Clarity Independent School
"Refreshed learning that changes lives."
About Us
Clarity Independent School is a special needs school for moderate learning difficulties and complex learning profiles, located in the sleepy village of Sandon, on the outskirts of the city of Chelmsford. We cater for children from the ages of 6-17. Here, our staff strive to have an expert knowledge and deep understanding of each of the children's needs so that we can work hard to support them through their academic and personal developmental growth.
We are a small school, holding up to 13 students. This allows us to fully provide for and focus on the students enrolled, so we can help them thrive and learn to the best of their ability.
We specifically cater for children needing a quiet, nurturing environment.
Clarity Independent School caters for a wide range of Special Educational Needs (SEN):
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Cognitive and learning needs
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SpLD (specific learning difficulties) e.g. dyslexia, memory / processing difficulties, auditory processing difficulties etc. / ADHD
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MLD (moderate learning difficulties)
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Behavioural, emotional and social development needs (relating to their SEND)
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Social, emotional, mental health (SEMH) difficulties (relating to their SEND)
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Communication and interaction needs
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Speech and language communication needs
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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
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Sensory and physical needs
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Physical disability
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Long term illness needing extra nurture before returning to mainstream
Our Christian Ethos
Our Christian ethos places love at the centre of all that we do, as it says in the bible: "Faith, hope and love - the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13) At Clarity, we believe that children thrive in a loving environment, where they are free to be themselves, to be happy, to grow and learn. They are encouraged not only to tolerate each other, but to have an all-encompassing mutual respect for each other, their teachers and for other staff and visitors, learning ways to celebrate their uniqueness and individuality. We spend a significant amount of time learning about how to do this in practice so that they can become the best, healthiest and most successful form of themselves. We aim to be a school where children have fun, are confident learners with a high self-esteem; where children learn to love learning and carry this ethos with them throughout their lives.
This means that at Clarity, we use a nurturing approach to provide a safe environment which allows pupils to focus on learning and practising virtues that promote healthy values, such as patience, kindness, celebrating each other’s successes, humility, showing honour to each other (and not judging each other), sharing and looking out for others. Self-control, forgiving others and being happy to tell the truth are central to this. Ruptures in relationships are resolved and repaired before the children leave for home.
We learn and practice qualities for good relationships, such as trusting others, standing up for them, never giving up hope and always persevering. Children are encouraged to think carefully before making decisions. Where less-wise decisions are made, the children are supported with the consequences, without judgement, and are encouraged to try again. We recognise that we learn from our failures, and that to FAIL, is merely the First Attempt In Learning.
As a staff team, we enjoy modelling this to the children as we interact with each other. We expect exemplar behaviour from each other, whilst being real. We recognise that we sometimes make mistakes, and that’s okay, but it is important to admit them, repair the situation quickly and move on.
As a whole school community, we aim to treat everyone fairly, but this doesn’t mean that everyone is treated the same. Sometimes firmness is needed to keep standards high, work efficient and deadlines met, but this is done with fairness and kindness and with an attitude of love. We care for each other and want this to be a school where everyone is valued, has a voice and can share their gifts and talents. We do this because we have a passion to help children to become their best, to support them in restarting their learning, which we know changes lives.