Testimonials
Here are just some excerpts from the many great things said about Swalcliffe.
“I was delighted to read your piece in the Banbury Guardian about your trip to Birmingham, I would ask anyone to visit Swalcliffe Park School, and I guarantee that you will come away humbled by the experience”
Village Resident (11th April 2010)
“I just wanted to thank you all for your very enjoyable open day. It feels so warm and friendly at Swalcliffe, which is why my son has made such an improvement. The positivity of you all is amazing” Parents of current student (23rd October 2009)
“After leaving Swalcliffe our son, has a new found confidence for life, and a willingness to face new challenges with courage and determination. The tireless support and encouragement cannot be over-estimated in the development of the confident focused young man we are proud to call our son”
Parents of a former student who left in 2008/2009 (3rd November 2009)
“Thank you so much it has been a pleasure being at the school and I was treated like royalty, if I had to mark the school out of 10 I would give it 100000000000, once again thank you sooo much” Former student who left in 2007/2008
“We really enjoyed our tour of the school – what a wonderful setting. Seeing so much of the school and meeting some of your staff and students it was abundantly clear how much justifiable pride is taken in everything that they achieve”
School Visitor (29th April 2009)
“We all would like to say a huge thank you for the school’s contribution to our fund raising effort. The provision of the mini-bus allowed us to raise over £6000 for the British Heart Foundation”
Team Boink (September 2009)
“Thank you so much for such an enjoyable sports day. The amount of love in your school is wonderful, not only for the boys but for all of us”
Former student who left in 2008/2009 (12th September 2008)
“We are really happy with the progress our son is making at the school, the support has been really positive and our son only has kind words for the staff who deal with him”
Parents of current student (6th October 2008)
“Thank you, you guys changed my life!! And I’m always grateful”
Former student who left in 1988/1989 (29th September 2008)
“I know how much commitment is put into the whole school. I also know that your commitment to ensuring that care and education work together is a big reason why the school is so successful. This kind of commitment, vision and professional integrity that is so effective and makes a positive difference to pupils who find understanding and coping with the world so difficult”
Governor of the School (8th October 2007)
“Thank you very much for making me feel so welcome when I visited you today. I enjoyed spending time with you and learning about the things you have been doing in school.”
Local Authority Representative (17th October 2008)
“We would like to extend our appreciation to you and your wonderful staff for what you have done on behalf of our son. The transformation in him is dramatic – he is much more respectful, happier in himself, and in general has begun to grasp a more realistic assessment of his own strengths and weaknesses.”
Parents of former student who left in 2007/2008 (25 June 2007)
“So many aspects of the school made me believe that you were operating a centre of excellence in one of the most difficult areas of education. Your results are evident in the marvellous job you do in changing these young people’s lives. Thank you so much for my visit”
Chairman of the Hedley Foundation (7th December 2006)
“Thank you for the amazing day, I was amazed by the incredible amount of morale in your staff and the happiness of the children and the parents.”
Curriculum Online representative (20th July 2007)
“I just wanted to congratulate your school for receiving an overall outstanding in your recent Ofsted inspection. This is a great achievement and a real tribute to your development as well as to the hard work and experience of your colleagues.”
Chief Executive from the Nation College for School Leadership
“I am just writing to thank you so very much for your support and encouragement to our son over the past couple of months. He is now so much more positive and settled.”
Parent of current student (25th January 2009)
“Just a thank you note to everyone at Swalcliffe for making the open day such a great success. We were most impressed with everyone involved with our grandson, and it was great to see where he spends his time when he is not at home.”
Grandparents of a current student (29th October 2008)
“Thank you to everyone at the school for the open day. It was my first open day and I did not know what to expect but it was outstanding, thank you to all.”
Parents of a current student (29th October 2008)
“I am just writing to thank you and all your staff for inviting me to your open day. I really enjoyed looking around the school, meeting the teachers and care staff, seeing the boys receive their certificates, and the lovely lunch.”
Parents of a current student (28th October 2008)
“May I also take this opportunity to thank you for contacting me to provide violin tution at such a warm and highly regarded establishment such as Swalcliffe Park School. It has thus far been a pleasure to be of service.”
Violin Teacher (9th December 2008)
“I am writing to thank you for your generous donation of£100 to The Tower Appeal. It is much appreciated and has helped the fund total just tip over the £75,000 mark. The village has been amazingly generous in helping us raise this amount of money so quickly.”
Swalcliffe Church Tower Appeal (2nd of March 2010)
“Thank you so much for arranging our visit. We were all very impressed with your facilities and the positive ethos of the school. It was lovely to see our former student doing so well, he seemed so happy and settled.”
Visitor from Blossom House School (18th October 2009)
“Just to let you know that me and my son appreciate everything that everyone does to make Swalcliffe such a great school.”
Parent of current student (September 2009)
“Thank you for helping my son achieve so much in such a short time.”
Parent of current student (2nd September 2009)
“I just wanted to thank all the staff and boys I was involved with, as I had a truly enjoyable time. I found the whole experience extremely beneficial, I would be more than willing to work at Swalcliffe Park School in the future.”
Work Experience (September 2009)
“My time at Swalcliffe has been eventful and rewarding. And these last three years have been challenging yet without this I would not have become the man I am today.”
Former student who left in 2008/2009
“I received a postcard from your school and in celebration of my son succeeding, this is a very nice acknowledgement and means a lot to receive positive achievements”
Parent of current student (13th May 2009)
“Just a note to say thanks for allowing us to attend your training, it was very generous. The training was excellent, we wish the best for the future.”
School Visitor (September 2009)
“Thanks for your help with everything it meant a lot to me. Thank you so much to the office you’re all great, I hope you don’t forget me”
Former student who left in 2006/2007
And what OFSTED say:
The school provides an exceptionally strong, collaborative, caring and supportive environment where students feel safe, develop their personal qualities and achieve academic success. Students’ achievement and well-being are at the forefront of the school’s ethos of care and education. Highly effective working relationships with those funding placements and a wide range of other specialist agencies and professionals contribute extensively. Very effective procedures enable the school to track students’ academic and personal progress, the enhanced role of key worker contributes to the effectiveness of this.
Strong relationships exist between students and staff, with mutual respect. The students feel fairly treated and are able to approach staff with concerns or personal problems. Two students said that previous schools had not been pleasant experiences but Swalcliffe Park School has helped them to work in class and enjoy school. Transition periods are managed well between school and residential staff, these have changed in response to suggestions made by the school council. Student consultation is an integral part of the development of the school. This occurs formally through student council, surveys, tutor groups, residential groups and through their annual reviews.
Students feel safe and are clear on boundaries within the school and their personal behaviour. There are low levels of bullying and students feel confident that staff will ‘sort it out’ when reported. Students are supported in addressing any behavioural difficulties they may have and receive clear and consistent responses from staff. Behaviour incentive schemes are well received by students and considered fair. One student said he liked it that if he had a difficult morning he could try and turn it around in the afternoon and that this would be noticed and rewarded. Staff are trained to manage and respond to challenging behaviour and comprehensive records are maintained.
Achievement across the school is outstanding because of the total care and education package it offers. Students’ standards on entry are well below what is expected for their ages. However, the progress they make in relation to their starting points is excellent.
This outstandingly successful school develops each student’s potential in a happy, secure and supportive environment. It meets fully its core aim of providing child-centred, non-confrontational, integrated care and education. The headteacher leads the school highly effectively and along with his senior team, sets a very clear direction and sense of purpose with a continuing focus on improvement. A further strength is the highly collaborative approach of the multi-disciplinary staff involved. These include specialist subject teachers, learning support assistants (LSAs), care staff, speech and language therapists, a consultant psychologist, a school counsellor and administrative staff. There is a strong culture of communication, collaboration and cooperation between home and school, which starts from the students’ very first visit. The overwhelming majority of parents are supportive of the work of the school. One, expressing the sentiments of many others, commented, ‘The way the staff have worked as a team to help my very troubled son to settle in has been amazing.’
