Our Aims and Ethos
At The Holden School, we want every child and young person to feel safe, understood, valued and able to succeed.
We know that choosing the right school for your child is an important decision, particularly when their needs have not always been fully understood or met in previous settings. Our aim is to provide an education that starts with the individual child: their strengths, their needs, their interests and their aspirations for the future.
One School, Two Distinct Sites
One of the strengths of The Holden School is our two-site model.
Firs Lane and Chapel Street are one school, with the same values, expectations and commitment to our pupils. However, the two sites serve different cohorts. This allows us to provide an environment, curriculum and level of support that better reflects the needs of each child, rather than expecting every pupil to fit into one model of provision.
Firs Lane
Firs Lane supports pupils from KS1 to KS4 with complex autism and associated communication and sensory needs, including pupils who require higher levels of adult support.
For these pupils, feeling safe, regulated and understood is fundamental to being able to learn. Our approach therefore places strong emphasis on communication, sensory and emotional regulation, positive relationships, engagement and developing independence.
Learning is carefully adapted to the individual pupil, with progress recognised not only through academic achievement but also through communication, confidence, independence and the skills needed for everyday life.
Chapel Street
Chapel Street is developing as our KS3 to KS5 provision for autistic pupils with lower levels of support need and/or associated social, emotional and mental health needs.
For these young people, our focus is increasingly on developing independence, confidence and aspirations for adulthood. Alongside academic learning and appropriate qualifications and accreditation, pupils are supported to develop the social, emotional, practical and life skills they will need beyond school.
This includes opportunities to engage with the wider community and to begin thinking meaningfully about further education, training, employment and adult life.
Our Ethos
Although the needs of pupils across our two sites can be very different, our ethos is the same.
We believe that children do best when they feel safe, when adults understand them and when strong, trusting relationships are at the heart of their education.
We also recognise that fairness does not mean giving every child exactly the same thing. It means understanding what each child needs in order to make progress and providing the right support, challenge and opportunities for them.
Across both sites, we aim for every pupil to:
- Feel safe, valued and understood
- Develop positive and trusting relationships
- Experience learning that is meaningful, engaging and appropriately challenging
- Make progress towards their individual needs and EHCP outcomes
- Develop communication, emotional regulation, confidence and independence
- Recognise their own strengths and develop aspirations for their future
- Be prepared as fully as possible for adulthood and life beyond The Holden School
Our shared expectations bring our whole school community together:
Be Ready. Be Respectful. Be Safe.
Whatever a pupil’s starting point, our ambition is that they leave The Holden School more confident, more independent and better prepared for their next stage.