Tor Bridge High School has won the Secondary School or College of the Year at the annual Shine a Light Awards.
Shine a Light is run by the Communication Trust and Pearson and aims to highlight the work of teams, settings and individuals across England who support young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).
Tor Bridge has its own inclusion department featuring a Speech and Language Support Base, a Learning Support Centre and the Tamar Learning Centre, which provides support for pupils’ social, emotional and mental health needs.
The expertise of the staff working across these three strands is shared across the school, with all staff encouraged to continuously identify their pupils’ needs and supported with CPD.
This is especially the case for NQTs and trainee teachers, who are supported by the Language Support Centre to differentiate for students with SLCN. There is also an in-house speech and language therapist.
When pupils arrive at Tor Bridge, they are assessed for their speech, language and communication skills and teaching staff can gain the necessary support for their learners through termly inclusion panel meetings.
Peer-to-peer support at the school was also praised by the award judges, with all students encouraged to deliver one tutor assembly a year, including those with SLCN.
The school has also created a “mental health café” for students and staff which is aimed at encouraging and supporting a communicative environment. Judges also praised “close relationships and lines of communication between staff and parents”.
The Shine a Light finals, which took place on Thursday (March 23) at Pearson’s London HQ, saw 29 awards and highly commended prizes given out to learners, professionals and settings across early years, primary and secondary education.
Other awards included Ashmount School in London, which won the SEN School of the Year, and Easton CE Academy in Bristol, which won the Communication Commitment School of the Year.
Two further secondary schools were highly commended in the Secondary/College of the Year category: Hanley Castle High School in Worcester and William Ellis School in London.
Carmen De Pablo, the head of inclusion at Tor Bridge, said: “We are absolutely thrilled and honoured that the work we are doing with our young people is being recognised nationally. This award has fired us up to do even more for our young people in school and across the city.”
Octavia Holland, director of the Communication Trust, said: “Congratulations to everyone who triumphed at the Shine a Light Awards. They have shown what can be achieved when expertise, enthusiasm and dedication is given to children and young people who struggle to communicate. These awards highlight the very best practice that is taking place in settings across the country.”
- For more on the Shine a Light award winners, visit www.shinealightawards.co.uk
- The Communication Trust promotes SLCN best practice. Visit www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk