Tram House School

At Tram House School, we strive towards empowering our young people to lead fuller lives for the future. We focus on understanding the journey that our young people are on and the need to build their skills and understanding as far as possible, whilst equipping them with meaningful qualifications and the resilience to use these in their future lives.

We have taken the time to know and understand our young people and their family’s needs and have designed a functional and creative curriculum that promotes a growing independence, total communication, a love of learning and inspiring relationships. Our school community is vital to us and this is built on a trusting relationship with parents and careers, as well as extending into the local community as we develop meaningful learning experiences for our young people as they move into their adult lives. All staff at Tram House School are committed to the development of pupil safety and wellbeing and this is at the heart of all work that we do.

Tram House School is an Independent Special School for young people with autism aged 14-19 years (Year 9 – Year 14). It is run by BeyondAutism Schools, a service arm of the charity BeyondAutism and is located in Earlsfield, London. Our aim is for website to be an informative and important first point of contact for the school. Please use the tabs in the menus to obtain a comprehensive overview of the school. Our vision is to empower children and young people with autism to lead fuller lives. By providing a life enhancing education we expect all our pupils to achieve at school, home and in their communities.

We aim to achieve this by:

• Having consistently high expectations and achievements for every individual.
• Offering high quality, inspirational and innovative teaching and learning, underpinned by the principles and practice of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) specifically using Verbal Behaviour (VB).
• Providing a safe, secure, caring and enjoyable environment where children and young people can thrive, work and learn, and grow towards independence.
• Providing inspirational and accountable leadership at all levels.
• Providing a personalised curriculum for the 21st Century, which meets each pupil’s individual education plan, based on the National Curriculum and functional life and independent skills.
• Working in partnership with parents, providing support, training and information.
• Providing an ambitious and comprehensive staff training and development programme, and become the leading provider of autism education in the UK and beyond.
• We believe that ABA/VB can make a real difference to the teaching and learning for people with autism and their families.
• We believe in a future where parents and carers don’t have to fight so hard for the provision of quality services for their children with autism.
• We believe that every child and young person deserves the best possible education.
• We believe our team is forward-thinking, expertly trained and professional, using the latest research and techniques to teach and empower individuals.

We use Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) and specifically Verbal Behaviour (VB) principles in our teaching. Teaching with ABA/VB reduces challenging behaviour, ensuring our pupils access a broad, balanced and specialised curriculum - drawing on the National Curriculum and working towards the outcomes in a pupil’s EHCP.

Our teaching focuses on language development, particularly functional communication. We aim to develop academic, independent living skills and personal, social and emotional development through highly effective teaching in a variety of ways. Activities include outdoor playtime, art, music, PE, yoga, and swimming. Regular class community trips, library trips and other school and class outings are planned each term.

All pupils participate in whole school weekly assemblies and there are further drama opportunities throughout the year including a Song Club and a full length musical production at Christmas. These opportunities improve communication and public speaking skills, boosting pupils’ confidence and self-esteem.

At Tram House School we

• Use Individual Education Programmes (IEPs) aimed at teaching appropriate and functional behaviours.
• Break down skills into achievable goals.
• Use data to measure achievement and success of teaching methods.
• Maximize opportunities for our pupils to respond and actively participate in learning.
• Generalise and maintain learned skills.
• Use 1:1 teaching throughout the school day.
• Use group learning to teach relevant academic skills.
• Work closely with the Speech and Language and Occupational Therapy teams.
• Are a signing community, and all staff are trained in Makaton sign language and other forms of communication styles.

BeyondAutism Schools currently use a number of assessment tools to track and monitor the progress of its pupils. By monitoring the progress of pupils closely, we can target new skills and overcome learning barriers.

A baseline assessment is carried out within the first three weeks of a pupil starting school to establish their current abilities and known skills. Input is also sought from the parents and other professionals such as an Occupational Therapist and Speech and Language Therapist. This initial assessment is then used to inform the Individual Education Plan (IEP).

A number of different assessment tools and methods are employed throughout a pupil’s time at our schools:

• The Verbal Behaviour Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB MAPP)
• Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills – Revised (ABLLS-R)
• Assessment of Functional Living Skills (AFLS)
• Essentials For Living (EFL)
• ASDAN Assessments