News
GGSET Celebrates 18 Years!
During 2012, Grafham Grange Special Educational Trust is delighted to be celebrating it's 18th birthday.
GGSET was founded in 1994 to facilitate the transfer of Grafham Grange School from local authority control to non-maintained status. This was a unique achievement, without precedent in law, which required a special Act of Parliament.
GGSET then expanded in 2003 with the acquisition of Brantridge School which has enjoyed great success with many 'Outstanding' judgements from Ofsted
GGSET has also overseen the development of a third generation football pitch based at Grafham Grange School with it's partners, The Football Foundation and Surrey FA
The last two years have seen the Childrens Services department develop a very successful Shortbreaks programme which they are looking to run again in 2012
A very big thank you to all Partners, Local Authorities and Supporters of GGSET in helping us to support both Brantridge and Grafham Grange Schools and ensure that we continue in 'Building Better Futures'
2012 GGSET Strategic Conference a resounding success
Over 120 staff and volunteers gathered at Wildwood Country Club on 6th January for the 2012 Strategic Conference.
The main part of the morning was spent reviewing the Trust’s Strategic Plan and objectives. Delegates worked in groups to identify and explore initiatives to enable the Trust to meet its strategic goals over the next five years.
During the afternoon, a number of invited guests joined us to hear our guest speaker. Ros Blackwell, who is herself autistic, gave a stimulating insight into autism and helped us all to recognise how we can best adapt our environment to better meet these specific needs.
The whole day proved to be informative, thought provoking and enjoyable with 90% of delegates rating the event excellent or very good.
New Appointment at Grafham Grange School
We congratulate Richard Johnson on his appointment as Head Teacher at Grafham Grange School on 16th November 2011. As Acting Head since September 2010 , Richard’s leadership was favourably commented on by Ofsted and we look forward to him continuing to ensure excellent outcomes for all young people at the School in the future.
Community Day at Grafham Grange School
During the Summer Holidays, an army of willing volunteers descended on Grafham Grange School to lend a hand with the summer refurbishment programme.
About 30 staff from the IT and Engineering Departments of pharmaceutical giants, Eli Lilly spent a whole day getting stuck into a number of projects around the site. Splitting into teams and working alongside our own premises staff, the volunteers tackled painting & decorating, furniture removal, clearing undergrowth and a variety of clean-up tasks.
Pausing only for a brief BBQ lunch in the sun, the cheerful helpers continued to get involved in more strenuous and sometimes quite dirty jobs throughout the afternoon. This was a very different experience to a ‘normal’ day at the office for all the volunteers who made a massive contribution to improvements around the school.
Ely Lilly very generously allow employees to work a day per year helping the local community and this is the third year running that staff from the Farnham facility have chosen to come to Grafham. We are extremely grateful to all those who took part in the Community Day; we enjoyed your company and hope that you will visit us again soon.
CEO elected to National Council
Dr Susan Tresman, Chief Executive Officer of GGSET has been elected to the Chair of Council at the recent AGM of the National Association of Independent Schools and Non Maintained Special Schools.
Many congratulations to Sue on her recent appointment.