You can turn your life around at any time because while nobody can go back and start a new beginning, anyone can start today and make a new ending

I once worked with a Headteacher colleague who likened his school to a car garage.

He said, very proudly, that they would take in children who were, for some reason, struggling, broken or suffering real difficulties, and then they would conduct whatever remedial work was necessary before getting them back out there, ready to go again. That was the calling of the school, to his mind.

Of course, such work is far easier said than done, and it doesn’t always work.

The ‘issue’ needs to first be diagnosed, and having a professional, and trusted, mechanic in place to do so is of particular importance. It can be challenging work, and is rarely clean.

In many ways, work at ERS could be seen as following a similar premise. That students come here with a problem to be overcome, additional support is provided, and then the pupils move on to a happier ending.

It’s certainly nowhere near as simple as that though.

We never see any students as coming to us with ‘a problem’, or that they may need ‘fixing’ in some way.

At Egerton Rothesay, we seek to gain a full understanding of the children who come to us, and this begins at the admissions phase, where a great deal of time is given over to a comprehensive review of paperwork so that we can understand the young person who is coming to us, and so that we can work to find ways to support them by adding in specialist intervention, to compliment their abilities, and support their strengths whilst addressing any gaps in knowledge and application they may have.

That specialist intervention all takes place on site here.

Students, who begin to gain confidence in the smaller classes we provide here, have their timetables supplemented with additional one-to-one work in Occupational Therapy, Social and Emotional Development, Speech and Language Therapy, Literacy and Numeracy sessions.

What we are trying to do through this is to help the student build skills, and, through that, more independence. This comes in a number of ways: by first ensuring that we have structure and predictability, and then following that with solid scaffolding to support stable learning and cognition. We adapt instructions to make learning more accessible, and then help our students to become more emotionally aware, so that they can regulate, self-monitor and find ways to get the best from themselves.

We are fortunate enough that we get to see this year on year at the school.

For instance, it was a pleasure on Thursday last week to attend the London North Regional Meeting in Waltham Abbey - a meeting which coincided with the regional Art competition.

There were several tremendous entries in a wide range of categories on display, and I was proud to submit two entries from the school.

One, a wonderful piece, named Rope and Lobsters (below) won the 2D Art award for Key Stage Four, and will now go on to the National Finals. It was completed by Max, a student who departed ERS in the summer, having completed his GCSEs.

When Max joined ERS he had been at home for a long time after his previous setting had broken down. Plagued with anxiety, initially every day was a challenge to get into Poplar (our Junior School section), to regulate and be open to learning, but he did it and his journey through ERS has built a true fortitude.

He knows when to ask for help and he never isolates himself, but seeks out positive relationships now.

In fact, I recall many times during lunch after Empire magazine was released last academic year, going to help him with the crossword puzzle. Though we never won a prize, I know he appreciated the positivity those times brought.

With patience, kindness and consistency, ERS staff showed Max that he could be himself and relax enough to enjoy being part of the school community.

There have been complexities, particularly with conditions such as OCD, but a collaborative approach has meant that Max discovered the subjects he loves and built amazing relationships with friends, teachers, specialist staff and LSAs that are now a keystone to his continued learning and approach to life.

With Art in particular, Max has discovered that it is often when things seem to go wrong that new discoveries happen.

Art at ERS has instilled that trial and error, and positivity always wins through. He has adopted the mantra that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. His positivity around school was often rather infectious.

Max left with a grade 7 in English, a grade 6 in Art and in Drama, and is currently studying Art BTEC at BCA and is planning to go onto production arts.

According to his mother, without the incredible and flexible approach which Egerton Rothesay provided, Max would not have painted those beautiful lobsters!

It’s the collaboration between home, school and the wider team that supported Max which has led him to this point...and a great dollop of courage from Max himself - which he should truly be commended for.

The entire school community is proud of him, as we are of all of our students.