Rotherham primary and special schools, together with guests from key stakeholder groups, including children, young people and their parent carers, will be attending Gulliver’s Valley on 27 September to be re-accredited with the Rotherham Charter Gold Award Gold Award from Rotherham’s Genuine Partnerships team.
The Rotherham Charter is about schools and other educational settings and services implementing the nationally recognised Four Cornerstones approach. This is based on four key principles proven to strengthen relationships, trust, partnership and the inclusion of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their families.
The Four Cornerstones are: Welcome and Care, Value and Include, Communicate and Work in Partnership.
Accreditation with Charter Gold comes after schools and other educational settings have worked hard over two years to truly embed the approach within their culture and ethos. It is a way of giving all children, young people and families a voice in decisions that affect them and benefits the wellbeing of the whole school community.
Councillor Victoria Cusworth, Lead Member for Children’s Services said: “Inclusion, voice and true joint working can be hard to achieve but Genuine Partnerships is all about celebrating and appreciating the wealth of good practice in Rotherham.”
“Well done to these schools, settings and services working hard to achieve the Four Cornerstones, and well done to Genuine Partnerships for taking this message out nationally!”
Genuine Partnerships represents a partnership between Rotherham Council and Rotherham Parent Carer’s Forum and involves practitioners from the educational psychology and inclusion services working together with parent carers and young people. Rotherham is recognised as a leader in this work nationally and has been invited to support lots of organisations outside Rotherham, setting the standard for them to achieve.
This will be the first face-to-face Charter Gold event for three years, due to COVID restrictions and the certificates will be presented by the Mayor of Rotherham Cllr Tajamal Khan. He will be supported by Rotherham Council Assistant Director of Education Nathan Heath and Julie Day, Head of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
The schools being re-accredited this year include Abbey School, The Arnold Centre, Bramley Sunnyside Infant School, Kelford School and Listerdale Junior Academy. Anston Greenlands, Brinsworth Whitehill, Meadowview, Sitwell Infant, St. Bede’s RC, St. Gerard’s RC, Thurcroft Infant and Wales Primary schools, which all achieved re-accreditation during the lockdown periods, will also be celebrated.