The school has a uniform, it is not compulsory to wear one but most pupils do. The uniform in the lower school is a white polo shirt with a blue sweatshirt with the school logo printed on, along with black or grey trousers. The uniform in the 6th form is maroon sweatshirts or cardigans. Students can purchase the uniform from the school. Pupils are expected to dress appropriately in sensible clothes. Some pupils wear SOS Medallions as a safety precaution; therefore the wearing of jewellery is not encouraged. As many pupils are involved in swimming, costumes and trunks with a towel are needed. A swimming hat is needed for students with long hair.
School meals are provided. Students bring in £6.50 each Monday. Feeding programmes and eating behaviours are seen as an important part of a child’s education. For those with complex difficulties, the staff from the school works with the Occupational Therapist and Speech Therapist on an individual programme. Students can bring in their own meals. The Dietician is seen as another important professional who can help a child’s needs.
The Curriculum
The whole school curriculum is everything a child experiences from the time they arrive at school until the time they leave for home and includes lunch times, play times, registration, assemblies and many more activities. The Villa Real School Curriculum encompasses National Curriculum, but is very much centred on the individual needs of each pupil. Communication is the foundation upon which the whole curriculum is built.
Pupils at Villa Real School experience the full range of National Curriculum subjects including English, Mathematics, Science, Information and communication Technology, Design Technology, Geography, History, Art, Music, Religious Education, Personal and Social Education and Modern Foreign Language. The length of time spent on each subject depends upon the age of the student and individual needs.
Curriculum planning for nursery and infant children is based on Early Learning Goals, as is planning for pupils throughout the school who have complex and multiple learning difficulties. An emphasis is placed on a multi-sensory approach to education, especially those pupils who work at early stages of development. Play is important in the early years and different kinds of play are experienced up to the end of Key Stage 2.
A whole school assembly takes place each Friday morning, visitors are welcome to attend. A major part of this assembly is a public celebration of a child’s achievements that week. Parents are vitally important and are encouraged to take a full part in their child’s education by helping as much as possible. Parents of pupils have annual reviews, this it to speak to the teacher and any other professional about how the child is progressing.
The school uses a range of assessments to establish base line in formation and set accurate targets for each pupil. These include Flying Start, The Pre-Verbal Communication schedule, Pathways to Independence and Villa Real Milestones.
Every pupil in the school has an individual Education Plan which covers the subjects of English Language and Communication, Mathematics, Information and Technology and Personal and Social Education. Individual Educational plans are written in consultation with their parents and other professionals and a copy is sent home to parents at the beginning of every term. Parents are invited to discuss their child’s progress at the end of each term and work with the school staff to set targets for the following term.
Sex Education is linked with the development of social and moral skills as well as hygiene and body development. Living Your Life is a programme which is in use with senior pupils and students as a part of a formal approach to Sex Education, relationships, family life and childcare. Other resources in use are:
- You, Me and HIV
- The Protection Pack
- Picture Yourself
- Chance to Choose
- The Body Book
- Facts of Life
There is a Sex Education policy and guidelines for its use available in school for parents to read. The 1993 Education Act requires Sex Education to be provided as part of the Secondary Curriculum. Parents have the right to withdraw their children from Sex Education.
All subjects are taught using a topic approach. Topics are covered over a four year rolling programme and long term planning is available to ensure progression.
Pupils all experience some whole group, small group and individual teaching during each day, dependent upon their age and individual needs. Teaching styles vary but are mainly practical. Emphasis is placed on information and communication technology throughout the curriculum. Pupils use switches to operate equipment and have the opportunity to use computers and other electronic equipment. Personal and Social Education is emphasised throughout the school day, as well as being taught in separate lessons in the senior department. Pupils learn self help skills, how to take turns, to care for one another and how to behave in a variety of situations. At least once a year each pupil has a Statement of Special Needs Education is formally reviewed at a special meeting of parents, teachers and any other profession such as school doctor, social worker or speech therapist. A very detailed report is written and sent to the parents. The report writes about the child’s present situation and sets targets for the child in each subject. These targets are used to formulate the child’s Individual Education Plan. Parents are welcomed to write about what they think about their child’s needs and personal opinions about the school.
A number of professionals visit the school to help. These include Speech Therapist, Doctor, Physiotherapist, Social Worker and Education Welfare. A Nurse from the School Health Service can be called on for advice on general medical matters. The school is visited by a specialist teacher for sensory impairment, who works with staff giving advice on methods and equipment which may be useful to pupils. The specialist teacher for the hearing impaired also visits the school. Any member of staff or parent can ask for advice from any of these professionals.
First Aid and Medical Treatment
For the health and safety of everyone at Villa Real School certain procedures have to be followed. As a pupil is admitted to school, a form must be filled in giving details of particular health or medical problems and contact telephone numbers in case of an emergency. Each September, parents are asked to fill in this form again. In between times, parents should know of any changes in medication or any additional health problems.
Both Head teachers and the school Secretary have completed the First Aid in the workplace course and most other staff hold a recognised Emergency Aid certificate. School staff is able to deal with minor incidents on the spot. Parents are usually informed of minor injuries and are recorded in the school Accident Book. Parents are always contacted as soon as possible when a child needs medical help. If a child is admitted to hospital a teacher who is familiar with the child would always stay with the child until a parent or guardian came. Any child who is diagnosed with having a medical condition such as Epilepsy or diabetes, which could need emergency treatment within the school, has to have a care or management plan that can be used in school. The care plan is agreed between the parent and doctor of the child.
Only medication prescribed by a doctor can be given in school. It can only be given to the child if a special form obtained for the school is filled in giving full written details about the medication and returned. Some pupils need to wear nappies. These nappies, baby wipes and any creams to prevent nappy rash should be sent into school clearly marked with the child’s name. I f a child is taken ill at school; arrangements are made for the child to go home. Parents are usually sent a letter if there are particular health problems in school, such as head lice. Government regulations about attendance at and absence from school are very strict. The school has to record every time a child is absent along with the reason for that absence. It is the responsibility of the parents to ensure that their child attends school and that the school is informed of any absence.
Management of Behaviour
General good behaviour is encouraged by high expectations and by good example on the part of the staff. Pupil’s are expected to show care and consideration for each other, and to behave in an age appropriate way. Good work, behaviour, effort and improvement are all celebrated in assembly each Friday. Pupils receive lots of praise for good behaviour, whilst bad behaviour is dealt with calmly and consistently, using a range of strategies. Every child has a personal record of achievement, which begins on admission to the school. Certification, photographs and video film are all part of this document. This is presented to the student when they leave the school. There are also annual awards which are for the Best All-Rounder, Most Consideration to Others, Outstanding Personal Improvement and 100% Attendance.
School aims include:
- Having access to a broad, balanced, relevant curriculum and experiencing a wide range of appropriate educational opportunities in a safe, caring and supportive environment.
- Strive to improve the quality of their lives.
- Helping them take their place in society as mature, self- respecting, independent, confident young people.
- Show care, tolerance and respect for others’ feelings and beliefs and helping them develop their own beliefs.
- Helping the pupils develop their full potential for self advocacy, able to make and communicate choices and decisions.
Care Strategies
Promoting and maintaining Independence and Autonomy is a key feature of Health and Social Care work. Care workers need to recognise their clients as unique individuals with individual and shared needs that influence their ability to be independent and autonomous. Respecting independence and autonomy is essential for good practise in care work. Carers need to be aware of the unique potential of each individual to think, decide and act independently in their daily lives, and the personal and social factors, which limit autonomy. Good care practise incorporates strategies for promoting and maintaining independence and autonomy and places emphasis on the individual rather than the disability, condition or intervention.
A lot of care is given in Villa Real School in many ways. They have provided a Hydro- therapy pool, Multi- Sensory rooms and brought in ASDAN which all will help the pupils tremendously. The multi-sensory room has been designed to allow individuals the time and space to explore and enjoy their mental and physical responses to gentle stimulation. The furniture and equipment in the room can be assembled to focus on the stimulation of a particular sense. Importantly users can share the sensory experience with their carers, which may help to improve their communication and understanding and fulfil the need for close contact. The room is equipped with a wide variety of products and textured surfaces, including fibre-optic displays, touch and sound- light boxes, bubble tubes and vibrating cushions. Through touch a number of devices will emit a series of warm and cool sensations, encouraging the participant to investigate the conditions of the environment. In addition to the tactile and visual equipment users may wish to use audio recordings or relaxing music. The atmosphere may be further enhanced with an aroma diffuser. To make the stimulation of the senses complete a range of flavoured foods may also be used. The sensory studio is intended to be therapeutic. Also its gives a sense of trust and relaxation between the students and carers. This can be very rewarding with experiences.
All physiotherapists are trained and experienced in swimming therapy. This method allows pupils to develop water confidence, control of their body in the water and then learn to swim. Some pupils have time tabled access to the hydrotherapy pool, after orthopaedic surgery, or for relaxation and reduction of increased muscle tone and special arrangements are made to accommodate this. Other pupils are able to go to a local swimming pool in Lanchester EP School for swimming lessons.
There is a strong emphasis in maximising a student’s functional skills in order to develop a problem solving approach to practical situations. In addition to practical therapy work the therapists also help the students outside of school on their work experience, in local shops, sports centres.
Speech therapists work with the children. They devise a programme to help improve their speech. Speech therapists carry out assessments during the programme to see how the children are progressing. This also helps the children to have more confidence in themselves.
The ASDAN Award programmes progress through Bronze, Sliver, Gold and Universities levels, and can also link the into the ASDAN Further Education Award programmes. Each programme is designed to develop, assess and accredit Key Skills, and recognise personal achievements, which can help to build a National Record of Achievement (NRA) or progress file. The Bronze award, the bronze/silver challenge award and the Silver Award can all be achieved however the Gold award and the Universities Award can be achieved at a later stage. The course contains 12 modules each of which is divided into 2 or 3 sections. To gain credits they need to choose sections which will be interesting and/or useful and then complete the challenges required. Each completed section will give ¼ credit, representing 8hours of work, a full credit will represent about 30 hours of work.
Each Award programme contains a choice of challenges which will encourage to become more skilled at:
- Improving your own learning and performance
- Working with others
- Communication
In addition challenges and activities may develop skills and provide evidence for the Key Skills Qualification and the individual units:
- Application of number
- Information technology
The skills listed are commonly known as Key Skills. These skills are highly valued by employers and institutions of further and higher education, and will help the student to make the most of employment and training opportunities. The challenges may be completed in school, at home or the community.
(Marking and requirements at back)
When I visited the school I was with the sixth form students. It was a small class of nine, their disabilities were a wide range from learning disabilities to not being able to walk or talk. In the interest of the students I am basing this case study on I will give them different names to remain confidentiality.
Bibliography
Book – Diploma Child Care and Education
Author- Penny Tassoni and Kate Beith
Published- 2002, Heinemann Child Care
