It is a real privilege to welcome you to Castle School.

As the new Acting Headteacher, I feel incredibly fortunate to be leading a school that is such a special part of our community. Castle is a school where relationships matter, where every child and young person is known as an individual, and where we believe passionately in what our pupils can achieve.

Our pupils are at the heart of everything we do. We want every young person who comes through our doors to feel safe, valued, listened to and included, and to know that they belong. We recognise that every pupil communicates, learns and experiences the world differently, and we celebrate those differences. Our role is to understand each individual, and create the right conditions for them to flourish.

At Castle, we have three simple but powerful curriculum drivers that run through everything we do: Communication, Wellbeing and Independence. These are much more than words on a page. They are the golden thread that connects our teaching, our relationships, our curriculum and our aspirations for every pupil. We want our pupils to find their voice, in whatever form that takes; to feel confident, happy and secure; and to develop the skills, resilience and independence they need to participate fully in their lives and their communities.

We are an ambitious school. For our pupils, ambition does not look the same for everyone, and that is one of the things that makes Castle unique. Whether a pupil is developing their earliest communication, exploring the world around them, accessing subject-specific learning, gaining qualifications or preparing for adulthood, we want their learning to be meaningful, purposeful and appropriately challenging. Our six curriculum pathways enable us to provide this personalised approach while ensuring that every pupil has access to a rich and ambitious education.

We also believe that learning is about so much more than what happens in the classroom. Our pupils need opportunities to develop friendships, experience their community, discover new interests, build confidence, become more independent and understand the world around them. We therefore place great importance on enrichment, personal development and preparation for adulthood from the earliest years.

Our staff team bring enormous expertise, care and commitment to their work, and I am proud to be part of a team that wants to keep learning and developing together. We also value the contribution of families, carers, therapists, professionals, governors and our wider community. When we work together, we can make an even greater difference to the lives of our pupils.

Above all, I want Castle to be a place where children and young people inspire, achieve and shine; where they are encouraged to discover what they can do, supported when things are difficult, and celebrated for who they are and what they achieve.

I am excited about the next chapter for Castle School and look forward to working with our whole community to ensure that every pupil has the opportunity to belong, grow, achieve and thrive.

Mrs Sonia Wilkinson
Acting Headteacher