Bettws Lifehouse - Bettws site is for children aged 7-14 which is years 3 to 9 Bettws Lifehouse provides children with the opportunity to reimagine their school experience. I am passionate about ensuring that our younger pupils enjoy school and gain that firm foundation for future happiness and lifelong learning; that they are able to unburden themselves of previous anxieties around school and learn to love learning and love life. In lower school we are aspirational for all of our pupils. We aim to equip them with the academic, creative, practical, personal, emotional regulation and social skills to succeed in their Upper School years and to be ready for a happy and successful journey into adulthood.
Fiona DaviesB.Ed (Hons)
It is with pleasure to introduce myself to you as the Head Teacher of Lower school at Bettws Lifehouse, Bettws. I have thoroughly enjoyed working at this unique setting for over 5 years; it is a truly exceptional school with exceptional staff and pupils. I have previously worked in local secondary schools for over 22 years as a Head of Department, Head of Year, Head of Faculty and in Senior Leadership. I am also a Peer Inspector for Estyn. Bettws Lifehouse can be found nestled in beautiful countryside in Powys. Our experienced and qualified staff enjoy using the surroundings to support, inspire and nurture our pupils. We have an excellent woodland school, stables and endless walking routes and pathways for the pupils to enjoy, develop and use as their learning environment. Here at Bettws the three golden words are: respect, safe and learn. These core values are at the heart of the school and it is my belief that every child should have the opportunity to be the best they can be - to enjoy their schooling and achieve as well as they can. As a parent myself, I really value the opinions and concerns of parents/carers. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries, concerns or if there is anything I can do to help and support you with your child’s learning and school life.
You can view or download our latest inspection report from Estyn here - please feel free to contact us if you would like a paper-based copy.
Kay Jones Managing Director & Director for Safeguarding
The principle of The Lifehouse was conceived by a number of girls that I used to work with in Welshpool High School in the early noughties. It was very simple. Through all the chaos that existed in their lives a simple theme emerged that perfectly reflected Maslow’s hierarchy of need. They wanted somewhere to go that was safe, where they could be warm and fed, and where they could be accepted for who they were. Making that vision come to life has been the absolute focus of my working life since 2007. Ensuring that nurture-based approach was evident in every child’s daily experience at The Lifehouse has been a fundamental aspect of what I do. As Managing Director, a certain amount of my time must be spent running the business of course, by my heart always drives my passion about childhood experience, safeguarding and family wellbeing. Meg and I make a great combination with our pastoral and teaching backgrounds perfectly complimenting each other. Having completed a Business Degree in London, I returned to Mid Wales to work for the Department for Employment. Alongside the Department for Health and Social Security, my first experiences in work were with families who were struggling, who had social challenges and often a deep resentment for the system. After then raising a family of four, I returned to work and honed that experience with counselling skills and safeguarding qualification and experience. My pastoral role at Welshpool High School underpinned The Lifehouse ethos which we now call ‘The Golden Thread’. Outside of work I relax with my horses, dogs and pottering in the garden. We are very blessed to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world and cycling has become a new ‘lockdown’ hobby. I also love a sunny holiday with a suitcase of books so try to find a week, here and there, where I can completely switch off and get lost in the pages of a family saga or a murder mystery! I have six grandchildren that also ensure I don’t lose touch with the Gruffalo or Paw Patrol!
Meg Jones Director for Education and SEND
As one of the founding directors at Bettws Lifehouse, The Lifehouse is my passion. I have spent the last 15 years as Head Teacher, SENDCo and more recently Head over our Welsh School campuses, and am now moving into the role of Director for Education as we expand The Lifehouse provision into England. It has been an incredibly exciting and rewarding experience to have led the school through improvement and growth as we touch more families and change more lives, with our children and families at the centre of everything we do. I qualified as a primary school teacher in Bristol over 30 years ago. Everyday since then has been a school day as I continue to learn from pupils, colleagues and experiences in school and in life. After 10 years teaching in City of Bristol primary schools – teaching children from age 5 to 11, I moved back to my roots in Wales with my husband and three young children. Here I quickly found my true vocation, teaching English and Maths to marginalised, vulnerable and misunderstood teenagers for whom mainstream school was not a happy fit. It was in this work that I was fortunate enough to meet Kay Jones and as a result, the Lifehouse was born in 2007. When I am not working, you will often find me out and about and having fun with The Lifehouse ponies or camping and roaming the hills and Welsh coast path with friends and family members. In my 40s, I gained my walking group leader qualification to become a Duke of Edinburgh Award qualified Assessor , as well as my Brown belt in Karate! I am a passionate supporter of Welsh Rugby and on days when the Welsh weather is not so inviting, I love nothing more than cosying up in front of the fire with the Rugby on or a with a good book.
Fiona Jones BEd (Hons) Headteacher
I have thoroughly enjoyed working at this unique setting for over 5 years, it is a truly exceptional school with exceptional staff and pupils. I have previously worked in local secondary schools for over 22 years as a Head of Department, Head of Year, Head of Faculty and in Senior Leadership. I am also a Peer Inspector for Estyn. As a parent myself, I really value the opinions and concerns of parents/carers. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries, concerns or if there is anything I can do to help and support you with your child’s learning and school life.
Tracey Edwards Deputy Head, ALNCo and Lead Teacher
I joined the Lifehouse in April 2019, I qualified as a Primary school teacher in 1998 and received a 2:1 Bachelor of Education degree with Honours. After working in two Primary schools I decided to move my career and concentrate on working in special education, where I spent last twenty plus years. I have worked in two Shropshire special schools, during this time I gained a Forest school leader Level 3 certificate and a Postgraduate Diploma in Special Education in 2016, a large proportion of the study concentrated on how to support children with ASD and complex needs. This has informed and influenced the way I teach and nurture young people. I am the Lower school SENDco and Lead teacher for the River group (KS3) Both roles allow me to support students to reach their potential and monitor progress
Kieran King Head of Wellbeing and Therapeutic Curriculum
Kieran has been at the Lifehouse since 2014. He holds a degree in Sports Science from the University of Bangor, a Thrive Practitioner’s Licence, an RHS Certificate in Horticulture and practices Horticultural Therapy. His personal interests include going on adventures with family and friends, working on his allotment and garden, and loves playing sports such as tennis and golf.In school, Kieran teaches social and therapeutic horticulture and is a pupil champion. Supporting the pupils’ positive social, emotional and physical development is at the heart of everything Kieran does at the Lifehouse
PRIVATE PLACES are available if parents are in a position to choose an educational route without the backing of the Local Authority. Our setting would undoubtedly provide an excellent preparation for life for many young people, allowing a very individual curriculum, specific attention to detail and difficulties and opportunity to balance academia and personal growth. If your parental values include ensuring a day has a wide variety of focus, including both the natural world as well as the classroom, then we could be the ideal choice for your child. You may think that your son or daughter would benefit from a specifically tailored timetable that includes particular areas of strength or interest to balance the academic pressures. Many children do not manage well in the highly competitive, and league table focused schools that are offered locally, and would actually perform better where staff were able to enable them to progress by viewing their education from their child centred perspective. Discussion with parents to inform staff and a holistic view of their learning pathway would enable your child to reach their academic potential, whilst also encouraging self awareness, personal growth and honing individual strengths into realistic roads for the future.
Local authorities place pupils after consultation with parents, previous educational settings and other involved professionals. If a pupil has been identified as needing a specialised provision, and all the mainstream and county run provisions are unable to meet their needs, the authority will consider other options and share suggestions with parents and carers. After an initial visit, and everyone being given the chance to consider if a place at The Lifehouse may be appropriate, discussions to move forward begin. The majority of pupils have statements of special educational needs, and whilst this is not an absolute requirement, it is true that you are unlikely to get the support from an authority without these needs already being recognised officially. There may be a short wait for a place at The Lifehouse, but this is totally dependent on the current cohort of pupils and how many we have on roll. We have a ceiling of 50 pupils, but we always consider how well another pupil will be able to fit in with our already established young people, and ensure that someone new has the best chance of success in their new setting. Most pupils are offered an assessment term prior to everyone involved (parents, authorities, other professionals, us) decide that The Lifehouse is the right place.
Each referral is considered individually and looked at to make the right decisions for the child, the family and for the whole dynamic management of the pupils already being educated to Bettws Lifehouse. Capacity changes from year to year so initial enquiries will lead to discussion that take many factors into account. The admission process is usually done through the Local Education Authority that manages your child's EHCP. If you, or the LEA have identified The Lifehouse as a potential school, then we will be sent through all the relevant documentation to consider and appraise. If we feel we could meet your child’s needs then you will be invited over to visit and meet key staff. Once the placement has been confirmed, we work together with families to ensure that the transition in process is as smooth as possible. Routes of contacts are established and we work together to make sure that anxieties are kept at a minimum.
