Twin awards for Hartlepool special school’s great level of care

Springwell School, which caters for up to 88 children aged 3-11 with a broad range of needs, recently received Bronze and Silver in the Attachment and Trauma Sensitive Schools Award following a full-day on-site assessment.

It is one one of only two schools in the UK to receive both levels after just one assessment visit and is now working towards the Gold Award which it hopes to achieve within the next year.

The Attachment and Trauma Sensitive Schools Award (ATSSA), accredited by Jennifer Nock Training and Consultancy, aims to ensure that everyone within the educational environment has a good knowledge of the needs of children and young people who have experienced adversity.

Springwell School, on Wiltshire Way, cares for children with needs including severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech and language, autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and social, emotional and mental health difficulties (SEMH).

In her report of the school, Dr Nock said: “It is impossible to fully encapsulate the ethos of your school through reference to the award criteria.

“Springwell School is attachment and trauma responsive, with systems, practices, values and principles that are infused with sensitivity to trauma… therapy is not something that the school simply provides, rather, the environment itself and the relationships therein are therapeutic.”

Awareness of how to support children and young people’s emotional needs and development is seen as a key factor in promoting better learning and mental/physical health outcomes for all learners.

Louise Hargreaves, assistant headteacher and ATSSA lead at Springwell School, said: “We are thrilled to have received this award because it not only raises awareness of the need for everyone to support children who have experienced attachment and trauma difficulties, but also highlights the Springwell team’s good knowledge of the needs of its children.

“It also recognises that the school adopts the correct strategies, provides a safe environment and uses appropriate resources to meet such needs.

“These awards reflect our simple philosophy at Springwell – to provide our children with the best, the best being the richest and most rewarding educational experience possible.”

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