A new alternative provision school is set to open in Tower Hamlets, following a successful joint application to the Department for Education between Mulberry Schools Trust and Tower Hamlets Council.
The application was one of twenty successful bids for alternative provision free schools, announced by the Government in its spring budget.
The provision, Mulberry Learning Village, will cater to students facing exclusion or those at risk of exclusion, or struggling to adapt in a traditional school setting. It will operate as a therapeutic model with the goal of reintegrating students into mainstream education through high-quality intervention, support, care and close collaboration with families.
The new school will offer places for up to 100 children aged 5 to 19 years. Inclusion at Mulberry Learning Village will be child and family centred, building on best practice in therapeutic education, complex needs and SEND.
Places will be offered on a full and part time basis, including respite placements when crisis points occur for a child. Mulberry Learning Village aims to support children and young people to stay within their mainstream setting and prevent exclusion.
Mulberry Learning Village will develop deep and embedded partnerships with local schools, organisations, charities and services, and will draw upon the expertise of senior leaders with a background in alternative education and special needs, to create a fully inclusive, therapeutic model of alternative provision.
Steve Reddy, Interim Corporate Director of Children’s Services at Tower Hamlets Council, said:
“We’re working to improve the life chances of Tower Hamlets' young people and this new alternative provision school is another way in which we can help ensure that all pupils, no matter what their circumstances are, get the best education possible.”
Jane Farrell, Chair of the Trust Board, Mulberry Schools Trust, said:
“We are delighted to be partnering with Tower Hamlets Council, in opening an Alternative Provision school, in the east of the borough, and we look forward to working with families, partners and the community in developing this outstanding provision that we can all be proud of.”
Dr Vanessa Ogden CBE, CEO, Mulberry Schools Trust, said:
“The successful approval of Mulberry Learning Village marks a significant milestone for the Mulberry Schools Trust. The new school will align with our ethos of providing inclusive, high-quality education that empowers young minds and prepares them for a bright and fulfilling future."
Posted on Wednesday 27th March 2024