• Presented by Fiona Robinson, Headteacher, Bensham Manor School
Bensham Manor School is the London Borough of Croydon’s secondary school for pupils with complex needs. All pupils who attend have an Education and Health Care Plan. The school is situated in a deprived area of the borough and has 55% of pupils who are entitled to free school meals.
Pupils who come to Bensham Manor have needs including; Autism/ADHD/learning needs/Sensory needs/Social Communication needs/ Speech and Language needs/medical needs. All pupils at Bensham Manor gets the same opportunities as pupils in other schools. There is no barrier to disability, pupils thrive and flourish. The average number of qualifications which pupils left with in 2023 was 19.
Pupils are taught to drive; how to run a café; how to shop and be independent; how to manage at an interview. They do work experience each year from Year 10. They spend one half term at a local college to ensure they are prepared for life after Bensham Manor.
Pupils spend time in the local community gaining confidence with traveling, shopping, meeting new people and experiencing new activities such as going to the museum, gallery and theatre trips/ sporting trips/educational trips to places of worship and many more.
Bensham Manor’s recent Ofsted inspection report opened with the line ‘This is a very special school that pupils are happy to attend, and where it is safe to be yourself.’ As Bensham Manor prepares to become a Trauma Informed School the new school rules are Safe/Ready/Kind.
Bensham Manor has an aspirational model focused on developing independent learning and living which is transferable to working with SEND pupils in all settings. Their evidence shows that by focusing on developing pupil’s independence, wellbeing and communication skills it ensures that any barriers to learning are removed and that the whole child is being developed.