School Prospectus
WELCOME TO GESHER
Welcome to Gesher where we are deeply committed and passionate about creating an exceptional and unique place of learning for our students. Gesher is a richly neurodiverse community where our students’ talents are developed and celebrated. We are a learning community of students, staff, parents and governors who believe in transformative education where learners are encouraged to be innovative, and resilient, and to grow in confidence as they prepare to navigate the wider world. At Gesher, we aim to have students leave school feeling secure and empowered to make informed and fulfilling choices in their life outside of school. We believe that there should be no limit on the aspirations and ambitions that we have for our students and we encourage ambition and set realistic expectations so all can achieve.
Relationships are at the heart of learning at Gesher. We promote healthy behaviour communications by creating a happy, safe and caring school environment, where students’ social, emotional and mental health is paramount. One of the core pillars of our approach is that all pupils are respected and well-known as individuals. They have a voice in their learning and development, and their choices and ambitions are taken seriously. Parents and carers are welcomed as active partners in helping to shape and support their children’s growth. We seek to build and secure relationships with each of our students to ensure they thrive in their learning, as well as give them the skills to build their own relationships with each other. Our connections help build our community, giving us a sense of belonging and making each person feel safe and know they are valued. This is not just about students but staff too, and by extension, the wider community.
Headteacher
Tamaryn Yartu
Every young person is profoundly well-known
Academic rigour and authentic real-world learning
Parents and community as partners in learning
Personalised learning informed by young people’s passions and interests
A culture of reflective practice and collaborative peer learning
“Gesher has been lifechanging.”
- Gesher Parent
ABOUT GESHER
Gesher School offers all-through education for students aged 4 to 16 with a range of mild to moderate needs including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and Down’s syndrome. The cohort also includes children who present with a range of genetic conditions, sensory processing needs, social-communication difficulties, and developmental delays.
Gesher students are unique and often learn in a way that diverges from traditional education methods. They may benefit from being taught differently regarding their communication and social interaction styles, with the environment being tailored and adapted to their own learning needs. Significant use of structure, routine and scaffolding helps with this, and students are encouraged to be as independent as possible in all aspects of their education.
The class sizes are small with a maximum of eight students in the primary classes and a maximum of ten students in the secondary classes, with high adult-to-student ratios throughout. From September 2025 our secondary cohort will be full going up to year 11.
Whilst Gesher is an understanding and nurturing environment, it is not a school for students whose primary needs fall into the category of social, emotional and mental health or severe learning needs. Students need to be able to demonstrate the capacity to communicate and learn independently within the school provision, and not require 1:1 support for the majority of their learning.
“Projects combine the head, hands and heart... Students do work that matters.”
- Loni Bergqvist, Imagine If
OUR ETHOS AND VALUES
The Jewish value of ‘Ve’ahavta Le-re’acha Kamocha: Love Thy Neighbour Like Yourself’, underpins all aspects of both religious and secular learning at Gesher. The values of respect, kindness, love and acceptance permeate Gesher school life and are woven into the fabric of the school.
Recognising the richly diverse world we live in, our students understand the importance of showing compassion and consideration for others and our world. They explore and develop the different aspects of their identity so that they establish a place within the Gesher community and in their wider communities.
Inspired by our core Jewish values, students are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions through our REACH goals.
R A E C H
I will show RESPECT to the environment around me
I will ACCEPT others and their differences I will ENGAGE with my education
I will CARE for others in my community
I will HONOUR my physical and mental wellbeing
INTEGRATED THERAPY
The learning team around the child is at the heart of the Gesher way. A trans-disciplinary model is taken with every child which sees the teachers, therapists, teaching assistants, parents and carers working collaboratively, beyond discipline-specific approaches.
We pride ourselves on having a neurodiversity affirming approach which acknowledges and celebrates differences. Our practice focuses on identifying strengths and supporting our students to embrace their neurodivergent identities, be aware of their learning and communication styles and in turn become confident advocates for their chosen pathways.
The unique integrated model ensures that your child has a tailored provision of care throughout their school day, based on each student’s individual needs. The majority of therapy takes place within the classroom, as well as in the wider environment alongside peers. Research shows that this approach has a greater impact with significantly increased discussion to understand and respond to the student’s needs and better generalisation of skills.
Gesher offers a range of core therapies with students and families having access to support and advice from our well-resourced onsite therapy team including:
Speech and Language Therapists
Occupational Therapists
Dramatherapist
Art Therapist
Therapy Assistant
Family Support Worker
We also work with a range of other professionals to support our students both therapeutically and educationally and this includes half termly consultation from a Level 7 Dyslexia Tutor and an Educational Psychologist as needed.
Occupational Therapy
At Gesher, we know how important it is that our students are ready to learn and they are appropriately equipped so that they are regulated and their sensory needs are being met, able to learn in the way that best suits them. This includes access to sensory circuits and spaces such as the OT room and sensory rooms where there is specialist OT equipment as well as specialist seating and sensory tools. There is a focus on creative and holistic goal-focused interventions that teach everyday life skills ranging from fine and gross motor skills to toileting, eating, self-care and dressing.
Creative Therapies
Ensuring we provide a safe space to enhance the wellbeing of all our students and promote positive mental health is core to what our creative therapies offer. Through play, art, drama and music, students are given alternative means of communicating and exploring personal and social situations, where they are able to express, and learn to cope with big emotions, and the stresses that life can bring.
Speech & Language Therapy
Students are immersed in a language-rich and highly visual environment. We follow a Total Communication approach valuing all modes of communication to enable students to interact and engage with their learning and within the school environment. We use Evidence-based programmes and resources to ensure students meet their full communication potential include Colourful Semantics, Lego Therapy and Circles of Closeness.
INNOVATIVE LEARNING APPROACHES
Project-Based Learning and the National Curriculum
We place emotional wellbeing and happiness at the centre of our practice and believe that this is the key to promoting a positive engagement with learning. We are committed to a holistic approach that incorporates curriculum, therapies, life skills and home life.
At Gesher, we recognise that the world works in projects, and therefore why we have adopted a Project-Based Learning pedagogical approach to our curriculum as the best way to prepare our young people for the world beyond school. Through engaging in rigorous and authentic learning experiences, students’ interests and passions are at the heart of the learning, combining skills and rigorous knowledge learning whilst empowering them with a set of lifelong skills and experiences to draw on.
Through the project-based learning process, students collaborate to use knowledge, skills and feedback to continually develop and improve their work, which is then presented to an authentic audience at an exhibition. Students document their work in a portfolio and formally reflect on their learning during the project and at the end.
Scan the QR code below or visit www.gesherschool.com/ the-bridge/project-cards/ to see examples of our project work.
“Project-Based Learning is a pedagogical approach where students work with developing solutions and creating products that address a real-world problem, challenge or question.”
- Loni Bergqvist, Imagine
If
“While staff are nurturing, they also have high expectations of all pupils. As a result, pupils work hard and learn well.”
- Ofsted report, 2022
PREPARING FOR ADULTHOOD
Core Skills
At Gesher, we have our students’ future in mind from day one, and we strive to provide a holistic education that suitably prepares our students for their future. We want our students to acquire the appropriate tools and skills to be an active part of the communities they wish to join, as well as be confident and passionate advocates who are able to express their strengths, desires and needs in order to be successful adults in the workplace and the wider world.
Literacy Skills
We have a rigorous programme to help our students become effective readers. To recognise individual needs, we use an adaptation of the Read, Write Inc program using synthetic phonics that connects reading, writing and comprehension. Some students will learn to read using alternative methods, such as sightword reading or other phonics strategies beneficial for dyslexic students and those with significant reading difficulties. To ensure our students also access challenging material, we use online tools like Immersive Reader and Voice-toText software.
Numeracy Skills
Securing maths skills is vital and our Maths Mastery approach focuses on exploration, clarification, practice and application over time. It focuses on small steps to learning with an emphasis on depth of knowledge where students can represent concepts or skills in multiple ways, develop their mathematical language and apply learnt concepts to real-life situations and problem-solving. Students get rich opportunities to use concrete and pictorial resources at all levels to help with consolidation and application.
13 Student Outcomes
By the end of their Gesher journey, our aim is that all students will be: Independent Learners
Confident in their sense of self
Skilled for the future workplace
Qualified for their next stage
Builders of meaningful relationships
Ethical and responsible citizens
ICT Skills
In a digital age, it is important that our students become proficient in the use of technology and acquire digital skills. All students will have access to a range of technology, with Chromebooks and iPads in all classrooms, and with students in KS3 onwards having their own individual laptops. Students will be supported to use technology creatively and safely with the opportunity to use a variety of devices and software to enhance communication, and research, discover, problem-solve, create and innovate.
Life Skills
Gesher has created a bespoke life skills scheme, ‘Bridges,’ so our students can acquire the skills and strategies to successfully navigate their daily lives. The scheme is based on students achieving a wide range of life skills badges grouped within different themes that relate to preparing for adulthood. We recognise that the pathway to adulthood is not a linear one and students are encouraged to navigate their own winding path to achieving greater independence.
Education Portfolio
As our students journey through Gesher, they will build a portfolio of skills to help prepare them for their next phase in education and/ or moving into independent living and potential employment. This starts from early on in Primary with all students encouraged to explore their interests and aspirations. By the time our students leave Gesher, in whatever pathway they have taken, they will be able to showcase their achievements in order to progress along their chosen path.
KEY STAGE OVERVIEW
Early Years/Key Stage 1
This early phase is particularly important, as many families may still be navigating their way through learning about their child’s additional needs. Time is taken so that our students build trusting relationships with the adults supporting them, and feel confident to be part of a classroom environment where they are included and learn with their peers. Early intervention is key and from the very first day, the students have access to a range of learning opportunities to ensure they start to thrive.
Our EYFS and Year 1 class are combined so that every child is provided with a strong foundational basis with an emphasis on foundational skills within three core areas:
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Communication and Language
• Physical Development
Through engagement with exciting and stimulating projects, our youngest students are encouraged to explore and learn about the world around them through multisensory experiences, messy play, facilitated play sessions and outdoor learning. There are also discrete lessons to work on a range of skills including literacy, numeracy and self-care.
LEGO Therapy
Home Time
Reading
Key Stage 2
As your child continues to progress and move into KS2, they will continue their exciting learning journey through project-based learning. At this stage, as we continue to encourage greater independence for our students. They are inspired to take more responsibility for their learning and have an active voice in determining the direction of their projects.
Throughout KS2, we cover the full breadth of National Curriculum subjects including: Mathematics, English, Science, ICT, Geography, History, Art and Design, PE, Music, PSHE and PSHE, as well as the addition of Jewish Studies and our Life Skills programme. These areas are integrated into their projects or taught discretely as needed.
High-quality provision enables students to learn at their own pace and secure and extend their skills and knowledge. For identified students, bespoke interventions for reading and maths enable us to fill gaps in subject knowledge.
Dramat herapy
9:00am
8:45am
Key Stage 3
Our all- through model offers great benefits to our students, parents and teachers as we build on the strength of our primary provision to ensure continuity and a smooth transition into secondary education.
In KS3, students continue with Project-Based Learning and will be taught by a team of specialist teachers in English, STEM, Humanities and Arts. Students are exposed to all key subjects within the national curriculum: English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, History, Geography, Art and Design, Design and Technology, Performing Arts, ICT, PE and PSHE, as well as the addition of Jewish Studies and our Life Skills programme.
We take an adaptive approach, where the curriculum is tailored to meet the needs of each child within a whole class setting. Alongside our vast subject offer, students continue to have therapy integrated throughout the day, with a greater focus on peer collaboration and continued development in understanding their individual learning and communication styles to support self-advocacy.
These years also provide students with the opportunities and experiences to support them in the choices they will make for KS4.
Breaktime
10:15am 10:45am
Key Stage 4
Continuing from KS3, in Years 10 and 11, each of our students will follow a tailored programme of study to ensure that their path is most meaningful to them. Students are likely to access a combination of qualifications and awards based on their strengths, interests and aspirations.
The subjects taught in KS4 are English, Mathematics, Science, Life Skills (including Hospitality and Catering elements), Introduction to Business, Creative Media Studies, PSHE, PE, and Jewish Studies.
The diverse pathways that students can choose reflect the value we place on there being many routes to achieve readiness for their next phase. This will be showcased through a portfolio that will incorporate the following qualifications and awards as relevant:
GCSEs: These are the traditional GCSE examinations.
BTEC level 1 and 2: BTECS are career-focused and based on coursework rather than examinations.
Functional Skills:
These assess fundamental skills and help to prepare people with the skills that they may need in their working and professional lives.
11:15am 2:15pm
Entry Level:
These will provide a foundation for students to validate basic literacy and numeracy skills.
Unit Awards:
These are based on content linked to the above qualifications that are broken down into smaller units of study ranging from creative writing and drama performance to coding and programming.
Foundations for Life and Learning (Life Skills):
This learning focuses on ensuring students have the necessary functional life skills to promote independent living.
National curriculum subjects are integrated into the projects with some discrete lessons ensuring full coverage.
“Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum which is taught by the school’s expert staff. The curriculum is highly effective in meeting the needs of pupils”
- Ofsted report, 2022.
ASSESSMENT
Assessment at Gesher School provides valuable information to help students, teachers, parents and school leaders to acknowledge, analyse and review achievements and progress in learning.
Each student has a Personal Learning Plan (PLP), which is shared with parents and is reviewed and updated termly. The PLP outlines specific targets under the four areas outlined in the SEND code of practice: cognition and learning, communication and interaction, sensory and physical, and social, emotional and mental health.
There is continual monitoring and further review each term and as part of your child’s annual review, to ensure we have an up-to-date picture of the student’s strengths and areas for development carried out by the whole team. This involves evidence from a range of sources including observation, projects and other formative and summative assessments. Student voice is integral to the assessment process with students encouraged to reflect on their achievements and be part of deciding their next steps.
In the primary phase, teachers use an assessment system that allows for small steps of progress to be monitored and celebrated. In KS3-KS4 students are similarly benchmarked using national curriculum standards and/ or the engagement model where deemed appropriate.
JEWISH EDUCATION
At Gesher, we pride ourselves on making our Kodesh curriculum more personalised, accessible and relevant for each of our students with a focus on experiential learning. Our robust, balanced and in-depth curriculum enables every student to connect and identify with Judaism in their own way, relevant to their lives and within the context of the modern day.
We provide a safe space for students to explore and question ideas and beliefs in a respectful manner enhancing their appreciation and understanding of Judaism and other religions, cultures and beliefs.
We love bringing together the whole Gesher community, and throughout the year there are several opportunities for parents to join their children in our interactive and experiential enrichment days.
Whilst there are discrete Jewish Studies lessons, Jewish education permeates throughout the student’s daily learning experience, and goes hand in hand with our PSHE and RSE curriculum.
The Kodesh curriculum focuses on:
Tefillah: Prayer and Spirituality
Hebrew Reading
Tanach: Stories and Characters from the Torah
Jewish Way of Life: Positive Middot (character traits) and Mitzvot (commandments)
Chagim/Festivals: Historical Events, Rituals and Symbolism
Israel and Modern Jewish History (secondary phase)
Bar/Bat Mitzvah Project (secondary phase)
“My child is thriving at Gesher”
- Gesher Parent
OUTSTANDING LEARNING SPACES
Our learning environment is critical to our students’ learning success, and at Gesher, we have created a range of learning spaces that are not only student-led but specifically designed to support their wide range of needs as well as provide a range of experiences for all.
Some of our stand-out spaces include two sensory rooms that provide a safe and calming space to support regulation, as well as our OT room, designed to prepare our students for learning and is furnished with specialist apparatus including swings, slides, trampolines, a zip wire, ball pit and climbing wall. We have our Makerspace, an innovative and creative hub divided into several spaces that are designed to foster innovation, collaboration and curiosity. It is fully equipped with a green screen, audio-visual recording equipment and editing software, as well as a range of design tools for students to develop meaningful products as a part of social enterprise and business.
We also have a unique Life Skills hub which is designed to mirror a small studio flat, offering all the opportunities one would find when living independently. Finally, our playground is another important learning space and the next phase of the school design will include a Multi Use Game Area (MUGA), a sensory garden, an outdoor theatre, and a working garden.
Media Room
Life Skills Room
Makerspace Room
OT Room
ENRICHMENT OPPORTUNITIES
At Gesher, we pride ourselves on fostering the curiosity of our students and enabling them to discover passions and interests. This is seen in their day-to-day learning but further enhanced through dedicated extracurricular activities. These include Spanish Club, Pokemon Club, Photography Club, Football Club and many more. We also offer Girls Club where we have created a protected space for our girls to feel supported and empowered within the climate of the world today. These clubs create a much needed safe space to deepen peer relationships outside of the classroom. Community experiences and trips at Gesher are considered to be key to supporting students learning within real-world contexts. It allows our students access to opportunities that may not have been available in the past due to the nature of some of their needs. We also welcome visitors who inspire, engage and motivate our students to broaden their skills, deepen their knowledge and question the world around them.
PARTNERSHIPS WITH PARENTS
Our parents are a critical part of the Gesher community and the partnership we have with our parents is vital to our student’s success. The strong links between home and school ensure consistency and continuity of support. We work closely with families to help understand and support their child’s strengths and needs: home visits are offered to all incoming pupils as a foundation to develop this relationship, and then throughout the school year there is ongoing communication between the class teachers, therapists and parents to set targets, provide advice, monitor and review progress. There are also more formal teacher-parent meetings termly, and an annual review meeting including all professionals involved with your child. We are also delighted to offer parents the opportunity to access workshops and resources offered termly on a range of curriculum and therapy topics delivered by our experienced in-house professionals.
“The work the school is doing is in a different league.”
- Gesher Parent
STUDENT LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY
All Students are provided with leadership and advocacy opportunities early on as we know how important it is that each and every student feels heard and is acknoweldged.
We are very proud of our school council, with representatives from every class coming together to ensure that as a student body they have a say in what happens in the school and collectively make important decisions about how they want to make their school a better place. This provides a valuable model for future advocacy, with students able to take an active role in making their workplace the best it can be for them.
HOW TO APPLY
Parents can apply to Gesher school by completing an application form which can be found on our website.
This will be viewed by our admissions team along with any supporting documentation, and if suitable, children will be invited in for an observation. All children are met and assessed prior to admission to Gesher, with notable consideration given to their compatibility with the provision and existing cohort.
We are aware that the majority of our students have an Education, Health and Care Plan, or are in the process of obtaining one. For those seeking funding from their Local Authority, securing funding is often a long and difficult journey and we are happy to advise families on the necessary actions to be taken to support moving to Gesher.
Scan the QR code below or visit https://gesherschool. com to find out more.
