MP visits Wolverhampton specialist school supporting pupils with additional needs
Saqib Bhatti met staff and pupils at Aurora Cedars School to learn more about its approach to education and support
A Wolverhampton specialist school has welcomed a local MP for a visit to see how it supports children and young people with additional needs.
Saqib Bhatti, MP for Meriden and Solihull East and Shadow Minister for Education, visited Aurora Cedars School, an independent day school providing academic and therapeutic support for pupils aged five to 19 with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs.
During the visit, he met headteacher Zoe Free, who showed him around the school and introduced him to some of the work taking place in classrooms.
They discussed the school's use of the Thrive approach to support inclusion, behaviour and pupils' social and emotional development, as well as the contribution made by its clinical team.
Miss Free said: "Mr Bhatti was really engaged and interested in what we did at Cedars. We took him into classrooms and showed him some of the work being done by the students.
"We talked about the Thrive approach, which we use to support inclusion, SEMH and behaviour in our school, and we also explained the important contribution our clinical team make.
"Overall, I think he recognised the valuable contribution a specialist school such as ours makes to delivering positive outcomes for our young learners."
Mr Bhatti said: "It was a pleasure to visit Aurora Cedars School, and I am grateful to Zoe and all the staff at Aurora for taking the time to welcome me.
"I was hugely impressed by the dedication of the staff and the support provided to pupils. I recognise the important role that special schools like Aurora Cedars play in delivering SEND services."
He added that he looked forward to continuing to work with The Aurora Group, which operates the school.
During the visit, Mr Bhatti also met Kelvin Donald, chief executive of The Aurora Group.
Mr Donald said the organisation had been established 11 years ago with the aim of providing person-centred education and care to help children and young people thrive and fulfil their potential.
He said the visit had provided an opportunity to demonstrate the work carried out at Aurora Cedars and discuss the need for any Government reforms to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) education to ensure a sufficient range of specialist services.
Mr Donald added that children and young people should not face delays in accessing the support they need.