Bangabandhu

Our Additionally Resourced Complex Needs Provision

 

If the learning needs of a child are very far below that of their class and it is felt quality first teaching and intervention programmes are not enough to support their needs (ie pre-verbal children or those with complex learning needs), then they may be taught, in part, in the additionally resourced provision called Vincent Van Gogh Class. This is an indoor and outdoor learning environment run by a specialist staff.

Please click here for the Local Authority criteria for admission to the Bangabandhu provision. 

Curriculum and Communication

The aim is to provide a sensory and nurturing curriculum supporting the development of communication skills.

The Teacher, Nursery Nurses and Teaching Assistants work with speech and language therapists to develop speech or other forms of communication (such as Picture Exchange Communication System and Intensive Interaction) and use of assisted technology. The adults boost their own communication with the use of Signalong to support the children’s understanding, whilst visual supports are also used to aid understanding (picture timetables and task breakdowns).

Learning is structured through Circle Time, small group activities and 1:1 sessions.

Children will take part in Literacy and Numeracy based learning, which involves individualised reading programmes, handwriting, developmental writing linked to stories and role play, fine motor skills, sequencing, number activities, maths walks, measuring, pattern making and sorting.

They also participate in activities which build life skills or are of therapeutic value – cooking, gardening, messy play, sensory room sessions, daily bicycle club, weekly swimming sessions, construction (kits, junk modelling), art and crafts, small world play and music. The curriculum is planned and will change to meet the needs of the individuals in the environment.

Curriculum Review

The children who attend our school’s Additional Resource Provision need a specialist person-centred curriculum that is different to the National Curriculum. This is to sufficiently meet the needs of children with profound, complex, severe and global learning difficulties and enable them to make personal progress, support relationships and enhance engagement.

We are currently reviewing our curriculum offer for children who attend the Additional Resourced Provision and have adopted a new curriculum model using the ‘Equals’ multi-tiered curriculum, which has three separate pathways.

These pathways are:

A Pre-Formal Curriculum Pathway: For learners who have profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD).  This is a child-centred and holistic curriculum with the learner at the centre.  The curriculum pathway supports teachers and teaching assistants to help build routines, facilitate changes, offer alternatives and observe and guide the learner in order to encourage their development.

An Informal Curriculum Pathway: For learners who have complex learning difficulties (CLD) and severe learning difficulties (SLD). Again, this is a child-centred and holistic curriculum with the learner at the centre.  This pathway is based on children’s interests to encourage maximum engagement and interaction.

A Semi-Formal Curriculum Pathway: For learners with severe learning difficulties and global delay. This is a developmental, personalised, subject specific curriculum which aims to encourage children to reach the highest levels of learning and independence possible. This pathway focuses on encouraging the children to learn and apply skills and knowledge, through hands-on thematic learning. 

With the ‘Equals’ curriculum framework, we aim to encourage the best possible development of children’s voice, choice making, independence, positive social interaction and communication skills for all the children in our specialist setting.

We are currently in a transitional period with our complex needs provision.

Curriculum Intent, Progression and Assessment

Planning begins with the children – through an assessment of their learning needs and interests. Circle Time and group work is built around topics and quality picture texts (chosen for language, content and theme), with learning intentions coming from the next steps for the children.

We are developing a 3-year curriculum which teaches key concepts through 4 or 5 week micro-topics alongside English and Maths learning. Termly plans are written which inform weekly plans. 

Assessment is ongoing using photographic, written and observational evidence. We use B-Squared to assess the children and plan next steps. 

We believe that for children to secure greater depth, it is important that they first have solid fundamental foundations. Fundamental foundations should not be rushed and so the notion of ‘rapid progress’ must be dismissed. Instead, the goal of repetition should be seen as both useful and necessary. This is why you will see us returning regularly to knowledge and concepts in all areas of the curriculum.

Our subject specific learners progress through 3 levels prior to KS1 standard. These are referred to as Pre-Key Stage Steps. Our pre-subject specific learners progress through the Engagement Steps in 6 levels following the Engagement Model in the five areas (exploration, realisation, anticipation, persistence and initiation). Our aim is that our pre-subject specific learners will progress on to the Pre-Key Stage Steps, although this will depend on the needs of the individual learner. 

For all our learners, as specified by their EHCPs, we will also consider their development in: 

 Curriculum Content

Our curriculum content is taught to all pupils on a 3 year cycle of annually linked micro-topics:

Year 1 of Cycle – Celebrations and Holidays Year 2 of Cycle – Seasons and Weather Year 3 of Cycle – Food and Growing
  • Me and My Family
  • Birthdays
  • Christmas 
  • My Body 
  • Chinese New Year 
  • Trains 
  • Eid 
  • Boats 
  • The Seaside 
  • Autumn
  • My Home 
  • Winter 
  • My Clothes 
  • Space and Earth 
  • Spring 
  • Up in the Air 
  • Animals 
  • Summer 
  • People who help me  
  • Rivers 
  • A Celebration of Food 
  • My Community 
  • The Farm 
  • Road Safety 
  • Growing Food 
  • Wheels 
  • Into the Woods 

Here are the curriculum maps for the Complex Needs Provision

Additionally Resourced Complex Needs Provision Curriculum Map - Year 1 of Cycle

Additionally Resourced Complex Needs Provision Curriculum Map - Year 2 of Cycle

Additionally Resourced Complex Needs Provision Curriculum Map - Year 3 of Cycle

Pre-Subject Specific Learning 

For our Pre-Subject Specific Learners, our approach to teaching the curriculum will be sensory and experiential as these learners are not yet able to demonstrate knowledge retrieval in a formal manner. We use a sensory story which is repeated weekly throughout the micro-topic to support retention. 

These children learn PE, Art, Design and Technology, Gardening and Music alongside their Subject Specific peers, using the same threshold concepts but with expectations and support differentiated to their abilities and needs, including any physical needs. They cover the Health Relationships Education curriculum through everyday activities including changing for PE and toileting and discrete teaching where appropriate. Details of these Subject Specific curricula are covered in the sections on Subject Specific Learning. 

They have weekly cooking sessions, using the same recipes as their Subject Specific peers and learning the following concepts:

Creative, technical and practical expertise
  • Imitates a member of staff using a range of kitchen equipment.
Designing and making for the user 
  • Chooses a flavour from a choice of 3. 
Evaluating and testing ideas and products
  • Smells and tastes food. 

The Areas of Engagement

Through the Pre-Subject Specific curriculum, we would expect to see progress within the engagement model in the following areas: 

This shows whether a pupil can build on their involuntary reaction to a new stimulus. They become interested in and curious about the new stimulus or activity. 

Exploration becomes more established when the pupil is still responsive to the same activity or stimulus when it is presented in different contexts and environments. 

This shows how the pupil interacts with a new stimulus or activity or discovers a new aspect of a familiar stimulus or activity. They will display behaviours that show they want more control of the stimulus or activity. They will often show emotions towards the stimulus or activity. 

Realisation becomes more established when the pupil uses the newly developed skills or knowledge in new ways and in different contexts and environments. 

This shows how much the pupil predicts, expects or associates a stimulus or activity with an event. Anticipation is important for measuring the pupil’s understanding of cause and effect. This prepares the brain and helps with the pupil’s memory and sequencing. 

Anticipation becomes more established when the pupil shows awareness that a familiar activity is about to start or finish, even when cues and prompts are reduced.

This shows whether the pupil can sustain their attention on a stimulus or activity for long enough that they can actively try to find out more and interact with it. 

Persistence becomes more established when the pupil shows a determined effort to interact with the stimulus or activity. 

This shows how independently the pupil investigates the stimulus or activity and whether it is spontaneous. Initiation is required for more advanced progression. 

Initiation becomes more established when the pupil shows they understand how to create an impact on their environment in order to achieve the desired outcome. 

Subject Specific Learning 

At Bangabandhu we will teach threshold concepts to subject specific pupils in the ARP. These are the big ideas that underpin each subject. Within these there will be the curriculum content as described above in our 3-year cycle. 

Click here to see the threshold concepts for each subject area.

Supporting Learning Across the School

The specialist teachers will support class teachers with the planning and delivery of an appropriate curriculum when children are learning with their class.

The specialist and class teachers also receive advice from Phoenix School Outreach Team for children diagnosed with ASD and Stephen Hawking School Outreach for those with complex learning needs.

In addition, we use support from other specialist outreach services for children who have a visual or auditory impairment and for those that have a physical disability as part of their Educational Health Care (EHC) plan.

Useful Information and Documents

Below you will find some examples of how we do things within our provision.

Pupil Portraits

At the beginning of every school year (or on entry if mid-year) a pupil portrait is created for every child in the Additionally Resourced Provision. This is a one-page document that covers all the essential information on the child from medical conditions to methods of communication and likes and dislikes. Each section includes implications for learning, these or our top tip for supporting the child and helping them to progress. This document is available to staff in the class and any visiting professionals. Click here for an example. 

Individual Education Plans

These are targets based around the 4 areas of the child’s Education Health Care Plan (Cognition and Learning, Communication and Interaction Social and Emotional and Sensory and Physical) and the targets from their annual review. They are designed a small termly steps towards these longer-term goals and should implemented daily to support the child’s development and learning. IEPs are reviewed termly and new targets are set. Click here for an example. 

Risk Assessments 

We carry out risk assessments of all areas that we use including classrooms, outside spaces and activity rooms. We also assess activities which may include enhanced risks such as cooking and riding bikes. We may carry out risk assessments of individual children if there are medical, physical or behaviour needs. Our risk assessments include confidential information and so cannot be published on our website. Here is the format we use. Click here for an example.

Transition Support

Our children often need individual and specialist transition support, for example, from home to school, back to school following a medical intervention or to a mainstream classroom for regular visits.   We create and use transition booklets. Click here for an example and here for another example.

Parent Support

Below you will find some resources and links to organisations that you may find useful.

Intensive Interaction - https://www.intensiveinteraction.org/

Tower Hamlets and City SEND Information, Advice and Support Service - https://www.towerhamletsandcitysendiass.com/

This service  can help with choosing and applying for schools, EHCPs, short breaks etc. They also run a parents group to meet other parents of children with SEND.

The Local Offer website lists information for all families in Tower Hamlets in areas such as health, leisure activities, childcare and education: - https://www.localoffertowerhamlets.co.uk/

Short breaks enable and support children and young people with a disability to live ordinary family lives, to have fun, try new activities, gain independence and make friends. They provide parents and carers with a short break from their caring responsibilities.

For more information click here ...