Welcome to the Sky Academy and the life-transforming education and residential care we provide for young people with complex social, emotional and learning difficulties.

We provide an education that engages pupils and develops positive attitudes to learning, while developing key skills that they need for life beyond school. We strongly believe that teaching is a relational activity where the teacher and the students work together to solve problems using a theoretical framework based around relationships which informs policy and practice.

Through a clinical therapeutic approach to trauma, we aim to understand educational needs of the students and rectify the deficiency whether it be social, emotional, attachment or an undiagnosed educational need and stabilise the pupil so they are ready to learn. This work involves intensive engagement with families, local communities and multiple agencies.

We believe that attachment deficits and trauma in formative years creates SEMH difficulties. With this in mind, we actively use an attachment aware and a trauma informed approach in school, using techniques of managing the young people such as creating emotional safety through sensitive attuned care, becoming stress managers, being responsible for holding boundaries and having a flexibility of approach to behaviour management.

We recognise the learner story as a starting point for engagement and using this knowledge of what has come before to fully understand their needs, what has worked previously and what has not.

At Sky we provide education on a human scale where, because of the structure and the small numbers, each student is known very well. The pupils are taught a flexible curriculum in small classes by a small number of teachers, and as a consequence the staff know the academic and personal needs of all the students. The learners are challenged to learn and the staff are challenged to maintain the highest standards.

At Sky we believe that the relationship with the students and their family is fundamental to successful academic outcomes and based upon mutual respect. The positive relationships developed in school between the keyworkers and the students are used as a springboard for learning. Schooling is seen as more than just acquiring knowledge, it is part of the child’s journey from childhood to early adulthood.

The staff collaborate as a professional group, thinking and planning together, they are highly reflective of their work and given daily opportunities to debrief.

Behaviour is seen as a communication of need and the staff are trained to understand this communication. Staff actively ask the question why are these young people behaving like this, and intervene therapeutically, building resilience. They do not take these behaviours personally, and treat each day is a new day, where the possibilities for that child are endless and expectations of social behaviour are equally high.

Positive behaviours are constantly modelled by the adults in the school and expectations during social time are the same as those in the classroom. Learners are trained to become pro-social. Clear boundaries are set and high levels of structure and routine are used to support learning, and young people are held consistently within a framework of expectations. We help our pupils develop the skills that enable them to be independent and to manage their own behaviour.

The experiences and learning aims within the curriculum align closely with the student’s aspirations and there is an element of choice in academic and non-academic experiential subjects that align with the students onward routes.

We see transition as vitally important for the existing group and the new student, as well as keeping transitions during the school day to a minimum. If there are changes to student’s time tables these are well planned, discussed and agreed with the young people beforehand.

We are proud of the learning community that we are building here at Sky and if you would like to be a part of it, or would like more information about the school get in contact. 

David Simons

Head Teacher

“PERSISTENT CARE IN THE PURSUIT OF ACADEMIC OUTCOMES”

It is our aim to ensure that the education the pupils at Sky receive ensures that they are “work ready and world ready.” Our focus is to ensure that the pupils receive an holistic and personalised approach to their learning, with bespoke packages of support that enable them to settle to learn. Our vision for our students is to provide them with the tools to become life-long learners.

Many of the young people that join us at Sky have found school difficult. No matter what their needs or previous difficulties, through a nurturing approach to their education we aim to find ways to re-engage them and give them the therapeutic interventions that they need alongside the academic support to gain GCSE qualifications leading to positive onward routes. It is our aim to nurture the skills that they need to become productive members of their communities and society as a whole.

We value academic progress as much as social and emotional development. We believe that previous barriers to learning should not preclude our pupils from attaining well academically and we will support them to develop the resilience to be able to learn from difficulties and failure and to become pro social in their outlook.

We have a shared vision for the pupils at the school and recognise that excellent learning takes place when lessons are well planned and meet the needs of the learners, when staff are optimistic and students have high levels of pride in themselves and good self-esteem.

We aim to provide an excellent service to the young people of Somerset and their families and to be a valuable local resource, supporting other schools with learners with SEMH needs through our outreach work. 

Our Academy is part of the Cabot Learning Federation and benefits from all the advantages of being part of a group of academies.

Children visit other academies for sports and other events such as language or science activities. Students from the secondary academies visit us for to perform drama and take part in sports activities, as well as lead some of them. We share good practice between academies and teachers from all academies in the Federation visit the other academies for professional development.

Here at the Cabot Learning Federation (CLF), we like to celebrate. We celebrate exam results, collaboration, achievement, innovations and new ideas; we celebrate the determination of our students; we celebrate the amazing role played by staff; and we celebrate the efforts and successes of our team.

We celebrate the small achievements and the big. But far from being self-congratulatory, we are always looking to learn, to improve education and to make a positive difference for students and their families. And that's where you come in.

 At the CLF, we value your experience, skills, expertise and ideas. We expect you to help us to be the very best education provider, and in return we will listen and support you to take your career in whichever direction you choose.

With the CLF you can be a leader, find solutions, become an expert, close the gaps and inspire and influence. The range of roles and opportunities in the CLF is as diverse as the communities we serve.

Or you may simply want to fulfil your defined role to the very best of your abilities.

Whatever our individual aspirations, together we make education real every day, in a very individual sense for each student. We learn each day from colleagues, students, families and local communities and we embrace our values and take pride in our work.

The Cabot Learning Federation is a partnership of schools that is sponsored by Rolls Royce PLC and The University of the West of England (UWE). It now sponsors twelve academies in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Weston super Mare and Bath. This means that we are responsible and accountable for the education of 5600 students between the ages of 3 and 19 and for the employment and support of over 1200 staff.

Our vision is based upon our mission of "collaboration for outstanding achievement" and the work that is now shared between our schools at senior and middle leadership level, teachers and support staff underpins this every day. All of our staff are employed by the CLF and this enables us to give colleagues the opportunity to work in more than one academy either for their own development or because the skills that they have are needed by more than one of our schools.

The Cabot Learning Federation enters 2015 with a new CEO, Steve Taylor. Steve has played a major part in the development of the federation, both as Principal of Bristol Metropolitan Academy and Executive Principal of the CLF: We are moving forward into the next era with confidence, building on the success of our 3-19 collaboration and continuing to change the face of learning and community cohesion for the areas in which our academies are located.