Vision, Ethos & Values

Overview

Hopescourt School is a new all-through specialist school in Walton-on-Thames for children aged 4-19.  When full, the school will offer 200 additional specialist school places for autistic children and children who have communication and interaction needs, working at broadly age-related expectations (ARE).

Age-related expectations (ARE) are what is expected of a pupil by a given age. ARE is used to communicate whether a child or young person’s attainment is on track with the national average or not. Age-related expectations help to measure and determine a child or young person's progress in different subjects throughout the school year. For example,  a child or young person may be working below the standard (1-2 years), working towards the standard, working at the standard, or working at greater depth that the standard.

The school will be one form entry in primary, two-form entry in secondary, and one form entry in the 6th form. From 1st September 2024, we will open in temporary accommodation on the former Hurst Park school site in West Molesey, and will have 77 children in the school across years 7 to 10.  Our permanent building on Waterside Drive (opposite Heathside Walton School) is due to be completed in 2025 and our growth plan from September 2025 onwards includes new cohorts of children into Reception and Year 7 annually, as well as a temporary intake into Year 3 until 2028. 

More details about our growth plan are available here.

Hopescourt School’s vision and values align directly with Surrey County Council’s All Age Autism strategy and will meet a need for specialist school places in the local education market. 

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Our Vision of Empowering young people to Flourish

The school’s strapline of ‘Empowering to Flourish’ and the school’s logo reflect the school’s vision. The logo includes four elements, pause, breathe, think and flourish.  

• Pause – time to stop and gather ourselves before we start.  
• Breathe – a moment to reflect on what journey we are taking  
• Think – to develop resilience and support our mental health and wellbeing 
• Flourish - achieving our best on a secure foundation of knowledge, emotional intelligence and understanding. 

Our vision of pause, breathe, think and flourish supports the notion of how a child becomes ready to learn, on a secure foundation of self-understanding and by finding the tools to manage their anxieties and emotions to access education. We will support this through a commitment to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of all pupils and staff. We will pause to reflect on the best practice for our pupils, and the best way to ensure that they will become independent and confident in themselves as learners with the skills and attributes to continue to grow and take their place in society. 

Through the partnership between the Bourne Education Trust and Freemantles School, Hopescourt School aims to bring together the best of both sectors to equip pupils for success. Improving opportunities and outcomes for our pupils is our raison d'être. Pupils will have programmes of study with access to the breadth of curriculum akin to that in a mainstream setting. 

For those with Autism and / or those with communication and interaction as their primary need, finding their place in the world can present a plethora of emotional and physical challenges. We will provide an aspirational environment where pupils can access specialist support alongside a range of subject experts so that pupils can flourish.  

Hopescourt School’s curriculum will be designed to support individual pupils in reaching their full potential by developing the character, mind and resilience. Therapies will be sought to develop and support the whole pupil, with a specific focus on developing and improving their overall wellbeing and mental health to ensure they are able to flourish in society.  

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Principles 

Collaboration - working in partnership: 

Often education works in silos. Hopescourt School is committed to working in collaboration with other schools to ensure the best interests of the child are at the centre of every decision. We are committed to deliver a well-planned, bespoke and appropriate inclusion offer that draws on the best of both sectors.

We will also establish strong partnerships with families to support them to maintain their wellbeing at home and in the wider community. We intend to build and sustain strong and trusting relationships between staff, individual pupils and their families in order that pupils can successfully access their education.

A holistic and in depth understanding of need:

Pupils will use psychoeducation to develop an understanding of their diagnosis, strengths and needs. There will be a clear programme developed to teach, break down and support pupils’ social communication, social understanding and independence to secure an emotional literacy that allows them to thrive academically.

Hopescourt School is committed to building an exciting and creative climate for learning within a safe, supportive yet appropriately challenging environment that is flexible and responsive to individual needs.

Hopescourt School will provide a range of curriculum offers. We recognise that the complex needs of the child will mean that acknowledgement must be made to the individual pace of the learner and that the breadth of what individual pupils need is beyond that of the National Curriculum. We envisage that the curriculum, whilst highly aspirational and challenging, must be personalised to everyone's starting points.

 

Resilient Learners:  

Hopescourt School will acknowledge and celebrate the needs of pupils whilst also being highly ambitious about individual academic achievement and outcomes. We want to ensure that students leave Hopescourt School confident, self-aware and academically successful.

 

We have an ambition to show that integrated, cross phase collaboration drives up standards, challenges traditional thinking, brings fresh perspectives and offers children with special educational needs the best that our profession can offer.

Creating innovative and dynamic climates for learning: 

Hopescourt School will use learning spaces creatively, including the outside areas, to enhance the impact on our pupils.

We want our pupils and staff to be proud to be part of our Hopescourt School community, and for that pride and sense of belonging to translate into their learning and the environment within which the learning takes place.

The use of outside space will broaden the curriculum offer and create a dynamic climate for learning. Lessons will take place outside where possible and pupils will use the environment to learn new skills and make concrete connections with the curriculum.