News & Media

Staff Learning Partnership Day – Training & Development

On 13th February 2026, we proudly came together for our Staff Learning Partnership Day. An inspiring celebration of our shared commitment to excellence from enrolment to graduation.

The day provided valuable opportunities for professional development, collaboration, and reflection. Every department across our school engaged in specialised training tailored to their roles, ensuring that each team continues to strengthen its expertise and refine its practice. It was powerful to see colleagues sharing ideas, challenging one another, and learning together with such openness and professionalism.

We were also privileged to welcome a number of inspiring guest speakers who enriched our day with their insight and experience. Their sessions on morale and behaviour were particularly impactful, reminding us that the culture we create as adults directly shapes the experiences and success of our pupils. These talks encouraged us to reflect not only on what we do, but how we do it — with positivity, consistency, and compassion.

Our values ‘Inclusion, Independence and Self-Worth’ are not just words on a page. They are lived, breathed, and demonstrated every single day by our extraordinary staff and inspiring young people.

Together, we continue to look after ourselves, each other, our learning, our community and our future.

Serenity Excellence Awards 2026

A highlight of our celebration was the Serenity Excellence Awards 2026 which is a special moment to recognise the remarkable professionals who truly embody our ethos.

During the awards presentation, we proudly celebrated colleagues whose dedication goes above and beyond. Through a thoughtful nomination process, staff had the opportunity to recognise peers who consistently make a meaningful difference in our school community.

The awards reflected the breadth and diversity of talent across Serenity, shining a light on contributions from across the whole school community — including those whose invaluable work often happens quietly behind the scenes. In doing so, we were able to honour the collective effort that underpins our success and strengthens morale across every level of our schools. These award winners represent the very best of Serenity in ways of professionalism, compassion, expertise, and an unwavering belief in our pupils.

To our staff — thank you for your passion and commitment.
To our families — thank you for your trust and partnership.
To our pupils — thank you for inspiring us every day.

The future at Serenity School is bright, ambitious, and full of possibility.

Here’s to another year of impact, growth and excellence.
See you next year!

Spelling Bee

Celebrating Success: Debate on Social Media and Spelling Bee Achievements
We are excited to share highlights from two fantastic recent events at Serenity School: On the 26th June, our school community came together at Serenity School Maidstone for a spirited debate on a topic that affects us all: The impact of social media on behaviour. Four enthusiastic Serenity School teams – Maidstone, Eltham, Coulsdon, and Crawley – took to the stage to share their views, research, and personal experiences. Each team impressed us with thoughtful arguments, respectful listening, and creative presentations. The students explored both the positive and negative effects of social media, considering how it can influence friendships, learning, and wellbeing.

Special Mentions We would like to give a special shout-out to one exceptional student from each team:

Maidstone: Austin confidently opened is team’s case, sharing real-life examples and engaging the audience with his clear explanations.
Eltham: Max stood out for his ability to summarise complex ideas and answer questions from the judges with poise.
Coulsdon: Nicholas brought the debate to life with his confident and expressive delivery and persuasive arguments.
Crawley: Jo impressed everyone with his teamwork and thoughtful reflections during the Q&A session.

And the Winner Is…After a very close contest, our judges named Eltham as the winning team! Congratulations to Eltham and to all our debaters for their hard work and respectful collaboration. We are proud of everyone who took part. Events like these help our pupils develop important skills, such as communication, critical thinking, and empathy. Thank you to all staff and students who supported and attended the debate. We look forward to more discussions that challenge us to think and grow together.
Spelling Bee Success The Spelling Bee was a buzzing success, with pupils from all four teams competing in a friendly yet challenging contest. The atmosphere was electric as each contestant tackled tricky words with determination and focus.

Special Mentions:

Maidstone: Kiya impressed with her calm under pressure.
Eltham: Paige showed fantastic dedication and enthusiasm.
Coulsdon: Will amazed everyone with his spelling accuracy and speed.
Crawley: Claudia stood out for her positive attitude and perseverance

Congratulations to Coulsdon, who took home the Spelling Bee medals, for the second time! Their dedication to supporting each other made all the difference.

Thank You
Thank you to all pupils and staff who participated, supported, and celebrated these events. We are so proud of everyone’s achievements and look forward to more opportunities for learning and teamwork.

The Great Serenity Spelling bee and Debate held at Eltham

Our literacy Focus for Summer 2 includes providing students with a valuable opportunity to improve their literacy, spelling and debating skills. On Tuesday, 18th June 2024 at 10:30am to 1:00pm, The Great Spelling Bee and Debate Competition was held at Serenity School, Eltham. Students showcased their spelling abilities, confidently tackling challenging words, and demonstrated exceptional debating skills, passionately arguing on the topic “Should vaping be banned in Schools?”.

We had 6 representatives from each of the Serenity Schools – Serenity Coulsdon, Crawley and Eltham, mostly from Lower School – Year 7, 8 and 9 students representing the competition.

The competition was opened by the Charmaine Ayisi, Director of SEND and Commissioning/Interim Headteacher at Serenity School Eltham. Also supporting the event was Ebere Emezie, the Chief Operating Officer, SED. Group Ltd, the Head of Upper School Eltham, Vivien Ochiama and Head of Lower School Eltham, Amanda Bridgeman. The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement and encouragement from peers, teachers, and the leadership team.

The event highlighted the importance of literacy, a passion for reading, critical thinking, and public speaking. This celebration served as an inspiring demonstration to the importance of literacy and a fun day out. All students received Spelling Bee medals, and a book prize while the winner Serenity Coulsdon won the trophy, celebrating their dedication and hard work. The awards and book prizes were presented to the winners by Charmaine Ayisi.

School Learning Partnership Day 3^rd June 2024

All members of staff at Serenity Schools Group recently came together for an Inservice Training Day (INSET). During this comprehensive session, we had the opportunity to engage in planning and training activities designed to help us reflect, enhance our educational practices, and better support our students.

We also benefited from a session by Trauma Informed Schools UK on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE), equipping us with strategies to support students who have experienced trauma and how to ensure that this does not become a barrier to their learning.

The highlight of the day was hearing from some of our Year 13 pupils who have recently gained admission into university and who shared their experiences of being students at Serenity School. Their insights and personal stories provided valuable perspectives, reinforcing the positive impact of our collective efforts and our commitment to our core values of Inclusion, Independence, and Self-Worth for all members of our school community.