What additional support is available and how is it allocated?

 

Bournville Nurture Hub – ‘The Nest’

 

At Bournville, we are fortunate enough to have a nurture hub (we call it ‘The Nest’) where some children can come to experience the six principles of nurture.

The children are carefully selected according to their needs and abilities. The Nurture classroom offers a safe base in which the children can learn and develop at their own level. Communication and language are considered key areas to be worked on in ‘The Nest’. This is done principally through structured play - 1:1 with an adult, in small groups of two or three and as a larger group of 6.

The room ‘The Nest’ is based in is set up like a small home – with a living area, a play area, a kitchen area and we even have our own toilets! We have direct access to an outside play area too.

Each group of 6 children come for a morning or afternoon session from Monday to Thursday. We structure the sessions using a routine the children can become familiar with and feel secure in.

We begin each session with the children taking part in structured play activities, through which they learn and practice vital skills, such as: listening, paying attention, taking turns, sharing, expressing their feelings using words, having good manners and many more. Then we have a circle time when we sing a song or two. Each child in the circle then has the opportunity to speak to the group and be listened to. We often share a rhyme or a joke then too.

After circle time, we set the table for snack. The children are involved at every stage of snack – setting the table, making the snack, serving the drinks, buttering their toast, as well as clearing the table and washing up!

After snack we may have a short session playing outside in the courtyard. We come back in just in time for a team activity – doing a puzzle together, making music, dance or yoga for example. Then a story to share – and back to class!

On Fridays the groups take turns to experience enriching activities in the school garden and Wild Area – visiting the goats, doing scavenger hunts, bird watching, gardening, collecting natural things to use in class for creative activities - or just enjoying being outdoors!

Our sessions are busy but filled with fun and learning!

SHOOTING STARS

 

‘Shooting Stars’ is one of  our bespoke SEND provisions.  A group of 12 children are carefully selected to attend this provision daily.  Here they receive their core English and Math provision pitched carefully to meet each of their specific needs.   Children in shooting stars work at their own level and pace and experience success and progression.

There is a firmly established routine in ‘Shooting Stars’ to provide the children with the security they need to learn. The children are collected from class at 9:00 and are walked down to their beautiful, purpose-built room, which incorporates outside access, toilets, a creative area and a large screen.

The first job of the day is ‘morning work’. The children are set several personalised, independent tasks (both on the iPad and in their books) which they complete while the adults hear each child read individually and practice each child’s phonics and sight words with them.  We use the SeeSaw online earing platform which promotes independent learning in the classroom. 

At 10 o’clock, playtime is earlier than the rest of the school.   Shooting Stars children, have exclusive use of the playground and even the pirate ship to themselves! Some days they play independently and other days, the adults will organise a playground game for the whole group to play together. Every day they have balls, chalk, skipping ropes and other fun things available to them during playtime. Some playtimes they will venture over to The Wild Side to visit the goats and make sure they have fresh water and hay.  Playtime is a very important part of building this groups social, communication skills. 

 

After playtime the children go back to their classroom and enjoy a drink and a snack while sharing a song on the big screen. Then it is straight in to Maths or English work, until 12:15 when the children are taken back to their classes in time for lunch.

The morning is punctuated with brief brain and body breaks, such as Joke Time, a dance, yoga, breathing exercises, Lego, etc. This enables the children to stay focused and to do their best.

 

There are 3 members of staff in ‘Shooting Stars’ as well as other adults providing additional support to children. The atmosphere is nurturing and calm, and the children are able to grow in confidence and self-belief over their time there. As they enter Year 6, they return full time to their classes with this renewed confidence, where they can start preparing for the transition to Secondary school with the rest of their class.