Welcome to Sutton Tuition and Reintegration Service (STARS)

STARS is a medical pupil referral unit for children and young people. We provide education and a 12-week intervention for pupils aged 5-16 years who are unable to attend their mainstream school. Pupils must reside in the London Borough of Sutton.

The service is based at the Drapers Centre, where we provide 15 hours of education for pupils referred to KS3 and 4. We then support pupils to attend their mainstream school for up to 10 hours per week. We are open from 8.30 am to 4.00 pm. The service operates over a number of sites in Sutton. We also have a schoolroom at the Royal Marsden Hospital and provide bedside teaching at Queen Mary's Hospital for Children.

Headteacher's welcome

Welcome to Sutton Tuition and Reintegration Services.

We provide a nurturing and calm environment where young people with complex medical needs receive high-quality education tailored to their individual journeys. From the Drapers Centre to our school room at the Royal Marsden Hospital and bedside teaching at Queen Mary’s Hospital, our dedicated staff support students aged 5-16 to engage confidently with learning and reintegrate into mainstream education. Students at STARS consistently produce high-quality work across all subjects. Our subject specialists at the Drapers Centre help close learning gaps and build confidence and our Primary specialists support students both in hospital and in the community to access their learning in a purposeful and meaningful way.

We understand the importance of supporting the mental and emotional health of our students. Through tailored SEMH provisions such as ELSA support, and close collaboration with CAMHS, STARS creates a safe space where students can flourish. Staff receive specialist training to manage anxiety and promote positive mental health and we are currently working through the Building Stronger Foundations Programme to continue to develop our relational approach to learning and reintegrating students to their mainstream school.

Personal development is core to our curriculum. Students engage in PSHE, life skills, travel training, and careers education to prepare them for adulthood and independent living. Our community trips and tailored reintegration support ensure that our students are ready to take their next steps confidently and successfully.

Together, we are empowering every child to engage with education and achieve their potential.

Mrs Debbie Gifford

Non-attendance

Non-attendance must be reported between 8:45am and 9:15am

on Studybugs or 0208 404 3124 option 1

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Vision Statement

Empowering Every Child to Engage with Education.

STARS' Mission

To provide an environment where young people with medical needs are able to access a high quality education, enhance social confidence and successfully reintegrate into mainstream provision.

Ethos and Safeguarding Statement

Ethos Statement

Our Vision

“STARS to be successfully reintegrating all students with an EBSA profile, building strong links with mainstream and referring schools, and providing a good quality curriculum that prepares students to return to the mainstream classroom or the next phase in their learning. We aim to ensure our students are prepared for adulthood and make positive contributions to their community.”

Our vision reflects our commitment to holistic reintegration — not only academically but socially and emotionally — ensuring that every student gains the skills and confidence to thrive beyond STARS.

Our Core Values and Their Significance

Everyone Included
We believe every student, regardless of their medical or emotional challenges, deserves full inclusion. This means adapting teaching, resources, and support so all students can access learning and social opportunities equally.
· Support for Families and Students to Positively Re-engage with Referring Schools
We work closely with families and mainstream schools to foster smooth transitions, ensuring students feel supported and confident as they return to their original educational settings.
· Celebrating All Successes, Even When They Don’t Fit the Conventional
Success at STARS is individual and diverse. Whether it’s improved attendance, emotional resilience, or academic progress, we celebrate every step forward as a vital achievement.
· Tolerance and Respect for Different Peoples’ Views and Their Journeys
We cultivate an environment where diversity of experience and perspective is honoured, recognising that each student’s journey is unique and valuable.
Keeping Children Safe
The safety and wellbeing of our students is paramount. We maintain rigorous safeguarding policies and practises to create a secure environment conducive to learning and healing.
Equitable Access to Opportunities Available to Other Children Without Medical Needs
We strive to provide our students with the same breadth of opportunities—academic, cultural, social—that their peers enjoy, ensuring no child is disadvantaged by their medical needs.
Develop Self-Confidence, Resilience, and Empower Children to Move Forward
Building inner strength and self-belief is fundamental to our approach, enabling students to overcome barriers and take positive steps towards their futures.

Our Educational Approach

Our approach is designed to achieve each student’s potential, fill learning gaps, and equip children for their next stage of learning. We nurture curious learners for life who enjoy learning, placing literacy and numeracy at the centre to ensure students can access higher-level learning pathways.

This approach is intertwined with our values:

Inclusion and Support ensure personalised learning plans that accommodate SEMH and medical needs.
Celebrating success motivates students and builds resilience.
High safeguarding standards create a safe, supportive environment where students feel ready to learn.
Equitable access ensures that all students participate fully in curriculum and enrichment activities.
Empowerment is promoted through targeted interventions such as JigSaw4U Counselling, ELSA support, and collaboration with CAMHS.

At Sutton Tuition and Reintegration Services, our ethos is rooted in compassionate inclusion, partnership, and empowerment. We recognise the complex needs of our students and are dedicated to providing a nurturing environment where every child can flourish academically, socially, and emotionally. Through our collaborative approach with families, mainstream schools, and health services, we strive to prepare our students not only to return to their schools but to become confident, resilient individuals ready to contribute positively to their communities and beyond.

Safeguarding Statement

Sutton Tuition and Reintegration Service takes all aspects of safeguarding and child protection seriously. The health, safety and well-being of every child is our top priority.
We expect all staff, members of our Management Committee and volunteers to share this commitment and be fully aware of their responsibilities.

We have robust recruitment and child protection policies in place as well as behaviour policies and a staff Code of Conduct. All staff are trained appropriately in child protection, safeguarding and the Prevent duty; relevant staff are trained in safer recruitment.
We audit our compliance annually with support from the Local Authority.

Our safeguarding policy ensures that all members of the school community:

are aware of their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and child protection.
know the procedures that should be followed if they have a cause for concern.
know where to go to find additional information regarding safeguarding.
are aware of the key indicators relating to child abuse.
fully support the school's commitment to safeguarding and child protection.

Pupils are taught about safeguarding, including online, through various teaching and learning opportunities, as part of providing a broad and balanced curriculum.

STARS has four members of staff on the Designated Safeguarding Team.

Debbie Gifford – Head teacher

Frankie Teague – Deputy Headteacher

Maggie Pursglove – Assistant Headteacher

Nadia Ward – Senior Social worker

Clare Bryant – Outreach support

Jo Baird – Outreach support

If you have any concerns about your child, another pupil or a member of staff please do not hesitate to contact any member of the Designated Safeguarding Team who will be able to provide you with the best advice and help.

Data protection

Data Protection Policy (GDPR)

The Designated Data Protection Officer for this school is: Craig Stilwell 0203 326 9174
Judicium Consulting Limited
Address: 72 Cannon Street, London, EC4N 6AE
Website: www.judiciumeducation.com

Accessibility

If you would like paper copies of any of the documents on this website, please contact our main office.