The Danesgate Community was formed in April 2010 to provide children and young people aged 5-16 who have Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs with a high-quality education, positive opportunities to succeed and improved life skills to increase their chances of returning to mainstream school and contributing to their wider community in a constructive and sustainable manner. We are a unique school nationally and have enormous potential to become an Outstanding school of excellence for our students.

Students at The Danesgate Community are helped to develop their holistic needs when they have struggled to succeed in another school. Many of our students also have additional learning or neurodevelopmental needs including Autism and ADHD. All students are placed on the SEND register on enrolment. We aim to nurture and support every student to achieve their full potential. This includes their academic achievement, their life skills, social skills and emotional resilience. We believe that quality teaching for all students is vital and we pay special attention to any extra needs they might have. We endeavour to help students to return to mainstream education. Where this is not possible, we provide an education geared to helping them move on to further education and the world of work.

Our location and school facilities

The Danesgate Community is based at Fulford Cross where the facilities include The Danesgate Centre, The Danesgate Skills Centre, a single base unit for complex primary students, a walled garden, a woodland conservation area and a sports field.  The Danesgate Community also has outreach intervention centres sited in mainstream schools around the City of York. These intervention centres are for our Kestrel and Eagle programme which is designed for students who require a short-term provision to support them in their mainstream school.

The school has had a substantial upgrade and refurbishment to its estate in the last academic year. We have carefully considered our site to ensure it meets the range of needs for our students:

• Our entrance is accessible, with level access, automatic doors and is well signposted.
• Classrooms are easily accessible by all and a variety of table heights can be provided though these are not adjustable.
• Circulation around the buildings is easy and the corridors are wide. There is a lift to gain access to the upper teaching area in the Skills Centre. There are only two sets of stairs in school and they are colour contrasted for safety. An Emergency Evacuation procedure is in place for the upper floors for disabled users.
• The school benefits from dedicated, accessible, disabled toilets with fittings suitable for disabled users. We also have a hygiene room that includes a shower.
• Measures to support those who are visually impaired are good in terms of anti-glare blinds, good levels of lighting and colour contrasted internal kerbs.

Learning at The Danesgate Community

The school is funded for 190 students which include 125 commissioned EHCP places and 65 PRU places (which includes our off site short stay PRU places as well as our secondary ResPEx places)

All students at The Danesgate Community require quality teaching with appropriate learning objectives and a diverse curriculum available for each student. Our students access the national curriculum and at Key Stage 4 a vast range of qualifications. We try to limit the teaching groups to no more than 6 students to ensure effective teaching and learning and utilise a range of teaching strategies to personalise and ensure each student’s needs are met. We are currently re-modelling our school structure to create provisions to meet specific needs of students.

The Danesgate Community has 2 provision pathways across the campus and outreach centres:

• Danesgate: This is the Student Pupil Referral Unit for the City of York. Students can be either single registered or dual registered with us. This is our Bridge and ResPEx provisions. The Bridge are full time placed student whereas the ResPEx provision offers a dual registered agreed place. This also includes our Outreach centres for primary provision called Kestrel and Eagle. Students attend this part of the school through agreement at our local authority Fair Access Panel.

• Danesfield: This is the specialist setting for young people with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. Students at Danesfield will have an Education Health Care Plan and have been placed on roll by their Local Authority at all Key Stages across Primary and Secondary. There are two provisions:
  • Our STEPs provision for students with mild/moderate learning needs and SEMH
  • Our TalkAbout provision for students with an ACS diagnosis and SEMH

Some students may be dual registered but most students are single registered to Danesgate. Students are grouped according to Key Stage and need. Many are working below Age Related Expectation- we run a nurture model delivery of education and utilise specialist teachers to deliver subjects across Key Stages and groups.

We endeavour to meet the needs of all our students and to find the strategies, interventions, tuition and services they need to be happy, healthy and successful as well as achieve, academically. Each student’s learning is tailored to the individual needs and their IEP covers their SEND targets, literacy, numeracy, social skills, behaviour, independence, and emotional/behavioural regulation. Further reading on our learning pathways can be found here.

We also offer each child the following additional support where appropriate:

• Additional support within the classroom
• Targeted interventions for Dyslexia
• Targeted interventions for Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)
• Group tuition in satellite classes outside Danesgate
• 1 to 1 tuition on-site and also off-site
• Access to alternative learning provisions
• Access to school provision out of area
• Counselling from Changing Lives on site (drugs counselling)
• Drop-in appointments with the school nurse
• Access to specialist advisors e.g. in Autism Access to help and assessment from outside agencies such as Speech and Language Therapy (SLT), Educational Psychologists (EP), Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
• Post-16 support from the Learning & Work Advisor.

We are also a registered Alternative Provision and offer to our own students but also as an AP for schools to access our facilities:

• Landscape Construction
• Hospitality and Catering
• Hair and Beauty
• And coming soon….Forrest schools in our woodland.

Ofsted recognised: “Leaders have designed a curriculum that is ambitious for students. The expectations of what individual students will achieve by the end of their studies are high. There is flexibility in the curriculum so that teachers can address gaps in students’ knowledge and meet the needs of all students, including those with education, health and care plan (EHC plan) targets. Leaders have identified what they want students to know and be able to do.” – Ofsted March 2022

Our Staff

We have an extremely dedicated and talented team of staff that care deeply about our students. These consist of 44.8 FTE teaching and 47.2FTE support staff. Teaching staff are Primary or Secondary trained: most have come from a mainstream background which ensures we can facilitate high standards of learning. Staff will teach in both primary and secondary according to the needs and abilities of students in the group/provision.

Our staff are led by Senior Leadership consisting of the Headteacher, Deputy Head, Assistant Headteacher (Primary), a School Business Manager and newly developed Middle Leaders (four provision leads and a Lead of Maths and English). They are also supported by a newly developed pastoral team, consisting of a Deputy DSL, Behaviour Support and Attendance Officer.

Staff are currently undergoing a new CPD program with the expectation that the newly appointed Deputy Headteacher will continue developing and embedding a middle and senior staff structure and the further training and upskilling of staff.

Ofsted recognised: “Staff want the very best for students and decisions are made in their best interests. One parent noted, ‘Nothing is too much trouble in this school.’ This was typical of the views of many parents.” – Ofsted 2022

Students and parents

Given the needs of the students at Danesgate, our community is very diverse and they come from a range of backgrounds. Attendance and

engagement from our students is good and students enjoy coming to the school. There is a positive atmosphere across the site and overall, students appear settled and secure.

There are occasions when students will be dysregulated and challenging due to their needs profile but all our staff are trained in strategies and methods to de-escalate.

We work closely with parents and carers to make a partnership to meet the needs of each student.  Every student who attends Danesgate has a key worker who maintain regular communication with parents / carers as the parents’ first contact for day-to-day issues. They also co-ordinate the regular reports parents receive and are responsible for co-ordinating each child’s SEND targets in their Individual Education Plans. We hold various events through the year where parents are invited in, as well as parent review day. This is very well attended with around 85%+ attendance.

We are proud of our students and consider them a strength; we are delighted that Ofsted also recognised this:

“Behaviour is good. The school is calm. Students are welcoming. Students are happy to meet visitors and are proud to show them their work. Students help and support each other in and out of lessons. They are considerate and polite.” – Ofsted March 22

The Management Committee

The school are supported by a talented Management Committee. Committee members are drawn from a variety of backgrounds including education, finance, HR and engineering. They provide excellent support and challenge to the Headteacher and Leadership Team.

The Local Authority

The School works very closer with the City of York Local Authority SEND Team and the Assistant Director for Children’s Services. This ensures that Danesgate is a provision for the whole of York both LA and Academy Schools. Over the last year, this partnership has gone from strength to strength.

Local Partnerships

We work in conjunction with a range of partners and other providers to ensure the best possible outcomes for all the young people within the Danesgate Community. We have a very good positive reputation with all schools both locally and across other LAs. Below are details of some of these organisations. We are keen that the Deputy Headteacher can build on these strengths and continue to change local perceptions of our students and be fully celebrated as the unique school that we are.

Applefields
York College

Alternative Provisions

Ad Astra
Jack Raine Foundation (Boxing Club)
Joseph Trust at Rossmoor Grange Farm
Country Classroom
Tang Hall Rock School
The Toolbox Project

Our Mission statement is ‘Strive, thrive, achieve’

• The Danesgate Community aims to help young people strive to develop positive behaviours and constructive attitudes and to overcome barriers to learning.
• The Danesgate Community aims to provide young people with skills to overcome learning barriers for the future, in order that they can thrive in society
• The Danesgate Community aims to teach young people to achieve academically and socially – all of our students have different starting points and experiences of school when they join Danesgate.

Our Values

Our values are rooted in our name: community. The Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development of our students has always been at the heart of the education offered at Danesgate Community. Our approach to SMSC is embedded in our ethos of mutual respect, partnership working and collaboration; an approach that we believe is fundamental to a full and positive participation in life in modern Britain.

Equality of opportunity is at the heart of everything Danesgate does. We are committed to making sure that students get every last opportunity to achieve and be able to make a positive contribution to society in future.

Ofsted Inspection

Danesgate Community was judged “Good” at its last Ofsted Inspection – March 2022.

An excerpt from our report: “This School is full of warmth and friendliness. Students are well cared for and supported to do well”

Particular strengths were highlighted:

• Excellent relationships with staff, parents and carers and students
• Considerable staff expertise with the delivery of an ambitious and wide-ranging curriculum
• Leadership is considerate to both staff and students

Our School Improvement Plan is focused around the following:

• The teaching of reading across the school
• Reimagining and developing our current outreach “Kestrel provision”
• Embed core vision and student-centred ethos, develop a whole school culture, based upon the principle of ‘Strive, Thrive, Achieve’
• Ensure student social and academic outcomes match EHCP requirements and transition points by continuing to remodel the school to a group-based system along with group-based pedagogy
• Outward facing elements of the school reflect Danesgate’s position as a specialist provision in SEMH education

Budgetary Position

The in-year budget is stable and in credit for the next 3 years. There is a carried forward deficit that has started to reduce this current academic year, with this deficit targeted to be removed within 3 years. Financial sustainability is a key long-term plan for the Deputy Headteacher to support the Headteacher in achieving, as part of our mission to excellence.

Student Outcomes

The School offers a variety of courses at GCSE level or equivalent for Year 11 students. All students are guided to their next stage of education and training. 5% of students this year left with no qualifications- previously, this has been 2-3%. All our students make progress personally/socially. NEET figures are around 1-2% over the last few academic years.

Our historic Headline Figures can be found here.

Our long term ambitions

This is an exciting time to join us and play an integral part in supporting us to achieve our ambition in becoming Outstanding and a beacon school. York has several emerging SEND needs, of which more are increasing in complexity, and we aspire to support with these by:

• Growing our EYFS and primary provision, as well as our Key Stage 3 PRU
• Developing our expertise for supporting students with ASC
• Building our ResPEx offer and outreach
• Strengthening our curriculum to be varied and creative to ensure our students can attain the best possible outcomes

Internationally acclaimed for its rich heritage and historic architecture, York is a beautiful, thriving city with low unemployment and highly performing tourism, cultural and entertainment industries.  York’s streets are busy with visitors from all over the world and is the most visited city outside London.  It marries a rich history with cutting edge technology, recently gaining UNESCO status as a City of Media Arts.

York isn’t just a great place to visit: it’s a great place to live. York has a vibrant atmosphere, great shopping and eating yet is small enough to retain a friendly sense of community.

There are a variety of residential options, ranging from within the city centre to the handsome surrounding villages. There are restaurants, leisure activities and opportunities to cater for all tastes and interests.

York is one of the UK’s best connected cities, served by several main rail lines: you can be in London or Edinburgh in under two hours. In and around the city there are several park and ride services, a comprehensive bus network and good cycle routes.

Yorkshire has something for everyone: from the rugged Dales and Moors to the gentle Wolds, from genteel Scarborough to the wilderness of Spurn Point and from metropolitan Leeds to market towns like Malton and Beverley. The area was brought to global attention when the Grand Depart of the Tour de France took place in 2014, the success of the event led to the creation of the Tour de Yorkshire.