A group of specialist school leaders visiting colleagues in Witham were left deeply impressed by their work with children on the autism spectrum. Chatten Free School, which provides a highly specialist day school for children who cannot access education in other special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) settings, recently welcomed visitors from Kent and London.
All students at Chatten have an autism diagnosis and associated complex needs. Many were previously out of the education system or facing no alternative but to live in care. The school joined Challenge Partners, a collaboration of schools that work together to drive improvement and share best practice, a year ago. As part of the organisation's Growing the Top programme, Chatten is encouraged to share its unique strengths while remaining open to learning where it can develop and grow.
Headteacher Adam Dean welcomed senior professionals, including headteachers, deputy headteachers and an occupational therapist from special needs schools. He said: 'While we know that Chatten is a special place, it's incredibly easy to get lost in the day-to-day and forget just how unique our environment really is. These were completely independent, very experienced professionals from several other special schools - all with their own areas of expertise - and they were truly blown away.'
Visitors complimented the school's resources, calm environment, engagement and care, staff experience, and ongoing staff training after their tour. Mr Dean added: 'They were struck by how calm the school felt. They mentioned that despite our specialism in catering to children whose needs can't be met elsewhere due to challenging behaviour, this was one of the calmest environments they had ever experienced. Most of all, they were impressed by how engaged every single person was with their pupils. They noted that the positive, two-way relationships between tutors and young people have clearly been fostered with real care.'
Practice across the school was praised as truly outstanding and uniquely pupil-centred. One visitor commented it was the best she had ever seen across almost 20 SEND schools she had visited. Mr Dean said: 'It was clear to them that our staff really know our children and deeply understand how to engage and support them. One of our core goals at Chatten is to share good practice, and this visit was a perfect opportunity to showcase the amazing, unique work happening here.'
These professionals are taking away many ideas to use in their own settings, particularly regarding how to support complex, challenging behaviour. Mr Dean expressed his pride: 'I was really, really proud of our school. I was proud of everyone and blown away by our people. I know how expert my team are, but to see them working in that setting made me feel so proud. I was trying to take mental pictures of it all as it was genuinely amazing. It was a really lovely day. It was incredible.'
Senior leaders from Chatten will now visit other partner schools to see what other initiatives and ideas they can bring back to Witham. As part of Challenge Partners, the school also gains access to conferences, expert panels, Q&As, and reviews of other schools and headteachers across the country.
