Resourced Provision (Acorn Rooms)

Our School Offer

Our Mission Statement states that at Newall Green Primary School, we provide an environment where pupils feel happy, safe and ready to learn the knowledge and skills identified within the national curriculum. We recognise every child as a unique individual and we aim for all of our pupils to have the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will enable them to be successful in their future careers. We wish for our pupils to ‘Aim high to reach their goals.’

The curriculum that we teach has been planned to promote the (Manchester) five key skills for life: problem solving, teamwork, self-management (initiative, organisation, accountability), self-belief (confidence, resilience, positive attitude), and communication.

Our Acorn Room is a Resourced Provision for pupils with social communication and cognition and learning difficulties. The pupils come from schools across Manchester who have EHCP’s and where mainstream education, alone, is not meeting their needs. The provision opened in September 2021 when the Local Authority identified a need for additional places for pupils with social communication and cognition and learning needs. The children are educated in smaller classes, with a high adult to child ratio, using specific strategies that will support and develop their sensory needs, communication and language, independent skills and provide an integrated approach within the mainstream classes where appropriate. Admission to the Resourced Provision is through consultation with the Local Authority.

The provision is staffed with a class teacher, two level 3 teaching assistants and four level 2 teaching assistants. The provision is split across two classrooms enabling us to support additional children within our school.

Staff in the provision work alongside our school counsellor and speech and language therapist and also receive support and training from other medical professionals and outreach services as necessary. These include Occupational Therapists, Lancasterian Sensory Support Team and Ashgate Specialist School.

Statement of intent

Our Curriculum is designed with our pupils’ individual strengths and needs at the heart of their learning, to promote a love of learning and to enable them to access as much of a mainstream curriculum as possible.

• It gives pupils the opportunity to develop the communication and interaction skills, social and physical skills they need to succeed.
• Our curriculum is planned around a multi-sensory approach to learning. Children have access to continuous provision, 1:1 work and small group work. Children also have time within their mainstream classes to promote social skills and friendships.
• Lunchtimes are supported where necessary, either by staff in the main dining hall and playground, or by allowing children to eat in the quieter classroom.
• A range of provisions and approaches are provided for the children. These include: Purrfect skills, Attention Autism, Motor Skills, Narrative Therapy, ELKLAN approaches, Lego Therapy and many more dependent on the needs of the children.
• BSL (in short form) and visuals are incorporated into every day teaching to support those children who benefit.
• Our curriculum is designed on research and pedagogy and we have also received support from Ashgate Specialist School to develop and implement our curriculum and develop our setting. The curriculum is delivered using a three-year rolling programme so that children don’t do the same topics repeatedly.
• Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are given every opportunity to develop essential life skills and are supported to engage in a broad range of curricular activity.
• We promote inclusion by also inviting our mainstream pupils to support in our Resourced Provision, we have Year 5 and 6 buddies who help out at lunch times. Children who attend the Resourced Provision also attend school events and assemblies so that they have a good sense of belonging.
• Trips are carefully planned throughout the school year, children will attend trips both with their mainstream classes and as a provision. The children enjoy trips to places such as the Children’s Adventure Farm Trust and Manchester Airport Aerozone. We also invite organisations into school such as Animal Club, Fisher’s Mobile Farm and Zoolab. These trips provide our children with opportunities to experience new things with staff and children they are comfortable with and who can support their needs.

Statement of Implementation

Pupils in our Resourced Provision follow a more personalised curriculum which is carefully planned to meet their varying needs.

• We recognise our children require a personalised approach to their learning to develop them physically, socially, emotionally and academically, therefore reaching their full potential.
• Our curriculum is designed to be fluid, so that all pupils are able to achieve against their personalised targets set out in their EHCP’s and Learning plans.
• We use B-squared Connecting Steps V5 to assess progress of the children in our Resourced Provision. This software allows progress to be broken down into small steps. Progress measures are broken down into encounter, engagement, gaining skills and understanding and mastered. For some children it is also necessary to use Engagement Scales and others will be accessing aspects of the mainstream curriculum. This also allows us to plan lessons which target children specifically.
• Lessons are planned using multi-sensory approaches to learning with a range of resources.
• Staff model language and play for the children to enable them to develop their communication and interaction skills.
• Within the setting, children have access to a large outdoor area with a range of equipment and a communication board. There are two classrooms and a sensory room for children to access.
• Newall Green Resourced Provision promotes a communication friendly environment through the use of ELKLAN strategies as we work towards becoming a Communication Friendly School. Our Speech and Language Therapist works closely with staff to develop resources and programmes for pupils.

Statement of Impact

• Our pupils feel happy and safe in school and engage in a wide variety of school activities positively.
• Our pupils build on prior knowledge to develop new skills.
• Our pupils are challenged to learn to the best of their ability and are given every opportunity to discover new things.
• Our pupils are prepared for future learning and life after education.
• Our pupils are able to communicate to the best of their ability.
• Our pupils develop positive relationships with staff and peers.
• Our pupils develop their independence and organisational skills.
• Our pupils have aspirations, high expectations for themselves and celebrate their successes.

Here are some of the multi-sensory activities the children take part in within our Resourced Provision: