St Catherine's School Grove Road, Ventnor, PO38 1TT, Isle of Wight 01983 852722

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School type	Coeducational Boarding
Founded	1983
Special Needs	AttDD, ADHD, ASD, ASP, AUT, DYSL, DYSP, SCD, SLD, SPLI, SpeechLD
Principal	Mrs Sarah Thompson
Date Appointed	April 2020
Co-ed Age Range	7-19+
Number of pupils	74
Associations	NASS
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“Our aim is to support and enable our children and young people to achieve more than they ever thought possible.”

St Catherine’s School is approved by the Department of Education (DofE) as a non-maintained residential special school for the education of students between the ages of seven and 19 years who have speech, language and communication needs.

In our caring, friendly environment children and young people are given the structure and support necessary for them to learn effectively. Each student has an individual programme that fits within the specially written schemes of work, allowing individual needs to be catered for within a modified learning environment.

Curriculum

Students are given access to the whole range of National Curriculum subjects (with the exception of a Modern Foreign Language) as well as vocational opportunities in Key Stage 4. Literacy and numeracy underpin all aspects of learning and are integral to personal development, therefore, a significant amount of time is devoted to them.

Sixth Form College

Sixth form students are now based at our new Sixth Form College site, which will further encourage independence and aid transition into adulthood. The College exists to provide students with a further period of continued concentration on improving their basic learning skills in small-group settings. Their education is underpinned and supported by intensive, integrated speech and language therapy and occupational therapy programmes.

Speech and Language Therapy

The Speech and Language Therapists provide in-depth assessments, individual therapy programmes, small group therapy sessions, assistance in the classroom and residential support. They work with carers and families to understand their child’s unique communication profile and how they can support them at home. Speech, language and communication needs are often referred to as a ‘hidden disability’ and the in depth assessment provided by the school enables parents and carers to understand their child’s needs fully, often for the first time. Alongside formal assessment, the Speech and Language therapy team use their knowledge and skills to assess many aspects of a student’s communication profile including social communication and development of emotions.

Occupational Therapy

The Occupational Therapy team works to assess, develop and support students’:

• sensory integration skills;
• gross motor skills;
• fine motor skills;
• visual perception skills; and
• functional activities of daily living.

Their holistic approach ensures students’ skills are developed across the school day and into the care environment. They do this through a combination of in-depth assessments, individual programmes, paired/group work and classroom/residential support.

Residential Care

St Catherine’s is so much more than a school for our children and young people. The care team are integral to the holistic support approach we adopt.

Each year the quality of our care is assessed by Ofsted.

Each of our residential houses comprises a combination of single study bedrooms, kitchen, TV lounge, recreational rooms and quiet areas. Each house has its own staff team led by a Head of House or Team Leader.

Registered Charity No. 288148

Company Limited by Guarantee (Number 1757474) in England and Wales.