What Visitors Think
Hi Martyn,
I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to work in your amazing school. I have worked in lots of schools in my time and can honestly say Horizon is up there with the best.
The transformation you have made over the past few years is phenomenal. The calmness of the teachers when interacting with the students is amazing to witness, this then creates a positive culture throughout. The communication within the school is evident, each pupil knows what they are doing any time of the day. The environment in the school is perfect, the relationships with staff and pupils is fantastic, mixed with the culture, this is a recipe for success in my opinion.
Dear Mr Gordon,
I hope you don’t mind me sending you this email as I feel it’s important to let you , your staff and students know how as a police officer I feel in relation to the partnership work we have carried out together recently.
I started to attend the Horizon School, approximately 2 years ago at your invitation. I know from past experiences from other police officers that the School (formerly the PRU) could prove to be a difficult visit in that some students were already anti police for numerous reasons, with a pre conceived negative opinion instilled by others and with the students already excluded from mainstream school for many complex reasons. This previously meant a difficult visit for many police officers to attend the PRU.
However, with all of the changes that have taken place since your appointment, can I say that the warm welcome from you and all of your colleagues and students which I have received from day one has been amazing.
I have now held numerous one to one sessions with all of your students and hope to continue this moving forward as the students have engaged with me positively and have asked me for more sessions , which is testament to where you have taken Horizon and the students you are producing.
I have seen for myself the changes that you Martyn and your staff have introduced into the Horizon School, this is fantastic in the fact that we can now positively concentrate on partnership work, build the trust with the students and police and see the students safely return back into mainstream school, in a much stronger position than when you arrived. I am told is a many as 22 students in the time that we have all invested in each other.
Keep up the amazing work Martyn, thank you and your wonderful staff.
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Horizon School this week. It was incredible to look round the school and see all of the students working so purposefully and enthusiastically. What really impressed me was the relationships between students and staff and the manners and respect the students show to staff and visitors. This school has come such a long way in the last few years and the deal the students receive is very impressive. Well done to everyone involved and keep up the good work.
During my visit to the Horizon School, Mr Gordon was able to take me on a tour of the facilities. The tour involved visits to classrooms, where I saw a variety of lessons delivered to small groups of students which included subjects such as Maths, Science and English. I was also able to visit communal areas such as the Library and Social Areas.
All of the classrooms contributed towards stimulating learning environments and I was impressed with the displays that both supported learning and demonstrated learning gained. In all of the lessons the students were fully engaged and demonstrated respect for their teacher, their peers and the environment that they were working in. They demonstrated strong engagement and enjoyment in their learning. Teachers were knowledgeable in their subjects and it was clear that they had put a great deal of thought into the delivery of the lessons seen.
Horizon is bright and welcoming. Student behaviour at all times was good and students were happy to engage in conversation with myself. I was very impressed with everything on display.
Dear Mr Gordon, Firstly thank you for a great placement over the last term, this experience has helped me learn so much. Especially in terms of the importance of watching your leadership promote a positive culture and valuing staff well-being. This reflects on the work force, as the staff have a very positive outlook. Similarly little games such as the Friday night quiz provide a great outlet at the end of the day.
Please can I thank all the staff for supporting me with my planning and delivery. This school made the placement in school something I looked forward to each day.
The students were all a credit to the school and I enjoyed teaching and observing them over the course of the placement. I know with your guidance and support they will all go on to achieve what you want in life.
My experience overall was nothing short of amazing in every aspect. Having taught at over 10 schools on supply for the past 4 years across mainstream, SEND and alternative provisions I can say I had the best experience during my time at the Horizon School. I am inspired to continue in this field of education and would certainly consider working in a PRU in the future – because of the amazing work you do.
Yours sincerely,
“Hartlepool Pupil Referral Unit has been through a period of change over the past 18 months. Since the appointment of the new Headteacher in September, pupils say there has been a huge change in culture and atmosphere. Staff agree. The school is now a calm and friendly environment. Pupils are happy, safe and able to learn.
Staff know the pupils well. Pupils respond to the positive relationships built by staff. Staff have worked hard this academic year to change the way they react and respond to pupils. This helps pupils to be more in control of their anger and emotions. Leaders’ analysis shows that pupils’ behaviour has improved significantly.
Staff ensure that day-to-day routines, rewards and sanctions for negative behaviours are clear. They consistently implement these. This ensures pupils know exactly what they need to do. Staff greet pupils every morning. Over breakfast, they gauge what support a child may need to settle into learning. Pupils say they are not worried about bullying because other pupils are not ‘allowed to get away with it’. Classes are small and pupils feel they build strong friendships.
Teachers have high aspirations for pupils and their next steps in life. By the time a pupil leaves the school, they have secured a college or apprenticeship place. Pupils who attend school behave well. Any behaviour issues in the classroom are dealt with quickly and with humour. Staff say they are trained to meet the needs of pupils earlier, before behaviour becomes a barrier to learning. Relationships between staff and pupils are strong. Pupils respect the teachers as they ‘talk to us fairly, like adults’. Staff know the pupils well and this supports the pupils to learn because they want to be in school.
Pupils have lots of opportunities to develop their personal and social skills. Pupils spoke confidently about how they are taught to keep themselves safe by discussing topics such as drug misuse, smoking cessation and healthy eating. They access a wide range of sporting activities, both through the rewards programme and playing in a football league with other schools. Careers education and positive progress for post-16 is a focus for leaders. Careers leaders provide pupils with a clear understanding of what they can achieve after school. This work is supported by strong links with a local college. Leaders ensure that pupils receive helpful advice about their next steps. As a result, pupils are well prepared to leave school after Year 11.”
“I recently visited The Horizon School, Hartlepool and was welcomed by the Headteacher with an enthusiasm that reinforced and underpinned my whole visit. The students in their different curriculum areas, received fantastic support and the students were both engaged and more importantly showing great behaviour in their lessons. The ethos was clearly about aspiration – every room had positive affirmations and a very clear theme that helped students to think longer-term about their life choices. Within a short space of time, since Mr Gordon took over the leadership of the The Horizon School and with the full acknowledgement of Ofsted in their most recent report – The Horizon School is moving from strength to strength, in the right direction with the key focus being on the needs, aspirations, behaviour and progress of the students who are based there. Congratulations and well done to all the staff and students for working as a team to make better decisions and life choices.”
“I visited The Horizon School, Hartlepool to experience the day to day running of another PRU and I have to say thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent there.
The staff were all very warm and welcoming upon my arrival and throughout the day. I was given my own timetable of lessons to attend throughout the day which shows how much thought went into my visit. Lessons are engaging and the pupils all responded well. The students were polite and friendly towards me and I couldn’t have been made to feel more welcome from students and staff throughout the day.
The Horizon School, Hartlepool is a fantastic provision and it is making a massive difference to the lives of the students.
Thank you for having me.”
“Upon my visit to The Horizon School, Hartlepool I was warmly greeted by their staff. After my meeting with the Headteacher had finished, students were already eagerly waiting for Mr Gordon to present their work to him. This demonstrated to me how proud the students are of their school and their education. The students were inquisitive as to who I was and politely introduced themselves to me.
More staff arrived and it was quite clear to see the excellent relationships the staff and students have with each other. I was really impressed overall with the whole of the learning environment, the behaviour is excellent and the atmosphere is calm and purposeful.”
“Ambition Institute is a graduate school for teachers, school leaders and system leaders serving children from disadvantaged background. Our programmes, combined with our national network, support educators at every stage – from new teachers through to leaders of groups of schools – to keep getting better. Our network has supported over 14,000 educators across 2,800 schools and trusts, impacting on the lives of over 1.5 million children. We were delighted to recently visit The Horizon School, Hartlepool to see the work that Martyn Gordon and his team are implementing. Martyn, a former graduate of our Future Leaders programme, is implementing an ambitious vision for the children and for colleagues within The Horizon School, Hartlepool. The relentless pursuit to #KeepGettingBetter is evident in classrooms and in discussions with his leadership team about pedagogy, system leadership and teacher-education. The North Area Director for Ambition was particularly impressed with the personable and polite tone of pupils that he met. This included pupils sharing with him details about the progress that they felt had been made in classrooms to their learning since the recent changes that Martyn and his team had implemented to one pupil giving the Area Director advice on his gardening problems from one young pupil that conveyed a love for horticulture and his ambitions to do gardening as a future vocation. The sense of calmness and purpose that was present within classrooms and corridors is testimony to the vision that Martyn and his team are working to implement; we look forward to support the team in the coming year in their uncompromising commitment to #KeepGettingBetter”
“When I visited Hartlepool the learners were very welcoming and happy to talk about their future plans. They clearly both respect and like their Headteacher, Mr Gordon and his staff. I wish you all every success in the future.”
“The staff and students at Horizon always endeavour to make us feel welcome, inviting us to get involved in lots of interesting and fun events that are created to best prepare students for their future progression”
“The Horizon School is a fantastic provision and it is constantly raising the aspirations of it’s students and helping them achieve their goals for the future. It is fantastic to see all of the students leave school with the qualifications and skills to go on to their chosen pathway at Post 16. It is a pleasure to support the students at Horizons and help them reach their full potential.”