It’s not often I’m lost for words, but on a visit last week that was certainly the case.
I was in Enfield, visiting Waverley School and meeting school support staff ahead of Stars in our Schools day this Friday (November 25th) – a special school maintained by the local council, supporting and education 115 pupils (aged between 3 and 19) with profound and complex learning difficulties.
It’s the kind of school that requires a lot of support staff (they outnumber teachers by four to one) who take on a wide variety of roles including TAs, family support workers, catering staff lifeguards, translators and art therapists.
Working somewhere like Waverley clearly relies on people with particular skills, and both staff and management place great stock in the school “growing their own” staff, who take on additional responsibilities and become ever more integral to the running of this very special school.
As with any school, education is critical to everything at Waverley – but due to the complex needs of the pupils, that education might look significantly different to what happens in other schools in the area. Many of the children rely on the use of Makaton (a language programme utilising words and symbols) to communicate as well as “pod books” containing pre-set sentences and symbols. But the education that takes place at Waverley is rooted in the same principles – improvement, advancement and preparing for a life after the school – that drive school staff everywhere.
I can think of no better place to have visited ahead of stars in our schools.
The infectious enthusiasm at Waverley has stuck with me in the days since, as has the love and care that the school support staff have for the children and young people in their care.
I know that in schools up and down the country – in mainstream education as well as in more specialist schools – staff of all kinds provide vital support for our children. Whether it’s helping someone to read or being there to listen, these staff are a crucial part of our education system – which is why it’s disappointing when in places like Derby, Durham and elsewhere, employers don’t treat them as such.
As the union for school support staff, UNISON will always champion school staff. That’s what stars in our schools is all about – an opportunity to champion those who matter so much to our children, our schools and their communities. I’m looking forward to having another chance to thank those stars in every school, who shine so bright.