At Riverside School, our core values guide everything we do.

They make up the acronym ARCHITECT to signify our passion for designing and building a school that will make an indelible mark on the world for generations to come; a school that will impact positively on everyone who enters, on people we may never meet, and in ways we may never know.

We see our pupils’ time at Riverside School as just the first part of their journey and we want them to leave us at the age of 19 as confident, lifelong learners. We also want them to remember their time with us with great affection, with memories of life-enriching experiences and enduring relationships.  

We will continue our relentless drive for excellence, because our pupils and their families deserve nothing less. We will improve outcomes at an individual, school and societal level and we will judge our success on the extent to which we transform lives, both within, and outside Riverside School.

At Riverside School, we always start with WHY: Why do we do what we do?

1. To transform our children’s lives and the lives of their families (Our Mission)
2. To inspire breakthroughs in the way society enables children with complex needs to find true fulfilment (Our Vision)
3. To give our pupils every opportunity to Be All That You Can Be (Our Motto)

We follow this with HOW: How do we do what we do?

1. In full accordance with our Values
2. In an Ethical and Sustainable way
3. In a way that everyone in our school community feels a true sense of Belonging

We follow this with WHAT: What do we do?

1. At School
2. At Home
3. In the Community

We are proud to share our ten pledges with you:

Pledge 1: We will equip our pupils with a profoundly personalised curriculum framework so that they succeed, flourish and leave their mark on the world.

Pledge 2: We will improve the emotional wellbeing of our pupils and their families by placing The Pursuit of Happiness at the heart of our multi-agency work.

Pledge 3: We will ensure current and future pupils make remarkable progress by attracting and developing the highest calibre special educators at Riverside School and beyond.

Pledge 4: We will shift mindsets, shape policy and change practice to secure system-wide school improvement at a local, national and international level.

Pledge 5: We will ensure that families have their lived experiences acknowledged and their voices heard in order to bring about positive change for themselves, their children and other families.

Pledge 6: We will improve community access, inclusion and participation for our pupils and their families and create a ripple in communities up and down the country,

Pledge 7: We will make the seemingly unachievable achievable by engaging, energising and mobilising our whole school community to Build a Brighter Future – The Riverside Way.

Pledge 8: We will consciously, deliberately and systematically ensure that our school and the local community is a more sustainable and greener place.

Pledge 9: We will campaign tirelessly with, and for our pupils and their families, to amplify the voices of disadvantaged and marginalised communities and create a society which is more equal, just and fair.

Pledge 10: We will promote inclusion and celebrate diversity in all its forms to ensure that everyone in our school community feels a true sense of belonging.

Our 350 pupils are based over four sites: Beckenham, Phoenix, St Paul's Cray and West Wickham and the best way to learn more about our work is to visit and spend time with our inspirational pupils and dedicated staff. I am confident that when you walk around the school, you will get a sense of The Riverside Way, and once you have experienced our community, you will want to become a part of it.

We look forward to working in close partnership with you as we embark on the next stage of our  irresistible journey. 

Steve Solomons
Headteacher