About Us
Lion class are a very practical and hands on learning class. We like to ensure our learning is meaningful and allows opportunities to generalise the skills we are learning to a variety of environments in the school, as well as out in the community and, hopefully, at home too.
Our learning is structured around the Beech Pathway. This delivers a unique and personalised curriculum to develop social communication, emotional regulation skills and promoting independence as much as possible. Activities are tailored to encourage and develop the pre-requisites for learning including joint attention, engagement and participation, communication, mutual regulation and self-regulation. We aim to maintain flexibility and adapt individual timetables to support children to regularly access interventions outside of the class.
Term 2 Timetable
Tuesday 31st October - Friday 15th December (2pm finish)
Please see the Beech newsletter for all updates on events this term
Term 2 Focus
English (Writing)
The key areas of focus this term are developing our fine motor skills, our letter recognition and learning how to use writing tools to form letters and words. We will be building on finger dexterity and strength to enable children to use a range of tools to create letters with clarity and precision, and begin to select the best tool for the job e.g. using chalk to draw outside, paint or crayons for larger pieces of work.
Maths (Money)
This term we will be developing our understanding of money. From being able to understand it has a purpose, recognising the differences between coins and notes and knowing how much each is worth. We will then be building on these skills alongside our number knowledge to create amounts of money for certain things
We will be applying these skills to role playing of practical situations in class for example setting up our own toy shops and using money to "purchase" the item they wish to play with, or multiple items if they know they have enough. This will be continued into real life scenarios when we return to our community visits in January.
Cooking
During this term we will be developing skills needed to prepare simple meals and snacks. We will be looking to create a range of food items both sweet and savoury, following recipes and instructions.
Bucket
Bucket (attention autism) is a learning approach that aims to develop natural and spontaneous communication skills and progress attention levels in children through the use of visually based and highly motivating activities. We are currently accessing 3 stages of attention autism with a view to begin stage 4 in term 6.
The 4 stages of attention autism are:
Stage 1: The Bucket to Focus Attention.
Stage 2: The Attention Builder.
Stage 3: The Interactive Game - Turn-Taking and Shifting Attention.
Stage 4: Individual Activity - Focus Shift and Re-engage Attention.
Rebound
This term, Lion class will be accessing rebound sessions on a Thursday morning with a trained rebound instructor. We will be looking to develop gross motor skills and follow instructions using a verbal or visual prompt.
Inclusive Sport
This term we will be accessing a session with a company called Inclusive sport on a Wednesday afternoon.
"Inclusive Sport believes in the power of physical activity and sport to enhance and transform lives. We put the participant at the centre of all our services ensuring everyone feels safe, feels welcome and most importantly feels valued. To ensure everyone is included in all our provision we use our three key values. We SHOW COMPASSION, strive to BE INSPIRATIONAL and always endeavour to provide a sense of BELONGINGNESS for all our beneficiaries."
How We Learn
In Lion Class, we follow the TEACCH cycle (in Maths & English).
This structured approach aims to:
• Build independence.
• Allow pupils to interact and communicate with peers.
• Retain attention throughout the lesson.
• Teach key functional skills.
• Increase predictability.
The class are split into 3 groups who will cycle round the classroom, spending equal amounts of time at each area.
Group Table
This is where main learning takes place, the teacher and TAs will support pupils with achieving the objective of the lesson.
Workstation
Pupils will have short independent tasks pitched at their ability.
Leisure
A brain break for pupils, with an opportunity for them to relax, explore or initiate play amongst a variety of resources.
Important Information
iPads/Technology
Please could VOCA’s be charged at home where possible, we can charge them if they run low however this may mean they have limited access to them when needed during lessons.
If your child uses a device to support them on transport please let us know so we can ensure it is kept safe during the day and has charge for the journey home.
Juice/Squash
If your child drinks juice/squash, please could you bring a bottle in every couple of weeks with their name on.
Swimming Kits
Please bring swimming kits in on Thursdays during term 1 and 6. We do have spares but may not be available to certain sizes.
Key Essentials
Snack, spare clothes (including shoes), waterproofs, wellies and a PE kit.
Evisense
EviSense - Home (https://uk.evisense.com)
You will be able to track your child's progress through the use of photos and videos (once consent is given), using the online tool Evisense.
If you do not have login details, please contact a member of Lion Class.
Contact
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions:
Kirstie Philpott
Lion Class Teacher
k.philpott@stns.org.uk
01227 464316
