THE headteacher of a Derby special school has praised the “amazing” achievements of pupils who currently being homeschooled – and support given to them by their parents and carers – after one child said his first word during sensory water play and another wrote his name for the first time.
Clive Lawrence, executive head at St Giles School in Hampshire Road; the city’s only special primary school, has encouraged parents and carers of those pupils who are learning at home to submit videos of their children to encourage others.
The transition to homelearning has affected every child in the UK – and for St Giles School Derby, part of the Spencer Academies Trust of schools, this transition has meant creating ‘Home Learning Sensory Packs’ which are tailored to the pupils’ special needs.
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While many mainstream schools will be using technology to access their remote learning and have access to a range of resources – such as BBC Bitesize – this is not always the most appropriate method of learning when at home for those with special educational needs.
Staff have, therefore, been creating demo video clips for parents and carers to share the sensory learning approaches they would typically use in school on a daily basis – and, for one parent, mum Louise Beecham, witnessing her son Harry (6) say his first word during sensory water play proved an emotional moment.
She said: “Like many parents during this time, I have found it difficult to juggle homeschooling but, thanks to St Giles School, Harry has continued to progress whilst at home.
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Mum Louise and her six-year-old son Harry have been using the specially adapted sensory aids sent home by St Giles School during the coronavirus pandemic
“We receive packs from school every week and videos to support us when trying a variety of activities, which Harry has really enjoyed.
“We have adapted some of the tasks to work on his strengths and have seen progress in his speech and fine motor skills in particular.”
Another “wow moment” highlighted one pupil pointing to numbers up to 10 in the correct order, starting and stopping when listening to a familiar number song and completing a maths task independently whilst six-year-old Noah Jenkins-Cook wrote his name for the very first time.
Mr Lawrence said: “We are so immensely proud of the progress pupils have made and the way in which their parents and carers have adapted to the change. Transitioning to home learning has disrupted learning for children all over the country and to see our pupils respond to the change so positively is brilliant.
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“There has been lots of support and resources for mainstream schools, so it is important to us, as the city’s only special primary school, to ensure that every child – and their parents and carers – gets the assistance they need.”
The school has been applauded for going that extra mile during the Coronavirus pandemic by its parents and carers for the range of outreach support services it provides.
Those services include giving parents and carers their work mobile phone numbers, so that they can contact them during this difficult time and so that parents don’t feel shut off and even doing supermarket or medication runs for those who are isolating.
And, in May 2020, St Giles School teachers Becky Ball and Jessica Griffiths worked with the Government-backed Oak National Academy to produce and record material for the online platform which was specifically for children with SEND.
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For further information please contact Kerry Ganly on 07734 723951 or email [email protected]
