On 2nd September 2016 a group of schools launched a new partnership whereby we can work in collaboration in a very powerful way. The West Dorset Schools Collaboration is a partnership between 8 primary schools and 1 secondary school:
- Symondsbury Primary
- Sticklands Primary (Evershot)
- Greenford Primary (Maiden Newton)
- Parrett and Axe Primary (Mosterton)
- Broadwindsor Primary
- Thorner’s Primary (Litton Cheney)
- Powerstock Primary
- Salway Ash Primary School
- Beaminster School
All the primary schools have made a financial commitment to the group and Beaminster School provides on-site facilities, administrative support and valuable advice. The aim of the Collaboration is to create closer ties in order to share knowledge, experience, ideas and resources. There will be teacher exchanges, shared projects such as High Needs support and other initiatives which are currently being developed.
Recent successful projects have included:
- SEND INSET training for all staff (teachers and teaching assistants) including: SEND and neurodiversity; Communication/Attention Autism; Wellbeing: strategies to support in the classroom; Emotional Based School Avoidance; Therapy through nature; supporting children with spelling; Ofsted and SEND; Family Systems and Supporting Autistic pupils in school.
- Writing Moderation sessions led by Schools Literacy Network (Home – School Literacy Network) for all primary year groups.
- Maths Leads working with Dr Ruth Trundley (Dr Ruth Trundley) on current developments in Mathematics and improving classroom practice
- Successfully securing funding for Relate Counselling (Young people’s counselling | Relate) for pupils needing support beyond in-school ELSA provision
- Group purchasing of FACE (Face Family Advice | online parenting classes) membership to provide support and advice for families
If you have any questions about the Collaboration, please do not hesitate to ask.
