Message from the Headteacher

Welcome to the Spring 2026 edition of our school newsletter! We are thrilled to share with you the exciting and enriching experiences our students have had over the past few months. As always, we are committed to providing the best possible learning opportunities for our students, ensuring that they are equipped with the skills and knowledge to thrive in adulthood.

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of our students, staff, and families, we have raised just under £50 for Comic Relief. We are also very grateful for the support our local community and businesses have provided; Jade Burwood (Starling teacher) reached out and over 100 Easter eggs have been donated. Thank you to Katy Kay, estate agents William McGowans (Neasden), Reece Beaumont from Dexters (Cricklewood),UK Property (Cricklewood Lane) and Natalie from the Centre Management Suite Brent Cross Shopping Centre.

We were delighted to hear our teachers, Tamara Stewart and Oded Abramovich were successful in their ArtsMark bid and our school was awarded a Platinum Award. Every Artsmark Award is a significant achievement and they were recognised for their commitment to embedding arts culture and creativity across our whole school. The assessors felt that “Mapledown School has demonstrated a rich and inclusive commitment to the arts, embedding creativity across curriculum, therapy, and whole-school life. A particular strength is the way the school uses the arts to promote access, communication and self-expression for all students, including those with the most complex needs. The school’s music provision, including the long-running “Access for All” ensemble and its Royal Albert Hall performance, showcases an inspiring combination of specialist teaching, adaptive technologies, and ambition for young people with SEND […..]. Students are engaging in more visible and ambitious creative learning opportunities, and family feedback reflects the impact on confidence, communication and pride. Overall, Mapledown School demonstrates a strong internal culture of creative learning, and a growing confidence in sharing its experiences with others.”

This term, our classes have each prepared a short piece for the newsletter, highlighting what they have been focussing on in class.

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Celebrating Learning and Experiences

Our pupils have enjoyed a rich and varied programme of activities this term, in addition to working hard in all their lessons!

• Welcoming our local MP Sarah Sackman and Councillor Anne Clarke during their school visit on 9 January: Our Chair Ajith and Vice Chair of Governors Pete, as well as associate Governor Judy joined us to discuss our school context, the challenge we face with our aged building and our hopes for the future of Mapledown. Sarah said, 'It was inspiring to visit Mapledown School and see first-hand the dedication of their staff, and to meet their wonderful students. I feel proud to have such an amazing school at the heart of my constituency.'

 

• Dance Barnet Auditions and Dance Barnet Performance at the Arts Depot: Representatives of each class took part in auditions on 13 January at Oak Lodge School. Rasmi Becker (MBE, Founder of Step Change Studios), thought all our pupils performed beautifully and she was really proud of all the performances. The two finalists performed on stage on 27 February, and the audience, the judges and of course their teachers and classmates were blown away by their performances. It was a joyful event and we thank Rashmi, her team, and Mark Sepple, who photographed the event for the Step Change Studios.

 

• Art workshop in collaboration with Brent Cross Town and Tom Jackson from Woodstreet Walls: Our pupils took part in a 2 hour college-based workshop led by Tom. The artwork created, which focused on “sensory delight”, will be utilised on a mural which will initially be at Brent Cross West Station.

Post 16 Businesses: 

• Maple Magic Creations have continued to organise whole school events, charity events and liaise with local businesses for donations. 
• Fast Fashion Flips have been sorting their second-hand clothes donations, and after successfully selling their clothing at the Winter Fair, they will hopefully be expanding online soon! 
• Rooster Care Squad finished the playground stage renovation project, painting it carefully and demonstrating brilliant teamwork. 
• Star Makers continued to develop work-related learning skills in the kitchen by making and selling cakes.
• The Green Club has been working with Anika and Vlad from Clitterhouse Gardens. We have been planting seeds and herbs to grow so we can enjoy them in the summer. Students have been learning new skills such as sieving and digging, as well as working on their independence. 

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Hummingbird Class update: 

• Hummingbird Class represented Mapledown School at Dance Barnet. We were so proud of their performances!
• Hummingbird class have been looking to get fitter, stronger, happier and healthier in the new year, completing this term’s AQA module all about exercising safely in the Gym.  
• Hummingbird have been doing lots of writing this term too, focusing on writing a poem all about their feelings, linked to the Zones of Regulation, and writing a factfile of important information about themselves, using Predictable Chart Writing to help form fantastic sentences.

Osprey Class update: 

• We were asked to represent Barnet at the London Youth Games for Boccia on 26th February at Harrow Sports and Leisure Centre. One of the class students led our team with great focus and determination and although we didn’t win, we put up excellent competition. Thank you to all of our students!
• One of our Osprey students won the People’s Choice Trophy at the Dance Barnet Finals. 
• Osprey have been enjoying Work Experience this term, preparing the gardens at Claremont Park with Ryan from Willerby’s Landscaping Team. We also had a wonderful trip out with TFL and the Police learning about travelling safely on public transport.

Starling Class update:

• Starling Class had a fantastic time during Science Week, exploring a range of new experiments and waiting for the outcomes.  
• Students have also been working hard in their Work-Related Learning groups. There has been some cooking, exploring different jobs through role play, as well as taking part in gardening and entertainment activities. 

Kingfisher Class update:

• Kingfisher class really enjoyed Science Week and taking part in a range of experiments. Students were very engaged and intrigued to see the results. They showed great independence with minimal support from staff, and used communication tools to answer simple questions such as; ‘what colour can you see?’ 

Robin Class update:

• Robin class enjoyed Book and Science Week. They explored water and colour through science experiments which they thought were lots of fun!

Stork Class update:

• Stork Class loved reading all the new stories about water and colours, they were very inspiring and we made beautiful artwork. The students were also very curious and fascinated by the experiments they did during Science Week.

Falcon Class update:

• Music Therapy group session - Falcon class enjoyed the Music Therapy group session. The students actively took part by playing and exploring different instruments, showing enthusiasm and engagement throughout.
• Work Related Learning - During these sessions we have been learning about the emergency services and people who help us. The students were engaged and explored these special roles by taking part in dressing up and role play.

Eagle Class update: 

• In Science, Eagle class have been learning about Changing Materials, and the three States of Matter.
• Maths - Measurement: This included measuring heights and weights, for example, measuring ingredients in cooking using various tools such as spoons, cups, jugs, and scales.
• We have been working on Poetry and Rhymes, finding words that rhyme, writing our poems and reading poetry books. 
• Arts: Expressing preferences of Colours and Materials, making collages about Tower Bridge, and our own portrait on a summer sunset.

Phoenix Class update:

• Phoenix class really enjoyed decorating their door based on the story ‘’The Fish and its Puffy Temper’’, while also learning about anger management strategies. 
• We also enjoyed painting and assembling birdhouses during D&T. 
• We planted ‘’Black Surprise’’ and are excitedly waiting to see it grow. 
• And we also made sure to create something special for Mother’s Day. 

Owl Class update: 

• Two students from Owl class went on a TFL trip for travel training, where they met a number of different professionals, such as a police officer and a bus conductor. One student in particular really enjoyed the trip. 
• Owl class also had a lot of fun exploring different experiments during Science Week. 

Woodpecker Class update: 

• Woodpecker class really enjoyed Science Week experiments. It was very interesting and we had lots of fun!
• Woodpecker also had a great time with our various Easter activities.

Toucan Class update:

• Activities and lessons pupils enjoyed in Toucan class this term… working with letters and sounds in Phonics, learning about herbs and materials in Science, Music sessions, the Brent Cross art workshop, our MOVE activities, Science Week, Book Week, Red Nose Day, ICT games, creating art for Mother’s Day and enjoying sensory and rhyming stories. 

 What a term!!

 

 

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Families’ Surveys

We held family surveys early in the Spring term. The average positive response in all areas covered, including therapy provision and nursing support was 97.6% (‘strongly agree’ circa 77%). Thank you to parents who engaged in the survey. We only had 40 responses, and hope that more of you will engage in future surveys.

It was lovely to see so many wonderful comments about what the school does well, for example; everything, teaching, a welcoming environment, empathetic and helpful, kind caring and approachable, communication between school and parents, the new home school book, giving parents support and help, looking into your child’s needs, taking care of your child, staff who are very dedicated, attentive, caring and understanding.

I asked you how the school could be better. Many of you were so kind to say “nothing” however there were a few comments which we are following up on:

• More educational trips
• More regular access to hydrotherapy
• More therapy input/communication with therapists

What families think we do best - Overall: 97.6% agree/strongly agree; 77.7% strongly agree (all items combined).

Top items (100% agree):

• Child happy (86.1% strongly agree)
• Welcoming & communicative (86.1% strongly agree)
• Positive behaviour/regulation (83.3% strongly agree)
• Well cared for (77.8% strongly agree)
• Safe (75.0% strongly agree)
• Good relationship (80.6% strongly agree)
• Celebrates achievement well (83.3% strongly agree).

Representative (anonymised) comments:

• “Keeping parents in the loop.”
• “Communication with the school is very good… The home‑school diary helps me stay informed.”
• “Teachers and the staff are very dedicated and the school is well-organised.”
• “My daughter has come on leaps and bounds!”

Where we can get even better:

Although overall results are highly positive, these areas show relatively lower agreement and/or “neither” responses:

Therapy input (Physio/OT/SALT – visibility & access):

• Physio needs addressed: 87.9% agree, 3.0% disagree, 8.3% neither (n=33).
• Speech & language needs addressed: 91.7% agree, 8.3% neither. (No direct disagreement, but uncertainty is visible.)
• Comments request more therapist input <