Developments

Letter to the architects by Millwood SEN school pupils

Yesterday we were inundated with signed and anonymous comments about our post on the HiP chair report on the Horizon Development asking us to point out that the report (dated 14 December 2010) no longer stands as it is 'from last year' (!) and the parents' concerns have now been addressed by the Horizon Project Team. We have always championed openness and transparency, and this blog has been part of a desperate yet determined attempt to ensure that Hackney Council and BSF embrace and honour the principles of openness and transparency that the Horizon School Consultation is supposed to be guided by. We are therefore posting the comments alerting us to the new position of HiP. In the interests of the very same principles, we are publishing the original report which was hastily removed from the HiP website in order to give a chance to everyone -concerned parent or resident or user of the area- to see both the initial concerns and the final position of HiP and make up their minds as to which position makes sense.

We would also like to invite the HiP committee to use this space to enter into a dialogue with other stakeholders and to explain what has changed to make their initial concerns redundant. As many of the readers and writers of this blog have lived next to the Horizon school for the duration of the life of the school and consider it an indispensable part of our community, their views might convince us that his project genuinely prioritizes the interests of the children and their families and not political and bureaucratic interests.

In addition, we are planning posts summarizing guidance for SEN school design and the needs of SEN pupils as well providing information on flagship SEN school building projects so that the reader of this blog can have an informed opinion on the proposed plans. 

For the time being you can find the new HiP statement here and the original report below:

HiP notes from the Horizon school open meeting

14 December 2010
Horizon school is being rebuilt and expanded with money from the now
defunct Building Schools for the Future programme along with Stormont
House and Ickburgh special schools. The new school will be ready for
occupation in September 2013. The school will merge with Downsview
School taking the total number of pupils up to 150 and including children
age 2-16.

Hackney Council and The Learning Trust are pleased they managed to
secure funding form the scheme before the current Government closed it
down. HiP also welcomes plans to modernise these schools. New
money to improve special need schools is vital.

HiP, however, is concerned to makre sure parents of pupils and
prospective pupils are involved at every step in the process to so the
investment and changes lead to real improvements for the children. We
also want to ensure that corners are not cut in the rush to spend the
money within the time scales laid down by the scheme.

Before Christmas HiP chair Vesna Glavas attended an open meeting for
parents and residents to view and and discuss the plans at Horizon. Her
notes are below.

1. Where will children be taught during building works
While building takes place between September 2011 and September
2013 pupils will be moved to temporary buildings somewhere in
Hackney. So far parents have no idea where the temporary school will
be or what it will be like. The Building Schools for Future (BSF) officers
Wayne Riley and Mike Dodds will present school with options for where
the children will be schooled until building work is completed. As of
January 1, it ws still unclear where children will be housed. This is a
major problem for all children but particularly problematic for those pupils
with ASD struggle with change. Parents remain concern about these
arrangements.

2. Lack of information for parents
This was raised by parents and HiP – the school and project team
defended this saying they were unclear too.

3. Transfer of staff from Downsview
Downsview School is being merged with Horizon to make a bigger
school. This means the staff and pupils will be moved to the new
building. Parents want reassurances that the transfer and merger will not
lead to a reduction in staff or staff ratios (number of staff per child) or a
dilution in the skills of staff (for example getting rid of more expensive
experienced staff and replacing them with cheaper, less experienced
staff). Training for the incoming staff will be provided ‘in-house’,
according to head teacher Katie Khan. She said she was confident
about the quality of the staff they have in Horizon at present.

4. Recreational space for children in the new building
The BSF officers admitted privately that the available outdoor space per
child will be somewhat less than the guidance recommendation, but the
Head, BSF and the architects, school staff say this is ok as they say the
children will enjoy a more functional and appealing outdoor space, albeit
less of it. The head said the more plentiful outdoor space at the moment
was not an asset because it was not used. This may be true because is
the space is bare and uninteresting, without quality equipment or items
to engage children. There is no money earmarked for outdoor play
outdoor equipment in the new building and there is uncertain about
funds to equip the indoor sensory room. The head said they hoped to
raise money somehow – perhaps seeking a donation from Alan Sugar
donation as a possibility although the officer from BSF thought there was
enough money for everything. Let’s hope Sugar is not the only hope for
the quality outdoor experience for Horizon’s children.
The outdoor space is very small indeed but the designs make the most
of it and are space is split into 3 separate sections, for preschool,
primary and secondary children. Space for sensory rooms (2 earmarked
at the moment) is very small too and someone mentioned lack of access
for wheelchairs and changing facilities for physically disabled pupils.
It will be hard to have all the pupils outside at one time but playtimes will
be staggered but having them have a playtime at different time will be
disruptive for children in the classrooms because of the noise from the
outside. A screen is planned in front of each classroom which in theory
will screen out the view of the playground and children playing, but the
noise still needs to be addressed. We did not manage to get clarification
on this from the architect.
Buses bringing children in and out of the school will enter the playground
at one end and exit it on the other end of the yard. Local residents seem
to be very worried about the impact of school transport to the safety of
the local street and about this arrangement for the children drop off
within the school yard.

5. Provision for children with autism
I spoke to the Head about plans for different teaching practice and an
autism specific curriculum and programme of teaching. She wants to get
Phoebe Caldwell an expert practitioner in intensive interaction to
develop communication strategies for nonverbal children. Phoebe is well
thought of and this would be an excellent idea. The Head also talked
about her interest in implementing SCERTS (Social Communication,
Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support). This is new autism
specific approach currently being tested in Hackney’s three primary
school Autism Resource Units. SCERTS is a programme HiP parents
have pushed for repeatedly through the Hackney Autism Interagency
Steering Committee.