Clare Mount Specialist Sports College is a School for pupils aged 11-19 who have Autism and/or Moderate Learning Difficulties. There are 460 pupils on roll and we currently have 102 students in Year 7, within 12 Form Groups. Each Year 7 Form Group has a teacher and a teaching assistant. The teaching assistant is with the same form for every lesson that they have. For our pupils who have ASC as their main area of need, the Local Authority would usually assign a Base placement. This means that the pupils are taught using a primary model and so they stay in their classroom for almost all lessons, until they are ready to move towards the secondary school model and begin to move around school to their lessons later in the academic year.

Transition from primary school to secondary school is often a tricky time for all children. At Clare Mount, our main aim for our Year 7 students is that they begin to feel ‘Settled and Safe’ as soon as possible, but this can take time. This is why we try to limit changes of environment and staff, in the hope they will begin to trust the adults who work with them and so follow their instructions and guidance.

Our Year 7 staff team consists of the Head of Year, twelve form tutors and twelve TAs. The team is overseen by Head of Year 7, Mr Freeman, with support from Head of Transition, Mrs Croucher and KS3 Learning Mentor Mrs McCannon.

Our school is a happy and positive place to be. Ofsted described Clare Mount as an ‘oasis of calm’.  We provide a nurturing environment where our pupils are listened to and encouraged to give their personal best in everything that they do. In this way, we uphold the Paralympic vision of being ‘role models and catalysts for change’.