Introduction to the School

The Rowans AP Academy is a provision which enables young people to change the direction of their lives. Through a trauma informed approach, positive relationships and a strong focus on our core values of kindness, commitment and resilience, all pupils have the opportunity to re-engage with education, taking ownership of their lives and their choices.

The Rowans AP Academy supports pupils who struggle with mainstream education or due to particular changing and often traumatic events in their lives, need a period of time in an alternative provision. The length of stay at The Rowans for pupils is dependent upon their individual pathway.

The Rowans offer alternative provision with a firm focus on supporting, engaging and raising the aspirations of every pupil. All pupils work towards achieving meaningful qualifications that will lead to relevant next steps and post 16 pathways. In 2021, 70.6% of Year 11 achieved 5 or more qualifications including English and maths compared to 25% for APs and PRUs nationally. It is important that all pupils understand the importance of making a positive contribution to their community. We believe that all children have the potential to become successful adults. Strong and healthy relationships with the pupils and with each other mean that staff really know the pupils and their needs and can ensure success is achieved by providing exactly the right support. Learning has always been and continues to be placed at the heart of The Rowans and all that we do and is key to the success of all our pupils.

We offer a truly inclusive school, where the pupils’ needs come first. We work hard to offer holistic support to families, encouraging them to have the confidence to make better-informed choices and work together with agencies and us, to make a real difference in their lives.

Through a bespoke combination of a challenging, engaging and progressive curriculum, a tailored interventions programme and cultural capital and enrichment activities, we can ensure that every pupil has the opportunity to experience success and make progress. All the staff work hard to promote a love of learning, which enhances pupils’ achievement and supports their personal, social and emotional development. The Rowans provides another chance for young people to access education, make progress and change the direction of their lives.

The Rowans works hard to be a community, to embrace diversity and promote tolerance and respect. Our community extends beyond the school and we take seriously the impact that our young people have on our community, supporting restorative justice, building connections and sharing our successes, building our profile within the community.

The Rowans AP Academy provides education which is responsive, flexible, and of the highest quality. All pupils have the right to an exciting and excellent education. The academic and emotional needs of young people are constantly changing and The Rowans seeks to provide the most effective and suitable support and education for these vulnerable young people. The Rowans will work to ensure the education that learners receive is tailored to meet their individual needs, is engaging and rich and designed to give them the skills to improve their life chances and therefore their futures. We aim to support the progress of the pupils enabling them to gain relevant and meaningful qualifications for their future pathways. All pupils will achieve an English and maths qualification, with the opportunity of achieving a further 7 qualifications across KS4, currently from a choice of 14 subjects, including academic and vocational routes. The development of the learner’s personal integrity, self-respect and citizenship is central to all work.

We aim for pupils:

to improve their educational attainment within a safe, caring and healthy environment.
to acquire the skills, self-esteem and experience that they will need for their own future development.
to be empowered to gain an understanding of who they are, what they want from life and how to achieve it.
to be prepared for the wider outside world, so that they can relate confidently to others and have the necessary skills and resilience to succeed and play a full part in the life of the community.

We believe that all children have the potential to become successful adults. Strong and healthy relationships with the pupils and with each other mean that staff really know the pupils and their needs and can ensure success is achieved by providing exactly the right support. Learning has always been and continues to be placed at the heart of The Rowans and all that we do and is key to the success of all our pupils.

Together with Trustees, staff and pupils, we have formulated our academy values which we base our daily school life on:

Inspiring change
Where the alternative is not inferior
Equipping pupils with qualifications and core values
“We see you, we hear you, we are with you.”

As Nelson Mandela said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Education is the key to eliminating gender inequality, to reducing poverty, to creating a sustainable planet, to preventing needless deaths and illness, and to fostering peace. Here at The Rowans we believe strongly in the view that education is a powerful tool to change the course of a young person’s life.

The Rowans was judged ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2015 and have continued on a journey of improvement since then. In October 2017, The Rowans AP won Pearson’s National ‘Outstanding Team of The Year’ Gold Plato. In 2020, The Rowans achieved ‘The National Safeguarding Initiative Award’ and in 2021 achieved ‘The AcSEED award for Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Support’ and Silver ‘Rights Respecting Schools’. There is a continual drive for development and improvement both as professionals and as part of the whole staff team.

More information can be found on our website: http://www.therowans.org/

Other useful sources of information/inspiration: