Staff
Lighthouse School is situated in the leafy suburb of Cookridge, on the edge of woodland in a secluded and lovingly restored former hospital building, close to the Yorkshire countryside. The school is a great place and environment in which to work, as our staff affirm in their testimonials (on the Recruitment page).
We encourage staff to talk openly regarding their mental wellbeing and set up a Wellbeing Working Party (WWP), consisting of staff from across the school, working to promote and introduce wellbeing initiatives for staff. All members of the WWP are qualified Mental Health First Aiders. The HR Department operate an open-door policy and are qualified Mental Health Champions.
Provided below is a brief summary of the roles in our school:
Senior Leadership Team
The Senior Leadership Team consists of Principal, Deputy Principal, Business Manager and two Assistant Principals. Together they work closely with the Trustees and the school staff to ensure the school’s vision and values are met, and students access excellent provision across the whole school.
Co-ordinators
Our Key Stage Co-ordinators have responsibility for the progress and outcomes of the young people in each of their Key Stages (KS3, KS4 & KS5). Alongside this they line manage various subject areas, and Careers & Employability.
Our English and Maths Coordinator ensures that there is excellent provision and manages the English and Maths Teaching team. They ensure consistency of approach across school.
Our Special Educational Needs Coordinator leads on ensuring each individual student’s provision is in place, and liaises with external support, such as Educational Psychologist and Occupational Health. They line manage the Educarer, who provides first aid and medical needs within school.
Our Speech and Language Therapist coordinates a school-wide approach to SaLT interventions and works closely with the teaching team to embed practice in the classroom.
Our Wellbeing Coordinators lead on interventions, behaviour and transitions across school, and support in training all classroom-based staff to put these strategies in place.
Our Outreach and Training Coordinator leads on supporting other schools and settings, delivering training both internally and externally, and providing advice and guidance to families and colleagues.
Teachers
Lighthouse School employs a team of highly qualified teachers who deliver specific curriculum areas:
* Art
* Computing
* English
* Food Technology
* Horticulture
* Humanities
* Maths
* Music
* Physical Education
* Relationships, Sex and Health Education
* Science
* Skills and Experience
* Wellbeing (following the Autism Education Trust framework)
All our teachers have Special Educational Needs training and provide learning tailored to individual students.
Teachers work to a fortnightly timetable with higher-than-average planning, preparation and assessment time.
Speech and Language Therapists
Our specialist Speech and Language Therapists work with our students who possess communication difficulties and establish ways to overcome such barriers.
Teaching Assistants
Our Teaching Assistants perform vital assistance in class and on a one-to-one basis with students requiring additional support. They assist with planning and preparation of activities under the direction of teaching staff, contribute to the development and implementation of specific individualised autism interventions, assist in supervising students during lessons, and at break and mealtimes.
Senior Teaching Assistants
Our Senior Teaching Assistants have skills and experience to (under the direction of teaching staff) plan, prepare and deliver activities to support progress of students and develop and implement specific individualised interventions to support progress in learning.
Wellbeing Tutors
Our Wellbeing Tutors work closely with relevant Co-ordinators and team to plan, deliver and assess specific individualised autism interventions and other activities for individual students or groups of students to address their needs and future positive outcomes. They also coach and support staff in behaviour and welfare strategies, ensure student EHCP targets are met, contributing and attending meetings as appropriate. (Often referred to as Learning Support Mentors or Behaviour Support Officers in mainstream schools).
Business Support
The Business Support team provide compliance, administrative support and specialist knowledge and experience to the school. Consisting of the Business Manager, HR Business Partner, HR & EDI Officer, Finance Officer, Student Administrator (EHCP), Principal’s PA, Receptionists, Examinations and Administration Officer, and the Site team.
Site Team
The site team is made up of a Site Manager and Site Assistants who fulfil vital maintenance, health & safety compliance checks and are responsible for site security. They keep the school grounds and building in a clean, tidy and presentable condition and ensure the school is running efficiently and as environmentally friendly as possible. They also drive the mini-bus to transport staff and students, as necessary.