Ashgate Specialist Support Primary School

Ashgate Specialist Support School is a Primary School for children with Special Educational Needs based in Wythenshawe. We support children with ASC, PMLD, SLD, GLD and other associated difficulties including behaviour.

As a Specialist Outreach and Inclusion Support Team we offer support for primary schools in the South Manchester and Wythenshawe district by providing appropriate, targeted responses through verbal advice, observations, capacity building and training. Support from Ashgate can be focused on the needs of the pupils or by supporting the school and its staff as a whole.

The 'Core Offer' is the provision of services funded through the Local Authority. It provides schools with 4 hours of support per year free of charge. Details of the level of support are covered below under the 'Core Offer.'Ashgate are also able to offer a range of CPD opportunities to staff in schools with the aim of building capacity and shared knowledge. It is offered through bespoke training programmes that can be delivered on a half-day, full-day or twilight basis.

Education is a continuous process of growth and development throughout life. In partnership, School and Parents / Carers make an essential contribution to this. Ashgate School Curriculum reflects our school ethos. We aim to meet the unique and individual needs of each pupil in all educational activities that we deliver including formal and informal learning.

The Curriculum is organised into a Sensory Curriculum, an Adapted National Curriculum and the National Curriculum as appropriate for each child according to his or her age, ability and Special Educational Needs.We aim to ensure that the new National Curriculum is appropriately adapted to meet the needs and abilities of our pupils at Ashgate. The curriculum is meaningful to our pupils and prepares them for adult life, as appropriate to their stage of development. All pupils receive a broad and balanced curriculum and experience a range of Enrichment and Extracurricular Activities.

Communication is at the forefront of our curriculum. We use the ELKLAN approach and consider each child’s communication needs when planning the delivery of the curriculum.We plan and deliver with reference to advice from professionals who support our children with any other needs including, sensory, physical and medical.All pupils should have access to a broad and balanced curriculum. The National Curriculum Inclusion Statement states that teachers should set high expectations for every pupil, whatever their prior attainment.Teachers should use appropriate assessment to set targets which are deliberately ambitious. Potential areas of difficulty should be identified and addressed at the outset. Lessons should be planned to address potential areas of difficulty and to remove barriers to pupil achievement. In many cases, such planning will mean that pupils with SEN and disabilities will be able to study the full national curriculum.’

As such in planning and delivering the Curriculum, teachers create an Individual Education Plan for each and every child which sets targets with high Expectations and identifies strategies for overcoming any barriers to learning.

In order to participate in any democratic process an individual needs a voice that can be heard and understood by others. All pupils at Ashgate have a One Page Profile which describes who they are and what is important to them. For our non -verbal pupils these profiles also outline how the child communicates with others. Where possible pupils are actively involved in writing their One Page Profile and the views of the family are also sought.

A range of strategies are used within school to help pupils communicate with others. Ashgate has achieved the Elklan Communication Friendly Schools Status and staff have received training to increase the range of strategies they are able to use to develop our pupils’ verbal language skills.For our non-verbal pupils their ‘voice’ could involve the use of objects, photographs, pictures, symbols, touch cues, eye pointing or body language. Specific approaches such as Intensive Interaction, PECS and High Tech Communication Aids are used as appropriate to develop the skills of individual students.

By valuing each ‘voice’ and by listening and responding to that voice we demonstrate that we support democracy and liberty. The school is in the process of developing a school council and fact finding visits to other schools have been completed to explore how to ensure participation for all.

Pupils are encouraged to become good and valued citizens. We do this by supporting each pupil to become as independent as possible. Some pupils will be able to take responsibility for particular roles in school and to understand that with certain rights comes a level of responsibility. By providing pupils with the opportunity to make choices during the school day we attempt to demonstrate that everyone has rights and that this includes the right to say 'Yes' or 'No'.

Targeted interventions including drama therapy, art therapy and nurture room activities have been used successfully with specific cohort groups to develop confidence and emotional resilience and appropriate ways of self-expression.

We believe that creating a caring and helpful environment and encouraging our pupils to be to be as independent as possible can boost and develop self-esteem. We support others by participating in national charitable events such as McMillan Coffee Mornings, Red Nose Day and Children in Need as well as local initiatives such as community litter picking activities.