Who we are and what we're about
We have put this page together to allow guests to understand the range of students we have at Pine Green Academy.
When visiting the school, it's important for guests to understand not only the range of needs that students have but how they manifest in students' behaviour.
We are not a "behaviour school" and we're not a "school for naughty children". These are two common assumptions that external visitors bring to our settings.
Nevertheless, at times, our students will display challenging behaviour. Often our students will communicate difficulties through their behaviour and we regard 'all behaviour as communication' - a common mantra that our staff will repeat.
Our students communicate through their behaviour because accompanied disabilities and pronounced Special Educational Needs prevent them from verbalising the emotions and difficulties that they are experiencing. Many of our students are 'disabled' and have pronounced difficulties as a result of these 'disabilities', 'diagnoses' and 'special educational needs'. These can include 'moderate learning difficulties', 'global development delay', 'Autism', 'Pathological Demand Avoidance' as well as disabilities that affect Physical and Sensory needs.
Although many of our students "look" like mainstream counterparts, they experience multiple and profound layers of disadvantage.
Yet when visitors attend our school, more often than not, students will be in class and they will be learning.
We you see this, we'd ask you to reflect on how much effort the student has made and how much support has been provided for a 'normal lesson' to occur and for 'normal behaviour' to occur.
We're Pine Green and we're proud of our students.
Please click on the link below if you wish to find out more about our setting.