Brookside Academy, in Street, is Somerset’s largest primary academy. But at the heart of the school is a 30-place specialist provision that offers education and year-round “wraparound” and short-break care for children with complex and profound learning needs. The school has won this award in recognition of the fact that, alongside a mainstream primary school, it has built alternative provision that is now renowned nationally for its high-quality teaching, learning and care. 

However, this was not always the case. In 2013, Ofsted said that the school was not meeting the needs of some of its most complex students. These findings spurred the school into action - it recruited two more teachers, including its first profound and multiple learning difficulties teacher, and invested in an assistant head with a Sendco qualification. Brookside also restructured its school site, remodelling and extensively refurbishing five classrooms to meet specialist needs. This included the creation of a new bespoke sensory room. 

The building work was accompanied by an expansion in its holiday provision - in 2017 this was accessed by 64 families with a child with special educational needs and disabilities. Thirty-four of these were families with a child classed as needing high-level one-to-one support at all times.

As a result of the changes Brookside made, in February it was commended by Ofsted for developing a “culture of inclusion throughout the school community” so that “pupils across the school, regardless of whether they are from the mainstream or the specialist provision, forge friendships, develop relationships and value the uniqueness of their school”.

For the full list of winners, click here, and keep up-to-date will the glitz and glamour of the night with #TesAwards10.