TreeHouse School

Welcome to the TreeHouse School. TreeHouse School is a happy and vibrant community where children and young people with autism learn and flourish. Currently we have almost 90 pupils on roll aged from infants to sixth formers.

All pupils who attend TreeHouse School have a diagnosis of autism and have TreeHouse School named in their Statement of Special Educational Needs or Education, Health and Care Plan. The school was inspected by Ofsted in 2012 and found to be outstanding in all areas.

TreeHouse School is registered with the Department for Education as a non-maintained special school. The school was founded in 1997 by parents of children with autism. TreeHouse School provides children with the specialist, intensive and integrated support to enable them to learn, thrive and achieve.

Our core beliefs and values provide the foundation for our approach to service delivery. We believe that early diagnosis and intervention is critical to giving all children with autism the best start in life. Effective education has the power to transform the lives of children and young people with autism to help them reach their potential and to raise expectations for their future.

We are committed to providing the high quality, specialist teaching, learning and support needed to improve the life chances of those we work with. We believe that the views and choices of children and young people should shape services and because those choices will vary it is essential that a range of educational provision is available.

Our values are reflected by our commitment to education services which:

• Focus on the best possible outcomes for children, young people and their families, based on their aspirations and priorities.
• Adopt a person centred approach which ensures that the voice of the young person is at the centre of all we do.
• Provide outstanding teaching, learning and support through a behavioural approach.
• Ensure high quality provision through practice which is reflective and evidence based.
• Work in the best interests of the individual and their family through an effective multidisciplinary approach.
• Secure better life chances for children and young people with autism by developing partnerships which support effective transition and a range of appropriate pathways into adulthood.

TreeHouse Schools pupils follow three core school values:

• Be safe
• Make responsible choices
• Try our best

We believe that all children and young people with autism have the potential to learn and to achieve positive outcomes. Our approach is highly personalised to reflect the unique qualities of each individual. Learning is individualised to ensure that it is enjoyable, age appropriate and takes into account the particular needs, talents and interests of each child and young person with autism.

Our emphasis is on developing communication and interaction skills, increasing attention, promoting ‘learning to learn’, establishing life, leisure and vocational skills and fostering independence.

Our approach is based on our values. It is person centred and uses behavioural principles of learning to help individuals to achieve their full potential. The focus is on the individual and their learning needs. Every person is unique, and has a unique experience of the world. We work closely with the child or young person and their families to identify the things that are important to them, and use these aspirations to plan an appropriate learning programme. It is this personalised and collaborative approach which enables us to provide the highest quality teaching, learning and support.

Pupils with autism exhibit significant social communication and language difficulties. Appropriate communication and social skills are necessary in order to express needs, desires and feelings. Language and communication are the foundations for the development of relationships, participating in society and accessing the curriculum. It is therefore crucial to develop skills in these areas in order to improve pupils’ quality of life. For this reason, TreeHouse places greater emphasis upon receptive and expressive communication (speaking and listening) within English.

Learning English encompasses all the aspects of communication – non-verbal, verbal and written. Work in English promotes learning across the curriculum and underpins pupils’ achievements and participation in all aspects of their lives. Speech and language therapists work within the multi-disciplinary team to develop appropriate programmes to encourage and development communication.

Ambitious about Autism and TreeHouse School are based in the Pears National Centre for Autism Education, which is located in Muswell Hill, north London.

The Pears National Centre for Autism Education has been designed to be a low energy and low carbon building. The building is predicted to use 67% less energy than the energy benchmarks set out in the Greater London Authority's guidance for planners. 10% of the energy will be derived from renewable energy sources.

At TreeHouse School, we believe in forging strong links with local mainstream schools, to provide opportunities for our pupils to mix with their peers. Several of our pupils take part in a range of classes at local mainstream schools, and this enriches both their learning in particular subjects such as music or sports, as well as their social and communication skills.We also run a programme of ‘Reverse Inclusion’ where children from a local primary school visit TreeHouse once a week to act as ‘playmates’.

The ‘playmates’ are encouraged to actively engage with their peers here at TreeHouse, and their enthusiasm brings a real buzz to the atmosphere in the playground. They pair up to push swings and roundabouts, play in the sandpit and hold hands on the trampoline, and take part in group activities inside such as obstacle courses.