Thank You

'An excellent process. Challenging but very supportive. Lots of new ideas, even when we are doing very well, we could do better. Areas to improve made clear. Professional dialogue and deep questioning. Thorough understanding of my two tiny schools and our unique processes gained over the day. A good experience.'

Following our positive Ofsted inspection in 2017 we were keen to continue to drive improvements, especially to have a cohesive system in place to develop our strategic aims and development plans across education, therapy and care provided at St Rose’s for students with physical disabilities and complex health needs. Jon was recommended as someone who might be able to support us, and we were lucky enough to engage his services in 2018. At the beginning he listened to what we wanted and was able to translate our thoughts into a Strategic Plan and corresponding development plans. This has grown over the last 5 years and we now have a clear process that our self-evaluation feeds into as well as performance reviews for all staff. He has helped us to work with education, therapy and care staff to quality assure our offer. As well as this he has helped us to focus our governance and has provided support and training to our governing body. Jon has supported us to keep up to date with changes in legislation and continues to suggest ways that we can make improvements. He continues to challenge us during each visit and there is no doubt that the quality of what we do has improved as a result. This was borne out in a recent care inspection when we received outstanding for leadership and management. We appreciate the approach he takes which is collaborative and non-threatening and supportive, allowing us to develop processes and strategy.

'The sessions have been brilliant in helping me approach the day-to-day and more strategic challenges I face as a leader. I'm grateful to Jon - his experience, humour, and ability to challenge me to think through my options resulted in a series of really valuable sessions and I'm already feeling the difference in my working life'

'[Backdrop] was understanding of the context of the schools and challenges we face. The process was solution focused, non judgmental and passionate about showing our strengths and looking for areas to improve. The whole day allowed me and colleagues to spend time focusing on attendance. I feel a lot more ready to discuss our data and strategy moving forward.'

'[Backdrop} has provided me with valuable guidance in how to raise the attainment of PP children in our school. [The] advice has been incredibly important in shaping our PP policies and plans, giving us a solid base on which to build on."