Head's welcome
We are a proud secondary school serving students aged 11-19 with Special Educational Needs (including Autism and/or severe learning, health and care needs). We recognise that adopting a personalised approach is a critical key for each student’s development. We invest a significant amount of time assessing the students’ needs prior to joining the school, so that we can ensure students are placed in the most suitable class and/or provision, either on our main site or in one of our satellite provisions. This approach is repeated throughout their time with us.
Each day our students bring their own unique energy into their school. In turn we ensure that they receive a high quality educational provision delivered through the immensely capable and effective hands of our staff.
At Mapledown, our ethos and vision are to provide a learning environment for all members of the school’s community, where everyone can work and learn together. We aim to ensure our wonderful and inspiring students are given the dignity of challenge, and opportunities to be heard, become as independent as possible and achieve their very best. All young people have the right to have their individual needs met, and therefore Mapledown staff will be providing learners with a personalised curriculum which is focused on the successful acquisition of knowledge and skills which will have a positive impact on their lives and opportunities.
We have spaces for up to 88 students on our main site in Claremont Road. The school is organised into eleven classes in three distinct ‘Learning Zones’ and caters for children with a range of severe and complex learning and/or medical needs.
In September 2021 we set up a new provision for up to sixteen students co-located at Copthall Secondary School (Mill Hill) – Mapledown@Copthall, for students who are able to access learning in a more formal way and who require fewer adjustments or interventions to succeed.
From September 2022 we set up a second satellite provision co-located Whitefield Secondary school (ClaremontRoad) for up to sixteen students Mapledown@Whitefield, for students with Autism or severe learning difficulties.
All students have an Educational Health Care Plan. Some of our students have profound and multiple learning difficulties, and some children have additional sensory and physical impairments. We have developed strong partnerships with families and carers and will always place the needs of students at the heart of all we do.
Mapledown provides a holistic environment for young people and their families, and we work closely with a variety of health professionals to ensure the health and therapy needs are incorporated in our students’ daily experience. We are committed to working in partnership with our parents to maximise the potential of everyone, and to prepare our students for adult life.
Our staff are creative and hardworking and the school holds numerous awards for excellence. Our last ungraded Ofsted inspection (November 2023) rated the school as ‘good’ overall, with enough evidence gathered to suggest the inspection grade might have been ‘outstanding’ if a graded inspection had been carried out.
Sandra Chaaya
Headteacher
Mapledown provides a holistic environment for young people and their families, and we work closely with a variety of health professionals to ensure the health and therapy needs are incorporated in our students' daily experience.