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About Us
Woodlawn School is the North Tyneside Local Education Authority School for pupils with physical, medical or sensory difficulties. We are a small school with just over eighty pupils spanning across all the key stages including an Assessment Early Years Unit. We take pupils from neighbouring LEAs who view our school as very good provision.
Whilst the school teaches within the National Curriculum guidelines our curriculum is modified and adapted to meet the diverse needs of our pupils many of whom have a learning difficulty associated with their other difficulties. Within the everyday teaching practice of the school staff actively promote the use of ICT to enable our pupils to communicate, record and access the curriculum and to engage the pupils in the learning process.
The use of ICT begins in the Early Years Assessment Unit where a multi disciplinary team work collaboratively to assess pupil’s individual needs. It is here that early switching skills are introduced to develop communication and cause and effect programmes are used to develop language skills. Staff are all highly trained and the use of ICT is recorded as part of the good practice of the unit.
The Junior Department link ICT to National Curriculum guidelines and through the careful development of planning, identify ICT across the curriculum. Reliable computers, consistent software and a variety of access devices are within every class where trained staff are motivated to enable pupils to access the curriculum as well as ICT as a subject area.
The Senior Department whilst still using ICT across the curriculum have discreet ICT lessons in the ICT room to follow an adapted curriculum written to meet the needs of our pupils. This work is supported by our SEN ICT Technician who helps assess pupil’s individual access needs. A number of our pupils have hardware, access devices and supportive software provided through the Communication Aid Project as we have been able to prove that ICT does make a difference. We also have an ever growing group of VOCA users and Woodlawn has been seen to develop in this specialist area to meet the needs of these users. Inclusive practice is encouraged and some of our pupils are able to use ICT as a tool to access part time mainstream schooling.
What We Do
It is our aim to empower all pupils to be able to access the curriculum and to be meaningfully included in the life of our school and ICT plays a vital role in allowing this to happen. So how has ICT developed at Woodlawn School?
We Have a Clear Vision of Where We Are Going
We have a school improvement plan that has clear, concise targets that work towards raising standards, this underpins all that we do to embed ICT into the life of the school. We are currently working with the LEA and other special schools to develop a strategic action plan that will eventually form part of our application for the NAACE Mark.
We have a new curriculum written by the ICT co-ordinator in consultation with other members of staff that adapts and modifies QCA modules to enable our pupils to achieve. This curriculum covers all four key stages and has differentiated and extension activities within it as well as suggestions for resources and support and links to other curriculum areas. This is currently in its second year and is constantly being evaluated and moderated.
We have very strong links with the LEA and work closely with the ICT Inspector and advisory teachers all of whom have spent time in our school. We have piloted software, presented at network meetings and regional events and have recently completed a case study on the use of a tablet PC as a tool for inclusion. We were the only special school to take part in the LEA’s Digital Video Festival and an Ofsted Inspector recently used this as an example of good practice at a national event. We were involved in starting an authority SEN ICT working party, initially to manage the key stage 3 strategy but it now encompasses all ages; this group is looking to produce a data base of SEN materials for mainstream colleagues.
With the inclusion agenda Woodlawn has taken the initiative to develop outreach work especially around the use of ICT for pupils with SEN. The ICT co-ordinator presents on a course for classroom assistants looking at alternative recording and co-ordinates a Communication Aid Project assessment team for the LEA carrying out assessments for the Ace Centre North and Abilitynet both in special and mainstream schools. As part of this process we are offering an awareness raising session about CAP for North Tyneside mainstream schools. As our expertise in this area of ICT is recognised we are getting an increasing number of other professionals visiting school to look at the way ICT can be used to remove learning barriers and to see how they can implement this with their own pupils.
We Have a Motivated, Proficient, Multi-disciplinary Team
Woodlawn School has very supportive leadership at all levels, the head and governors promote the use of ICT and recognise it as a strength of the school, the ICT co-ordinator leads by being a role model, supporting staff and encouraging innovative practice.
We offer training for all members of staff, in house, LEA and with specialist agencies such as the ACE Centre North as needs are identified. We have a policy that it is the right of all staff to understand and use ICT as part of their daily school life, both to enable pupils but to support their working life therefore lap tops are available for staff home use whenever necessary.
We have invested a lot of money over the last eighteen moths into new hardware that is both up to date and reliable, we also recognise that we have to continue both replacing equipment but also maintaining it to avoid frustration therefore we have invested in a greater level of technical support. The ICT co-ordinator has ensured that software is now consistent across all machines to enable both staff and pupils to become familiar with its format.
Wherever you go within school there is evidence of ICT, staff use it extensively to produce specialist resources, for display purposes and to motivate pupils. Because of their confidence it means that they are more willing to accept challenges that working with pupils with physical difficulties present and will work together to empower pupils.
We recognise and celebrate the achievement of all staff yet at the same time we recognise our differences. We plan together for change, celebrate improvement and are aware of our potential.
We Have Enthusiastic Pupils!
Because of ICT we have been able to enable pupils to achieve where before we were not always aware of actual potential. ICT has given us the ability to assess more thoroughly and accurately and therefore set more appropriate learning targets. Because they can now achieve pupils are now more motivated to work and therefore achieve more. This cycle has raised the expectations staff have of certain pupils and because of this standards across all subject areas within school have been raised.
Eight of our pupils have currently received ICT equipment through the Communication Aid Project, it is a sign of the pupil’s recognition that ICT is important to them that not one incident of misbehaviour with the equipment has been noted. Other pupils are not jealous as they recognise the need for certain individuals to have specialist equipment and share in their success. Other lap tops, a tablet PC and desktop computers are available for general classroom use by any pupil as necessary.
Parents of pupils who have received equipment funded through CAP are offered training in school with their child to allow them to support the use of ICT at home. This is then extended to offer support at all times to ensure that any queries are addressed before they become problems. Pupils are encouraged to see home and school working together and become motivated to share experiences.
Because we continually need to assess our pupils access to ICT any money raised by the ICT co-ordinator through CAP assessments is used to fund a variety of access and communication devices that are available for use anywhere in the school.
We celebrate the achievements of our pupils through a merit mark system and with our well attended annual award ceremony. Even here ICT is used through the medium of digital video to allow parents sitting at the rear of the hall see what is happening at the front!
Through the Children’s University we run a very popular after school computer club where ICT is used for fun as many of our pupils are unable to play with conventional toys. These sessions are planned and appropriate access devices are available for use. The club has its own notice board for display purposes.
An Overview
Pupils at Woodlawn School are motivated both to learn and to communicate through the use of ICT both educationally and for social interaction.. They are well supported by a highly trained specialist team who view ICT as a tool for lifelong learning both for themselves and the pupils.
We are recognised by colleagues elsewhere for our success in this area and because of our willingness to share this expertise through outreach work there are pupils with physical difficulties in mainstream schools who are now able to be included in the everyday practice of the classroom. We promote ICT as a tool for inclusion.
Our pupils are now part of the broader picture of education and staff are no longer isolated from their mainstream colleagues, this is due to the level of networking provided through the use of ICT. Whilst our pupils are still have physical difficulties we enable them to achieve at a level appropriate to their cognitive development. This has reduced the level of frustration previously experienced and the school has developed a positive ‘can do’ attitude’.
We support parents as well as the child.
Through the use of teacher assessment we have evidence of pupil attainment across the curriculum and there is evidence of raising standards through the use of ICT.
The Next Steps and Future Plans
We will continue to develop and extend the use of ICT to enable our pupils to access the curriculum through staff development, the provision of reliable up to date hardware, technical support and appropriate access devices.
We will continue to develop outreach work to enable pupils with physical difficulties in mainstream education to be meaningfully included within normal classroom practice.
We will continue to work with outside agencies to carry out ICT assessments and look beyond the Communication Aid Project.
We will continue to develop as a centre of excellence for SEN and ICT and share our experience with others.
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