St John’s School is approved by the DCSF as a non-maintained residential special school for children between the ages of three and nineteen years who have hearing difficulties.

Our residential department is organised around the premise that pupils need to be happy to learn and thrive. Pupils are placed in family sized groups supported by care staff whose role is to support pupils independence and social skills, ensuring the whole St John’s experience is positive and offers progression. Ofsted have judged the overall quality of care to be Outstanding

At St John’s we believe that by having qualified teachers of the deaf and the integration of speech and language therapy in the curriculum we can offer the best possible learning environment for our young people.  Consequently through liaison with the care staff, and the support they offer to the student in the social setting we hope to provide the optimum level of care.

Residential Arrangements

At St John’s the students live in mixed groups of between seven and twelve children and the following describes our care group structure:

Sherwood Valley Sherwood Glen Post-16 Group

Arden River Arden Wood Arden Forest

As with most residential schools our numbers can vary from year to year.
All the above groups have their own sitting room and dining area as well as separate bedroom accommodation in the main building.  The Post-16 students have recently refurbished accommodation, which is also located in the main building.  This
accommodation comprises two sitting rooms, a kitchen, games and tutorial area, as well as a Post-16 office, which is used for meetings.  Each student has his or her own study bedroom.

Care staff are available day and night.  They help the young people with all aspects of residential life, both in practical tasks and group living.  They help young people to use opportunities to take part in activities at school and within the local community as well as accessing amenities offered in Leeds and York, which are nearby.

When children join the school community they receive our “Welcome Booklet” which is a comprehensive guide and contains information about the school, the residential groups, group activities, telephone numbers, etc.  At the same time a Parents Guide is sent to all families, advising them of the structure of the school day.  This also provides essential and valuable contact information.

Discipline

We believe that good discipline relies on good relationships between young people and staff.  In furtherance of this we have a school discipline procedure built on a Positive Behaviour Policy.  Each person is encouraged and helped to take responsibility for their own behaviour and good discipline is a community goal.  Some pupils may require behaviour programmes from time to time and behaviour contracts are used in some instances.  Serious breaches of discipline are always discussed with parents or guardians.

There may be times when young people need more specialist intervention.  The school has a part time clinical psychologist and we are also able to access support through the school medical officer and the pupil’s home educational psychology service.

Moral, Religious and Spiritual Welfare

While our school retains its established links with the Roman Catholic Church it aims to encourage all young people to understand the practice and nature of other religious groups.  St John’s has its own chapel where children regularly attend services and assemblies.  There is a formal service for all the main feast days of the Catholic calendar and at these times the whole school family comes together.  The Christmas Celebration offers a chance for parents to join the school community as well as attending any weekday assembly.

Children of all faiths and denominations are welcome in our school and the care staff seek to support the young people in their beliefs.  We work from a value base of respect for all and staff are committed to non-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice.