Lower School- Gresham Drive
What We Do
What We Have
Welcome to Lower School - Gresham Drive
Newbridge Lower School offers high quality educational provision for pupils aged between 2 and 11 years old who have a range of complex SEND. Pupils follow a person-centred curriculum designed to enable them to make outstanding progress in learning and personal development. Learning environments are planned to meet the needs of individual pupils and promote independence and agency from the very earliest learning opportunities.
Class sizes are usually between 6 – 8 pupils who are supported in their learning by the teacher and 3 Learning Support Assistants. Class teams are highly trained and skilled at working to support pupils with many different abilities and needs. Educational and personal development is further supported by the input from NHS and school-based therapy teams, providing Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy expertise to promote holistic development. The school is also supported by the Special School Nursing Team who oversee the medical needs of the pupils. The school works closely with external partners such as CAMHS and social care to support pupils where necessary.
There are a number of specialist facilities available within the school including a hydrotherapy pool, sensory room and soft play room. Classrooms, specialist and personal care areas have ceiling hoists to ensure maximum access for pupils with physical disabilities. Community learning is of high importance for Newbridge pupils, providing essential opportunities for skills learnt in the classroom to be put into practice in real-life contexts.
Positive relationships between families and school are very important and we very much value being able to work closely together to provide the most informed and bespoke learning opportunities for Newbridge pupils. The school hosts termly progress meetings with families and regular events throughout the year to mark key celebrations which we encourage as many families to attend as possible. At Newbridge School, we work to support families as much as we can through coffee mornings with information sharing sessions based on topics such as sensory stories, understanding sensory processing and developing communication skills.
The majority of Newbridge Lower School pupils’ transition to Newbridge Upper School at the end of year 6. There is a very effective transition programme in place involving tours of Upper School for families and regular transition visits for the pupils to enable them to become familiar with their new environment and get to know the new staff they will be working with. Where pupils are moving on to other schools, we work closely with the new setting to ensure a smooth transition as much as possible. The therapy team and special school nurses work effectively to support this process.
Our curriculum overview document explains how we plan, deliver and evaluate our school curriculum.