Purim & Gesher’s Annual Staff Music Video!!

28th March 2024Website Admin

Last week was filled with joy as we celebrated Purim with parents, grandparents, and Gesher volunteers! From dressing up to delicious treats, our Enrichment morning was brilliant. Students enjoyed making Hamantaschens (triangular cookies with jam or chocolate inside) and Mishloach Manot (Food packages for friends), crafting puppets and masks, and we even had a petting zoo visit! As a lot of you know, part of Gesher’s tradition is our annual staff Purim video, featuring a hilarious mashup of songs from The Greatest Showman which you can watch below. We hope you all had a wonderful celebration!

Purim 2024: The Greatest Showman Staff Video from Gesher School on Vimeo.

Introducing Gesher and United Synagogue’s Lead Advocate for Additional Needs

31st January 2024Website Admin

We are delighted to announce that Gesher School have partnered with The United Synagogue so that we can work together effectively, to make Jewish Communities more accessible, not only for our Gesher children, but for all children and adults with additional needs. In line with this, we have appointed Rivka Steinberg to harness the expertise of Gesher School and share it with our communities, in the role of Lead Advocate for Additional needs. She will be spending her time both at Gesher School and the Finchley US office.

In a previous chapter of my life, I spent many years working in scientific research. My interest in improving the quality of education and health services for children with Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND), developed, when my eldest daughter was diagnosed with a physical disability in 2005 and with it the requirement to become a strong advocate for all her additional needs. I trained with IPSEA (Independent provider of SEND legal advice) to develop a strong knowledge of the SEND legislation and I have used my broad knowledge and skills gained over many years, to advise parent carers on SEND matters. I have also worked for voluntary organisations, specialist settings and parent advocacy with Local Authorities.

My personal and professional experiences have seeded a desire and passion to share the knowledge acquired in my own journey and to work closely with leadership in the community, to enable all children and adults, to lead a high quality of life, regardless of their additional needs. This is all about breaking down barriers so that children and adults with needs, are more fully integrated and supported to embody Jewish life in ways that are meaningful to them without feeling compromised.

It is no longer enough that we raise awareness outside of Gesher School, neither can we allow this vital work to be regarded within the framework of a charitable agenda. Rather we need to actively share Gesher’s expertise and resources so communities will make room for difference, engaging wholeheartedly in access and inclusion work, so that children and adults will be enabled in all facets of Jewish community life. It’s about seeing the ‘ability’ in Disability.

I am very excited to be part of Gesher School and to really make a difference as the Lead Advocate for Additional Needs. Some of the projects we are looking at include:

  • Supporting the preparation of Inclusive services, Chagim, sessions and events
  • Sharing strategies, resources and tips
  • Engaging more members and families in US.

If you have any suggestions or you would just like to be in touch with me directly then please do reach out to me at [email protected].

Hiring: Educational Psychologist Consultant

15th September 2023Website Admin

Required for: As soon as possible

Hours and Pay:  Pay dependent on experience. 2 days per half term

Condition of employment: Permanent/Contacted/Freelance

‘Therapists, teachers and teaching assistants work together seamlessly as one team. They truly understand how to meet pupils’ complex special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). While staff are nurturing, they also have high expectations of all pupils. As a result, pupils work hard and learn well’. – OFSTED September 2022.

Gesher School is a unique all-through school providing a specialist, meaningful and functional learning environment for young people with mild to moderate special educational needs. This includes ASC, ADHD, Down’s Syndrome and MLD.

We are seeking to appoint an experienced, enthusiastic and innovative Educational Psychologist to join our team.

The successful Educational psychologist will:

  • Assess children’s learning and emotional needs
  • Design, develop and support therapeutic and behaviour management programmes
  • Work collaboratively with colleagues to advise on the best approaches and provisions to support learning and development
  • Support parents, teachers and others involved with the education of children and young people
  • Write reports making recommendations on action to be taken
  • Attend regular meetings involving our multidisciplinary team on how best to meet the social, emotional, behavioural and learning needs of the children and young people in your care
  • Develop and apply effective interventions to promote psychological well being, social, emotional and behavioural development, and to raise educational standards.
  • Make recommendations on students Educational Healthcare Plans (EHCP) and contribute to the annual review/ EHCP process
  • Work with children and young people who are experiencing problems that hinder their successful learning, participation and opportunity to flourish at school and other extracurricular activities.
  • Promote and support children/young people’s emotional well-being and mental health and work alongside other key professionals to reach a shared understanding of the children/young person’s needs, and what support and interventions can enable their progress, which includes observations, interviews and assessments of the child.
  • Provide and support in-service training for teachers and other professionals.

The Successful candidates will have:

  • Honours degree in psychology or equivalent, recognised by the British Psychological Society as conferring eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartered Status, a professional postgraduate qualification in Educational Psychology (MSc or Doctorate)
  • Registered member of HCPC (Health Care Professions Council) or registration in process.
  • Excellent communication, organisation and time management skills.
  • The ability to work well as part of a collaborative team
  • A right to work in the UK
  • A passionate commitment to ensuring all children are given the opportunities to shine and achieve educationally;
  • They are able to work collaboratively in the best interests of the child/young person with other professionals;
  • They understand and can articulate what constitutes high quality inclusive education provision; They are open-minded and have a sensitive approach when dealing with children and young people
  • Experience and expertise in autism and supporting staff in managing challenging behaviour is also essential.

See us in action here:

https://vimeo.com/407682934/a9a6af1bc8

You will join a supportive staff team where teamwork, flexibility and a positive personality are essential attributes.

For more information relating to the above role, or to apply, please contact Victoria Rutter, Head of Therapies 0207 884 5102 or email [email protected]

MACCABI GB COMMUNITY FUN RUN

28th April 2023Website Admin

Ready, set, go! 🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️ The registrations for the Maccabi Fun Run are now open! Join us for a day filled with fun and fitness. You can sign up for a 10k, 5k run, 5k walk, or 1k run. It’s the perfect opportunity to challenge yourself and enjoy a great day out. Don’t miss out on this incredible event. Register now and let’s get moving!

https://register.enthuse.com/ps/event/MaccabiGBCommunityFunRun2023?utm_source=Maccabi+GB&utm_campaign=c1bfad1342-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_03_25_09_50_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_767b0837dd-c1bfad1342-356158736

Volunteering Opportunity: Minibus Driver

17th March 2023Website Admin

We looking for dedicated and experienced minibus drivers to transport our students to weekly swim sessions and ad-hoc outings. As a driver, you will play a vital role in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students, while also providing a friendly and comfortable transportation experience.

By volunteering, you will be providing our students with a unique opportunity to attend invaluable swimming sessions that will contribute significantly to their development. Our curriculum includes a variety of trips throughout the year, and we rely on volunteers to help us transport students to venues that are not easily accessible by public transport.

Driving our minibus will be a rewarding experience that enables you to make a meaningful impact on our students’ education and personal growth.

What are we looking for?

  • You will need to have the D1 entitlement on your driving licence and be over the age of 21.
  • Previous experience driving a minibus is advantageous.
  • A desire to work with neurodivergent young people

What training will I get?

You will receive a full induction on the vehicle you will be driving.

The school team will provide you with an understanding of the strengths and needs of our students.

What should I do if I’m interested? 

If you are interested in volunteering for this role or would like some more information, please email [email protected]

The art of resilience

17th March 2023Website Admin

Resilience

/rɪˈzɪlɪəns/

noun

1. the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
the remarkable resilience of so many institutions

2. the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.
nylon is excellent in wearability and resilience

Resilience is a process of moving through difficult or traumatic experiences and adapting and growing. Resilience can be cultivated in individuals and strengthened. For some people it can be challenging to identify positive aspects of themselves, and as such, the metaphor of resilience in nature could be a useful emotional bridge helping ourselves realise the ways in which we are already resilient. 

The Art Process: Absorbing Strength & Finding Meaning

Look at some of these images below for a minute or two and ask yourself: 

  • What do these images have in common?
  • Do they remind you of anything?
  • Have you ever seen nature like this yourself?
  • Is there one image that you find yourself particularly drawn to and why?
  • How did these (flowers, trees, rocks) have to adapt in order to survive?

After thinking about these questions, you may want to think about the ways in which you are resilient yourself. 

I invite you to draw or come up with an image from nature that represents your personal resilience, which is a symbolic self-portrait, using nature for inspiration. 

Using nature as a metaphor may help to create deep personal meaning, to feel acknowledged for our struggles as well as our inner strength.

Reference:

Hiring: Secondary SEND Classroom Teaching Assistant

16th March 2023Website Admin

Required for: September 2024

Hours and Pay: Monday-Friday,  8am-4pm, competitive salary. 

Gesher School is a unique all-through school providing a specialist, meaningful and functional learning environment for young people with special educational needs. This includes language, communication and social pragmatic difficulties. We have a specialism in autism spectrum challenges (ASC).

Young people are at the heart of Gesher School, where we foster a sense of belonging and community. Our school offers a happy, safe, friendly, and stimulating environment in which young people are supported to learn, interact and have fun.  We believe that all young people have the potential to achieve, but that every child is individual and requires a tailored, young person-centred approach to learning.

The Gesher approach is warm, friendly and nurturing. Emotional health and resilience, developing young people’s independence and learning, is at the core of our vision.

At Gesher we provide:

  • Opportunities that enable young people to thrive as we want our children to be ambitious about achieving their full potential
  • A collaborative learning team around every young person to support each young person’s learning needs and maximise meaningful learning opportunities
  • A therapeutic team that works together with families to nurture and support young people’s emotional, social, and academic development
  • A partnership with families to improve the lives and life chances of young people with SEND by ensuring that they are healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution, and experience the wider community

Being part of our learning community, you will be able to use your creativity and shape the way our school provides excellent learning opportunities for our young people.

As a member of our team, you will:

  • Join an innovative learning community with ambitious practices. Not only do we want to have an impact on the young people in our school, we also want to help shape the future of special education nationally and internationally. 
  • Join a committed community of staff and parents and wider supporters.
  • Be supported to become the best you can be. We believe in valuing all our staff and therefore take professional development very seriously. In return for their high level of commitment to enabling our young people to reach the best outcomes, we will provide our staff with excellent opportunities for growth and development.
  • Always be supported in terms of your leadership and you will be able to take on responsibilities in various areas of school life.
  • Have access to a network of forward-thinking practitioners (Big Education, Rethinking Assessment, XP, etc.) via other members of our team. 

For further information, please visit www.gesherschool.com. 

To apply, please complete an application which can be found here. 

Please, complete and return your application by May 16th to [email protected]. CVs will not be accepted. 

Interviews will be organised on a rolling basis. This ad may be withdrawn as a suitable candidate is identified. 

Diversity is a core value of Gesher School.  We believe the power of diversity enriches all of us by exposing us to a range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design and deliver solutions. As such, we actively encourage people from a variety of backgrounds to apply for roles at our school. 

Gesher School is committed to safeguarding young people and staff. Successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced DBS check.

Celebrating World Book Day

6th March 2023Website Admin

Gesher’s World Book Day celebration was a resounding success, with a host of educational activities aimed at fostering a love of reading among students. The day’s highlight was ‘The Big Write,’ a collaborative story-writing exercise where each class contributed a part to create a whole-school story. The students’ enthusiasm and creativity shone through as they worked together to weave a compelling tale.

 In the afternoon, the classrooms were transformed into magical worlds inspired by some of the best books, allowing students to immerse themselves in their favourite literary worlds while learning at the same time. This thematic approach to learning provided an engaging and exciting experience for the students, who left the day feeling motivated and inspired to continue reading and learning.

Rimon class celebrated by exploring the theme of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! They even made a video tasting different kinds of chocolate to see which ones were their favourites. It was a sweet way to honour the importance of reading and the joy of books.

The celebration of World Book Day highlighted the transformative power of books in transporting us to new worlds, sparking our imaginations, and broadening our perspectives. From classic literature to modern-day bestsellers, books have the ability to inspire, entertain, and educate us. By reminding students of the magic of storytelling, we were able to emphasise the incredible impact that books can have on our lives.

Overall, World Book Day was a great success, fostering a love of reading and inspiring students to continue exploring the wonders of literature.

The Big Write – by Gesher School

Once upon a time, in a land far far away a superhero went swimming in a pool. Then she flew back home to eat an apple. After, she went to the beach to go swimming. She was feeling happy. Later, she went to the jungle and met a bear. She took carrots and ice cream to the jungle and ate them there. Later the superhero went to Westminster Abbey by the Jubilee Line. She sat on a chair with lights all around her and met King Charles.  

She took the train to see her daddy, who lives in the scary jungle. On her way, she saw a fox. He was busy eating a burger. He was soft and he was as wide as a train! He was as long as a snake. She was visiting her daddy because she hadn’t seen him in a long time… and she had something important to tell him… 

Jonny the Rabbit, the SUPERVILLAN was coming to steal his bedroom and EAT HIM! This made her feel sad. But she had to save her daddy.

She needed help, so she called her friend Jack who was another superhero. He had lots of powers, including speed, fireballs, lighting, super strength, and ice blast! 

He teleported onto the train – BANG! She was shocked, but she said “I am so happy you are here. Now help me!” “I can help you but we have to be quick because I don’t have much time. I am a very busy person and I have to go to Dominos for pizza later!” The superhero girl, who was called Anna, said “But I really need help or my dad will be eaten by a supervillain rabbit! Do you really choose pizza over my dad?”

Anna and Jack realised they needed a plan to help Anna’s dad. They needed rope, carrots, and a giant trap. Jack compromised and said he could help if they got Dominos delivered so he could eat pizza while he helped. Anna agreed and they super-blasted to her dad’s house. When they got there, her dad was shouting for help. Anna and Jack told him they were there to help. They were both nervous but Jack was too busy being hungry and thinking about his pizza.

Anna turned to Jack and said, “order the pizza, I’ll start the fight then set up the trap. I’ll have a pizza with olives and…” “Sure, but please hurry, I’m hungry”, said Jack. “I’ll have extra cheese,” Anna exclaimed as she ran towards the house. She heard her dad screaming inside for help. “Ahhh, help the bunny is attacking me with a carrot sword. He’s about to hit my head!” screamed Anna’s dad. Anna slowly entered the house and started creeping up the stairs to her father’s master bedroom. She opened the double doors gently and saw the seemingly cute, adorable bunny trying to kill her father. Anna instantly felt anxious, worried and filled with fear. She started thinking: I’ve got to save my dad, or else… I need to get that bunny outside into Jack’s trap. Maybe with lots of carrots. But how?

Anna came up with a plan whilst eating her scrumptious Dominos. She dug a hole so deep and gigantic that the rabbit would never be able to escape. She took the carrots and placed them on the floor and started to walk over to get the job done. Anna decided she was going to karate-kick the bunny in the face. She kicked as high as the sky and the rabbit went flying. After this, Anna began to impersonate the rabbit by hopping quickly. The bunny soon noticed the long trail of neon orange carrots and frantically hopped over. The rabbit couldn’t stop in time and fell into the hole – SPLAT! 

The rabbit fell hard onto the brown mud and soil. He was slightly wounded and he hurt his leg. He wanted to trick Anna and her dad, James, so that he could carry out the mission and kill him. He decided to fake his own death. He screamed as loud as a fart for 30 seconds to deceive the superheroes. After a short while, the screams stopped and the rabbit was not moving. Anna and her dad sighed in relief and jumped for joy as they thought the evil rabbit was dead. They skipped away merrily. 

Everyone went to the kitchen and they met two new superheroes. One was a superhero who wore blue and red and the other one was a superhero who wore yellow. The blue and red superhero was feeling sick and the yellow superhero was feeling sick too. They had to go to the doctor which was in Waterloo. The doctor used temperatures and a thermometer to make them better. When they were feeling better the superheroes went climbing. Then they felt happy. 

GESHER OPEN DAY UPDATE

2nd March 2023Website Admin

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to give you all a quick update about the Gesher School Open Day that was supposed to be happening in March. Unfortunately, we’ve had to postpone it until October for some unforeseen reasons. We know some of you were looking forward to it, but we hope you can bear with us on this one.

The good news is that we’re still going to have an amazing Open Day in October and we’re going to make sure it’s even better than we originally planned. We’re excited to show you what Gesher School has to offer and we hope to see you all there!

Thanks for your understanding and we’ll keep you posted on the details for the October event.

Cheers,

The Gesher School Team