Our School Context

At Rosedale CE Infant School, we are proud to serve a community with significant strengths and unique challenges. Our school is located in an area of high socio-economic deprivation and supports an exceptionally high proportion of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Currently, 50% of our pupils are identified as having SEND, including 20% with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), with further assessments ongoing. The majority of these pupils have communication and interaction needs, including many with autism and other neurodevelopmental differences.

Understanding Our Challenges

We recognise that many of our children face barriers to learning that extend beyond the classroom. These include:

• High levels of SEND and increasingly complex needs.
• Social, emotional and mental health difficulties.
• Communication and language delays.
• Economic disadvantage.
• Attendance challenges, particularly for vulnerable groups.

Rather than seeing these challenges as barriers, we view them as opportunities to develop innovative, inclusive and highly effective practice that enables every child to flourish.

What have we done?

 Our response has been shaped by a deep understanding of our pupils and community.  We have chosen the following priorities:

1. Creating an Inclusive School We have developed a strong reputation across the Local Authority for supporting children with SEND. Our specialist provision includes two local authority-funded resource bases, two internally funded speech, language and communication provisions, and a dedicated nurture provision. These enable us to provide highly personalised support whilst helping children to remain connected to their mainstream classrooms, peers and wider school community.
2. Designing a Curriculum Around Our Children Our curriculum has been carefully designed around the needs of our pupils and is rooted in the principles of autonomy, belonging and competence. We have introduced Continuous and Enhanced Provision across Key Stage 1, ensuring that children benefit from a balance of direct teaching, exploration, communication development and social learning. Adaptive teaching approaches are embedded across the school so that all pupils can access learning successfully.
3. Prioritising Wellbeing Wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do. For over a decade, we have embedded nurture principles throughout school life. Our staff are highly trained in supporting pupils' emotional development, attachment needs and neurodiversity. This commitment has led to recognition as the West Walsall Nurture Hub and the achievement of National Nurturing School Status in 2026.
4. Developing the Whole Child Personal development is a major strength of the school. Through our PSHE curriculum and enrichment programme, and the promotion of our RICH learning behaviours (Regulation, Independence, Curiosity and Happiness), we ensure children develop the skills, confidence and resilience that many of our children lack when they start school. These early experiences and learning behaviours are the foundations for future success.

What is the impact?

 Our approach is making a positive difference.

• Our inclusive culture is a significant strength of the school and has been recognised through external validation, including National Nurturing School Status.
• Our staff team are highly dedicated and passionate about our inclusive vision and values.
• Our parents are very supportive and highly satisfied with the level of care that is invested into their children.
• Children in Early Years make strong progress from very low starting points and benefit from seamless transition into Year 1.
• Pupils in KS1 make strong progress across our school despite significant levels of SEND and disadvantage.
• In response to our cohort, the development of communication and language has become a particular strength across the school.
• Behaviour is age appropriate and developmental. Staff respond to behaviour with kindness, compassion and curiosity.  There are no children on reduced timetables and there have been no suspensions for over twelve years.
• Attendance is improving - the gap with national is closing and persistent absentees are reducing.
• Pupils feel safe, accepted, valued and supported to succeed,
• Safeguarding is highly effective and embedded in all aspects of school life.

Looking Forward

We remain ambitious for every child. While we recognise that attendance, writing attainment and narrowing gaps for some vulnerable groups remain priorities, our strong leadership, inclusive culture and commitment to reflective practice and continuous improvement, ensure that we are very well placed to meet these challenges.

At Rosedale, our vision is simple: we want our school community to love, laugh and flourish together on a joint journey of learning and self -discovery.