Our School
Break Through School is an independent alternative provision located in Belvedere, Bexley. We provide high-quality education and care for a range of additional educational needs and operate over two sites to deliver core subjects and additional curriculum such as BTEC qualifications, humanities, art, philosophy and ICT.
We provide a structured environment centred on a meaningful and contextualised curriculum offer. Our clear purpose is to make an enduring difference to our learners’ lives, providing them with the knowledge, resilience and skills to enable them to have lasting employability and lifelong success.
We offer a range of core therapies to support learners with their learning and developmental needs, including 1:1 counselling sessions and Speech and Language Therapists.
To provide a holistic approach to supporting our young people in their quest to thrive, we offer additional activities such as after school clubs, school council, PAD training (boxing) with our trained staff, as well as 1:1 academic support for Key Stage 4 students. We strive to provide additional clubs according to learner interest and demand.
We have embedded employability throughout our curriculum, within our Core Skills and Preparation For Adulthood sessions, timetabled throughout KS3 and KS4.
At the heart of our culture, we value the importance of building positive, trusting relationships with young people and in supporting and enabling them to make choices, informed by an understanding of the related consequences. We have specialised training in Trauma-informed practice and demonstrate this through a restorative approach to challenging behaviours.
We believe every experience is a learning experience and all staff maintain a non-judgemental approach to working with young people.
The curriculum embeds training and experiences, predominantly within our local community, thus building on their cultural capital.
Our Offer
We are proud of the extensive services we provide to our learners and families, which include the following.
Extra-Curricular Activities and Clubs
Alongside our ambitious curriculum offer, we provide extra-curricular activities including, Mental Health clubs, Jewellery Making, Board Games, and School Council. We encourage learners to share their thoughts on our offerings through regular learner voice conferencing.
Our school’s ethos and aims are to uphold our Purpose, Mission, Vision and Values which are:
Purpose
To provide learners with the best opportunity for lifelong success.
School Mission
To empower all young people to live happy, fulfilling, autonomous lives in society, by gaining the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive.
Our Vision
To support and value every young person, regardless of their starting point, to reach their full potential.
School Values
We promote valuing everyone individually within our school community. Our values will be delivered through a commitment to equity, integrity, empathy, resilience and trust.
Ruth Elliott – Principal
As Principal of Break Through school, I am absolutely delighted to be working with a fantastic team to deliver quality education to some of the most vulnerable members of our society.
During my career, I have been fortunate enough to work across a range of school settings, including mainstream comprehensive schools and within the private sector, in a variety of roles. Throughout this time, my passion for supporting young people who have struggled to successfully access education or who are otherwise ostracised from their community, has grown.
At Break Through school, we have developed our core curriculum which centres around Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need, which is the foundation of our ethos and vision to provide aspirational education alongside our excellent pastoral care.
We collaborate to ensure our learners have their social, emotional and academic needs met, whilst also talent spotting the incredible set of skills our young people have. Helping them thrive, and recognise and develop these skills in a safe, caring and nurturing environment, is highly rewarding.
Having had my own challenges in education as a child, I use these experiences to ensure that every learner who attends Break Through School receives the highest standards of education and is exposed to a variety of life opportunities to help them achieve their potential.
At Break Through, we are passionate about embodying our ethos and values through and through, and this is seen and felt by everyone who visits the school. This was recognised and commended in our recent Ofsted inspection, which said, “Pupils at Break Through School belong to a true community, one which is inclusive and aspirational for all.”
I am immensely proud to be part of not only the Break Through school community, but also the wider cohort of Melrose Education schools, meaning our school benefits from a wide range of supportive and talented peers.
Our Latest News
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On 19th November 2024, Break Through School, part of Melrose Education, proudly marked Men’s Mental... -
In November 2024, staff from Break Through School, part of Melrose Education, had the privilege... -
From 11th to 15th November 2024, Break Through School, part of Melrose Education, marked Anti-Bullying...
