We are pleased to announce that, through the Pivotal Blog, we are publishing in full "Views from the Bridge" a book about the Bridge Project in Chesterfield.
We will be publishing this book in chapters. Every week a new chapter will be uploaded to the blog. So make sure you bookmark this page or subscribe to the RSS feed.
If you have questions for the authors, please contact us and we will pass them on.
In this first post, you will find the Bridge Project Headlines and the Foreword.
The Bridge Project: The Headlines
- The Bridge Project is a Nurture Group for KS3 pupils, managed by the Chesterfield and N.E. Derbyshire Learning Community in Phase 1 (now includes Bolsover in Phase 2)
- Phase 1 ran from July 2011 until July 2013; Phase 2 is fully funded and is now underway
- Bridge Project is located in the DCAS Centre in Chesterfield and run by a Lead Teacher and two Teaching Assistants, on secondment from their schools
- Pupils attend for up to four days full-time each week for 12-16 weeks and are then reintegrated into their school
- Referrals come through the Area Inclusion Strategy group to the Bridge Referral Group
- Attendance figures for all who have attended show improvement from 80% prior to attending the Bridge, to 94% during attendance and 86% in the twelve weeks after reintegration
- Fixed term exclusions fell from 54 days prior to attendance to 6 days in the post reintegration phase
- Only 2 boys have been permanently excluded since reintegration
- In Phase 2 the schools involved have agreed to contribute a flat sum towards the running costs
- Further funding from Derbyshire LA and a locals charity mean the Bridge Project can continue for at least another 2 years
- The booklet tells the story of the Bridge Project. It is not an academic paper nor a manual of nurture theory and practice
- It is an account of our experiences which includes key events and lessons learned
The Bridge Project: Foreword
The Bridge Project is a nurture unit for Key Stage 3 secondary stage pupils managed by eleven schools Derbyshire.
A nurture approach is used to support children with attachment based social and emotional difficulties. Children spend up to four days a week at the project for twelve to sixteen weeks concluding with a planned and supported re-integration to their mainstream schooling.
The Bridge Project is staffed by three full time adults, has some youth service and Art Therapy input and is housed in the Donut Creative Arts Centre (DCAS) in Chesterfield.
These chapters about the first two years have been written collaboratively by Alan Kelly, a retired head teacher acting as Project Assessor and Craig Bell, the Lead Teacher.
Why we wrote it
First of all - what it is not. This is not an academic paper nor a manual of nurture theory and practice.
From the outset we thought it might be instructive to others for us to record our experiences at the Bridge Project, including key events and seminal lessons learned.
At the end of the first two years Craig is returning to his school from his secondment to the Bridge Project and Connie Marples is returning to her work as a Teaching Assistant. Kathryn Goetzinger is staying with the Project, providing welcome continuity in Phase 2. We thought we should take time to reflect now before Craig's memories become clouded by being back in the hurly-burly of secondary mainstream school life.
Who might like to read it?
Anyone who has an interest in inclusion and/or alternative education whether s/he is
- planning something similar
- currently working in alternative provision
- setting out on a career in education and wants to gain a full picture of current trends
- a school leader who wants to re-evaluate provision in their school and/or consider alternatives
- looking from simple curiosity
Note
The names of individual young people have been changed and the examples given are composite pictures.