Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
-
Active Learning Update
Fri 28 Feb 2020Following a successful school year supported by 'Teach Active' (https://www.teachactive.org/about/) we have switched our focus from Active Maths to Active English this year. Here you can see Ms Vicars' class working on being active while learning in an English lesson.
Too much sedentary behaviour can have negative long-term effects on people of all ages so we are aiming to ensure all our students reduce the amount of time they spend sat down! Active lessons have the added benefit of being really enjoyable too! For more guidance on non-sedentary behaviour, click here: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/why-sitting-too-much-is-bad-for-us/
-
6th Form build their own website at Wirral Met College
Fri 28 Feb 2020Today, a group of our 6th-Form students had an ICT 'taster session' at Wirral Metropolitan College (WMC). The session covered 'How to design a website!' All the students thoroughly enjoyed the session and were engaged throughout! We have been lucky to secure a weekly taster session at the wonderful WMC Twelve Quays Campus for the next few weeks. All part of our vision to develop important employability skills in the students and prepare them for the world of work.
-
Careers Development Continues at Pace!
Thu 27 Feb 2020We are delighted to be attending the National SEND Employment Forum Conference today in Leeds. The destinations of our students once they leave Clare Mount is hugely important to us and today we will be hearing about 'supported internships;' a route by which we hope more and more of our wonderful students will find rewarding careers in future. For more about the NSEF, click here: https://www.nsef.co.uk/
If you would like to know more about supported internships, click here: https://www.preparingforadulthood.org.uk/downloads/supported-internships
-
Clare Mount go for 'Double' Recognition!
Thu 27 Feb 2020Today is a special day for our community as we are short-listed for two prestigious national awards; both to be announced later today! Firstly, Mrs Webster, Mrs Grayson and Mr White are in Coventry, at The Ricoh Arena for the annual Youth Sport Trust (YST) Conference and later tonight they will find out if they have won the 'Outstanding School' Award for the YST's 25th Anniversary. To have been shortlisted is a HUGE honour, since the YST work directly with over 4000 schools in the country and the nomination came from the Trust themselves!
We will also learn later today if we have won the prestigious 'Award for Inspirational Education Provision' at the annual Autism Professionals Conference in Birmingham, where we are being represented by Mrs Croucher and Miss Hanley.
Whether successful or not today; our two nominations are testament to the incredible hard work and dedication of our whole community. We wish all the other nominees the best of luck too!
-
Clare Mount nominated by The Youth Sport Trust for National Award
Mon 10 Feb 2020Later this month the Youth Sport Trust; a children's charity working to ensure every child enjoys the life-changing benefits that come from play and sport are hosting their 25th-anniversary annual conference at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry.
We were delighted to hear last week that we have been nominated; by the Trust itself for the 'Outstanding School' award.
Vicci Wells, Targeted Interventions Manager at the Youth Sport Trust contacted the school to say: "I would very much like to nominate Clare Mount for the YST Outstanding School award based on the amazing work I know you do, day in and day out across a whole range of YST programmes- and have done since the beginning!"
Clare Mount Specialist Sports College has been a Sports College since 2007. Led brilliantly by Mr Allkins, and supported by Mrs Cooper-Shone and Mr Saunders, the Sports College has changed the lives of many Clare Mount and Wirral students and families through a brilliant calendar of events, competitions and training for schools; learning to include everyone in PE and Sport. In 2010, Mr Keefe took on the mantle of leadership and established Clare Mount as a 'Project-Ability' school. Clare Mount's role became Merseyside-wide and helped to establish and drive the 'School Games' programme to include everyone and let all young people feel the power of sport. Thousands of teachers have been trained as a result of Project-Ability creating more opportunities for young people within the School Games. Clare Mount employed a School Games Organiser, meaning that all Clare Mount students would have the opportunity to take part in the School Games.
The PE department, led by Mr Stanley and Mrs Grayson became ever more involved in Youth Sport Trust programmes as Mr Stanley became a 'Lead PE Catalyst' to help schools around the UK understand how to create a PE curriculum for young people with autism and support them on their leadership journeys through Duke of Edinburgh or Skills Awards designed for young people with autism. Mrs Webster is a former PE teacher and also became a PE 'Headteacher Ambassador' for the Youth Sport Trust and will be attending the conference as a proud ambassador and headteacher. Mrs Grayson has become a national expert at removing barriers to PE and Sport for young people with autism through the use of her passport to PE and her activity carousel. Mr Atkins has been a trailblazer for schools like Clare Mount making sure all young people at school take part in competitions according to their ability.
Our dance programme with Mrs Corcoran and Mrs Poynton (including Para-Dance) is nationally recognised and showcases the role of dance for personal expression, happiness and positive mental health. Mrs Kearsley has driven the 'Girls Active' programme here at Clare Mount over the past two years whilst Mr Gavin has made an incredible impact with the Active in Mind programme. Mrs Corcoran continues to deliver unbelievable opportunities locally for young people with additional needs in the School Games. Mr Byrne has joined us for the journey bringing all of his experience to school and making a real impact with the 'Active in Mind' mental health programme linked to physical activity, 'My Personal Best' character education programme which teaches life-skills through PE, and the Healthy Lifestyles Champions in post-16 who have gone on an incredible leadership journey giving them increased confidence and self-belief.
All PE staff and PE teaching assistants support the ever popular Community Sports Night which brings the power of sport and the chance to try new sports to over 50 young people for over 30 weeks of the school term, whilst Mr White sits on the Department for Education's National Inclusion Steering Group and consults on behalf of all 50 national lead inclusion schools in the UK. Mr Vasey and Mrs Rowland used their expertise to write and share a PE and Sport autism guide for the Youth Sport Trust (which has been shared through the NASEN National SEND gateway in the UK and with thousands of UK schools).
Our partnerships with Liverpool John Moores University and Liverpool Hope University allows us to watch their very best students work as teachers or sport development officers.
We are the only school in the country that regularly works with five universities around inclusion in PE and Sport through our Youth Sport Trust status. National award after national award have followed, and Clare Mount's ability to work with anyone and everyone means that our young people get first access to the very best of the Youth Sport Trust's programmes. Governors at Clare Mount value highly sports college status.
As Merseyside Lead Inclusion School for the Youth Sport Trust, we are incredibly proud of our long partnership with the charity. Our Inclusion 2020 Paralympic Learning and Discovery Festival in 2019 reached over 100 young people and was the headline event for the UK's National School Sport Week. This year we have trained over 120 apprentices from Little League Sports to deliver Paralympic Learning and Discovery Festivals for the School Games. We are the main provider of PE and Sport Inclusive Practice training on Wirral and Merseyside.
Recently, we created a twenty-five school partnership with Sport England and the Activity Alliance to train secondary PE teachers and to offer more PE and Sport within local secondary schools. We are especially proud of our partnerships with Cheshire Cricket Board, Hive Youth Zone, Greenbank Sports Academy, Tranmere Rovers in the Community, South Wirral High School, Prenton High School for Girls, Weatherhead High School, Woodchurch High School, Ridgeway High School, Bebington High School, LFC Foundation, Wirral School Games, Edsential, Wirral Evolutions, Liverpool School Sport Partnership, our primary PE and Sport cluster of schools, local special-school partnership and many, many more!
Here is a selection of just six work strands (of many) of our Youth Sport Trust programmes this year:
Find Your Tribe - a female students with autism student voice project with LJMU 3rd year student Tiarna Bithell which aims to support the PE department and our female students with autism to connect with PE, Sport and Physical Activity.
Active in Mind - an inspiring mental health through physical activity programme with Neil Danns from Wheels Extreme.
Special Olympics Motor Activities Training Programme - this programme creates a School Games opportunity for young people from Foxfield School, Stanley School, Meadowside School and Elleray Park school.
My Personal Best is a special school character education programme - working with Orrets Meadow we are looking at what character education looks like in a primary special school to give those young people the life skills for transition to secondary school.
Healthy Lifestyles Champions 'Combat Club' - a programme to show how the power of combat sports can help young people with autism and emotional regulation challenges to be able to use sport to help manage themselves.
Active Across Ages - an inter-generational and employability project involving post-16 ASDAN students, year 11 Duke of Edinburgh students, year 10 sports leaders, Leasowe Primary School, Wirral School Games, Wirral Golf Development and Anchor Care Homes, Wirral to help combat loneliness and poor well-being in older and younger people using the power of shared sport and physical activity experiences.
Here's to the next 25 years!
-
Year 11 students shine on work experience week
Mon 10 Feb 2020Our year 11 students spent a week on on work experience in January. The different experiences covered many vocations in the world of work. As always, the students were a credit to the school and all of them worked very hard all week, well done to everyone. Below is a slide show of some of the students at their work placements.
-
Mrs Cooper-Shone explores more opportunities for our students in 6th Form
Thu 06 Feb 2020Mrs Cooper-Shone is a member of a network of employers who met up tonight at Burton Manor. Peter Russell (on the right) leads these great events to help support young people in our area- he has visited Sixth Form and was astounded at how mature and independent they were. Steve Fogg from The Hive (on the left) was discussing volunteering opportunities for our students too. Many of the businesses offered their support to Clare Mount students so watch this space!!
-
6th Form seek out career advice
Thu 06 Feb 20206CS having Careers lesson this morning focussing on building their career profiles using our KUDOS platform. We had a go at recording our achievements! Brilliant morning.
-
6th form communication games
Thu 06 Feb 2020Leon and Mathew are leading the others into battle in the world of Dungeons and Dragons where they've made up their own rules. It's brilliant!!!
