I am delighted to welcome you to Alderwasley Hall School and Sixth Form. We are exceptionally proud of every aspect of our school and homes, from the academic and social achievement of our learners, to the outstanding specialist intervention and support we can provide for young people in our classes and our care.
Parent Handbook
Welcome to Alderwasley Hall School
Dear Parents,
We recognise that having a child living away from home can be an anxious time for parents. Our aim is to help you as much as we can with the adjustment of having at a residential school and support you throughout your child’s time us. Although you will have contact with the staff team during your child’s assessment and time at the school, we hope this guide will re-affirm some of the conversations you have with staff and provide a valuable reference guide for you in the future. If you have a question that you feel is not answered in the guide, or require more information on a particular matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Warm regards,
Karen Tatham Head of Care
Alderwasley Hall School is situated in rural Derbyshire, close to the towns of Matlock, Belper and Wirksworth. We provide specialist education, therapy and care for children and young people aged 5 to 19 years, with Autism and Developmental Language Disorder.
We have 3 houses that residential students live in: Griffin House Phoenix House Farm View We also have an independent flat called Wyvern
The house your child lives in is determined as part of their assessment. Young people will move into different houses during their time at the school; this may be due to their age, level of maturity, or compatibility with other young people.
How we keep in touch The Head of Care holds termly sofa sessions on Microsoft Teams for parents/carers of residential students. You will have a ‘communication agreement’ with the staff supporting your child, which will provide specific information about your child. Each home also sends a newsletter every half term. The Head Teacher sends out weekly parent newsletters. We help and encourage your child to contact you and will have agreed communication methods arranged with you.
When young people first stay away from home it is a difficult time for them and you, so keeping in contact regularly is expected. This usually settles into a pattern of a couple of calls a week. There is a phone on each house (See the Your contacts page ). Your childs Key Worker will arrange a weekly call with you. During the hours of 07.30 to 08.45 am and 15.30 to 21.00 staff are busy with the young people and may not be in the office to take incoming calls immediately. Please leave a mesaage and we will call you back as soon as possible.
The role of care Your child will be supported and cared for in the school’s homes by a team of highly trained Residential Support Staff, including Support Workers, Senior Support Workers and House Managers. These staff work on a rota basis across the week, outside of school hours, to ensure your child has access to a wide range of staff to feel settled and at home. The home’s aim is to work collaboratively with the young persons key teams, including Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, the Mental Health and Well-Being team and Teachers, to ensure that your child is settled and makes progress in life skills, independence skills, as well as enjoying high quality relaxation time through individualised activity plans.
Your child will be allocated a ‘Key Worker’ from the residential team as a point of contact for you and your child. The Key Worker will be on hand to answer any questions you have and support your child with their daily living, target progression and support them with their health, lifestyle and medical arrangements. Residential care staff work on a rolling rota. This enables young people to work with different members of staff on a regular basis and get to know them, building positive relationships. This means that your childs Keyworker may not be with your child every evening or weekend.
Your contacts
Lesley Mawbey - Registered Manager (Upper Site)
Karen Tatham- Head of Care & Registered Manager (Lower Site)
Tel: 01629 822586 Ext: 17237 Farm View Ext: 1723/ YP phone 17257 Phoenix House Ext: 17226/ YP phone 17251 Griffin House Ext: 17218/YP phone 17253 Alderwasley Hall School & Sixth Form - Lower Site Alderwasley Derbyshire DE56 2SR
Tel: 01629 821409
Bernardo Vega - Head Teacher
Alderwasley Hall School & Sixth Form - Upper Site
Tel: 01629 821409 Ext: 17236
Derby Road Wirksworth DE4 4BN
Family Partnership
Recognizes parents as a child’s first and most important teachers. Provides opportunities for parent involvement in school activities. Encourages open communication and collaboration between families and teachers.
Special occasions
It may be likely that you are not with your child on their birthday or other special occasions. We ensure young people feel really special on these days and organise parties etc. We welcome you to join us for these events if possible but if it is not, then staff will make sure your child receives your gifts and cards and speaks to you on the phone. Meeting your childs religious, cultural & language needs Curious learner The religious and cultural needs of young people and their families are respected by all staff and we will work with you to make sure all cultural needs are met. Please discuss this with your childs House Manager or Key Worker.
Transport arrangements
Some local authorities will help with travel arrangements by providing a taxi or escort for visits, or by reimbursing you travel costs. They may also help with transport for weekend home visits. You will need to check with your local autohrity to find out what their arrangements are. School wear
Confident communicator
Kind friend For P.E. young people need a pair of trainers and sportswear. We also have a swimming pool, so swimwear is also required. The staff in the home will support your child to choose clothing appropriate to wear for the school day. Young people often wear dark jeans or jogging bottoms with a shirt or jumper during the school day. We do not have a set school uniform but ask parents to ensure their child has clothes that are suitable for all weather conditions and that they feel comfortable and secure in.
Creative thinker
Food and Menus
All meals, except lunch during the week, are cooked and eaten in the homes.
07:00 am - 08:30 am
Evening Meal 17:00 pm - 18:00 pm
Breakfast
20:00 pm - 21:00pm
Supper Supper routines vary from house to house.
We have an allocated budget to purchase foods for the home’s weekly menu. A generalised menu will always be available to each young person. Some young people prefer certain brands and items that parents provide for their child. Please discuss your child’s dietary requirements with the care team.
What activities can my child do?
Evenings after school
After school, as part of their personal development, young people are encouraged to make good use of their leisure time. This can be by enjoying their exisiting individual interests and hobbies, as well as trying new activities in the local community. Young people can join Cadets, Scouts or Guide groups or try horse riding at the local equestrian centre. Some activities may require parental permission and additional payment, you will be contacted if this is the case. During the school week evening acitvities offsite can include walks, bowling, visits to the golf driving range or the cinema. Emphasis is also put on developing life skills and shopping on a budget in a local supermarket. Weekends Weekends are less structured.. We plan activities a term ahead and a list of these will be sent to you at the end of the preceding term. This gives you the opportunity to discuss these with your child and arrange, where appropriate, which weekends they want to stay at school or visit home. It also allows you to budget towards the entrance fee for activities, if required. Over the past year activites away from school have included camping, youth hostelling, cycling and Laser Quest. We also have trips to the museums, zoo’s, theme parks, skate parks, the seaside and the theatre. Walks and picnics in the beautiful Derbyshire countryside are also popular with young people. We also encourage young people to use the outdoor play facilities on the site, as well as visiting the schools Upper Site to use the swimming pool, climbing wall, gym and squash court. Young people are supported to develop their practical and domestic skills. Within the house there are a number of domestic jobs that need doing.
Young people’s money Each young person has an individualised activity money allowance which is recorded weekly in thier own record book. If your child is a ‘looked after child’ financial arrangements may be different and will be confirmed by the Registered Manager. Pocket Money Parents are expected to provide pocket money. We suggest an allowance of £5 to £10 per week. We are looking to introduce a system to allow parents to transfer money electronically
Annual reviews
It is a statutory requirement under the Education Act 1981, for all children with an Education, Health and Care Plan, to have an Annual Review. You will be invited to this review meeting. At the meeting there will also be a representative from the local authority (usually an educational psychologist), the Head Teacher or member of the senior leadership team, the class teacher, the key worker and the speech and Language Therapist. If your child has an occupational therapist they may also attend. Reports are submitted from the Health Promotions Manager, specialist teachers or the mental health team. Your child will be asked for their views and these will be presented by the child themselves of their Key Worker, depnding on your child’s age and ability and whether they wish to attend. You are likely to have already met most people present at the review. You will get advance notice of the review meeting and will be invited by the Head Teacher to submit your own comments prior to the meeting.
Keeping your child safe
We take the safety of your child very seriously. We follow national and local guidance on safeguarding and work closely with Derbyshire Local Authority safeguarding. All staff complete mandatory safeguarding training as part of their induction, which is refreshed regularly. All visitors must sign in, carry a personal identity badge and escorted appropriately.
Risk Assessments
All young people are individually risk assessed and staff are aware of their needs. All off site activities are also risk assessed and on the day of the trip and another check is made to account for any changes in weather, staffing or other factors that may affect the safety of the trip. School site environmental and area risk assessments are also carried out to help minimise any potential hazards that may affect the well being of young people and staff.
Safe & Sound
The Residential teams work closely with charity Safe and Sound to deliver high quality training to our staff teams and support directly with young people to promote the safe use of online platforms and also provide education to our young people around personal safety and progress understanding of consent. As a home we ensure that online safety is paramount to the care we deliver in the ever changing online world. Your child can request further support from Safe & Sound if they feel they would like more information, their Key worker may also suggest this for them. The schools own Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) also offers support and training for staff, parents and young people around all aspects of staying safe. Rail Safety We work with Switched on Rail Safety to run a rail safety programme for young people. Using age related films, interactive games and activities we teach the young people how to stay safe near railways and develop their hazard spotting skils. We have achieved silver level in this initiative. For more information visit www.switchedonrailsafety.co.uk
On-Line Safety Keeping young people safe online is a priority for us. We want to ensure young people are using the internet and their devices safely, and we encourage their understanding of internet safety through programmes delivered by the charity ‘Safe & Sound’. Young people also receive support and learning through completing their E safety booklet with their Key Worker. We believe by having the young people’s devices and equipment checked and the IP address taken by our IT manager, we will keep young people safer when using their computers in school, due to the use of our secure WIFI systems. Parents will need to sign to agree to this and also agree to taking responsibility for any devices they have not given consent to be checked by the school IT Manager. We have an internet agreement for parents to read and sign to allow your child to have access to the internet (based on their specfic needs). The school and home may make a decision to remove a young persons phone or device if there are concerns about unsafe use of the internet. We will make you aware of our concerns and work with you to make sure your childs safety comes first.
Safeguarding when your child turns 18 years of age.
When your child turns 18 years of age they become an adult in law, unless it is established that they lack the mental capacity. It is important that we promote their independence and they will be given more decision making opportunites. This includes deciding what information is passed on to parents/carers and the frequency they contact you. All safeguarding concerns are still sent to parents regardless of the young persons age.
Alderwasley Hall School & Sixth Form is committed to keeping children and young people safe. By providing a safe environment for young people to live, learn and play, and by identifying children who are, or may be suffering harm, the school will endeavour to ensure they are kept safe both at school and at home. Safeguarding Statement
To achieve this, we have systems in place which are designed to:
Create and maintain a safe and learning environment. Identify child welfare concerns and take appropriate action.
Use the curriculum to enable children and young people to develop keep safe strategies. Operate safer recruitment and selction procedures to prevent unsuitable people working with our children and young people.
Anyone visiting the school shares the responsibility to keep children safe whilst on our premises and will be required to work within the guidelines of our safeguarding procedures. Our safeguarding policies can be viewed in the policies section of the school website. If you have concerns about the welfare of a child please contact the school office (Tel: 01629 822586), and you will be put through to a member of our safeguarding team immediately. For more detailed information please ask to see our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy, which is part of a set of policies designed to create a safe environment. All of these policies can be found on the school website or can be requested from the school office. Relationships If your child froms a relationship with a peer on the same house, we will be required to transition your child to a different house within the school to ensure that care staff can safely support the relationship. We will always work with the young persons therapy team to ensure that they are fully understanding of the house rules around relationships so that the potential house move will never come as a surprise.
Medication & Medical Needs
Day-to-day our Health Promotions Team monitors the health of all young people. Please contact her if you would like to discuss any aspect of your child’s medical needs. If you would like your child to be registered with the local GP surgery, please provide the staff with their medical card to help us to register them. Staff have basic first aid training. If your child does become poorly whilst at school, we will notify the Health Promotions Manager, who will make appointments with local health professionals if required. During the evenings and weekends, we will contact NHS Direct. If necessary we will arrange for them to be seen by the local GP. We will always contact you in the event of your child becoming ill or having an accident. If your child becomes ill, has changes to their medication or there is a medical discrepancy at home, please ensure that you notify the care team. If your child is on long term medication, this is monitored by the care staff. Records are kept of any prescribed and non-prescribed medication. It is important that all prescribed drugs are clearly marked in their original container, labelled with the young person’s name, dosage and time to be given. We are unable to accpet medication that does not include this information. All medication should be handed to a member of staff by an adult. Staff will sign to confirm receipt. Please do not send medication in your childs luggage or give it to them to bring to us. Only competant, medically trained staff are permitted to administer medication. Please keep us informed of any changes. A medical change letter from the prescriber will be required before we can amend doses of medication.
Laundry & housework
Young people are encouraged to do their own laundry with supervision from staff while necesary. They all have laundry baskets in their rooms. The school washes bed linen on a weekly basis. Care staff are responsible for overseeing the general tidiness of the house, but each young person is reponsible thier bedroom and are supported to keep communal areas tidy.
Personal belongings Apart from pets, young people can bring any possessions from home to personalise thier bedrooms. Posters, Photos, bedding, toys, TV’s and games consoles are all welcome. The schools insurance does not cover items of value and therefore these would need to be covered on your own home insurance. All electrical equipment brought on to site must be PAT tested by a member of the school staff before use. Please make sure that all your childs possessions are clearly labelled with their name.
Damage to property If deliberate damage or theft occurs, the bill for the full cost of repair or replacement will be agreed by the Head Teacher and the Registered Manager and will be discussed with the parents of the young people involved. Young people will be asked to complete a behaviour reflection form to help them to understand that damage is not acceptable.
Created May 2025
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