As the 2025/2026 academic year comes to close, we’re taking a look back at some of our students’ and colleagues fantastic achievements. From award wins to taking on new challenges, we are so proud of each and every one of our students.
Ash Meadow
This year, we welcomed students to our brand new Elm Fields campus for the first time, it has been great to see our students enjoying the new facilities. Elm Fields has allowed us to support even more students at Ash Meadow and we have loved seeing them progress throughout the year.
This year, Ash Meadow also became an official Open Awards provider. The team worked hard behind the scenes to ensure Key Stage 4 (14 years old +) students have access to recognised qualifications about work and life.
Ash Meadow now offer qualifications from Entry 1 up to Level 1 in a range topics about work and life including:
- Independence in the Home and Community
- Making Informed Career Decisions
- Physical Health and Mental Wellbeing
- Science
- Digital Skills
Open Awards will create exciting new opportunities for our students at Ash Meadow as they progress through their education journey. You can read more about the new qualifications here: https://brightfuturescare.co.uk/ash-meadow-is-officially-an-open-awards-provider/
Ash Meadow have also spent this year focusing on building strong relationships and partnerships with their local community and the wider world. Whilst continuing to actively support their local community with food bank support, community projects and raising money for charity, the school also built international partnerships with a Maasai School in Arusha, Tanzania. Our Ash Meadow students put together handwriting and sensory equipment packages to send over to the school in Tanzania. The partnership has been a truly rewarding experience for our students to strengthen their writing skills and develop strong friendships with their pen pals from thousands of miles away.
Finally, we couldn’t celebrate all of Ash Meadow’s achievements this year without recognising the incredible team that work there. All of our teachers, learning mentors, senior leadership team and support colleagues play a huge role in empowering our students every day. We love recognising our colleagues throughout the year, particularly during our annual Absolutely Brilliant Awards celebrations in November. This year, we were thrilled to present Ash Meadow Head Teacher, Vicky Tijani, with The Super Star award, recognising employees who have provided an outstanding contribution at Bright Futures for over 10 years.
Willow Tree Park & Alder College
Willow Tree Park have been equally busy this year. From fundraising challenges to a fun-filled careers week, our students have thrived!
It has been fantastic to see them receive so much external recognition this year for the brilliant work they do. Earlier this year, Willow Tree Park won not one, but two awards at the National Engage In Their Future awards. They were awarded Silver in the Local Heroes Award and Gold in the Inclusion Champions Award! Our students were nominated for the positive impact they have on their school and the local community every day.
One of the most inspiring moments from the day came after the ceremony. Attending the awards had a powerful effect on one of our students, who spoke about how the experience helped them realise they can achieve more than they previously believed. Since returning, they have been actively engaging in conversations about their future, exploring potential qualifications and thinking about their next steps. Moments like this remind us how important it is to recognise success and give students opportunities to see what is possible for them.
The recognition doesn’t stop there. Willow Tree Park have also been shortlisted for the Excellence in Special Schools Award at the National SEND Awards! The team will be attending a special awards ceremony in September to celebrate.
Earlier this term, some of our former students returned to Willow Tree Park to travel down to London with our team to celebrate their Gold Duke of Edinburgh success. The students were invited to Buckingham Palace alongside some special celebrity guests. It was lovely for our teams to catch up with our former students and hear all about how they are all getting on in their mainstream college placements or full-time job placements.
8 students will be moving on from Willow Tree Park this year, continuing their education journey either in mainstream settings or progressing to further education elsewhere. Whilst we will miss them being a huge part of Willow Tree Park, we are so proud of them and wish them all the best in their future journeys.
Quayside
This year, we started work on our fabulous new Salford school – Quayside!
We are so excited to start welcoming students next year and supporting them to achieve their goals, the school will support 30 students aged 5-19.
What a year our schools have had! We can’t wait to see all of our returning students back in September for another year of fantastic achievements.
