Award-winning special Daventry school is in class of its own

Daventry Hill School won SEND Team or School of the Year at the Northamptonshire Education Awards.

Opened in 2016, the school offers a personalised education for students and assistance for families to support their journey into adulthood.

Headteacher Gareth Ivett said: “I think what I’m so pleased about is that this is a team award and what we do is very much as the team we have built at Daventry Hill School.

“We started off by asking ourselves about our vision and our values and our ‘why?’ And from there we saw that our purpose was to deliver aspirations for adulthood for all our pupils.”

The Northamptonshire Education Awards may have been forced online by social distancing, but still provided a glittering occasion to celebrate the fantastic schools, departments and individuals who kept going through remote learning and endlessly changing regulations and guidelines, to do their best for children.

Mr Ivett added: “I am so proud of my team at Daventry Hill School and the journey they have been on to improve outcomes for students.

“Great things are never achieved by one person, they are achieved by a team of people, which is why I am so proud of this award, and more importantly, the team at Daventry Hill School.”

The awards aim to shine a spotlight on the hard working, talented teams in the county, the people who work hard for the community and those who inspire others.

Speaking at the recent awards event, Ben Thomas, from awards organisers All Things Management, said: “Business needs education and education needs business, and our aim is to try to bring the two together.

“I think this year we all appreciate the hard work that goes on in the education sector more than ever before and tonight is a chance for the teachers, headteachers, staff and managers who’ve had such a hard year to sit back, enjoy this evening and say ‘we’ve done well’!”