Welcome from the Headteacher

I am delighted to welcome you to Riverside School as the newly appointed Headteacher, taking up post in January 2026. It is a genuine honour to be joining such a highly regarded school, and I am extremely excited about leading Riverside into its next chapter while building upon the strong foundations and successes established under the previous leadership.

Riverside School is a successful co-educational maintained secondary special school based in Haringey, North London. We provide 175 places for students, mainly from across the borough, and pride ourselves on being a respectful, inclusive and aspirational community.

Our students experience a wide range of learning challenges, from the highest functioning to the most complex, including general, moderate, complex, severe and profound and multiple learning difficulties. Approximately two-thirds of our students have a diagnosis of autism. Every student at Riverside is recognised as an individual, and our provision is carefully designed to meet their learning, communication, social and independence needs.

Classes in the Main School are organised into Teams 1–4, based on shared levels of communication and independence, with Team 1 supporting our highest-functioning students. Team 5 is based in an off-site annex and supports a range of needs for older students. Our age ranges are Teams 1–3 (11–16), Team 4 (11–19) and Team 5 (16–19).

At Key Stage 4, all students follow a range of fully accredited courses, carefully matched to their capacity and aspirations. Most students transition to college at the end of Year 11, while a small cohort remain at Riverside for Post-16 provision, continuing to access accredited pathways that prepare them for adulthood.
As I prepare to begin my role in January 2026, I do so with great enthusiasm and a strong sense of responsibility. I am passionate about inclusive education and committed to ensuring that Riverside continues to offer high-quality teaching, excellent safeguarding and meaningful learning experiences for all students.
Our work is underpinned by the school motto, “Learning to Live Life to the Full.” This reflects our commitment not only to academic achievement, but also to developing independence, confidence, resilience and essential life skills, ensuring that all students are well prepared for their next steps into post-16, post-19 provision and adult life.

Riverside is proud of its strong reputation for personal development, behaviour and welfare. We value positive relationships, mutual respect and dignity, and we celebrate diversity in all its forms. Our highly skilled and dedicated staff team work closely with students and families to ensure that wellbeing, teaching and learning remain of the highest standard.
Strong partnerships with parents and carers are central to our success. Riverside is a welcoming and approachable school, and I am committed to listening to and working collaboratively with families to achieve the best possible outcomes for every student.

I would encourage our website visitors, in the first instance, to take a look at our SCHOOL OFFER which can be found under the For Parents tab above. This will give you a thorough overview of everything we offer at Riverside, including how classes are organised to meet different levels of need, the curriculum and our safeguarding arrangements.
 
New parents can find the answer to most questions they may have before their child starts at Riverside in all the sub-menus under the For Parents tab.
  
All the documents under the Learning tab offer detailed descriptions of our curriculum frameworks, assessment systems and our accredited courses.
 
The Beyond Lessons tab gives comprehensive descriptions of our extra-curricular programmes, including our after-school and holiday clubs and residential school journeys.
I feel extremely privileged to be joining Riverside School as Headteacher and am greatly looking forward to getting to know our students, families and staff as we move forward together from January 2026.

Stephen Hehir
Headteacher – Riverside school

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