Parent testimonies

"For me, being a parent with a child on the spectrum is something I always dealt with well that was until we hit secondary school age! I was not prepared for what we were about to embark upon. First came the decision of main stream or special school, it’s a hard decision but I guess like most parents I decided mainstream was worth the first shot. After making that decision them came the finding the right mainstream. This was a battle of being turned down by several schools in our borough and politely being told “ we do not think our school is right for your son” Eventually leaving borough and opting for a main stream school with an amazing SENCo it unfortunately became apparent within half a term main stream was not the right decision. With little help from my LEA we ventured into a lonely place of homeschooling.  As a parent I had to give up work and create my sons curriculum, we tried our best but things didn’t go great.

Luckily enough a place at the courtyard came up after two years, we knew straight away after the first viewing it was exactly what we needed. Going into his second year our whole life has changed, he has several friends, a whole routine of after school clubs and educationally he has excelled in every lesson but most importantly he is the happiest and most confident he has every been.

I am back to work now and feel so lucky we got this place at the courtyard it’s the most special tranquil place."

Parent of Y10 pupil

"My daughter's anxiety has remarkably decreased since starting at The Courtyard and she is now confident enough to approach her teachers if she has any worries at all.
This has made an enormous impact on myself and family as we do not have constantly to worry about her well-being when she is in school."

Parent of Y10 pupil

"In such a short amount of time my daughter has become so much more happier and confident. She has also made some lovely friends."

Parent of Y11 pupil

"The Courtyard is a wonderful, welcoming community that provides both an excellent education and a real understanding of the challenges its students face at school and in the wider world. Its support has made all the difference in our son achieving GCSEs and going on to A levels, and making friends along the way."

Parent of Y12 pupil

"Henry loves his school and cannot wait to get out of the front door every morning. He feels safe and secure and, above all, I know that he his happy. The school has been incredibly flexible about extra-curricular activities that Henry enjoys and excels at - its priority is always the child's best interests and that is fantastic. The staff cannot be praised highly enough - the students have no idea how fortunate they are!"

Parent of Y12 pupil

"From the first few weeks, it was clear that his move to the 6th form was the right thing for my son. After never really getting involved in extra activities in his Secondary School (which was a Special school) he got involved in the Shakespeare’s Schools Festival. From the very first performance, we were blown away. Never before had we seen our son in this light.

The positive impact of the Courtyard went on, he started to find his feet more and more. From a point of learning, he developed his skills and the Courtyard put him in for GCSE English and Maths. Following a re-mark of one of his papers (which staff at the Courtyard noticed was not correct) he passed both English and Maths.

It was a great achievement from both my son and the staff supporting him, who had put in all the extra effort to get him there.

For students that have the ability to do this, The Courtyard is the right place to get them there.

My son has now gone on to college and he has very fond memories of all the staff at Courtyard and has made friends that he will continue to stay in contact with. He also takes with him his new love of performance.

From one parent to another – it is like gold dust when you find a place your child likes, learns and has staff you trust to have your child at the centre of everything they are doing. I would highly recommend Courtyard to other parents."

Parent of former Y14 pupil

"The Courtyard is an amazing school with caring and nurturing staff that truly believe in the children and strive to make them achieve their full potential .we as a family feel very fortunate to be a part of the school community and believe being at this school my child will inspire him to be positive about his future."

Parent of Y11 pupil