Welcome Headteacher Message

I am very happy to be introducing you to Greenfield School through our prospectus. I hope that the prospectus will give you an insight into our approach to education and the wide range of exciting and creative learning opportunities that we offer our pupils. We are the only special school in Merthyr Tydfil, and we therefore cater for a diverse range of Additional Learning Needs (ALN) for pupils from the ages of 3 to 19.

Greenfield is a warm, friendly and inclusive school where we aim to provide a safe and nurturing environment. There is a positive atmosphere within the school and the care and support that staff provide is exceptional, which is clear to all that know and visit the school. We strive to ensure that every pupil enjoys their learning and is given the opportunity to reach their potential to become as independent as possible. We do this through a Person-Centered Approach, which means that we spend time finding out about what is important to our pupils and how they learn best. In Greenfield, we pride ourselves on building strong and trusting relationships with pupils and parents, as we believe that this is key to working collaboratively to help our pupils thrive and develop.

Greenfield is a forward-thinking and innovative school, where the well-being of both pupils and staff is a high priority. This has been especially important in supporting families and staff to recover from the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, which is why the Leadership Team has recently been developing a Compassionate Leadership approach within the school.

It is an exciting time in Greenfield School as we are currently writing our own bespoke curriculum to enthuse and meet the needs of our pupils and the local community. Designing our own curriculum as part of the Curriculum for Wales has been a fantastic opportunity to develop our creativity and enthusiasm for learning. We truly believe that we have designed a curriculum that is innovative, interesting, fun and most importantly one that is appropriate and meaningful for our learners who have a wide range of ALN and complex needs, including health needs.

We also offer a wide range of therapies so that pupils can have their specific physical, learning, communication, social and emotional needs met. We practise Positive Behaviour Support, where we look at behaviours from the child or young person’s perspective, so that we can understand the purpose and function of their behaviour in order to support positive changes. In January 2023 Greenfield School achieved the ‘National Nurturing Schools Award’ and we were recognised for putting Nurture at the heart of everything that we do. We were very proud that the report stated that:

This is clearly a setting where creating positive loving relationships is a priority. All the pupils can identify an adult in school that makes them feel safe.

We have also achieved Trauma Informed School status, which means that staff are trained in recognising the effects and impact of trauma. We have staff specifically trained, such as our ELSAs (Emotional Learning Support Assistants) who work effectively with pupils who need additional support for their emotional well-being.

We work closely with parents and carers and keep them well-informed through our GRWP sessions where parents/carers are invited into school for information sharing, training events and coffee mornings. As a school, we have good links within the local community and beyond to provide our pupils with a wide variety of opportunities. We work closely with Careers Wales and Merthyr College to support transition and every pupil leaves Greenfield School with a recognised qualification.

At Greenfield, we have high aspirations for both our pupils and our staff. Greenfield School is a learning organisation, which means that we not only focus on the learning needs of our pupils, but we also ensure that our staff are provided with high quality training and time for professional development. This means that Greenfield staff are highly skilled practitioners who have the expertise to meet complex learning needs. This has been recognised by Investors in People, who in June 2021 awarded the school with the Gold Award. Greenfield School also shares sector leading practice with other schools in Merthyr Tydfil through the Greenfield School Outreach Service.

I feel incredibly privileged to be Head Teacher of Greenfield School and, with the support of my colleagues, I am passionate about continually developing our school so that our pupils are given the best education possible and experience school as a positive and happy place in their lives.

Our vision is ‘Opening doors to the future’.

If you would like to find out more about how we open doors to the future, I would be very happy to show you around the school.

Rhiannon Stephens Davies, Head Teacher