... our Executive Headteacher

I am very proud to be the Executive Head of New River College, which I joined in 2010. At NRC, we work hard to support all our pupils to learn and achieve in a safe and nurturing school environment. We are committed to helping them manage their emotions and behaviour and to acquire the skills they need for their next steps – whether that be returning to mainstream schooling, or moving on to further education or work.

Our pupils face many and varied challenges including feelings of rejection, failure and disillusionment with school; long periods without education and care; and lack of the specialist support they need to make progress. They also face the judgment and expectations of other people, who may not understand their challenges, and often underestimate their abilities and potential.

At New River College, we show our pupils that we care, in many different ways. We provide a safe, supportive learning space, personalised learning plans and support in every lesson and every intervention and support their personal development with a focus on their emotional health and wellbeing. We also look to their futures – using SEN strategies to support our younger pupils and providing relevant courses and career paths to help our older pupils progress onto further education and work.

To achieve the best outcomes for our young people, our committed and enthusiastic staff work closely with local agencies including Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services, family support, Safer School, occupational therapists, careers advisers, educational psychologists, and the Virtual School and social care professionals where necessary. We also have an outreach team that delivers training to Islington schools to help with their behaviour and special educational needs issues and which supports young people making the transition back into mainstream school.

For us, success means seeing our young people eager to attend school and learn. It’s also about seeing them make progress where often they haven’t before and ready to return to take their next steps – with confidence. Those we work with who are reintegrated into mainstream educations tend to do well. All our students leave with qualifications, and over the last 10 years, we’ve had virtually no students become NEET – not in education, employment or training. Some of our pupils have gone on to become head boys in mainstream schools, others to train as teachers, apply for a place at Cambridge and run their own businesses.

Looking to the future, I want to see all our young people get a fair deal – this isn’t always the case – and we will continue to get the message out that our pupils can and do succeed – with the right support and care.

Nigel Smith