Prospectus
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PROSPECTUS 2008
Northcott School:
A place to learn, to be safe and to be happy.
SCHOOL AIMS
We will do our best to:
be healthy
stay safe
learn and achieve
help others
show respect
be the best we can be
Number of Pupils on Roll, Classification
Northcott is a special, co-educational, day school for children with special needs aged from 5 -16. We have a small, specialist Autistic Provision while the greater part of school provides a Protective Environment for children with emotional difficulties, medical problems, and visual impairment or communication difficulties. Most children are in the moderate learning difficulty range. We have 90 places for children in the protective environment and 18 in the autistic provision. The school has been awarded Specialist Status for Communication and Interaction from September 2008.
The school is not affiliated to any particular religious denomination.
The admission policy is determined by the Local Authority (LA) and is reflected in the previous description. Admissions are decided by the LA, not by the school.
The school has gained a significant number of national and local awards and accreditations, some of those on several occasions:
Schools in Europe 1996 - 1999
Regional winner of TES/ASE science teacher of the year award 1996
Royal Armouries Challenge: Highly Commended 1997
Investors in People 1999 - 2002, 2002 - 2005, 2005 - 2008 and 2008 - 2011
Health Improving School Awards 1999 and 2001
Artworks (National Children's Art Awards) - Highly Commended 2000
School Achievement Award 2000 and 2002
Beacon school 2000 - 2004
LA accreditation of behaviour management 2000 - 2003 & 2003 - 2006
National Autistic Society Accreditation (annually since 2001)
Activemark Gold 2001 - 2004
Careers Education and Guidance quality standard 2001 - 04
International School Award 2001 - 2004 & 2004 - 2007
LA accreditation of the work of subject leaders 2001 - 2004 & 2004 - 2007
Charter Mark for service excellence 2002 - 2005, 2005 - 2008 and 2008 - 2011
Basic Skills Agency Quality Mark 2002 - 2005, 2005 - 2008 and 2008 - 2011
Artsmark Gold 2003 - 06 & 2006 - 09
Sensible Snacks Award 2004
NAACE mark for quality in the use of ICT 2006 - 09
Hull LA's Inclusion Framework Charter Mark 2006 - 08
NAPTA's accreditation as a centre of good practice in the management and development of support staff 2006 - 08.
Hull Healthy School Award 2006 - 09
DfES’s Financial Management Standard in Schools accreditation 2006 - 09.
Schools Toilet Award 2007
Activemark 2007 - 2008
Hull LA’s Anti-Bullying Accreditation 2008
A Hull Community Pioneer Award nomination and certificate of thanks 2004 (awarded by local business and the City Council to individuals and organisations who have supported the community and raised the city's image. We were the only school nominated in 2004.)
National Healthy Schools Award 2006 - 09
In January 2002 Ofsted graded Northcott as an 'excellent' school, and in September 2006 they judged the school to be 'outstanding and excellent value for money.' In February 2004 and in October 2007 Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools named Northcott as an outstanding school. In 2007 our contextual value added scores for pupil progress from KS 2 to 4 and KS 3 to 4 were graded as being just below that of the top 5% of special schools nationally. Ours was the highest score for all Hull schools and the fourth highest of any special school in the Yorkshire and Humberside region.
Admission and Visiting Arrangements
Prospective parents may visit the school by arrangement with the Headteacher. As well as touring the school and being given verbal information, a school brochure is given to all visitors. The latter includes this prospectus, the behaviour policy, a summary of our most recent Ofsted inspection and a newsletter produced by pupils. Admission is determined by the Local Authority (LA), not by the school and parents should address admission requests to their Local Authority.
Parents of pupils at the school are offered a timetabled open evening or annual review appointment every term as well as being invited in to Xmas concerts, sports days, and a prize giving ceremony. A ‘Top Nosh’ restaurant is run by Y10/11 on some lunchtimes and parents will receive details of this when it is open to them. At other times parents are encouraged to make a prior appointment before visiting to
ensure that staff are available. There is a list of staff at the end of this prospectus.
The school office is staffed from 8.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., an answer phone being left on during those hours if staff are not available. At other times staff may be available to answer the telephone but this cannot be guaranteed. A uniphone is available for people with a hearing impairment. (Office staff aim to answer telephone calls within five rings.) The school nurse is available on site from 9.15 a.m. until 3 p.m.
