VIEW FROM THE CLASSROOM
View from the classroom
important to them, and using this as a starting point for their education. We have approximately 120 pupils in the
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n our ever-popular View from the classroom feature this month, we speak to
Caroline Payne, teacher at Crownbridge School, Torfaen, the first special school in Wales to receive a ‘Trauma and Mental Health Informed School Award’.
Tell us about your school Crownbridge Special School caters for pupils with a range of learning difficulties aged 2-19. I feel incredibly privileged to work in a setting where the children’s needs, desires and goals are at the core of everything we do. We are a person- centred school, which means building the curriculum around the child, establishing what is
school ranging from primary pupils to school leavers aged 19. Each class is put together with the best interests of the pupils in mind. We offer specialist classes within school for children with profound multiple learning difficulties where the focus is on supporting their engagement through therapies, sensory activities and the MOVE programme. In addition to this, we have teachers with specialisms in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and managing behaviour, of which I am one. Each detail of the classroom – from lesson planning to the environment of the room itself – all derives from our desire to meet the needs of every individual pupil as best as we can. This might mean that two children in the same class benefit from a completely different approach. To help us deliver this vision, we have a strong pupil:staff ratio, with over 100 members of staff within the school currently. We understand that as human beings each child is going to have a different relationship with different members of staff, so we use this to develop plans on how best to support our children.
You educate children and young people from the ages of 2-19 across several different sites/locations. Can you talk us through what this looks like and is there cross-site communication? We have two sites - a purpose built special school and provision at a mainstream school. At our main site we have several classrooms and specialist rooms such as a ‘flat’ which is currently
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being developed to offer facilities as a café to the general public. We have sensory rooms, a hydro therapy pool, soft play and every class has an outside area. At our base at Pen Y Garn School we have 2
classes for children of primary age. The purpose of these classes is to promote inclusion for children with learning difficulties in a mainstream setting. Not only do some of our pupils attend lessons in the main body of the school but some children from Pen Y Garn join Crownbridge lessons in our classes. Crownbridge pupils at Pen Y Garn are still very much part of ‘whole school activities.’ They participate in concerts, wow events and special days. They also come down for weekly swimming and rebound sessions. To support communication and develop a
united approach, our staff regularly move with the children between the main site and Pen Y Garn setting. We have whole school training days and staff meetings and SLT work across both sites every week. Our outreach team is led and managed by Crownbridge, and many outreach staff have previously worked in the school, meaning our approach to delivering education and care remains consistent.
You recently won a Trauma and Mental Health Informed School Award from Trauma Informed Schools UK. How did you hear about the charity and how has winning this award helped best practice across the school? Over 18 months ago we were made aware of the Trauma Informed Schools Course by Coral Harper, the Welsh lead. Myself and 2 other
September 2020
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