Bramfield House School Achieve Two Prestigious Awards

In the last two weeks, Bramfield House School have achieved two prestigious awards for excellence in their field.

On the 19^th April, Bramfield House achieved the School of Character Kitemark award, led by Headteacher Davina Bell, in recognition for the school’s outstanding pupil centered work in education and social development.

The school were commended for their work during the lockdown period, engaging the students with regular zoom lessons, welfare calls and challenge packs. The inspectors felt there was minimal impact on learning outcomes or support offered during this time, and the school went above and beyond to support the students.

The “Bramfield Boy” concept was highly praised and the inspectors felt the criteria of: ‘Spark, Team, Adventure, Ready and Grit’ ran throughout the entire school, not just within the “Bramfield Boy” lessons. The development of the staff and leadership team to embrace the concept was given as a key strength of the school and there was high praise to the team for the evident outstanding relationships they had with the students.

The role of the Youth Coach was highlighted as key to developing a holistic approach to learning and the personal development sessions that are directed, personalised, recorded, and actioned were also emphasised as a strength. Praise was also provided for the new educational package including individual schemes of work, tailored learning targets and accurate assessments based on individual intrinsic ability. The inspectors also commended the extra curricular offer of themed days and experiences offered to the students.

Two weeks later on the 6^th May, Bramfield House achieved the Inclusion Quality Mark, led by Mark Jeffries, Assistant Head Teacher, for the school’s outstanding inclusive practice. This involved compiling a 48 page self assessment document to highlight how effective the school is in eight distinct areas before the governing body began the assessment process. The attributes of the staff were highly praised with special mention to the glowing reports that the students provided when discussing the school and staff team. The inspector fedback that she was overwhelmed by how much the boys “loved” the school but also how highly the parents spoke of the school to her.

The timetable, personal development sessions, individualized timetables and schemes of work were felt to clearly link to develop an outstanding inclusive practice and provide outstanding outcomes for the students. Bramfield’s work responding to the lockdown was evidenced as a strength, as was how effective the staff were in their commitment to working with the students during this time.

The inspector was impressed with the school’s site development and how this contributes to the inclusive offer. The introduction of: Catering, Land Based Studies and Animal Care, Construction, Mechanics and the future development of DT to include further aspects of construction were all cited as outstanding concepts that will give students “every opportunity” to continue their learning post Bramfield House School.

Both organisations praised the leadership team for their clear direction providing an outstanding provision for staff and students: The team for their positive interaction, creating a welcoming, relaxed environment and the students, for their willingness to learn, the relationships they have formed with staff and their clear desire to succeed.

The students feel an overarching sense of pride for helping “their” school gain recognition for the fantastic work they do. For the team, the awards reflect the years of dedication everyone has put in to ALWAYS strive for the absolute best for all the students who have attended Bramfield House School.

“I could not be prouder of how the school supports every boy in our care. We have always sought opportunities for them, giving them aspirations and supported them through difficult times in their lives and although no recognition was needed, these awards provide external evidence of the outstanding work we are able to do with our students, giving them the best chance of success in later life.” – Davina Bell – Bramfield House School