A TAMESIDE-BASED education provider is ready to provide an environment that will let children flourish.
First Steps Together’s new Tame Bank Specialist Independent School, on Melbourne Street in Stalybridge, is ready to open in September after extensive work was done on the site to create a modern well planned learning environment.
And its ethos is clear. “At First Steps Together, we believe that when a plant doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment where it grows, not the plant.”
Offering up to 30 places for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), it significantly boosts the capacity in Tameside amid the current crisis in that sector.
Executive Headteacher Natalie Ogden believes the building, which will educate 14-16-year-olds living with autism, could not be more suited to what it provides, saying: “I love this building and I think it’s going to lend itself to our learners who need a tailored education on their ASD pathway.
“We work to the National Curriculum with a twist. The teaching and curriculum team work tirelessly to create bespoke learning for our students to meet their need.
“Our Key Stage 4 offers a broad and ambitious curriculum which is complimented by five pathways including Hair and Beauty, Sport, Travel and Tourism, Creative Media and Expressive Arts.
“The school timetable gives a great mix between core subjects including opportunities to take part in GCSE options or choosing a functional skills pathway, my ambition for our students has always been clear and is echoed by my team of leaders “opportunities are not determined by a ‘need.’”
First Steps Together also has a primary school in Glossop and secondaries in Hattersley and Northenden, as well as having a new building planned to open in September 2025 – Stansfield House SEMH Hub – in Dukinfield.
The group works with the ACTIVE mantra – aspire, create, together, initiative, vocational and empowerment – as it looks to help young people achieve their full potential.
Ofsted has also given the centre the thumbs up, as Natalie recalled: “They said they’d never seen anything like it. Everything has been thought out with the students in mind.”
An open day has already taken place at Tame Bank with parents and students visiting feeling happy and confident that this is the place for them the flourish, from soundproof break out areas, spacious class sizes to accommodate just five learners the perfect group size to give students the attention they need and deserve.
The school is also complimented by an outside area giving students the perfect place to take a break, relax and build peer relationships.
First Steps Together has been working alongside Tameside Council’s SEND team in supporting placements meaning as a partnership positive steps are being made.
And Ofsted is in no doubt Tame Bank is set up for success.
Inspectors wrote: “The proprietor has written a suitable curriculum policy. This aims to provide pupils with a broad range of academic and vocational subjects to study.
“In designing the schemes of work, the proposed school has considered the different aptitudes and SEND which pupils may have.
“It has appropriate plans in place for pupils’ careers education. It intends to use an impartial careers advisor to support pupils to make informed decisions about their next steps when they leave the school.
“The programme will also include pupils visiting local colleges. It intends to make use of range of local employers as well to support pupils’ decision making.
“Thorough consideration has been given to developing the curriculum in a way that supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
“For example, pupils will learn about different festivals of a variety of religions throughout the school year, during special weeks and educational visits.
“Pupils will have opportunities to learn about the differences between people who live in Britain and gain an understanding of the Equality Act 2010.
“It intends to use assemblies and visiting speakers to discuss different topical issues, celebrate world faiths and discuss important world events which are relevant for pupils.
“The school building has been renovated to a very high standard. The proprietor has thought carefully about how to use the space inside the building to ensure that it is appropriate for pupils.”
