I spent quite a bit of time this week making preparations for the launch of our One to One Project, which will see every single child and member of staff provided with one of the latest Apple iPads to enhance their teaching and learning. At New Bridge School our pupils can experience specific barriers to learning so we work continuously to break down these barriers and enhance the inclusiveness of our classrooms. We believe that technology will not only help us with this by increasing pupils’ access to learning, it will also support our teaching teams to further personalise the learning experience of each pupil. The needs of the pupils that arrive at New Bridge School are constantly changing, so as we move forward we anticipate that technology will continue to play a significant role in enabling us to respond innovatively to each child’s needs.

The next stage of the project is to provide each member of our staff team with an iPad and complete a training programme with them that will explore how we can use the iPads to support teaching and learning. All staff will complete the Apple Teacher Programme, an online course using the iPad, that provides a base level of knowledge to get us all started. All staff will then have the opportunity to carry on their training and become an Apple Distinguished Educator by completing an externally accredited qualification. In the meantime, once the team has completed the Apple Teacher Programme, the next step will be to provide the pupils with their iPads. I’ll be back with more details on that when the time comes.

This week our curriculum focus is on our Communication Groups, starting with Mrs Fennelly’s class who have been completing jigsaws so they can count the spots on their ladybird and choose the corresponding number..

In their Learning for Life sessions they have had a wonderful time following instructions..

The class really enjoyed their first trip out shopping to build on their independence skills. The visit was a great success and Mrs Fennelly was delighted with how well they all listened..

They’ve also been working on their fine motor skills in their Art lessons..

Miss Silvester’s class have been just as busy..

This term our theme is all about Pirates. The students have been exploring all things relating to Pirates and had fun dressing up as our characters..

We have worked hard on getting back in to our counting and following directions in Maths, as well as working on sizing..

We have done some work around the interactive screen and started to learn our ‘Tico Tango parrot’ poem linked to healthy eating in Living Skills..

In our Learning for Life sessions we have been visiting soft play and using our communication skills to work with our peers and develop our confidence in different environments..

We have also started an inclusive Music session as part of our double Learning for Life session with Bev and Raychel from the HI team..

We have also produced some lovely work for our displays and props!

Miss Bickerstaff’s class have been ‘Dancing through the Decades’ looking at some of the key trends, art and fashion from each decade..

Miss Patchett’s Living Skills pathway have been working with their peers on communicating their feelings..

..and practising their fine motor skills in their Learning for Life lessons..

We will be hearing more from the class in our Living Skills blog later this term.

Our Friday afternoon enrichment sessions are continuing to prove popular, including our relaxing Yoga session..

On a final note, Mr Smith is delighted with our Year 7s who have been doing some outstanding work in trampolining..

You may also be interested in a special SEND event for families taking place on Sunday 3rd February at Oasis Academy..

See you next week,

Gavin

You can find Dawn’s blog for the Learning Centre here

For news on our Key Stage 5 pathway groups at Medtia Square please click here

Click here to read this week’s news from Graham

You can find my previous blog posts here