at our school serves both educational and therapeutic purposes. It enhances vocabulary, promotes critical thinking and provides an emotional outlet,
allowing children and young people to explore new worlds, ideas and interests in a supportive and welcoming environment.
We encourage pupils to choose an area of interest to aid in building and developing an existing skill or learning new skills, to help them increase their confidence and expertise in their chosen subject. This tailored approach encourages children and young people to be more responsible for their learning and helps to improve engagement, which further develops their social and emotional resilience. Subjects vary from learning a new language, such as Russian, to taking part in a new sport or mastering hair and beauty. The pupil-led learning is bespoke to the individual and sessions take place once a week. To further reiterate the importance of pupils taking responsibility for their learning and development, they demonstrate their progress through portfolio building, which helps them to recognise their progress and achievements.
We present our pupils with opportunities to explore the local area in a safe and supported way so that they gain an appreciation of the outdoors and recognise the range of opportunities that the local environment offers. To help broaden their horizons, the trips are presented in a variety of ways. For example, pupils access Beach School, where they explore the coastal area and become more aware about the environment and the importance of sustainability. The aim of the subject is to help shape the resilience, confidence and self-esteem of pupils through hands-on learning experiences. Beach School has provided opportunities to further improve social skills, problem-solving abilities and team working. The development of these skills and qualities cascade into other areas of pupils’ school life, as well as their personal life, allowing them to grow, flourish and thrive. Pupils also access other activities, including archery, rock climbing and boxing, which all offer the opportunity to discover new hobbies and interests.
Pupils are encouraged to take part in sporting activities during playtime and are also introduced to new sports in PE lessons and extra-curricular activities. Working together to tackle tasks, the pupils develop a range of skills that are easily transferable into many aspects of their lives, including the classroom and their home environment. Participating in new and exciting sporting activities enables our children and young people to take calculated risks that empower them, resulting in increased confidence and intrigue for their next challenge.
Our sizeable sports hall is the perfect area for pupils to learn and develop skills in a range of sports, including badminton, table tennis, boxing and martial arts, or the pupils can be introduced to wall climbing by accessing the school’s bouldering wall. They can also request to experience new sports and, where appropriate, a local specialist is brought in to teach the sport in school, one such example being archery.
The school also welcomes Sunderland Foundation of Light (the registered charity of Sunderland Football Club) weekly, where professional players deliver training sessions aimed to boost the pupils’ football skills such as dribbling, ball control, coordination, passing and shooting; skills needed not only to win matches, but also to develop social qualities such as team working and resilience.
We have officially partnered with the Johan Cruyff Foundation, which was set up by one of the world’s greatest sporting icons. The aim of the organisation is to support and develop sports activities for children and young people all over the world.
Our state-of-the-art Cruyff Court is an all-weather pitch that supports small group sports, including football, basketball, volleyball and netball, and an additional grassed field area. The aim of the space is to support pupils to grow, make friends and improve their mental health.
Therapy
Our on-site Clinical Team provide pupils with unrivalled levels of therapeutic support, in terms of the level of expertise, the ratio of qualified therapists and clinicians to children and young people, and the range of therapies offered. Pupils have the support of our Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and other specialists as required.
We believe that unless a child or young person is able to feel emotionally safe and secure, they are less likely to fulfil their personal, social and educational potential. Our unique approach to supporting young people through our Wave Model enables them to go on to realise a future filled with aspiration and achievement.
Ashbrooke School's Clinical Team complete thorough and skilled assessments that support a shared understanding of the complex needs we see in our children and young people. This enables us to put purposeful and appropriate interventions in place and assess our effectiveness through the tracking of outcomes and impact.
Futures
At Ashbrooke School we are dedicated to raising the aspirations of our pupils, while also equipping them with the skills and confidence to realise outstanding outcomes.
The Futures programme inspires and connects pupils with their next steps beyond education, utilising a growing network of over 350 employer partnerships, including the likes of Microsoft, Mercedes and John Lewis, to provide outstanding experiences of the workplace and ongoing opportunities and support.
Our Futures sessions provide practical guidance on job applications, confidence-building, networking, and workplace expectations, giving children and young people the tools to navigate their career paths with clarity. Complementing this, our Futures curriculum enriches academic growth while developing personal development and career readiness, ensuring they are prepared for their chosen paths. With no upper age limit on support, the programme boasts a 100% success rate in transitioning students into education, employment, or training.