Whether you are a prospective or current pupil, parent or member of staff, an educational professional or just a visitor to this site, I am sure you will find the information provided both useful and beneficial.

All of the students at Aspire have Educational Health Care Plans (EHCP)  based primarily on a range of emotional and behavioural difficulties. All of the staff are committed to providing an effective learning environment within classes of usually no more than five students.

Management of behaviour is one of our main concerns. Our behaviour management system involves carefully selected rewards, clear consequences and consistency of approach that recognises individual student circumstances. Such a system is many times more effective when there exists a close partnership between staff and parents/carers. Clear and frequent two-way communication is vital if we are going to maximise the expectations, confidence and self-esteem of each student at the school

The hardworking staff, our better-behaved pupils and helpful parents are together making Aspire a successful and pleasant school community.

We welcome visitors at any time - please contact the main office to book an appointment.

Mr Pete Headeach
Executive Principal

Admissions requirements

Parents/carers considering making an application for a place at Aspire Academy should contact the Special Needs Section at Bath and NE Somerset Local Authority as all admissions to the Academy are approved through them.

Students are placed at the Academy by the Local Authority seeking specialist placements for learners with Social, Emotional & Mental Health (SEMH) profiles. All students at the school need to have an active Statement of SEN or Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) in place, outlining their specific needs and the provision determined to meet those needs. Parents are advised to speak to their local SEN department, or current school placement, if they wish to enact provision of an EHCP for their child. Parents or Professionals wishing to pursue a placement with Aspire are very welcome, and actively encouraged, to visit the school. Visits can be arranged by contacting the school.

Parents may also wish to contact the SEN department within their local authority to advise that they wish to pursue a placement at the school.

Further information

• Bath & North East Somerset SEN
• SEND jargon buster (Pdf)
• Area wide local offer (Pdf)

The AGC meets termly, the reports from this meeting are then fed to the Wellsway Multi Acaemy Trust's (WMAT) trustees who meet termly to discuss WMAT-wide issues and scrutinise the performance of all the schools in the WMAT.

There is a robust and objective selection process for governors and trustees. Appointments are skills-based and made by recommendation from the AGC or relevant Trust committee – subject to the completion of a DBS check and declaration form. Governors are either parent governors, staff governors or community governors. They are usually appointed for a term of office of four years. In order to ensure good succession planning, however, a term of office for a governor may be varied by the board of trustees from between one and four years, subject to a maximum term of office.

Please see relevant links and documents below for further information.

If you have any queries relating to governance of the school, please email clerktogovernors@aspireacademy.org.uk

Or alternatively, you can write to the chair of governors, Diana Allez: c/o Aspire Academy, Frome Road, Odd Down, Bath. BA2 5RF.

Our governors

Diana Allez: Chair of Governors
Term of office: 16 November 2016 - 15 November 2020

I was a teacher in a local secondary school for over 35 years before retiring in 2016. During that time I was involved in the academic and pastoral care of students from age 11 to 18. I particularly enjoyed arranging school trips in both the UK and Europe. My interests are skiing, swimming, cooking and gardening.

Emma Arblaster: Co-oted Governor
Term of office: 11 April 2018 - resigned: 28 November 2019

Paula Black: Staff Governor
Term of office: 21 November 2018 - 20 November 2022

Paula is a primary teacher and has worked with Aspire in the primary AP unit last year and brings a wealth of experience to the centre.

Pete Headeach: Executive Principal
Term of office: ex officio, appointed 27 January 2020

Maureen Glynn: Co-opted Governor
Term of office: 22 November 2017 - 21 November 2021

Maureen is a published author of art and SEN books. We are incredibly fortunate to have Maureen join the team.

Liz Hardman: Co-opted Governor
Term of office: 31 August 2018 - 30 August 2022

Retiring from my job as an assistant head at a Bath secondary school, in 2011, I was elected as a BaNES councillor. As a councillor I was involved in a campaign to stop the cuts to children's services.I was re elected in 2015 and I’m part of a scrutiny panel, ensuring no cuts are planned for frontline services for young people.I enjoy keeping fit and regularly attend Zumba and body conditioning classes.

Richard Morris: Co-opted Governor
Term of office: 16 November 2016 - 15 November 2020

Qualified management accountant, a career in internal audit, financial and risk management with British Gas and Knightstone Housing Association. Governor previously at Wellsway School and currently a member of the Wellsway MAT finance and resources committee.

Susy Summers: Staff Governor
Term of office: 21 November 2018 - 20 November 2022

Susy is a teacher in the primary centre and works with the youngest children in the school (KS1). Susy has over 10 years experience working with children with special needs and she loves her job. In her spare time Susy enjoys to travelling, reading and spending time walking her dog.

Kayleigh Robson: Clerk to Governors
Appointed: 1 March 2019

More information

• Annual reports and accounts
• Governor attendance 2019-2020 (Pdf)
• Declarations of personal/business interest and terms of office (Pdf)
• Scheme of delegation
• Structure of the Wellsway Multi Academy Trust Board
• Terms of reference

Senior leadership team

• Mr Pete Headeach, Executive Principal
• Amanda Tapsfield, Director of Learning for the Primary Centre and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
• Vicky Tucker, Director of learning of the Secondary Centre and Designated Safeguarding Lead 

Teaching staff

• Paula Black
• Alex Carmichael
• Caoimhe Courtney (maternity leave)
• Chloe Hubball
• April Iles
• Nick Moore
• Jenny Newman (maternity cover)
• Christine Palacio-White
• Anne Porter
• Tom Ramsden
• Susy Summers
• Nikki Varley

Support staff

• Frances Creevy, finance administrator
• Debbie Diamond, higher level teaching assistant
• Olivia Jones, teaching assistant
• Sophie Lester, teaching assistant
• Shaun Lewis, teaching assistant
• Iain McNeilage, higher level teaching assistant
• Pansy Poolman, teaching assistant
• Diane Scallan, school secretary
• Nigel Simpson, teaching assistant
• Travis Speedie, teaching assistant
• Julia Swanborough, attendance and community events officer
• Philippa Wellington, teaching assistant
• Louis Wilson, higher level teaching assistant
• Lucy Young, teaching assistant

For information about our governing body please see the Academy Governing Committee (AGC).

• Ofsted report
• Privacy notice for pupils
• Pupil premium impact report 2017/18 (Pdf)
• Pupil premium spend report 2018/19 (Pdf)
• SEND local offer (Pdf)
• Sports premium (Pdf)
• WMAT accounts and reports

• Accessibility plan (Pdf)
• Admissions policy (Pdf)
• Attendance policy (Pdf)
• Behaviour policy (Pdf)
• Charging and remissions policy
• Child protection and safeguarding policy (Pdf)
• Child protection and safeguarding policy addendum, June 2020 (Pdf)
• Complaints procedure
• Concern at work (whistle blowing)
• Data protection
• Equalities and diversity policy
• Esafety policy
• Exclusion from school
• Freedom of information
• Gender pay gap
• Health and safety policy (Pdf)
• Inclusion policy
• Scheme of delegation
• SEND policy (Pdf)
• SEND policy (WMAT)
• Sex and relationships education policy
• WMAT annual reports and financial statements

More information

• Wellsway Multi Academy Trust policies

For more information please see Aspire Academy's school day (Pdf)

Students are able to choose from a wide variety of break and lunch options. 

The menus currently available are attached for your information. Please note that there is a three-weekly rotation of the Menus 1, 2 and 3. For ease, dates are provided at the top of each menu to assist you with meal planning for your child.

• Zest's Primary School Temporary Lunchtime Menu: Term 1, September 2020 (Pdf)

The school uniform is a black sweatshirt and t-shirt with the school logo, grey or black trousers or knee length skirt and black shoes. 

The school provides one sweatshirt, two t-shirts and PE kit (fleece, t-shirt and sport trousers). 

Parents/carers are expected to provide the trousers and/or knee length skirt, shoes and to replace lost kit which can be purchased through the school. Please contact the office.

Ethos of behaviour management

We aim to support children develop the social, emotional, behavioural and learning skills necessary for them to be successful in school.  We actively promote and support their inclusion back into mainstream education or an alternative provision where appropriate.  

This is achieved thought the provision of a coherent and high quality curriculum, which stretches and challenges all our learners, as well as having a strong focus on developing emotional literacy skills underpinned by positive behaviour management.

Positive behaviour management

We work alongside parents and pupils to support them to positively manage their behaviour:

• Praise/stickers/certificates for good behaviour and effort in their learning
• We will often choose to ignore low-level, inappropriate behaviour
• All adults who work at The Primary Centre will model good behaviour
• Children will be encouraged to take responsibility for their own behaviour by making good choices and accepting that consequences may be positive or negative
• Children will be reminded and guided to make positive behaviour choices
• Students’ behaviour and learning is tracked lesson by lesson on a specialised system called Go4Schools.  It sets the students targets and at the end of the week a report is produced which shows their progress. Rewards are issued on a weekly basis
• Students are tracked and monitored regularly with relation to their IEP (Individual Education Plan) targets taken from the students statement of special educational needs (SEN).

Whenever possible, confrontation will be avoided. However, if physical intervention or restraint is deemed necessary, staff will follow safe handling (team teacher) guidance.

There is a withdrawal room in the Primary Centre. This facility is used to isolate unsafe behaviour and to allow other children to continue engaging with their learning opportunities. Use of this facility is logged and recorded, as well as monitored to see if patterns in their behaviour emerge.

Reflection time is used by the adult and child after the incident or later in the day whichever is the most appropriate.

We have strong links with all parents/carers of students at the Aspire Academy and this helps to achieve consistency in all aspects of behaviour management.

What is Thrive?

Thrive is a systematic approach to the early identification of emotional developmental need in children so that differentiated provision can be put in place quickly by the adults working most closely with the child. It is preventative, reparative, pragmatic and easy to use.

What are the guiding principles of the Thrive Approach?

• Every child is a unique person, constantly developing and learning in different ways and at different rates, each with his/her own abilities, talents and potential to be fulfilled
• Children’s healthy development, emotional well-being and learning are crucially dependent upon, and promoted through, positive relationships
• Children flourish when they are confident, self-assured, capable and resilient
• Children thrive in enabling environments, in which their individual development, learning experiences and needs are understood, responded to and supported through strong partnerships with parents/carers.

Further information

• Thrive parental ideas (Pdf)
• Thrive parent leaflet (Pdf)
• Thrive parent guide (Pdf)
• Aspire Thrive policy (Pdf)

As a provider of specialist education we hold a strong emphasis on the importance of both academic achievement and the development of social and emotional well-being.

All students are assessed on arrival so staff can tailor the curriculum to meet their needs. Our aim is for students to enjoy coming to school and enjoy learning. We aim to build their self-confidence, self-esteem and build resilient learners who will cope with the demands put on them.

At the end of their time with us students will have reached or exceeded their academic potential whilst being equipped with the social skills and tools required to continue their journey of success. We are proud to say we have not had any NEETS (not in education, employment or training) for four years.

KS2 and KS4 results

• KS2 2017/18 (Pdf)
• KS4 2017/18 (Pdf)
• Aspire Academy on find and compare schools in England
• Compare other insitutions on find and comare schools in England

We are please to announce that in March 2017 Aspire Academy was rated as good by Ofsted.

• Aspire Academy's Ofsted report: March 2017 (Pdf)
• Ofsted school entry

Reports

Year 7 catch up premium report 2018-19 (Pdf)

Reports

• PE and sport premium impact 2018-19 (Pdf)
• PE and sport premium strategy 2019-20 (Pdf)

The pupil premium is additional funding for publicly funded schools in England. It’s designed to help disadvantaged pupils of all abilities perform better, and close the gap between them and their peers.

More information

• Spending allocation 2019-20 (Pdf)
• Impact report 2018-19 (Pdf)

Throughout the year we offer our pupils a range of reward activities and education visits, aimed to enhance their learning opportunities, develop their skills, knowledge and self-esteem and help to open their minds to other people, cultures and opportunities.

Trips and visits have included the following:

Educational trips:

• The Egg Theatre
• Trowbridge Fire Station
• Farleigh Castle
• Village study in Southstoke
• Roman Baths
• Bristol Zoo
• Fleet Air Arm museum
• We The Curious
• Visits to supermarkets
• Bath City Farm
• Allotments for seasonal activities
• Bath Cats and Dogs Home
• Visit to a garden centre
• War memorial
• Bath Abbey

Rewards activities:

• Laser Quest
• Ice skating
• Cinema
• Victoria Park
• Crazy golf
• Avon Valley Country Park
• Weston-Super-Mare
• Horse riding
• Swimming
• Go-karting