Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn is a special school for pupils aged 4 to 19 with - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

• Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn is a special school

for pupils aged 4 to 19 with moderate to severe learning disabilities and severe and challenging autism. Many of our pupils have additional physical, sensory, medical and associated behavioural difficulties. All pupils have an educational statement which is reviewed annually.

• We pride ourselves in the education

we provide and believe that everyone at Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn is entitled to have access to the very best learning opportunities.

• Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn were successful in a bid to secure funding for:
• Supporting transition of Penybryn Special School and ALN STF pupils into

appropriate learning pathways within Gower College.

• To achieve this we had to:
• Identify and allocate staff to the project
• Quantify the actual Wednesday activities and participants
• Develop positive relationships between Penybryn and Gower College
• Develop and support transition between Penybryn and STFs
• Develop/work with the college to produce materials to support the inclusion

• The term transition is used to

describe the process of moving from childhood into adult like. This can be an exciting and challenging time for young people, with lots of changes and choices to be made about the future. For those with alternative learning needs the procedure can be even more difficult. During transition there will be practical changes as well as emotional changes to go through as the young person starts the journey to become more independent.

• These are just some of the

feelings some of the students in Year 12 at Pen-y-Bryn had when asked how they felt about going to college

scary

Oh no! it’s big

who will my teacher be?

n e r v

• u

s

will I be in the same class as my friends?

excited but a bit nervous too many people

worried

Click on each picture to play

A Teaching Assistant

was employed on a part time basis to enable the project leader, Bev Pearce, time to manage the project, communicate with Gower College and partner STFs

It was essential that sustainable transition protocols were developed early on in the project between Pen-y-Bryn and Gower College. This was done through open discussion between both parties ensuring the focus and the outcome was the best thing for the students accessing college. Building transparent working relationships with the college has been vital in transforming our transition process

The next step was

• ffering the
• pportunity of joining

Pen-y-Bryn students at Gower college to STFs with no 6th form provision.

Pontarddulais,

Morriston and Cefn Hengoed schools were initially approached but because of numbers and other factors only Cefn Hengoed were able to join the project.

Two year 11 pupils and 2 year 10 pupils joined Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn during the Wednesday morning college sessions in January. It was a successful union from the very beginning and gave enormous pleasure to staff from both schools to see the friendships blooming from day one. Both Year 11 pupils were due to start Gower college in September 2013 and to be able to access the college and get to know tutors and the vast building was hugely beneficial. We were delighted to receive a letter from Cefn Hengoed noting their appreciation for including their pupils in this pilot project. Natalie Bevan, STF Manager, went on to say before joining the project she was aware that her pupils were apprehensive about the change from school to college. However since attending with Pen-y-Bryn students the pupils are less anxious about the move. This change was noted in a recent annual review when the careers advisor was surprised how enthusiastic one pupils was about going to college compared with the last time she interviewed him. Furthermore parents of participating pupils have also commented that their children look forward to Wednesdays. She finished by thanking Pen-y-Bryn for including Cefn Hengoed in the project and hoped the partnership would continue in future years.

Agored Cyrmru – NOCN accredited units Health and Hygiene Sport and Leisure Dance and Drama Dance and Drama

We have agreed a three year rolling programme where students have access to Sport and Leisure, Health and Hygiene and Dance and Drama. These are areas we felt the college were able to specialise in with their facilities and were covered less so in

• school. Over the three years

students could gain up to 6 Agroed Cymru NOCN units. We also included this on our electronic tracking system which will be accessed when the students move to college.

Sport and Leisure

Click for video link

Dance and Drama

Click to play video

Health and Hygiene

Click on each picture for video link

Former Pen-y-Bryn student – Jamie Cooper has been at Gower college for a year and he was asked for his thoughts on accessing the college prior to starting full time. Click to access video Click for video link

All children and young people with special educational needs should be given the

• pportunity to reach their full potential.

They should also be supported to make a successful transition into adulthood, whether into employment, further education

• r training.

This has been a fantastic project. Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn has established strong transition protocols with Gower College, developed partnerships with other local schools, provided and supported training in augmentative communication for college staff.

At the end of this very successful partnership project promoting effective transition and inclusion it is sad to note that unfortunately due to funding Cefn Hengoed and Morriston Comprehensive schools are unable to make a commitment to join Pen-y-Bryn in the 2013/2014.

Memories of a very successful UPOSS transition project where good practice was shared across partners for the benefit of the most important people – OUR STUDENTS

Smile please!

Last days at Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn – good luck in Gower College