article from ‘The Friend‘
On the website of Breckenbrough School, a residential special needs Quaker school in North Yorkshire, there are testimonies written by parents about the experience of having their sons at the school. These testimonies are full of enormous appreciation for Breckenbrough, and almost every account talks about the difficulty of getting a placement at the school. Parents often have to fight long and hard (and sometimes fail) to get their sons a place there:
‘Nothing can describe the elation I felt when our LEA finally got us our interview, and we saw Breckenbrough for the first time. I just knew it was the right place for my son. I would say keep trying, don’t give up, use everything in your power to get your son to such a special place as Breckenbrough’.
‘Fight to give them the best you can – your son too might be lucky enough to be offered a place at Breckenbrough’
‘Needless to say it was a long and difficult task to get him there but I am happy to say we got there in the end!’
Many people in the Quaker community are unaware of the existence of Breckenbrough, despite it being a Quaker owned school. The school was founded by Arthur Fitch, a psychiatrist, in 1934. In 1948 the school became an Educational Charity and Special School within the 1944 Education Act. It is a non-profit making charitable special needs school for boys aged between 8 and 17 with conditions such as autistic syndromes disorders, Asperger’s and ADHD and who are of above average intelligence. It is situated near Northallerton and all the trustees are appointed by Yorkshire General Meeting. There is a strong Quaker ethos in the school, which is recognised by professionals. The care the staff show to each individual boy has recognition in the conflict resolution approach which is employed throughout the school and this is often reflected when the boys write poems about their experiences of the school:
The government white paper ‘Every Child Matters’ formed the basis of the Children’s Act 2004. The act stipulates that children’s services should be judged by the contribution they make to the outcomes considered to be essential to the wellbeing of childhood and later life. These are considered to be the right of the child. Local authorities have a legal obligation to provide children with the possibility of:
* Being healthy
* Staying safe
* Enjoying and achieving
* Making a contribution; and
* Achieving economic wellbeing
Special needs schools like Breckenbrough are experienced at working with children with specific difficulties in order to make the best possible contribution to the pupils’ wellbeing. However, this traditional kind of provision is being changed radically, due to the Warnock Report and its implementation. The report recommended that children with special needs should be included in mainstream schools wherever possible. Despite many criticisms of the report and its subsequent practise from many professionals and politicians, and indeed recently by Mary Warnock herself, local authorities continue to implement the policy. There is a focus on inclusion in mainstream schools and on the development of pupil referral units, allowing local authorities to provide their own care. In the debate on inclusion in parliament in June 2005, Jacqui Smith (Minister of State for Education) stated that placement criteria was; the child’s needs, the needs of other children and the issue of resources. However, since 1997 more than 90 special needs schools have been closed and they are continuing to be closed and local authorities no longer readily place pupils in institutions outside their own areas.
Unlike other well known Quaker schools which are independent institutions, Breckenbrough is dependent on placements from local authorities. This means that, unlike the independent Quaker schools, which are inspected by the ‘Independent Schools Inspectorate’, Breckenbrough is inspected by the government bodies Ofsted and the Commission for Social Care Inspections (CSCI). There have been inspections by both of these bodies recently (May 2006 and December 2005 respectively). The following extracts from each of the reports give some indication of the value placed on the Quaker ethos of the school.
Ofsted reports:
‘This is a good school, which is successful in helping pupils who have failed in mainstream education make a success of their lives’.
‘Pupils’ personal development is good. They respond especially well to the ethos of the Society of Friends, showing tolerance and understanding. As a result of the good provision for their spiritual, moral social and cultural development, and through their academic achievement and social successes, pupils gain a genuine belief that they are of value. Those who have complex behaviour needs because of their conditions are helped to manage it very well’.
The Commission for Social Care Inspection reports:
‘Breckenbrough is a well-run school where staff pupil relationships are very positive. The atmosphere within the school is relaxed and friendly and pupils report the school is ‘brilliant’ and that ‘staff treat you really well.’ Staff have a good understanding of the educational and emotional/behavioural need of the boys in their care’.
‘Boys did not report physical bullying as an issue within the school although a degree of verbal bullying does take place. Staff are aware of bullying issues and ensure that the needs of both ‘bully’ and ‘victim’ are addressed by any action taken.’
‘The school’s ethos focuses on developing respect and trust between young people and this approach is seen to pre-empt negative behaviour’.
I have purposely based this article on quotations from various sources rather than writing about Breckenbrough myself. This is because I believe that these quotations give such a real impression of the school and also a recognition of the impact the school has on so many lives. The appreciation for all the incredible work done by the staff, both academic staff and care staff shines through. I believe that we in the Quaker community should be deeply grateful to the staff at Breckenbrough. It is a place where there is real evidence of Quaker witness and the effect this has the lives of those involved. The testimonies of the parents give credence to this:
‘Without Breckenbrough, my son could have been a delinquent truant, underachieving and alienated, now he is achieving his academic goals and able to exercise self control. He is now a mature young man about to embark on A levels with 2 GCSEs under his belt and he’s still only 14 years old’.
‘He has an education that is second to none and he is happy, confident and one of the nicest young men I know. (I suppose I’m biased but a few years ago I may not have felt the same!)’.
‘We are deeply grateful that he has this opportunity to get his life back on a course that we could not hope for last year’.
‘We were attracted too, by the Quaker philosophy and the whole ethos of the school’.
We, on the governing body, move forward with many new challenges and we hope that the Society of Friends as a whole will uphold us in our support for the staff and the job they are doing in our name.
Barbara Henderson: Governor – Breckenbrough School
Published: Sept 2006
Author: Breckenbrough School
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