All members of the Leadership Team have many years of experience and expertise at all levels of education – many having been Learning Coaches themselves – progressing through their careers to lead this specialist provision school from the front.

Our Head teacher, Roz Harman has transformed what was once a mentoring-based service offering help and peripheral tuition into a fully-fledged school meeting OFSTED’s rigorous standards and now fully able to offer education to students up to GCSE level.

The Head teacher is strongly supported within the Leadership Team by a Deputy Head, Jon Dickinson, and an Assistant Head, James Harley, who have the day-to-day responsibility for carrying out top level and sensitive referrals of students to the school along with the management of all aspects of Safeguarding and policies to ensure the smooth running of the school.

Pastoral (social, physical and emotional wellbeing of students) care is a key role within the Leadership Team, providing the administration required to support our students who have experienced great trauma throughout their young lives. Our Pastoral Lead, Calum Pillivant, leads this pastoral support which is one of the many foundations that Belong Learning hold front and centre as part of our provision. Our SENDCo, Rebecca Edwards, ensures that all Educational and Health Care plans are in order throughout a student’s time with Belong. This vital role gives external agencies a perfect picture of a student’s progress and provides the student with a framework for their Post 16 provision.

Finally, within the Leadership also sits the role of Site Operations Lead Jen McCartney, who is in touch with all levels of the school ensuring the daily timetable is working well, all staff are constructively deployed and that students are working to the best of their abilities.

Leadership in some organizations can be distant and vague but over a couple of years of rapid progress, the Belong School Devon Leadership Team have grown, improved and expanded the school into a formidable learning environment for students and staff alike to learn, grow and thrive.

Through a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils with special educational needs, the teaching team adapt teaching to support pupils education according to their physical, social and intellectual development at different stages of maturation. We offer a range of opportunities to learn and thrive tailored to the individual needs and create bespoke timetables and learning groups to meet these needs.

All teaching is an individualised, targeted intervention based on thorough, accurate baselining and target setting for each student and prepares them for their future post-16 provision and life beyond. Teachers have a strong knowledge of their subject and communicate this to young people in an enthusiastic and motivating way, supporting the students to engage fully in their learning, whilst also having the best interests of the students in mind and putting their mental wellbeing at the forefront. The teaching team helps each student to become aware of their place in the school and in the wider community working closely with each student to achieve their aspiration through appropriate teaching to promote healthy approach to lifelong learners.

The Learning Outside the Classroom and Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural activities can range from undertaking learning opportunities in the local area to some of our most recent trips to two of the London museums for a Yr 11 project. It has been shown that changing the learner’s environment can have a beneficial effect on their mental health and ability to access learning. This could then lead them to access school-based activities more and more.

SMSC activities are based more on understanding different cultures and peoples understanding of the world around them. Within SMSC time students have the opportunity to access basic calming and centring activities such as mindfulness and meditation. Social skills provide opportunities to act in the real world and develop personally into responsible young adults. Once they leave school, they should have a rounded knowledge and have the skills to progress further once they reach leaving age.

The aim of the Pastoral Team is to ensure support is provided for pupils, using a nurturing and cross-agency approach to break down barriers to learning and enable young people to excel and thrive. The team endeavour to ensure that areas such as behaviour and attendance, as well as barriers around trauma are managed to ensure engagement.

The team meet bi-weekly where they discuss new or existing active cases where pupils require bespoke support and guidance from school. It is also an opportunity for the team to discuss further actions and guidance for staff to implement through individual knowledge and expertise, enabling our students to continue engaging and attending Belong School Devon.

Within the admin team, all attendance is monitored and up to date reports from outside schools and other agencies are tracked. The Administration team also form part of the recruitment process in dealing with all aspects of HR and play a vital role in supporting the SENCO. 

Health and Safety principles are top priority on and off site for staff and students. The overseeing of these responsibilities is carried out and regularly updated by the team while also ensuring colleagues have access to the best training available to carry out their work effectively.

Our Learning Coaches play a key role in supporting students from their first steps working with Belong School Devon. Some students may have been away from education for an extensive period and the Learning Coach team provide a smooth transition from meeting initially in the home environment progressing to support within the school 5 days a week. This can be through support in the classroom to Learning Outside the Classroom activities where small groups can gain education away from the school site. Parents can call a KLC at anytime during the school day to find out any information required concerning their child. If a student should be dysregulated the Key Learning Coach will provide support so a student can recalibrate and either return to the classroom or have another option available outside of the class environment. Daily written pastoral notes form a running progress of the student’s activity at Belong School which parents can access at any time on-line. Parents and guardians are also invited on-site at regular intervals to attend educational and health care meetings with members of the Senior Leadership. These meetings will also be attended by the student’s Key Learning Coach.

Appropriate behaviour modelling forms part of the Key Learning Coach remit, so students can become familiar with new social situations and ensures that pastoral care and support is also available to meet additional needs within the school day. In the student’s final year plans are made for Post 16 opportunities which with communication from Leadership, Colleges and other educational providers the Learning Coach team will organize visits, speak with tutors and assist with the application process to ensure a student’s next step into adulthood is a confident one. The Belong School Learning Coach team are the first point of contact for parents and the first level of support for the student.