Bramfield House School wins national award for its dedication to supporting children and young people with SEND

Bramfield House School has won the Specialist Provision category at nasen’s fifth annual Awards.

The school, which is in Halesworth, Suffolk, was put in the spotlight at a glittering ceremony at the Waldorf Hilton Hotel in London for its outstanding work in helping children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) reach their full potential.

The Awards are hosted by nasen – the National Association for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities – and supported by official media partner, Schools Week.

nasen is the leading membership charity that exists to champion, connect and support those working with, and for, children and young people with SEND and learning differences.

Scooping the Specialist Provision of the Year Award, Bramfield House was recognised for supporting exceptional learning and outcomes for young people with social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH) – part of its remit as a specialist SEMH school supporting boys from disadvantaged backgrounds from a wide area in Suffolk and Norfolk.

Over the past two years, staff at Bramfield have strived to develop a completely new, holistic curriculum, leading to the best GCSE results in the school’s history, with outcomes higher than those in mainstream settings.

Bramfield House School is part of Acorn Education, which is part of Outcomes First Group, the UK’s leading provider of outcomes-led learning, life skills, and therapeutic care for children, young people and adults with complex needs, social, emotional and mental health needs and autism.

Headteacher Davina Bell said: “Bramfield House School is elated at winning this amazing award. This marks the end of a fab year at the school where results are amongst the best in the country and we have proven yet again that SEN is not a disadvantage and with the right support and care all young people can rise up and succeed without limits.”

Chief Executive of nasen, Annamarie Hassall MBE said: “The team at Bramfield House School should be extremely proud of what they have achieved. I am thrilled to be able to spotlight the team’s hard work and inclusive best practice that is making a big difference to learners with SEND, in particular for young people with social, emotional and mental health needs.

“They are also inspiring their local community, other schools and specialist provision in the sector through their holistic curriculum and provision.”

The school also works closely with the community, local schools and surrounding special schools, to help students feel a strong sense of community and responsibility. The school has worked hard to build up a sense of responsibility to the environment from students, and is aiming to become an eco school, with pupils taught about their impact on the environment, and learning about the world around them.

Additionally, a new autistic spectrum provision for boys who struggle with the demands of the sensory environment means that Bramfield House students can now move from one area to the other without disruption to their education and can learn with therapeutic practitioners within their own environment.

Image shows left to right:

  • Jack Gardner – Data tracking assistant
  • Barry Austin – Boarding manager
  • Edan Wright- Moyce – Residential support worker
  • Jane Leech- Administrator
  • Dominic Holland – nasen Awards 2021 host and comedian
  • Davina Bell – Headteacher
  • Emma Guymer – Nurture teacher
  • Mark Kinsell – Catering instructor
  • Lisa Ashby – Youth coach