Digital Media Internship

13th January 2023Website Admin

Are you looking for a unique internship experience? Are you interested in working within a dynamic team that supports students’ development? Do you want the opportunity to let your creative juices flow? 

We are looking for like minded individuals, wanting to gain design experience in a unique environment supporting Gesher school’s media team to showcase the incredible work our students are producing. You will have the opportunity to work within our media team led by our Storyteller and Curator to document and showcase everything that is taking place within the school to share with our community; including parents, governors, friends of Gesher, and the wider educational and Jewish communities. 

We are looking for someone who has: 

  • A passion for all things visual.
  • Experience using Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator for graphic design.
  • Experience video editing using Premiere Pro (After Effects knowledge would be a bonus).
  • Experience with photography and filming.
  • Excellent communication, organisation and time management skills.
  • An eye for detail and can think outside the box.
  • An interest in curating spaces, interior design and art.
  • Good understanding of tech specs, formatting and asset library organisation. 
  • Excellent understanding of the Google Suite. 
  • A willingness to become involved in all aspects of school life and culture, e.g. break and lunch times, clubs, school festivals and events etc. 
  • The ability to work well as part of a collaborative team. 
  • A right to work in the UK.

Gesher is an Ofsted Outstanding Independent Jewish All-Through Special School that offers children who are differently able and learn differently an exemplary and tailored education. Gesher ensures that each child’s needs are met through a whole and multi-therapeutic team approach with wellbeing and emotional health at the core. Gesher gives children the confidence and resilience to maximise their potential and flourish to the highest of their abilities.

This is what we can offer: 

  • A unique internship curating student work.
  • A chance to think creatively and see your ideas come to life. 
  • The opportunity to develop your multimedia skills using industry standard equipment and software.
  • Working within a dynamic multidisciplinary team supporting the whole child.
  • Becoming a fully integrated and integral member of the whole school team. 
  • Fantastic opportunities for professional development within an innovative, supportive and collaborative team environment.

This is what OFSTED had to say about our school: 

“Therapists, teachers and teaching assistants work together seamlessly as one team. They truly understand how to meet pupils’ varied special educational needs. While staff are nurturing, they also have high expectations of all pupils. As a result, pupils work hard and learn well.”  

Testimonials from current staff: 

“Gesher is unlike any other place I’ve worked. Not only are you surrounded by the most supportive team, but the amount of scope, independence and trust that is handed to you is truly empowering. No idea ever seems too big, creativity is always encouraged and every day is fun, exciting and endlessly rewarding.”

At Gesher we are always looking for people who want to join our learning community, and who are passionate about inspiring and empowering children and young people to have a future in which they can thrive. 

If interested, please email [email protected] with your CV and Cover Letter.

Our journey to Outstanding: How our second Ofsted inspection has proved real change is possible.

12th October 2022Ali Durban

by Ali Durban, Gesher Co-Founder

Gesher School started life almost 10 years ago.  An idea driven by a difficult lived experience of the education system for our own children and a vision and desire to create something better for many other children.  The first couple of years were intense.  Sarah, my co-founder, and I met in a school playground, at the time we had children in the same class at the school.  We both had full time jobs, young families and, although we were educated, neither of us had a background in education. 

It was an ambitious project.

And so, we educated ourselves, researching data, visiting schools across the UK and understanding the daily struggles of the unmet needs of what we discovered to be thousands of children and young people with mild to moderate learning differences.  

We knew there was a desperate need for change, something transformative.  We began a dialogue with our local Jewish community in North London, and advocated that, with the right start in life, this marginalised group of children and young people, who were typically under-served and failed by the current education system, could have different outcomes in life.  

We surrounded ourselves with experts and poured the very best of our shared knowledge into our collective vision.  However, translating an idea into a reality needs more than passion, purpose, and knowledge, it needs funding.  

So, at the same time we learnt to fundraise and to share our vision with people who cared about this group of children and their outcomes in life as deeply as we did.  They too believed that real change was possible. We call them Gesher Champions and together we raised £2m to kickstart Gesher.

In 2017, Gesher opened as a primary special school in Cricklewood with seven children who were differently able and who had learning differences. Seven families who had taken that leap of faith with us. These children were going to have a different educational experience. The feeling on the first day of seeing those children was immense.  A year later OfSTED visited and judged Gesher to be Outstanding in all Areas and, as the inspector shared his views, we all cried tears of joy. 

The school continued to develop and grow until eventually our site was full, with waiting lists and our primary children who were graduating had no specialist secondary schools to progress onto.  Then the pandemic hit, and amidst the challenges of supporting our children and families we were desperately looking for premises to expand and once again the funds to support our growth.

The universe tilted in our direction and in 2020, Gesher relocated to Pinner and opened as an all-through school, at full capacity it will be a school for 120 students aged 5 to 16.  To date we have raised over £5m with our Gesher Champions to support this second phase of growth.  Our vision remains the same, to build upon the success of the primary school and deliver an exceptional learning environment for children and young people who are differently able.  

We have been working hard over the last two years to create a new evidence-based model of teaching and learning for students with SEN that is academically rigorous with the long-term ambition of sharing our practice with other schools and learning communities.  Joining the dots and creating system change from the ground upwards.  

This September, Ofsted visited a second time and, under the new inspection framework judged Gesher to be Outstanding in all Areas again.  Given that we were expecting a ‘Good’ under the new framework, once again we were floored and in tears. In particular, the inspectors noted:

Pupils receive an exceptional quality of provision. Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum which is taught by the school’s expert staff. 

Together, the curriculum and therapies encourage pupils’ independent living skills and emotional well-being very successfully. 

Therapists, teachers and teaching assistants work together seamlessly as one team. They truly understand how to meet pupils’ varied special educational needs. While staff are nurturing, they also have high expectations of all pupils. As a result, pupils work hard and learn well.  

We are all immensely proud of this. 

Gesher is a learning community filled with agency, purpose and passion which puts children and young people at the heart of school life and this achievement is more than an endorsement. 

This is a signal of hope for thousands of differently-abled children and young people and perhaps most importantly – an offering of what is possible in education.

 

-ends-

 

The Difference A Building Can Make

26th April 2022Website Admin

Gesher Dramatherapist, Chris Gurney, talks about the difference a bigger building has made.

The therapy provision that we offer at Gesher is integral in helping our pupils access the school setting, as well as providing them with the skills required to engage with the wider world and home environments. Since moving to our new larger premises our therapy team has talso expanded to include the following:

• Two full-time speech & language therapists; their focus is supporting the social communication needs of the pupils, and assisting with language development.

• Two full-time occupational therapists; they work on a wide range of skills, including self-care (i.e. toileting, dressing, feeding, etc.) and typing/writing, as well as specific targets related to fine and gross motor skills.

• Two full-time creative arts psychotherapists; an art therapist and a dramatherapist support the pupils with their wellbeing and mental health, as well as assisting the development of emotional understanding and social skills using creative and child-led techniques.

• One part-time educational psychologist; they work closely with both teachers and parents in helping to ensure every pupil’s needs are understood and well-known. They are familiar with each child and offer interventions where needed to assist with specific needs such as dyslexia and attachment disorder.

The therapy team is incredibly blessed to have a number of dedicated therapy spaces throughout the school that allow for them to work closely with the pupils without impacting the academic side of their education.

In fact, both therapy and academics go hand-in-hand in creating a holistic experience for the students that helps prepare them for their future.

Currently, the therapy team has begun working with both pupils and families in helping educate the young people at Gesher about their needs and those of others, with the goal being that they can ultimately become advocates for themselves and the SEN community at large. Whilst every child is viewed as an individual and will therefore have different long-term outcomes, one thing that we aim for with all our pupils is that they will be able to be happy and reach their potential. This is not something that would necessary be possible without our provision as these children would often be viewed as disruptive or unable to engage. With the skills that the therapy team support our pupils to develop alongside the rest of the school team, we are excited to see how our therapy provision continues to grow alongside the school as we move further into secondary education.

Gesher’s Big Build

26th April 2022Ali Durban

In July 2021 we embarked upon our most ambitious fundraising exercise to date – Gesher’s Big Build.

Having found a new site to relocate and expand our school, we spent 8 months with architects and planners to assess the work needed to transform a one form entry, mainstream primary school into an all through school for SEN pupils. We will need to spend £6.5m in total over a number of years to modernise, update and adapt the building. The infrastructure and use of spaces are critical as they reflect our approach to education. Our fund raiser in July was the first phase of this project allowing us to do the first tranche of work. It was a remarkable weekend and we felt truly enveloped by the support and generosity shown towards the campaign from across the community and beyond. Over 24 hours we raised a staggering £2.2m. Thank you to all who took part, including the charity extra team, our Big Build Team, the Gesher students and of course all of our wonderful donors.

Jane from Cube Design on the process of building Gesher.

cube_design have been delighted to assist Gesher School with the development of their facilities at Canon Lane, Pinner. The School is an inspiration to any designer.

 

As a major player in the educational market, we have been excited to develop the design principles for the school.

An existing building, completed in the 1990s, has provided an excellent facility and baseline from which we have been able to develop our pallet and design aspirations for the school.

 

 

The creation of spaces, which are large enough for teaching theory, practical; the forthcoming maker spaces and the occupational therapy areas will be exemplary in terms of their design and dealing with the key issues of the pupilsʼ needs and pedagogical links.

The maker space will offer a unique opportunity to combine practical, theoretical and day-to-day citizenship and communication required to develop the young pupils at the school.

The spaces have been carefully designed to provide the linkages, year group bases, direct links to the externalspaces for play and interaction, all within a very secure and safe environment.

The main hall provides an immense facility for the children in terms of gymnastics, games and drama. It also provides a base for the dining facilities and is an ideal large space for full school assembly.

The external spaces are amazing! The facilities provide external covered play, to exist in three locations, themed areas and covered canopies linking out directly from spaces including the soft play and occupational therapy. These provide each pupil with the opportunity to experience inside outside space and recreation.

This project has offered an immense opportunity to provide, for the pupils, a light and airy environment. As part of the refurbishment, we have incorporated full refurbishment of the existing services, ensuring that health and safety priorities, i.e. avoiding contact with radiators, are met and providing natural ventilation throughout to ensure the best environment for the pupils. This has also been incorporated as part of the lighting design.

The spaces are large, generally 60sqm as a minimum, naturally ventilated with amazing daylighting facilities; and with the development of the team in terms of specialist FF&E, provide areas for quiet, therapy, academic and practical teaching.

We have also spent a significant amount of time considering the acoustics and the inclusion wherever possible, of acoustic panels to ensure that the right environment and reverberation is provided within the spaces.

An existing interior design has also been developed with our team.

cube_design is extremely proud to be associated with the Gesher School.

 

Gesher’s Big Build

26th April 2022Website Admin

In July 2021 we embarked upon our most ambitious fundraising exercise to date – Gesher’s Big Build.

Having found a new site to relocate and expand our school, we spent 8 months with architects and planners to assess the work needed to transform a one form entry, mainstream primary school into an all through school for SEN pupils. We will need to spend £6.5m in total over a number of years to modernise, update and adapt the building. The infrastructure and use of spaces are critical as they reflect our approach to education. Our fund raiser in July was the first phase of this project allowing us to do the first tranche of work. It was a remarkable weekend and we felt truly enveloped by the support and generosity shown towards the campaign from across the community and beyond. Over 24 hours we raised a staggering £2.2m. Thank you to all who took part, including the charity extra team, our Big Build Team, the Gesher students and of course all of our wonderful donors.

The Gesher Way

25th April 2022Ali Durban

Ali and Sarah were asked to define what Gesher means to them — what is the Gesher way? Hereʼs what they had to say…

Ali:

Gesher has a number of different elements that make it truly unique. And whilst it they are all critical in the development and the outcomes of our students, it is the people in the school, around the school and behind the school that make it unique.

Collectively they are part of a relational community who are working towards a greater good and purpose; whose unconditional care and persistent commitment to our students that has enabled the school to flourish.

They form the character, culture, and heartbeat of the school. One of relational warmth, care, and compassion, where every voice is heard and every voice matters.  A commitment to being bold and brave, with a relentless pursuit of ensuring equity and opportunity. And where all children and young people are celebrated for who they are and the work they do.

 

This is the Gesher way.

 

Sarah:

Rabbi Sacks zʼl said

“The world our children will inherit tomorrow is born in the schools

we build today”.

The word ʻwayʼ has two meanings. It can mean ʻa method or a style of doing thingsʼ or it can be ʻthe pathway, track to travelʼ. And those two meanings perfectly encompass Gesher. The word Gesher means bridge. We aim for every one of our students to successfully step onto their bridge, ʻtheir pathʼ, walk across it and embrace all the opportunities the world has to offer. But to do that successfully takes a team of support.

The Gesher Way encompasses ambition, building relationships, having compassion and fundamentally – being collaborative.

We have sought to create a community of young people, parents, educators, therapists, exemplary schools, experts in SEND and autism, volunteers, philanthropists and foundations, future employers and faith-based organisations; all with a voice, all with a purpose and a part to play in the development of Gesher.

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23rd September 2021realsmart admin

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