Inclusion
The REACH Room at Dedworth Green First School
Welcome to the REACH Room, an Autism resource base, here at Dedworth Green First School. We opened our doors in September 2024 and we are incredibly proud to have a calm area in the school available, to ensure that children with autism can be fully included in all aspects of school life.
What does a day look like in the REACH Room?
Within each mainstream class, from Reception to Year 4, we work with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead to be able to allocate places in the REACH Room, with a maximum of 8 students on roll in the Centre. All of our students have EHCPs and a formal diagnosis of Autism. The children who are part of the REACH Room are fully included in the mainstream class, spending around 50% of the time in the Resource Base and 50% of the time with their mainstream peers. The children are taught by specialist staff in the REACH Room, receiving tailored interventions to meet their individual needs.
The number of additional staff in the classroom depends on the level of need and the number of children with EHC plans as these can vary. All staff have training and experience in working with pupils with autism and work flexibly across a range of children supporting their individual needs to achieve the outcomes set in their EHC plans. Our main aim is to develop independence in children and to avoid the highly dependent relationships that can occur when a child spends all of their time at school being supported by the same member of staff.
For most children within the resource base, they will spend the majority of time in the mainstream class learning alongside their peers. The Early Years and National Curriculum is differentiated and adapted to meet the children’s needs and ensure they can make progress in all areas. In class, teachers and teaching assistants use visual, auditory and kinaesthetic resources to enhance learning. Turn-taking, social interaction and other social skills are embedded in mainstream teaching, as well as being a focus for small groups, as this is often an area of difficulty for a lot of children.
Regulation Zone
Children will share playtimes and teaching with their mainstream peers, as well as having opportunities to work one-to-one or as part of a small group with the teaching staff in the REACH Room. Children will also benefit from the support from Speech and Language Therapists, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists and Educational Psychologists, according to the provision outlined in their individual EHCP. We also have a sensory room which is available for our students to access to develop their calming down strategies when needed.
For more information about the REACH Room or to arrange a visit, please contact:
Mrs Broadway SENDCo of the REACH Room
01753 861668
SEND Local Offer
What is the Local Offer?
Our Local Offer is a way of providing information about all the services available for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the local area. It will enable families to see more clearly which services are available in their area and how to access them.
More importantly, it will provide a way for families and young people to engage more easily with services that can benefit them. We also look forward to working together with families to develop and shape future provision.
Every local authority is responsible for writing a Local Offer that will include provision from birth to 25 across education, health and social care and is being developed with children and young people, parents and carers and local services, including schools, colleges, health, social care agencies and the voluntary sector.
myHappymind
Wellbeing Champions
Recognising the importance of positive mental health and wellbeing for our pupils for successful learning, achievement and play has never been more the case than now.
It's incredibly important for our children to have a voice and feel that they can contribute to ideas and influence the decisions made on how to improve the wellbeing of their peers across our school. To help foster this level of support we have 5 wellbeing champions who offer their time and support to students across the school.
Pastoral Support
Mrs Gatehouse is available to deliver mental, emotional and physical support for our students. If you feel that your child could benefit from this support or would like any additional information, please speak to the SENDCo.
ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant)
Mrs Gatehouse is our ELSA. An ELSA is a specialist teaching assistant with a wealth of experience of working with children. ELSA's are trained and regularly supervised by the Educational Psychologists in our local education authority. An ELSA is a warm and caring person who wants to help your child feel happy in school and to reach their potential educationally. Their aim is to remove the barriers to learning and to have happy children in school and at home.
EAL
Dedworth Green First School is committed to supporting pupils with English as an Additional Language. We acknowledge that the starting points for educating all children are the same: an acceptance of diversity, pupil's rights and the knowledge that all pupils can learn if they receive inclusive, high-quality teaching.
Our EAL provision is active in promoting strategies and teaching methods to support the best possible outcomes by assessing their language proficiency and responding to their individual needs. Where necessary we deliver bespoke support plans for pupils to address barriers to learning.
Our staff work collaboratively to ensure the best possible support is in place for our pupils and we embrace multilingualism as an asset. We respect every child's cultural identity and value the wealth of knowledge this brings to our school.
PAWS- EAL Induction Programme
To effectively plan the support offered to new arrivals in the initial period at our school, from just before the admission to school to the first few weeks, Dedworth Green uses the PAWS (Prepare – Alert – Welcome – Support) structure as outlined below:
Prepare – Prior to admission:
• Gather information from the learner and parents to create a pupil profile
• Arrange a tour for the new pupil and parents / carers with first language support where possible
• Provide information for the parents, e.g. homework
• Agree a start date and organise an initial timetable
Alert – Before the pupil starts:
• Send the pupil profile to all relevant staff
• Organise a buddy system for class and transition times
• Prepare resources for the learner’s first few days- feelings fans, visual timetable, survival language translated in the child’s home language.
• Plan support for each part of the day
• Make essential arrangements, e.g. PE kit, Free School Meals eligibility and bus transport to school
Welcome – The first days:
• Class teacher/EAL co-ordinator to greet new arrivals and take them to class
• Introduce them to their buddy(ies)
• Check they have food, drink and activities organised for lunch time
• Provide the child with their translated texts and resources
Support – The first weeks:
• Put language support in place, e.g. consider creating a scheme of work for learners who are New to English
• Put pastoral support in place
• Complete an EAL assessment and set language targets after 2-3 weeks of the child's arrival.
• Monitor progress and adjust support where necessary
• Keep in touch with parents
• Translate letters and texts where/if possible, in to home language
It is important that clear EAL strategies are considered when putting language support in place and that these are linked to their English proficiency (Band A – Band E).