Welcome to The Castle School which is located off Cedar street in Derby City.
The Castle School serves the pupils of Derby City all of whom are struggling to attend their mainstream setting owing to their medical needs. The School is also responsible for coordinating tuition to school age pupils who are on Puffin Ward at Derby Royal Hospital for prolonged periods of time
Pupils come onto the school roll via decisions made at the Local Authority Inclusion Placement panel for those with an EHCP or via Secondary Placement Panel. Schools send referral forms and accompanying medical information for consideration before a place is offered; these pupils will become dual registered with the referring school. Some pupils (who have an EHCP) might be named as The Castle School.
Pupils and their families arrive at our school following a period of social isolation and very poor school attendance. They are fearful of education and school owing to negative experiences or discriminated against in their previous setting. However, the immediate expectation is to attend full time following a period of induction. In some extreme cases (and with consultation with parents and other professionals) this timetable offer will be amended.
All pupils have a designated keyworker and teaching groups are usually no more than 10 pupils. Ideally, all dual registered pupils should return to their mainstream school but this is reviewed on a case by case basis.
Click below to read our most recent Ofsted Inspection Report.
Lia Copestake
Head of School - The Castle School
I’m proud to be a school leader at Kingsmead helping to shape the evolution and growth of the school and its community; establishing an inspiring, rich and varied curriculum for all our pupils.
In my role as Head of Secondary I oversee our Special School, PRU and Hospital Medical School – working closely with the Executive Head Teacher and a dedicated team of Assistant Head Teachers who have operational control of each site.
Kingsmead is a diverse and ambitious school where pupils of all abilities, aptitudes, special needs and social backgrounds thrive and achieve. Pupils currently on roll are from Keystage 3 and 4 and have arrived at the school through a variety of admission routes.
Pupils are at the heart of everything we do, and we aim for every child to enjoy their school experience, while developing the skills, experiences and qualifications to be successful in life. Colleagues at all levels share this vision and work tirelessly to provide a positive learning experience which meets the needs of all our pupils.
Our teaching and holistic support structures allow learning through engaging topics, while pupils who need to be challenged academically can access a broad range of topics delivered by specialists who will help them to achieve high GCSE grades.
At Kingsmead we believe every pupil can, and will, succeed providing the right opportunities are made available. And regardless of admission route or needs we believe that every day is a new day and a fresh start.
Emmet Bunting
Head of Secondary
We want to make sure you can access everything you need for any of our Kingsmead Schools and provisions, click below to get straight to the info you need...
Read the lovely words below from a parent and student. We are thrilled to have received such positive feedback.
Meet our team serving the Kingsmead School community
of students go on to successful P16 settings
of students make progress from their previous setting
of students gain qualifications appropriate to their ability
of students experience new curriculum opportunities
At Kingsmead School we offer a broad range of enriching opportunities to support the most effective transition between Primary, Secondary and Post 16. See below for an insight into some of the subjects and qualifications on offer
Our bespoke Outdoor Education courses are designed to nurture pupils’ holistic development whilst providing a rich,
Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the
We aim to ensure our students have the necessary skills required for employment. This comes through
The creative industries have moved into first place to be the fastest growing economic sector in
Design & Technology and Construction at Kingsmead is fun and interesting and allows you to design
It provides opportunities for students to: have hands-on experiences with food; learn about and gain confidence
The course is designed to give you a good overview and practical experience of all the
The Sports programme is designed and led to empower, build confidence, self-esteem, fitness, and teamwork skills
“Thank you for giving me my daughter back.”
“The team has brought out a really positive change in my son.”
“The support given be teachers and staff here is amazing.”
“We don’t’ have the complete school refusal and S has now done 3 full weeks which is a massive achievement”
“S is a lot more happy going to school. She looks at her timetable every morning so she knows what lessons she has got. She is absorbing what she is learning and happy to talk to me about it after school and tell me what she has done and learnt. She tells me she now likes school”
“ I absolutely love it at Castle school. I have never felt so happy, I have my own space to wander if needed and I need to stay at Castle as this is the school for me.”
“On my first day I said I had never laughed so much and felt that I finally belonged somewhere”
“Such amazing, caring and helpful staff. A real family team who care so much about the kids.”
“Key worker is fantastic – goes above and beyond.”
“My child is more settled. He is happier here than his previous placement.”
“The school have arranged visits which are a positive experience and support learning in the classroom.”
Scroll along to find our term dates, school holidays and inset days
School closed to students.
We look forward to welcoming you back to school on Thurs 01 Sep 2022!
We look forward to seeing you all in this next half term.
School closed to students.
Happy New Year and welcome back to school in 2023!
School closed to students.
We look forward to seeing you all in this next half term.
We look forward to seeing you all in this next half term.
School closed to students.
We look forward to seeing you all in this next half term.
If there is anything you couldn't find on our website, or you'd like to send us a message, please fill in the form below
Castle Education Centre
56 Cedar Street
Derby
DE22 1GE
01332 973869
If you require a paper version of the website, please contact [email protected] and we will arrange for this to be available.
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