At The Hive, we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage and the National Curriculum at an appropriate level for the children. In the mornings, we focus predominantly on English and Maths skills as well as working on key skills and individual targets. Throughout the day, the children have opportunities to take part in whole class sessions, adult-led small group and 1-to-1 sessions as well as accessing child-selected activities focused on allowing them to progress with their learning in a range of situations. We aim for all children to spend their afternoons in class with their mainstream peers, accessing the foundation subjects at an appropriate level. This is flexible – some children may manage the whole day in their mainstream class, others may only manage certain lessons or activities.
The children take part in on-site Forest School sessions run by an in-house Level 3 Forest Schools Practitioner. These sessions nurture children’s social and communication skills by providing them with opportunities to take part in activities involving teamwork and cooperation. Furthermore, the children’s emotional wellbeing is enhanced with opportunities to engage with nature and the outdoors in a mindful way.
Individualised Learning
All children have an individual learning plan which enables us to focus our teaching to help the children make progress and meet their targets. These targets will be guided by their EHCP, including advice from any professionals working with the child, and activities in The Hive classrooms will be planned to address the children’s areas for development.
The targets on these individual learning plans will be constantly assessed by the class teachers and will be reviewed on a termly basis with input from both staff and parents. Parent consultation meetings will take place in the Autumn and Spring terms where these reviews can be discussed and new targets can be set. A written report is created in the Summer term. An Annual Review meeting will also take place with both staff and parents in attendance alongside professionals from any outside agencies that have been involved with the child.
Staffing
All staff in The Hive are skilled, dedicated and compassionate, with the children’s best interests at heart. Each class has one teacher and at least one teaching assistant. There is also one higher level teaching assistant who works across the two classes, supporting both in class as well as with individual target work. The expertise of the staff in The Hive is shared with the staff in the mainstream school, ensuring that all members of staff at Bell Farm Primary School are able to support all children. We also have a Speech and Language Therapist on site two days a week, working with the children on their specific targets as well as supporting members of staff to implement relevant strategies with the children in the classroom.
Therapies at The Hive
We have a Speech and Language Therapist on site for two days each week, working with the children and staff to ensure the implementation of effective strategies to address speech and language needs. In our Therapy Room, we have a sensory area including a large dark tent with UV and light accessories as well as a range of tactile resources. The children have regular access to this room. We also work alongside other outside agencies to ensure that we have access to the best expertise and strategies to support the children to make the best progress possible. Staff at The Hive are also trained in strategies including Makaton, Elklan, TEACCH, PECS, Intensive Interaction and Attention Autism.
Mainstream Inclusion
All children are assigned to a class in their age-appropriate year group in the mainstream school as well as their class in The Hive. We aim for the children to spend at least 50% of their school day in these classrooms, accessing the curriculum alongside their mainstream peers. Our aim is also to ensure that children from The Hive are included in all areas of school life including sports days, visitors into school and school trips where appropriate.
The children also have playtime and lunchtime on the playground with the rest of the school, benefitting from the social interaction opportunities that this brings. Staff from The Hive are available on the playgrounds at all times and are easily recognisable to the children by their pink hi-vis jackets. There is also provision in The Hive during this time for those children who find the whole-school playtime overwhelming.