Welcome to Elm

Instructor - Elm Rachel Sanders
Photo of Rachel Sanders

Welcome to Elm Class!! 😃

We are a group of 6 pupils aged from 14-19 years. We have 5/6 members of staff working with us each day as we all have very high medical, physical and sensory needs. All our learning is done via a total sensory and communication approach. We have our own tailored PMLD curriculum and assessment which we follow that helps us to meet all of our learning needs. We have a very spacious classroom which is sectioned into different learning areas. Within this room we have a lovely sensory corner which we love to spend time in. We love to get out and about in the community and mixing around the school with others, we have lots of fun and our staff members help us to feel very happy, relaxed and safe when we are with them. We enjoy activities such as trips out, Hydrotherapy, switch work, rebound therapy, sensory stories, Art, Cooking, music, sensory room sessions, massage sessions, problem solving, exploration and communication work.

Elm class timetable – Autumn Term 1

 

Auterm Term 2 Curriculum Info for parents
SubjectSession focus for this half-term - Stories
Community Awareness Will be a range of trips linked to the stories – we will visit a local library, garden centre with fish, a whole school Christmas trip to Thursford and a supermarket.
CommunicationWe will be focussing on making choices using real items or pictures and symbols where appropriate. We will also be using rhyming language and listening to patterns of sounds within language.
Problem SolvingActivities will link to these stories we are focusing on this half term. Stories Going on a bear hunt Bright Stanley Commotion in the ocean Don’t put your finger in the jelly nelly Stickman/snowman- xmas stories. Sand tray with hidden animals from the ocean. Gloop hidden ocean animals to find and explore. Real Tinned/packet food to explore – shape/size/texture/3D shapes, heavy /light. Puzzles –seaside/animals/food
Social and Emotional The pupils will be engaging in hand massage this half term. We will be re-starting some paired reading with a buddy system involving some pupils for Springobard, our sixth form. They will visit and read aloud to Elm pupils on a one to one basis.
CreativeThe pupils will make a range of different items linked to the stories they will be learning about they will be making- Paw printing onto white paper, Make a collage bear with paint and brown material, Big bright collage fish- using lots of bright coloured paper, Sticking cellophane onto a fish outline in black paper, Bubble blowing brown paint – for milkshake prints on outlines of glass cups. Printing with spaghetti- on outlines of a monster, Making a kitchen roll snowman-
Exploration The pupils will encounter a new messy play experience each week to match the story of the week. We will support them to use all of their senses in shared exploration of a range of materials and to communicate their likes and dislikes using voice and gesture. We will focus on using both hands to feel and manipulate.
MusicIn music we have a theme tune to start the lesson every week, for this half term it will be “Life is a highway” from the film Cars and our lesson ending song will be “On my Way” from the film Brother Bear. The lessons will give the pupils the opportunity to explore a range of instruments and make sounds themselves. We will use the music room in school which has specialist equipment available as well as a resonance board which transmits the vibrations of sounds to the person who is lying on it.
CookingAgain cooking will be based on the stories the pupils are focusing on they be cooking- Wk1-Chocolate oat cakes -linked to were going on a bear hunt story (represent mud/bear colour)Wk 2-Bread dough-making fish shaped dough- linked to bright stanley storyWk 3-Rainbow cake -linked to commotion in the ocean story. (colourful cake linked to colours of the ocean)Wk 4 –making Jelly/ chocolate smoothies/ strawberry moose linked to don’t put your finger in the jelly nelly.Wk 5 – Christmas chocolate log- linked to Christmas stickman story.Wk 6- Christmas shaped biscuits- linked to Christmas snowman story.
Ideas for at home- Read lots of stories to your child. - Visit a local library. - Get friends or family members to read stories to your child. - Listen to story CD’S/Films/watch Films. - Visit towns and shops closer to Christmas to take in the seasonal displays - If you are cooking at home encourage your child to smell the ingredients.