Values and Ethos
School Vision Statement
At the heart of Knollmead is the highest aspirations for all underpinned by the values of Ambition-Inclusion-Resilience. Our curricular strength is one of Cultural Capital; we believe this is the only truly inclusive way to ensure our children develop as independent individuals, prepared for meaningful and ambitious opportunities throughout their lives.
About Our School
The school site is open and pleasantly situated. It has a hard surface playground, grassed playing areas, an adventure playground and an open-air heated swimming pool which is used by all the classes in the summer term.
Knollmead has its own nursery class for 3-4 year olds, which is an integral part of the school and included in many whole school activities. The majority of the children in our nursery move into the main school.
There are 7 mixed ability classes in the main school, one for each age group from 4 – 11 years.
We have a specialist resourced provision (SRP) for children who are deaf at Knollmead (using auditory and aural methods). The children receive support from a qualified teacher of the deaf and Hearing Impairment teaching assistants during the week, and a speech and language therapist spends time each week in school. The children are integrated into the main school for most of the time.
Since September 2008 the school has hosted a resource base for children aged 4 – 11 years with social communication needs, including autism (Sapphire and Emerald). The children receive specialist help within our ASD provision and are able to integrate in the main school as appropriate. They are supported by a full-time specialist teacher, teaching assistants and receive speech and language therapy once a week. The children in these provisions are an important part of our school community. Several of our mainstream children help support the children at lunchtime and playtimes.
Please note that the referral pathway for a placement at our specialist resourced provitions is through Achieving for Children’s (AfC) Special Educational Needs Panel which manages admission in consultation with the Head Teacher, SENCo and Teacher in Charge of the SRP.
As part of Helix Learning Trust, we continue to build on the strong foundations, expertise and relationships developed through the Coombe Academy Trust, while benefiting from being part of a diverse family of mainstream and specialist schools. Working collaboratively across the Trust enables us to share expertise, resources and best practice, while retaining our individual school identity, ethos and commitment to our pupils and communities.
Our vision, “Preparing our communities for a future of possibility,” remains at the heart of everything we do. As the Trust has grown, this vision continues to guide our ambition for our staff, pupils, schools and wider communities.
For our staff, this means supporting successful and fulfilling careers throughout their time with the Trust. For our pupils, it means developing the knowledge, skills and independence they need to be successful throughout their education and beyond. For our schools, it means creating the conditions in which they can flourish, and for our wider communities, it means recognising and valuing the power of collaboration with the Trust.
Our shared values embody and define the way we work:
Ambition – Collaboration – Trust
Together, our vision and values provide a shared foundation across Helix Learning Trust, while enabling every school to retain its unique identity and continue to make a positive difference to the children and communities it serves.