The aims for the pupils within the Aviary are to:

• To ensure children enjoy learning and feel success
• Recognise ‘triggers’ and manage their emotions, facilitating an increase in positive emotional experience.
• Participate, try their best and overcome challenges to engagement
• Build trust, share and cooperate with others, building positive relationships
• Experience a learning journey, creating both digital and physical evidence of their participation and progress
• Leave with an increased understanding of themselves, their strengths and a sense of accomplishment
• Make good academic progress and close gaps in learning
• Benefit from the work complete with families to manage their child’s SEMH needs effectively
• Ensure all appropriate agencies are being accessed for the benefit of the child
• Develop their emotional intelligence and emotional literacy which will enable them to self-regulate in preparation
  for returning to a mainstream setting
• Build resilience through confidence building activities (e.g. developing a growth mindset; having a peer mentor in the
  school (an older pupil, non SEMH needs), facilitated by the learning mentor)

Gainsborough Primary School SEMH ARP  – The Aviary

Gainsborough Community Primary School offers a therapeutic and educational setting that acts as a bridge for children to learn and manage their social and emotional needs in order to access mainstream education. Recent figures estimate that around 150,000 children in mainstream and special schools are suffering from SEMH.SEMH does not have to be a lifelong condition. With appropriate support, children and young people can move forward and live successful lives. A fundamental view of pupil’s behaviour is that it is a communication of their SEMH needs. The school promotes working with other services to support the pupil and families to understand this communication, devise ways of managing it and meet the children’s SEMH needs.

Gainsborough SEMH SRP offers 10 places to children, via panels run by Hackney Education , and is situated on site at Gainsborough Community Primary School. Pupils with an EHCP can be placed at Gainsborough ARP through the panel and become Gainsborough pupils. After 2 years in attendance at the ARP an annual review will be held to assess the viability of the placement. A decision will be made as to whether the placement should continue, a transition back into a nominated primary setting, secondary school transition or a specialist setting.

The ARP takes new admissions of pupils with identified SEMH needs from years 1, 2, 3. These pupils remain at the placement for as long as required before decisions are made at Annual Reviews about induction into mainstream provision.

The ARP at Gainsborough will follow all the School policies and procedures. Staff are employed as part of the school and managed as a team within the current staffing terms and conditions.

Integration Need

Who is the SRP for and how do we identifying SEMH needs?

• SEMH will be named as the child’s primary need in the pupils Education, Health and Care Plan
• The panel will make the decision for placements at the Aviary

The aims for the pupils within the SEMH ARP are to:  

• To ensure children enjoy learning and feel success
• Recognise ‘triggers’ and manage their emotions, facilitating an increase in positive emotional experience. Participate, try their best and overcome challenges to engagement
• Build trust, share and cooperate with others, building positive relationships
• Experience a learning journey, creating both digital and physical evidence of their participation and progress
• Leave with an increased understanding of themselves, their strengths and a sense of  accomplishment
• Make good academic progress and close gaps in learning
• Benefit from the work complete with families to manage their child’s SEMH needs effectively
• Ensure all appropriate agencies are being accessed for the benefit of the child
• Develop their emotional intelligence and emotional literacy which will enable them to self-regulate in preparation for returning to a mainstream setting
• Build resilience through confidence building activities (e.g. developing a growth mindset; having a peer mentor in the school (an older pupil, non SEMH needs), facilitated by the learning mentor)

Assessment

In order to support the child best we will gather as much information on their social, emotional, behavioural and academic needs to ensure we plan a curriculum that supports the child into learning. We want children to enjoy learning and feel success, getting the correct starting point is essential in managing this.

• Outcomes stated in the children’s EHCPs will form a starting point for provision at the ARP planning for that child
• Targets and plans set by CAMHs/SEMH clinicians will be used to identify needs and plan for provision will also tell us how to support the child and what they need
• SEMHs needs will be reviewed regularly through in class observation, pupil voice and discussion with parents
• Observations from clinicians will further develop support plans over time as needs change

Other on entry assessments may include:

• SaLT assessment
• Welcom assessment
• Phonics assessment/ reading assessment
• Writing levelling
• Maths assessment
• Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire
• Parent questionnaire on home routines and behaviours
• Resiliency Assessment
• Ideal Self-Assessment
• Boxall Assessment
• Pupil views on learning and goal setting

Termly and annual assessments will continue to track and measure progress for each child and inform the next stage of their learning journey.

Services that support the work of the SEMH ARP are:

• Allocated CAMHs workers will support with referrals, therapeutic support advice to families and advice staff based on the child’s needs
• Therapeutic support within the ARP will be available for ‘time to talk’
• Regular Educational Psychologist time will inform planning and provision
• Access to specialist teachers of foundation subjects in the school setting will ensure high quality teaching and learning of Spanish, Art, Music and PE
• Support from speech and language therapists
• Re-engagement unit will support with behaviour management

Family Support

We support parents through parenting programmes and daily nurture and modelling sessions to enable all adults in the child’s life to:

• Respect their child’s autonomy, thoughts, and feelings
• Support their child’s interests and goals
• Enjoy their child’s company
• Protect their child from hurting him- or herself or others.

There is an expectation that families meet weekly and attend recommended course and events to support the child in their placement. A significant commitment from families is expected while all work together to secure improvements and celebrate achievements. Family sessions will take place where parents and children complete activities together in line with Gainsborough Keeps. The aims are:

• to model and support parents with positive behaviour management and in school strategies
• for staff to build good relationships with families
• for children to see school and home working together
• engage in uninterrupted activities with clear measurable outcomes together
• provide opportunities for praise and encouragement
• embed positive hobbies and habits in home life

A Flexible School day

An individual approach for each child will be taken to match needs, academic achievement, social interaction, interest and pupil wellbeing. The below menu of learning experiences will be on offer and be best matched the child’s needs:

• Child centred curriculum throughout the school day
• Access to independent lesson stations
• Access to small group work for core subjects
• Access to specialist teachers and projects to motivate and inspire
• Therapeutic Support to enable issues to be talked through
• Social stories will be sued to prepare and de brief children about tricky parts of their learning
• Group work to develop and model social skills and partner and group learning
• Time for play/ independent work to meet independent targets
• Access to as much of the curriculum in class groups as much as possible
• Focused 1:1 interventions to close gaps in learning

Nurture Group

The nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest philosophical issues within psychology. Nurture refers to all the environmental variables that impact who we are, including our early childhood experiences, how we were raised, our social relationships, and our surrounding culture. The Nurture group approach will be used daily to support children’s SEMH needs and we hope to reduce the frequency of Nurture group provision over time based on the child’s needs.

The Six Principles of Nurture are:

• Children’s learning is understood developmentally;
• The classroom offers a safe base;
• Nurture is important for the development of self-esteem;
• Language is understood as a vital means of communication;
• All behaviour is communication;
• Transitions are significant in the lives of children.

Therapeutic Support

Children accessing the ARP for SEMH would have SEMH targets/provision in their EHCP which would be met through appropriate agencies working with the children (CAMHs/A Space/HCSC)

Children access weekly sessions, enabling them to develop listening, team-building and social skills in a social context alongside their peers, building self-esteem and confidence in a group setting. Opportunities for pupils to develop their emotional resilience through a range of sensory activities that create new learning behaviours or address SEMH needs (sensory circuits/yoga/art therapy).

Integration into Mainstream Learning

Children will experience a phased return to mainstream if deemed appropriate. To enable a move to mainstream to be considered a child should be able to access most elements of mainstream lessons and the school day whilst still at the ARP, they may however require support to do this for part of the school day or for all of the school day. They should be making good academic progress in most areas of learning. The move to a mainstream setting will be carefully managed over a period of time. Professional support from the network being accessed at the ARP will make recommendations to support the transition and some of the additional support may continue during the transitional phase.

Children will be integrated into a range of lessons as soon as this is possible. This may mean one reading lesson per day, or one weekly art lesson with their age peers. Children attending the Aviary will have their individual profiles shared with the wider staff team so staff are aware of needs, behaviours and strategies to manage these. This means all staff across the school will know and value them.  Staff will regularly be updated on the strategies to employ when managing them and their needs. The school ethos will be developed through sharing need and celebrating achievements so that all children encounter consistency, positive responses, a welcoming environment and experience a will from all adults for them to achieve well. This is done through:

• Praise sessions with Aviary staff and mainstream school staff
• Mediation after difficulties with students or staff
• Planned opportunities to take part in activities to show case their talents: sport, art, music, ICT etc.
• Well prepared integration to mainstream lessons

Champions for Every Child

Each child will be allocated a champion. The child’s champion will collect examples of good work and celebrate learning daily, weekly or half-termly with teachers, leaders and families. The Champion will support most interventions however all staff will have a responsibility to praise and engage with children from the ARP wherever possible.  The Champion will share successes and set targets with parents weekly to ensure good home/ school communication, celebrate achievements and give families a realistic view of how targets have been met.

Admission Phase Guide

To view our full booklet for the Aviary please click here.