The Bridge Easton School is situated on a beautiful site in the village of Easton in Norfolk. The purpose-built school opened in January 2023 and is a specialist complex needs school for children and young people aged 4-16 who hold an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Our overall aim is to develop independence, teach our core values of responsibility, respect and resilience and give our pupils the knowledge and skills to build an aspirational future.
Our cohort comprises of children working within the 1st percentile for cognition and learning or below 60 in standardised scores. This equates to 4 years behind academically if the child was in Year 6 and are at early developmental milestones with a learning need that is severe, profound or multiple difficulties. Further to this, many children may have an associated secondary need which presents as being pre-verbal, needing support with toileting, personal care and they may struggle with social interaction and communication or have sensory or physical difficulties.
The Bridge Easton School is also for children with Autism where they require a very high level of assistance with all aspects of school life and have a significant learning difficulty.
In September 2026, we will open our sixth form and over a period of three years will introduce classes in Year 12 (2026), 13 (2027) and 14 (2028) where the leaving age will be 19.
The cohort currently comprises of 69% primary and 31% secondary places, and our school does not currently have any year groups at leaving age. We are proud that we are a very popular school, but this means places are very limited.
As a school we work with children, their families and other professionals within education, health and care to support a successful journey, with the shared aim for an appropriate transition into a fulfilling and active adult life. We provide a truly nurturing environment, and our priority is to meet the individual needs of each child, supporting children to be kind, confident and independent young people. We offer a bespoke curriculum and package of care, minimising barriers to learning and optimising opportunities for success and progress.
The Bridge Easton School creates a school environment in which our young people and their families are central to our school community. Our ethos, ‘we see, we hear, we do, we care’, keeps pupil wellbeing at the heart of everything we do. We work in partnership with our wider community to offer additional learning experiences to enhance the learning in the classroom, and broadening opportunities.
Please view our website for more information and do not hesitate to get in touch with any queries or questions. We look forward to welcoming you to our school.
Natalie Dores, Headteacher
The Bridge Easton is a special school for pupils aged 4-19 where children come first. We encourage children to be themselves whilst also developing their ability to make choices so that they can affect and embrace change in their own lives. Our children feel safe and are encouraged to take risks so that they can flourish and achieve their potential.
We opened in January 2023 with 50 pupils with an agreed steady growth plan for the following five years. As of September 2025, we now have 187 pupils, in classes of between 10 and 12. All classes are led by a teacher with additional teaching assistants in the classroom. This offers a supportive pupil-teacher ratio, in which children can develop their independence, their communication and their understanding of the world.
We believe that classroom-based learning should be engaging and fun. We want the children to enjoy school, so we ensure that all children are supported to remain regulated, focused and able to participate in their learning. To do this, teachers include movement-based activities, the use of high-quality resources and ICT, hands-on experiences, sensory breaks, and the use of individualised Zones of Regulation toolboxes, daily routines and visuals. The school has a reward system which is used alongside frequent praise and our values (‘Respect, Responsibility, Resilience’) to promote a warm and positive environment. We recognise that all behaviour is communication and that positive behaviours for learning and life are skills that need to be taught. All staff are trained in Norfolk Steps and the use of PBS.
Outside of the classroom, children are encouraged to participate in a range of activities that develop their social abilities. These include lunchtime clubs (e.g. football, drama, dance and table tennis), as well as opportunities to participate in competitive sport with other schools and trips out into the community. Some of our pupils access Rebound Therapy weekly, led by trained staff.
Everything we do promotes communication. Teachers plan communication opportunities in all their lessons so that we can provide our pupils with plenty of opportunities for interaction and engagement with adults and peers. We use core boards, signing (Signalong), Intensive Interaction, Attention Autism, PECS, visuals and The Engagement Model to develop expressive and receptive language skills. For our older and more verbal students, we use the Talk About scheme. The school accesses support from the NHS Speech and Language team.
At The Bridge Easton School our curriculum aim is to develop independence, teach our core values of responsibility, respect and resilience and give our pupils the knowledge and skills to build an aspirational future.
Our curriculum is child-centred which is well sequenced, purposeful and accessible to all. We facilitate pupils in their educational and personal journey by tailoring the national curriculum to meet their specific needs. This is achieved by removing barriers to learning and helping our young people build valuable knowledge, life skills and an awareness of the world around them. Ultimately, we meet individual needs through enjoyment and engagement, which enables all children to achieve.
Our curriculum is designed around the National Curriculum subjects, to provide broad and balanced teaching and learning opportunities to all pupils. The core subjects of maths, English and science are taught throughout the week. Other subjects are taught on a carousel, to ensure balanced coverage of subjects across the academic year. Pupils are taught phonics using the Song of Sounds scheme, which links to our Collins Big Cat reading scheme.
In Key Stage 4 pupils work towards completing qualifications in Functional Skills English, Functional Skills Maths, ASDAN Personal, Social Development, ASDAN Employability and Arts Award.
Please note, parents have the right to withdraw their children from religious education and/or collective worship. Please contact the school office if you wish to discuss this further.
Please see our curriculum overviews for further information.
Phone : +44 (0)1603 652313
Email : easton@thebridgetrust.academy
Key contact: Natalie Dores, Headteacher
School Office Opening hours: 08:15 – 15:45
School day for children: 08:45 – 14:45 (30hrs per week)
