
The Mulberry Times Summer 1 – 2022
We have had a wonderful half term! The clubs have been a huge success and it is so lovely to see all our children having an opportunity to try new skills.
We have had a wonderful half term! The clubs have been a huge success and it is so lovely to see all our children having an opportunity to try new skills.
Home » Learning Approaches
(Inclusion / P4A / DSL)
Emily Gheseger | Teacher – Cambridge Class |
Mohamed Abdullahi | Teacher – Canterbury Class |
Manuela Errigo | Teacher – Cardiff Class |
In the Provision for autism Early years and key stage 1 is structured to be active and experiential where children enjoy a sensory approach to the curriculum in order to engage in their learning. They are given every opportunity to achieve at their level of learning. We enjoy many educational trips in the community and beyond to give pupils opportunity to embed their learning in real life contexts.
The curriculum for EYFS underpins all future learning and therefore supports, promotes and develops the children’s personal, social and emotional wellbeing, physical development, communication and language interaction, positive attitudes towards learning, social skills, attention skills, as well as their creative development.
All activities and lessons are planned though the 7 areas of learning as well as providing opportunity for children to develop the characteristics of learning: focusing on the 3 prime areas of learning: Communication and Language, Physical Development, Personal Social Emotional Development and the 4 specific areas: Expressive Arts and Design, Maths, Literacy and Understanding the World.
Learning in Key Stage 1 is more structured than in the EYFS, with a balance being created between adult-directed group activities and play-based learning activities where appropriate.
The curriculum for Key Stage 1 supports the development of pupils’ self-help and functional skills, social communication, emotional wellbeing and social interaction.
In the Provision for Autism at Key Stage 2 we provide all of our pupil’s with a rich curriculum that encourages communication, independence and functional learning. We recognise strengths and areas of development of each pupil and use our skills and strategies to meet their individual needs to ensure they make progress throughout Key Stage 2.
Key Stage 2 pupils follow a modified National Curriculum level.
The Provision has a three year termly cycle. Pupils are taught lessons through termly topics, over the course of a year, pupils will acquire a range of knowledge and develop skills based on experiential learning. This helps them to make links in their learning and build ideas about themselves and the world around them. There is a key focus on personal development and independence.
Language and Communication are incorporated into every lessons so pupils are given the opportunity to communicate verbally or using PECS, signing and visuals. There is a focus on phonics and reading. Teacher’s planning is individually differentiated ensuring that pupils are taught in a personalised, practical, multi-sensory way.
Please click here to see our topic map.
To skill staff in good basic autism practice (universal service) that supports the language and communication and sensory needs of children in the Provision.
To support the development of specific skills (targeted service) that reduce barriers to learning
Periodically, specialist work (that only therapist can deliver) may be needed
You have the right to find out things and share what you think with others, by talking, drawing, writing or in any other way…
Article 13 UN convention on rights of the child-Child friendly version
The Speech and Language therapist works to enable the communication and interaction skills of children in the Provision embodying a Total Communication Approach that values the range of ways in which children may need to understand and communicate about their desires, thoughts and feelings.
Speech and Language Therapy is integrated into all aspects of the children’s day in the Provision for Autism. The curriculum is delivered through the Attention Approach (ginadavies.co.uk) which is a communication-based approach. Communication and interaction opportunities are core features of the academic, autism-specific and functional aspects of the curriculum. That means that from when the children arrive to lessons, play and lunchtimes to home time, understanding is supported, expressive skills are promoted and interaction is nurtured.
The Speech and Language Therapist assesses children to find out their Speech language and communication needs (SLCN- which includes social skills) when they come to the school. This assessment is carried out over a few weeks across a range of activities. For most children this is done by observations, direct interaction and discussions with school staff and parents. For some children, language tests might be used.
To support the Universal Service, the therapist plans teaching content with class teachers and provide training/coaching for staff and parents
To support the targeted service, the SLT provides assessment, modelling, coaching and training with occasional home visits
To deliver specialist input, SLT provides 1-1 direct work as needed
The Therapy Team work with other professionals as a multi-disciplinary team around families as required
School Nurse: | Ayten Deniz |
Educational Psychologist: | |
Link Social Worker for MDT: | Arzu Kaya |
Attention Autism is an intervention model designed by Gina Davies, Specialist Speech and Language Therapist. It aims to develop natural and spontaneous communication through the use of visually based and highly motivating activities. Gina’s primary objective is that the sessions are fun and “offer an irresistible invitation to learn”!
The Attention Autism programme progresses through a series of stages, building on each skill level. Each new stage is introduced when the group is ready to expand attention skills.
A bucket is filled with visually engaging objects and toys, aiming to gain the shared attention of the group. The adult leader shows each item to the group and uses simple repetitive vocabulary to comment on the various objects. Click here for video of The Bucket.
Visually stimulating activities are shown to the group by the adult leader, aiming to sustain attention for a longer period. The activities are fun, visually engaging and can often involve delightful mess!
The adult leader demonstrates a simple activity, often modelled with another adult in the group. Some children are then invited to have a turn but only if they are comfortable to do so. Not every child in the group will get a turn, which then teaches important emotional regulation skills, as well as the essential skills of waiting, turn-taking and learning through modelling.
Stage 4 aims to develop the skill of engaging and shifting attention. The adult leader demonstrates a simple creative task, and then gives each child an individual kit to copy the task. The children take their kits to a table, complete the task independently, and then everyone returns to the group to show their completed tasks.
More complex skills can be introduced as confidence and social skills develop e.g. sharing materials, working with a partner, problem solving.
Attention Autism principles can then be generalised to curriculum activities (e.g. literacy and numeracy) to facilitate learning and skill development.
At Mulberry Primary School Provision for Autism we use intensive interaction with pupils who are developing early interaction skills.
Intensive interaction was devised by David Hewett and Melanie Nind in the 1980’s. The basis of their approach came from examination of the characteristics of the caregiver-infant interaction model during the first two years of life for typically developing children.
The approach is designed to help people for whom communication can be very difficult. This includes children who are not yet using language.
The aims of this approach are to teach the following ‘fundamentals of communication’ which need to be in place for effective communication and learning to develop:
The theory which underlies the approach is based on the interaction between an adult and child, and focuses on developing opportunities for communication. The adult and child share quality one to one time together where the adult follows the child’s lead at all times.
During the sessions, the adult watches the child closely in order to follow the child’s lead, on his/her level.
At all times the adult tries to convey to the child that they are in control and builds on the child’s early communication skills. In this way everyone interacting with the child can come to learn their communication signals.
Communication is the transmission of a message from one person to at least one other. It can take a number of different forms ranging from early communicative behaviours such as eye gaze, vocalisations and body movements to the more sophisticated communication methods of speech and writing. Communication is a social interaction fundamental to human relationships, which underpins all aspects of school life.
Mulberry Primary School Provision for Autism supports communication impairment across all modes of communication: speech language, intonation, gesture, facial expression and other body language.
It is through communication that the student has access to education, through shared learning, discussion and exploration
(A.C.E)
Enabling students with autism to communicate spontaneously should constitute a major goal throughout their educational careers.
(Potter and Whittaker, Enabling Communication 2002)
At Mulberry Primary School Provision for Autism we promote an inclusive communicative environment which:
Social stories were created by Carol Gray in 1991 to help teach social skills to children / adults on the autism spectrum. They are short descriptions of a particular situation, event or activity, which include specific information about what to expect in that situation and why.