A Special School returns for a new series

Posted on 29 November 2024 • Education, TV and radio

Heartwarming OU/BBC series ‘A Special School’ returns to BBC One Wales and iPlayer on Monday 2^nd December at 8pm.

The three-part series follows the joys and challenges faced by pupils and teachers at Ysgol Y Deri as cameras once again capture the reality of life at one of Britain’s biggest special education schools.

Leigh Worrall, PGCE Curriculum Tutor for The Open University in Wales and Sarah Adams, Lecturer in Education Studies, were the academic consultants on the series, they said:

“Working on Series three of A Special School has been a highlight of our work this year. In this series, we really wanted to demonstrate how the school continues to change and adapt in response to the pupils’ needs and how the provision has been extended to provide education to more pupils.

“As a team, we have reviewed and consulted on the storylines. The storylines in Series three develop and reflect on those in Series one and two. Each episode celebrates each pupil for who they are and shows how education can embrace each pupil’s strengths, and, with the right support and strategies, any barriers can be overcome.”

“Our online content this year has sought to highlight how schools adapt their environments to the needs of the pupils. All schools, not just Special Schools, must be multifunctional and multidimensional, particularly amid ever-increasing budget pressures and financial constraints.  

“To rise to this challenge, schools are skilfully using their resources to create innovative, engaging spaces for learning, reflection, self-regulation, physical activity, and, of course, teaching. The school rightly asserts: ‘Not all learning happens in the classroom’, and we hope our interactive online school map highlights this.”

Leigh added:

“As an academic working at the OU in Wales PGCE Partnership, it was also important to me that the resources we created were provided bilingually. We are very grateful to Gwen Morgan (PGCE Curriculum Tutor) for translating the online content into Welsh, enabling us to offer a fully bilingual resource this year. Thank you, Gwen.”

In episode one, we see the school open a new provision for secondary students excluded from mainstream education, some budding entrepreneurs reach the Welsh Young Enterprise finals, and there is a new postman on the block.

Visit our Broadcast and Partnerships website OU Connect where you can explore a special school for yourself – take a virtual walk around some amazing spaces and watch unseen footage from the series.

The series was commissioned by Broadcast and Partnerships and is supported by the faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies. It has particular relevance to PGCE in Wales, Masters Degree in Education, BA (Honours) Childhood and Youth Studies and Introducing health and social care.

 

• Commissioned by Dr Caroline Ogilvie, Director, Broadcast & Partnerships
• Academic Consultants: Leigh Worrall and Sarah Adams
• Media Fellow: Dr Alex Twitchen
• Broadcast Project Manager: Jo Shipp
• Supporting online content: Steff Easom