Meet The Head
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‘Embracing difference and harnessing talent’ is at the very heart of everything we do. Here you will find a thriving, bustling and small school where students are invited to join a very special place of learning. We know that everyone is different. We know that everyone learns differently, understands differently and comes to grasp concepts, feel comfortable, indeed make friends, in their own time, and, yes, differently. It’s that very difference that we actively seek out and champion. Here your child is given the time to ‘be’, at their own pace and in a supportive and welcoming environment. Although rest assured, with supported learning comes expectations that each student in our care will always strive to be the very best version of themselves.
I first joined the Canbury family in 2011 as a teacher of Art and PSHE. From first qualifying in 2010 I have always been interested in the harmonious link between happy, assured learning and wellbeing. One follows the other. Graduating to Deputy Head Pastoral in 2015, this is an ethos I have always lived by, and is in plentiful evidence around our school. Calm and content students become confident learners. We know that for many students, just getting up and dressed and into the building every day can be a challenge. Add a touch of neurodiversity into the mix, and you may think that’s a bridge too far. In fact, it’s quite the opposite – time, and time again, we wave goodbye to students who joined us as shy and almost invisible people, and who leave us astonishingly transformed into confident young adults ready to explore, and be successful in, the wider world.
It’s a privilege to come into school every day and work with both these young people and the incredible staff who do so much to make things happen. But don’t take my word for it. Come and pay us a visit.
Philippa Rich – Head.