Success is celebrated daily at the Arnold Centre in Rotherham and that includes the achievements of all children, their carers and the staff.
Small steps lead to big achievements, as inclusion manager Christine Coffell continually points out - 'I tell the parents that the children may be taking tiny steps, but they are heading in the right direction.'
Meanwhile, the staff are taking huge strides. The centre, which includes a mainstream nursery, opened in 1999 and became a children's centre last year. It has built a reputation for excellence, earned an outstanding Ofsted report, gained an Investors in People award and won a Leading Aspect Award for its systematic approach to inclusion.
This approach evolved from a shared vision of what constitutes quality provision for young children and their families, and is a shining example of how a partnership between the local authority, health professionals, the voluntary sector, local children and their families can work so well.
A sense of independence
Whether it is in a new item for the celebration corridor which is decorated with a changing display of certificates, awards, artwork and photographs, or in the pride a child takes in sharing the cake he has baked for his friends, there are plenty of achievements to be recognised at the centre.
Integration is key to its approach. 'The children are all included within the mainstream provision,' says Christine. 'At present we have 122 children on the roll, with 12 using the enhanced resource. It is not a separate unit. We, the staff and our equipment, are the enhanced resource.'
The inclusion team comprises Christine, four child support workers, a bilingual worker and a part-time speech and language therapist. The children, who have a range of needs including autistic spectrum disorders, Down's Syndrome, global developmental delay and various physical and medical needs, are referred to the centre for a year. The majority go on to mainstream school.
'While the children are fully integrated into the mainstream nursery school, there are some skills they need to learn in a low arousal room, which is a distraction-free environment,' Christine explains. 'We will take a child in there to maybe work on early language skills on a one-to-one basis with an adult. Then we may bring in another child, so there is an adult and two children.'
Once the child becomes confident in their newly acquired skills, they transfer to a busy classroom setting. The other children act as positive role models.
Christine says, 'We have a social and communication group. We work on particular skills whereby turn-taking, making choices, working together, self-esteem, listening, concentration and thinking skills are practised to enable every child to reach their full potential.
'We take children from the mainstream nursery as well - some who will benefit from these skills and some of them as positive role models. Then we transfer these skills back into the class.'
One of the ways these skills are practised is through 'tubies' - lengths of coloured pipe lagging, threaded on to a long length of elastic that is then knotted so they can form a circle together. Children who do not like holding hands can hold on to a 'tuby'.
'We encourage the children to be as independent as possible,' says Christine. 'When children join in September, they are assessed in all areas of the nursery curriculum - social development, independence skills, life skills, gross and fine motor skills, language, cognitive development, behaviour, and concentration. From these observations a report is collated that highlights the child's achievements and the areas to develop.
'The report is shared with parents and carers and then we begin to set individual targets. It is a positive report highlighting the child's strengths.
'We have home-school packs so parents and carers can work on targets at home. For example, if we set a target on fine motor skills we may send home a threading pack. We write the targets with the parents, and after four weeks we review them together and set new targets. Carers are involved at every stage.'
Transition needs
While all children follow the Foundation Stage curriculum, if they are not making progress they go on to Performance Indicator Value Added Target Setting, which is linked to the Foundation Stage profile. However, each step is broken down into smaller steps.
Each child is viewed as an individual. The attention to detail in meeting each individual's needs is the hallmark of the centre. Christine plans the induction and transition procedures with precision to make the process of joining the centre and moving on to school as smooth as possible.
'We start looking at transition very early. If a child has physical needs, it is no good starting to talk to a school in May about adaptations to the buildings. They need time to get these changes in place for a September start.
'Every term, I meet the inclusion managers and SENCOs from the schools our children are moving on to. This is one of the ways to overcome barriers to inclusive practice.'
A transition package is prepared for each child, giving details of the child's personal evacuation plan in the event of an emergency, intimate care plan, risk assessment, medical care plan and behaviour strategies as well as details of where to access information and training to support the child. It contains a journey booklet, detailing their likes, dislikes and allergies. The centre takes children on visits to their new school and encourages the schools' support staff to come in and job-shadow.
Christine says there are three types of support workers: Velcro who are attached to the child, Helicopters who hover around a child and Bridge Builders. She and her team aim to be Bridge Builders, encouraging children to take tiny steps to put them on the path to mainstream schooling. NW
CASE STUDY: GREG AND CHRISTIAN
Greg, who is on the autistic spectrum, had no language, made no eye contact and was not toilet-trained when he joined the Arnold Centre as a three year-old. But in a year he was able to move to mainstream primary school.
Greg's experience is very different to that of his older brother Christian, who is also on the autistic spectrum, but completed his nursery education in another school.
'Maybe part of it is because there is more awareness and understanding about autism,' says Jane, their mother. 'Greg has had a more positive experience. In 12 months he had speech and was toilet-trained. His progress was incredible because his needs were met. My older boy still struggles.'
The family has been empowered by the centre. Greg, now aged seven, is making good progress at school; Jane, who has six children, now chairs the governors at the centre and has set up a parents' support group; her husband, a teacher, has switched from mainstream to special needs education.
'I became a governor to give something back. Our family has had so many blessings from this place. I have seen the standard and the level of support and understanding. Before, I felt that somehow I was asking for something extra for my child, but now I can say, "This is what Greg needs.
How can we work this out together?" without being confrontational.
'Greg had no awareness of danger when he came here. They took him out on walks one-to-one and taught him about the road. When they took him into a room at the centre they said, "There is the door, and we don't go through doors." They taught him the rules.
'He was included in everything. The staff saw it through his eyes. Greg would not eat certain foods, so two days a week they took him into the dining room to sit among children who were eating the food he would not touch. When he went to primary school he knew what it was like to sit down among other children at lunchtime.
'Before he moved, Christine took photographs of his new school including the hall, which is used for PE, as a dining room and for assembly.
'It is the same space but it is used in different ways. We would go through the photographs with him and talk about the different rules and what would be expected of him when it was being used in the different ways. I could say, "When it is used for PE it looks like this. It is OK to run around, but not when it is used for assembly."
'At the centre he had a timetable board with Makaton signs. He would go to his board and get the symbol for sand and then go to the sand and match it to the symbol there.
'He only wanted to choose sand and dinosaurs. So they would set his timetable to say: dinosaurs, writing table, dinosaurs, sand, outside and then dinosaurs. He could see the plan and see if he went to the writing table, then after that he could do the thing he liked. He could see he wouldn't be stuck for the rest of the afternoon.
'Greg still uses a timetable board to get ready for school. It gives him independence. He has seven things to do. Some mornings he might achieve only four of them. When he has done each one he ticks it off on the board.
Today he came down and said, "Mummy, I have done them all." It makes him feel really good.'
