Welcome from the Head of Care
As the Head of Residential Care, I am proud to lead a dedicated team that provides a safe, supportive, and nurturing environment for all of our young people. We strive to create a home away from home where each student feels valued, cared for, and empowered to thrive both in their learning and in their personal growth. Our goal is to foster positive relationships, encourage independence, and support every young person on their unique journey of development. We look forward to being a part of your child’s success and well-being.
Gareth Walters
Head of Care
For some young people with special educational needs, a residential placement can provide the ideal combination of education, care, and stability, enabling them to make significant progress both academically and socially.
While attending the school as a day student and benefiting from our specialised expertise and support, our residential care offers a warm, welcoming environment that fosters positive relationships with both peers and adults. Our dedicated staff team cultivates a family-like atmosphere, where shared experiences promote personal development and create a strong sense of belonging.
Supporting the health and well-being of young people is a fundamental principle at WHSS. We encourage them to take advantage of the various support systems available, ensuring their care, safety, and welfare are consistently upheld to the highest standard. Young people are invited to share their achievements, concerns, and grievances, with numerous channels provided for them to do so.
Each young person is assigned a keyworker who serves as their advocate. The keyworker manages a small caseload, providing personalized support and guidance, while tracking and reporting progress across various areas. They work closely with parents, carers, and other professionals, such as Social Workers, Family Support, and other external agencies, to ensure the full advantages of multi-agency collaboration are realised.
All young people are registered with a GP, dentist and optician where necessary. This ensures that young people keep up with appointments and receive regular check-ups. Some carers may opt to keep their own registered practitioners. Where young people require the attention of any other health service our School Nurse makes the necessary arrangements and liaises with carers and professionals to ensure that all needs are met and that the appropriate course of treatment/support is co-ordinated.
Activities
Our young people can enjoy a wide range of stimulating, fun and energetic learning opportunities. They are encouraged to take part in a wide range of activities, designed to encourage and develop a variety of social and life skills. They are also encouraged to take an active part in the local community, visiting and using local recreational facilities and becoming members of local groups, such as army cadets, scouts and judo club. They are supported to take up membership at clubs such as gyms and local football club.
Activities include:
- Go-karting and go-kart maintenance
- Cooking and Baking Skills
- Football inc. external academies and clubs
- Swimming lessons
- Bike rides and bike maintenance skills
- Geocaching
- Rock climbing
- Fishing
- Skate park visits
- Horse riding
- Duke of Edinburgh
- Fitness training/Gym
- Cricket
- Art and crafts
- Gaming
- Trampolining