Staff and pupils at Purbeck View are now just recovering from their recent celebrations for the school’s tenth birthday.

Sue Goulding, the head teacher, has seen enormous changes since the school opened in late 1994.

“When we arrived, we found a huge, empty building with large, Spartan dormitories and communal bathrooms,” she recalls. “It was very dark as the walls were all painted a ‘practical’ brown.”

Now, the building is bright and welcoming; most of the pupils have their own rooms and soon the school will only offer single-bedded accommodation. Two new houses for post-16 students have been built on the site of the old squash court and the former head’s house has also been converted into a home for older students. Work has begun on upgrading the school chapel and the gym, and later this year a new drama and music workshop will be developed as well as a teaching garden to enrich the curriculum.

At first, while the builders and decorators swung into action, only part of the school was functional, and there were two pupils. This number has now swelled to 46 and staff have seen a transformation in many of their students over the years.

Nicky Randall, a class teacher who has been at the school since it opened, recalls Max, who found learning difficult but became a star performer on the drums at the Christmas concert.

Michelle O’ Donnell, a team manager who has been part of the care team since Purbeck View’s earliest days, particularly remembers Colin, who couldn’t communicate at all when he arrived but left with a repertoire of 80 signs.

“The introduction of PECs (picture exchange system) for functional communication has made a huge difference,” Nicky Randall agrees. “It has reduced students’ frustrations because it gives them a voice. In the past, other people have explained what they think pupils want. Now the pupils can explain their wishes themselves.”

Some student representatives on the school council use the PECs system to communicate the changes they would like to see at Purbeck. At the latest session, for instance, council members suggested improvements to the common room and to the playground. They also discussed the student questionnaire which will form part of the school’s Ofsted inspection.

“The students are now far more involved in the life of the school,” Sue Goulding commented.

Appropriate communication skills also have an enormous impact on students’ behaviour, a link which the school’s speech and language therapist is studying in preparation for a research paper to be published next year.

Another important feature of Purbeck View has been its outstanding art work. Pupils have regularly won prizes in local competitions and the school has mounted two exhibitions of students’ work, one at the prestigious Study Gallery in Poole.

Staff are also building outside links with science and ICT teachers at the Purbeck School, the nearest mainstream comprehensive, which has recently been awarded science specialist status.

Meanwhile, the school has been celebrating its anniversary with commemorative mugs and T-shirts, a staff show which was staged at the Mowlem Theatre in Swanage, a whole-school party and a virtuoso skateboard performance by one of the students and a group of friends he had made locally.

Fresh Adventures for Grateley
Grateley students spent an enjoyable day at the Osmington Bay Adventure Centre recently, putting into practice the skills they had learnt at school.

“It’s a great opportunity for the students to use their social and communication skills in a different context,” explained David Ferris, Grateley’s care manager, who organised the trip. “At first, the students were anxious and didn’t want to try a new challenge, but once they realised they could handle an activity, they wanted to do it again and again.”

The Osmington Centre designed a tailor-made package for the Grateley pupils, which included ICT and animation, rock climbing and quad biking. The students were split into three groups containing a variety of ages, so that the older students could support the younger ones.

The activities developed teamwork, with pupils encouraging each other to take part in the different challenges. Students also mixed well with other young people at the centre.

One of the main advantages, according to David Ferris, was that they could try out new skills in a non-judgmental setting. “Previously, students have been very apprehensive about joining youth clubs because they are worried that other people will judge them if they get something wrong,” said David. “Their success at Osmington means that they are now far more confident.”