As the Principal of the Stephen Longfellow Academy, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our website. Our school website is a place where students, parents and stakeholders can access a wealth of information about the school as well as providing you with a sense of what the academy offers.
The Stephen Longfellow Academy is part of GORSE, a nationally renowned, not-for-profit charity whose drive is to create exceptional schools. The Chief Executive Officer and founder of The Stephen Longfellow Academy, Sir John Townsley, is passionate about providing the highest standard of educational experience for all children, regardless of background, across the age range. Sir John inspires professionals with his vision, a vision that all colleagues at the Stephen Longfellow Academy wholeheartedly share.
The Stephen Longfellow Academy is named in honour of a man who died tragically in a climbing accident in 2015 and who made an enormous contribution to the lives of hundreds of vulnerable and disadvantaged children across the city. Our commitment to carrying on this legacy is evident in the work that we do with children from across our district.
We are exceptionally proud of what has been achieved since the academy’s inception and I am honoured to have the opportunity to continue the brilliant progress as the Academy moves into its eighth year.
At the academy we offer both exceptional education and therapy. Students are taught national curriculum subjects and have access to a range of therapeutic services such as counselling. Therapy is delivered as both an integrated part of our timetable but also within discrete groups or on a one-to-one basis. We believe that a therapeutic and nurturing approach allows our students to grow in confidence and increase their self-esteem, so they can successfully integrate into their learning environment and the wider community. We pride ourselves on our global therapeutic and pastoral offer which supports all students and their families. The academy has been recently recognised for our work in this area as it was awarded the Gold Mental Health Award from the Carnegie Centre of Excellence, along with a variety of nationally recognised achievements.
By developing personalised learning programmes to meet the needs of vulnerable young people, we aspire for all our students to have opportunities similar to those found in mainstream schools. This will allow students to leave as confident young adults, ready to seize the opportunities of further education, training, or work through the “Gift of choice” that a solid portfolio of qualifications provides. As an academy, we place a strong emphasis on extra-curricular activities and offer a wide range of enrichment opportunities as we recognise the importance of the learning that goes on outside of the classroom in supporting our student’s personal development.
The academy works in close partnership with our families and mainstream schools and the length of time that a student is with us is dictated entirely by the personal need of that student. For a small number, these will be shorter placements. For many a much longer placement is required because of the profound need of the student concerned. Where possible, and if appropriate, our students will transition back to the mainstream setting as we work collaboratively with our commissioning partners with the child at the centre of this partnership.
Our aim is to do all that we can to support students and their families to get back on track to achieving their goals and ambitions. To, ultimately, make a difference, that otherwise would not have happened. We put kindness at the heart of everything that we do and instil this ethos within our school community, alongside our core values – aspiration, inclusion and resilience. We are relentless in our pursuit for excellence and our desire for a continuous cycle of 1% improvement every day.
We walk together.
Mr Neil Poskitt
Principal