Samuel Cody School

Information for parents/carers

Our Vision

Our vision is to be a beacon of best practice where high standards and expectations provide guidance and inspiration to all. Our aim is to create an outstanding SEMH provision that ensures all learners leave as confident, happy young people with high levels of self-esteem, a clear picture of their future and the life skills, qualifications, abilities and personal characteristics to achieve their ambitions and have meaningful roles in society. We believe this vision will meet the needs of the 90 learners, in years 5-11, identified by Hampshire SEN with a primary need of Social Emotional Mental Health Needs (SEMH).

Samuel Cody School is committed to creating a safe, inclusive, nurturing and flexible SEMH environment that reduces the severe anxiety and isolation that is often displayed in learners with these needs. The provision of Cody Oaks SEMH unit expands on our commitment to promoting success and achievement, health and well-being, safety and engagement for all of the county’s young people, preparing young people for adulthood and full participation in society. This is because SEMH learners often exhibit challenging behaviours that effect their learning. These might include, for example, aggression due to anxiety, an inability to cope with failure and a reluctance to trust adults due to early childhood trauma leading to isolation and an inability to make or maintain friendships.

We understand that some of our students/students with SEMH needs might exhibit additional issues such as Pathological Demand Avoidance or difficulties with interpreting both verbal and non-verbal language like gestures or tone of voice. Additionally, they may have a range of needs such as ASD and ADHD as well as associated cognitive needs. SEMH learners may therefore display behaviours, such as non-compliance, mood swings or impulsivity. As a result our students will require an equally individualised and nurturing environment to remove their barriers to learning. This will be supported by a highly skilled staff team and additional expertise from specialist in-school support including Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Counsellors and Educational Psychologists.

Our Purpose

Our purpose is to educate and support our young people in a nurturing, safe and inclusive environment to help them develop the skills, attitudes and resilience to succeed as adults.

We will do this by:

• Offering a broad, balanced accessible curriculum that conforms to the National Curriculum that meets individual requirements and is based on assessed needs and prepares young people for adulthood.
• A focus on providing high quality academic opportunities and qualifications (GCSE’S and other Level 1 and 2 qualifications) alongside additional vocational qualifications.
• A specific focus on behaviour interventions and personalised therapeutic support. (E.g. 1-2-1 support, ELSA Support, Speech and Language Therapy, Trauma and Attachment informed therapies, LEGO Play, Theraplay, Counselling, Art Therapy and FEIPS).
• Careful planning for each learner, developing a flexible approach to the delivery of lessons.
• Recruiting attachment and trauma informed staff who are QTS qualified or working towards this and who understand the emotional needs of students and the need to adapt the delivery of lessons.
• Working with each learner to develop their individual pathway to success.
• Creating smaller, more personal learning environments that cater for individual needs including safe positive spaces to support learners’ sensory and behavioural needs.
• Delivering a whole school integrated therapeutic approach to behaviour management will be embedded in every aspect of school life; ensuring consistency within the setting.
• Recruitment of inspirational teachers and support staff to enable us to offer blended support to students.
• Providing each young person with a designated Key Worker who supports them, and their families with issues in and outside of the classroom.
• In addition to our own provision, we will provide access to Educational Psychologists, counselling and other forms of therapeutic intervention, which suit the needs of the learners.
• Providing learners with the opportunity to build their social capital, including access to enrichment activities, off-site trips and residential and access to external community services.

 Our Values

These are our values as a whole school:

• Everyone has something to offer
• Respect for the individual
• Professionalism in all that we do
• All different, all equal, all achieving
• Absolute integrity
• Together Everyone Achieves More (TEAM)
• Ambition for excellence

As a result we expect that:

• All students will achieve excellent attendance through targeted, consistent support.
• Individual students will show a reduction in behaviour incidents and specific behaviours inhibiting their learning.
• Students within all Key Stages will be taught and supported in developing their self-sufficiency skills to an appropriate level including supporting Fundamental British Values enabling students to live independent, meaningful lives
• Students will achieve at least 5 or more qualifications on leaving post -16 to include Maths and English. These can be GCSE’s or equivalents.
• All of our learners at KS4 are in education, training or apprenticeships 6 months post transition from Cody Oaks.

Strategic Management

The Cody Oaks unit is led by Mr Greg Colyer – Assistant Headteacher and Lead for Cody Oaks, and Mrs Rebekah Brumby, overseen by Mrs Chinnappa.

As we are one school, all statutory policies will be identical to the policies that cover the existing primary and secondary department. Some of these policies including the Behaviour for Learning Policy have been adapted to reflect a more therapeutic approach to working with our students.

Progress and attainment will be monitored using an individually designed Cody Oaks Tracker, which offers flexibility and the setting of individualised learner targets.

Rewards for positive behaviour is central to the ethos of the school and this will also be used at Cody Oaks to encourage positive skills for life.

It is planned to grow the unit over three years with only 36 children I year 1 rising to 90 in year 3. Cody Oaks students will sit GCSE’s from 2026 onwards.

 The Curriculum

At Samuel Cody School, we believe a broad and balanced curriculum is essential to all learners, regardless of their SEN need, in providing them with the skills and knowledge to learn effectively and experience to prepare them for a good quality of life. Our curriculum will be delivered by qualified, highly motivated teachers and take into account the National Curriculum and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice (2014). We provide a full time education timetable and curriculum that is designed to offer a degree of flexibility and stepped progression from pre-entry levels to Level 2, with the aspiration for all to reach 5 qualifications on matriculation (GCSE’s if appropriate or their equivalent) in useful and accredited subjects; English and Maths qualifications are compulsory for every learner. Teaching embeds Maths and English throughout the full range of subjects. We support the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

At KS2 the curriculum provides thematic learning across Maths, English, PE, Science, Art, Humanities, Personal and Social Development, Food Technology, Design Technology, ICT involving outside play alongside therapeutic support.

KS2 and KS3 students will participate in an enrichment curriculum comprising of regular off-site activities such as swimming, climbing, sailing, mountain biking fishing etc.

At KS3 and 4, the curriculum includes, as appropriate, GCSEs and vocational training that caters to our learners’ individual needs and is delivered by qualified teachers/Instructors, giving all learners experience in Art, Mathematics, English, Science, ICT, Physical Education, Food Technology, Design Technology, Music, Humanities and PSHE, in line with the national curriculum.

In KS4, where there is demand, and relevant teaching expertise, learners will have access to carry on their study for qualifications in: Art, Geography, History, and RE, ICT, Technology, Food Technology, PE, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and other Vocational Opportunities and qualifications including early college courses in Year 10 as well as Hair and Beauty, Mechanics and Sports qualification. Learners may begin some accreditations at KS3 to ensure they have sufficient time to complete the course.

In addition, all learners will receive an enhanced package of literacy and numeracy sessions to enable them to catch up on prior loss of learning opportunities.

At KS4 our learners will have access to the careers advice from the specialist Careers SLA team. Where appropriate, our learners in KS4 will engage in work experience opportunities.

 School Uniform

The school has designed a uniform for the Cody Oaks unit based on the existing primary and secondary uniform. This will be comprised of:

Everyday wear:

• Navy blue polo shirt, with Cody Oaks logo (See below)- Available from Skoolkit or MyClothing
• Navy blue sweatshirt, with Cody Oaks logo – Available from Skoolkit or MyClothing
• Black trousers
• Black shoes.
• Warm coat

For PE:

• Plain white T shirt
• Plain navy blue shorts or jogging bottoms
• White soled trainers

The school uniform for Cody Oaks is available to buy from our supplier (MyClothing) or Skoolkit

Here is the link for MyClothing:  My Clothing Limited, your premier school uniform supplier

Link for Skoolkit

Mobile Phones

It is recognised that many of our children will be travelling a long way via taxi to get to school and home again. Thus we accept that they may want to bring a mobile phone with them to school so that they can listen to music whilst in transit. Mobile phones however, are not permitted to be used in school. This is a whole school policy and applies to Cody Oaks just as it does to the main Samuel Cody site. If children bring a mobile phone to school, they must be prepared to hand it over to their tutor who will put it into the child’s lockable mobile phone storage unit in the tutor room cupboard. Mobile phones will be given back during tutor time at the end of the school day.

If it is necessary for students to contact their parents/carers during the school day, they will have access to a telephone in the school office. It is requested that parents/carers therefore do not attempt to call their children on their mobile phones during the school day between 9am and 3pm. In the early days of transition, parents/carers are welcome to call the school admin office to check that their child is settling well.

Lunches and break-time snacks

Our catering will be delivered by HC3S and will include a good selection of healthy meals and snacks at lunch time with home-made bread, brownies and fruit being available at morning break-times. Toast will be available for those children needing breakfast on arrival and for whom medication makes it difficult to eat first thing in the morning. Breakfast will be available to all students who need it during morning tutor time.

Use of Restrictive Physical Practices

Cody Oaks uses RPI rarely and only when absolutely necessary. The use of RPI is within the law and is covered by our school policy. It is used by all SEMH schools as a last resort only, to prevent students causing criminal damage, injuring themselves and/or others.

The potential use of RPI to calm a child, keep them safe from harm, therefore avoiding Police involvement, is an absolute condition of a parent accepting a place at Cody Oaks. Cody Oaks is unable to meet the needs of children whose parents do not agree to this approach.

The school day and term Dates:

Cody Oaks has a timetable that starts at 9am and finishes at 3pm Monday to Friday. Term dates are the same as the main school.