Our School Community
West Kirby School and College recognises how we can benefit from partnerships and how important it is for our pupils to be involved in a wider school community. As a school our community includes:
- Parents, carers and wider families
- Local West Kirby and Hoylake community including our local church West Kirby United Reformed Chuch
- Charities - local and national
- Local primary, secondary and special schools
- Enrichment and wellbeing activity partners
- Professional national SEND specialist bodies including National Autistic Society, Autism Education Trust, ADHD Foundation, Jennifer Nock Attachment and Trauma Sensitive Schools
- Clinical partners including Speech and Language and Occupational therapists
Education and local school links
We have partnerships with local schools, colleges and universities; forging and developing links enable all to share good practice. As part of our Community training programme we have embarked on creating a number of partnerships, consisting of local Primary schools, Secondary schools and Special Schools, in order to coordinate and share expertise and best practice. Creating links between schools and developing strong professional relationships would, we envisage, ultimately raise standards for all involved.
Our school also participates in providing Initial Teacher Training placements for students from Hope University and Edge Hill University by providing mentoring for students wishing to gain experience within an SEN environment. WKS can provide training and support while students observe high quality teaching and behaviour management and gain invaluable skills to take forward into their teaching career. In return members of staff from WKS are able to develop and extend their skills as part of their continual professional development, thereby driving forward school improvement.
Work experience links
We are grateful to local organisations who our pupils have done valuable work placements with, including Greasby Infants School, Barnardos, Scope and Artisan Gelato in West Kirby, Dapper Donkeys and Carr Farm. These independent work placements are invaluable in building confidence and life skills for future transitions.
Community SEND workshops
We're proud to have worked with local schools on SEND training workshops for staff members and we've welcomed local schools Ridgeway High, St Joseph's Upton and Thingwall Primary to join us with their pupils for a Science workshop 'Fizz, Bang, Pop'.
"The children loved the afternoon- all ages were involved. We LOVED the POP shock! You were so kind. A great opportunity for the children."
"I just want to say a huge thank you on behalf of our children for the opportunity to attend the Science workshop yesterday. We all had the most wonderful time and it has had such a positive impact upon the boys who attended. They have been so confident to talk about their experiences and we have had so much positive feedback from parents."