Redefining education
We redefine education by seamlessly integrating three essential pillars: education, therapy and futures. 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 and nurtures resilience, and futures are shaped with purpose and promise.
Love of learning
We foster an excitement and a love of learning in our pupils by following the national curriculum. Our curriculum and tasks set are challenging yet achievable, enabling children and young people to grow in confidence and prepare for life beyond the classroom. We also provide enrichment activities through educational visits and field trips to support and enhance learning experiences.
With a backdrop of our small class sizes, with no more than eight pupils per class, each child and young person receives a bespoke curriculum tailored to their needs, which is fully integrated with our social development programme.
Our commitment to a well-rounded education includes a focus on social development. Through activities that promote collaboration, friendship, social interaction, and teamwork, pupils build essential interpersonal skills. These experiences help them develop communication, empathy, and the ability to work well with others. By developing friendships and a sense of community, children and young people learn to value diverse perspectives and support one another, creating a positive and inclusive learning environment that strengthens their social growth.
The results speak for themselves as young people leave us with nationally recognised outcomes at a level that is right for them, ranging from entry-level certificates to functional skills, BTECs and GCSEs. This equips them to confidently take their next steps into further education, apprenticeships or employment.
Our outstanding offer
Our commitment to literacy goes beyond reading skills; it aims to boost confidence and ensure that children and young people can effectively access the wider curriculum. This starts with our classrooms which are named after famous authors and poets such as Austen, Blake and Angelou, highlighting our dedication to fostering a lifelong love of reading and literature. We dedicate time each day to focus on reading, offering a range of activities tailored to the needs of our pupils. For pupils who require phonics support, we integrate a synthetic phonics programme, which helps them learn to convert letters into sounds and blend them together to form words. During the same session, other pupils engage in reading for enjoyment, nurturing a love for literature, or focus on comprehension skills. Later in the day, classes come together to participate in a shared reading session where teachers read from a class book, further enhancing pupils’ literary experiences. To promote reading outside the classroom, we work with parents and carers to encourage children to read at home daily. We motivate pupils with our ‘Reader of the Week’ programme, which recognises regular reading both in school and at home. We keep parents actively involved by providing regular updates on their child’s progress, and this partnership between school and home helps create a supportive environment for reading, contributing to each pupil’s overall development and literacy skills.
Our personal development curriculum is designed to ensure that pupils develop essential life and social skills alongside their academic studies. Each pupil is provided with a personal development passport, which tracks their progress through a variety of activities that build real-world skills and enhance their personal growth. By the time our pupils reach Year 11, they will have participated in a diverse range of experiences, from nature walks to visits to local landmarks, deepening their understanding of the world around them. We provide personal development opportunities through half-day activities every term. These experiences include trips to facilities such as the Life Skills Centre in Bristol, where pupils engage in vital lessons such as fire safety, bike safety, and other essential skills for independent living.
Our school’s location offers pupils access to a rich array of cultural and natural resources that contribute to their social mobility and success. Situated near the Severn Estuary, the breathtaking landscapes of Wales, and the historic cities of Bristol and Bath, we integrate these local landmarks into our curriculum. This allows pupils to benefit from hands-on learning opportunities, expanding their cultural awareness and connection to their community. While taking part in outdoor education, pupils can participate in a range of activities, including:
• Climbing
• Canoeing
• Bushcraft
• Survival skills
By working together to complete tasks, pupils develop a variety of skills that can be easily applied in different areas of their lives, both in the classroom and at home. Engaging in new and exciting activities encourages pupils to take calculated risks, building their confidence and sparking curiosity for future challenges.
Empowering through sport
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.
The school’s state of the art Cruyff Court, is an all-weather pitch which supports small group sports, including football, basketball, volleyball and netball. The aim of the space is where pupils can 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.
Castlefell 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 Castlefell 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.