Crosshill is a vibrant and forward-thinking community special school that is based in Darwen.
All our students have an Education, Health and Care Plan. Our age-range is from primary to post 16. Our primary, key stage 3 and 4 students attend our site on Salisbury Road in Darwen and our post 16 students transition to our post 16 site at Shadsworth Business Park.
Students are assessed on entry and placed within one of our three highly personalised pathways: Inspire, Explore and Discover. Each pathway has a bespoke curriculum and particular learning approach that enables all of our students to flourish.
Central to our vision is to work in partnership within a multi-disciplinary approach to meet the needs of all the young people in our school community. We create a safe and happy learning environment where everyone is treated with respect and dignity. The website contains information about all the people who work in partnership with us.
The staff team are the greatest strength of the school. We aim to provide the highest standards of education and care for our special young people. We plan to meet each student’s specific needs. We look for every opportunity to celebrate their achievements. Working with our young people's families is very important to us and we will endeavour to assist you in any way we can.
Our values and ethos
Crosshill offers a holistic provision. Our students’ achievements and successes are celebrated widely. Through using our vision of ‘prepare and flourish’ as our guide, we focus on preparing our students by:
- Delivering personalised learning through our pathway curriculum and structured learning through our seven-part lesson that meets each pupil's individual needs and supports their academic, social, emotional and physical development.
- Building independence and life skills, ensuring students are ready for adulthood, further education, employment or supported living.
- Fostering communication and self-advocacy, helping students express themselves effectively and make informed choices.
- Creating a safe and nurturing environment where students can explore, make mistakes and grow.
At Crosshill our ethos is to work towards all of our students being equipped to flourish and we work towards this by ensuring that we are:
- Empowering pupils to reach their full potential, whatever that may look like for them, celebrating all achievements - big and small.
- Promoting wellbeing, confidence and self-esteem so that learners feel valued, capable and proud of who they are.
- Encouraging meaningful participation in society, helping students form positive relationships and engage with their communities.
- Supporting aspirational outcomes, so students feel inspired and equipped to live fulfilling, purposeful lives.
We use innovative and aspirational strategies to increase students’ resilience and confidence to overcome barriers to ensure their lives are enriched, both now and into adulthood. We believe that at the heart of a student’s personalised success is exceptional teaching, learning and pastoral care and at Crosshill the staff share a unitedvision to ensure the best care and education is attended to by all.
We pride ourselves on our overwhelming sense of family and community; where every staff member leads with integrity and compassion to achieve so that all students can ‘prepare and flourish’.
