Brookside Academy in Street is Somerset’s largest primary school, with 600 children. The school, built on an ethos of community and collaboration, provides extra services for families with disabled children and new training and employment opportunities for the local area, and it has opened up its facilities to host community events. 

Brookside shares best practice in the commissioning and delivery of short breaks for children with profound and complex special educational needs, helping to address gaps in the support system within Somerset. For 50 weeks of the year, it provides 8am-to-6pm affordable extended school provision. Children from both mainstream and specialist schools play and learn together in Brookside’s inclusive holiday club.

The school has provided training for 17 young people from the local area by employing them as apprentices across the school in teaching assistant, nursery, administrative and sports roles. This work has been recognised with Brookside featuring in the national apprenticeship programme top 100 employer list for the past two years. For 10 years Brookside has hosted up to 100 pensioners for an afternoon of entertainment and a buffet tea, with the school arranging minibuses for those who don’t have their own transport. 

The lead judge commented: “Out of an incredibly strong category, Brookside Academy shone out as a school that really does not know when to stop caring for the community it serves; a remarkable school offering a remarkable level of wraparound care.”

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