Strategies and Resources

This page contains a collection of information about some of the practical strategies that we use to support teaching and learning at Rosewood.  If you want to find out more about any of the items on this page, or if you need details about anything which isn't featured here, please ask us.

ACA - Affective Communication Assessment

If you hear our team refer to ACA, they are talking about the structured way in which we introduce stimuli to learners in order to observe and evaluate their communicative behaviours in response to those stimuli.  The ACA approach enables us to develop an understanding of a learner's preferences, finding out what motivates them, which ultimately supports their learning and development.

Within an ACA activity session, the learners set the pace and control the interaction.  Stages of ACA move from the learner influencing the adult's responses to the learner knowing that they can control the adult's responses.  ACA forms one of the strands in the ImPACTS Communication Key Skill curriculum and assessment.

Aromatherapy and Massage

We use aromatherapy and massage at school on a regular basis; all staff have training in the use of massage oils as part of their core training.  Learners benefit from the opportunity to have close one-to-one time with an adult for relationship building and intensive interaction.  Massage sessions provide an ideal time for learners to express likes and dislikes about touch, textures and smells.  We can also incorporate physiotherapy programmes and body awareness into our massage sessions, as appropriate for each individual.

Intensive Interaction

Our team use intensive interaction as part of their approach to support learners with their communication development.  This video was compiled during lockdown but still contains some really useful information about why and how we use intensive interaction.

Routines and Cues

We know that our children learn best when things are repeated many times, so much of our teaching and learning is built into the daily routines that take place in the classroom.  When linked with regular cues which trigger particular events, whether they are visual, tactile, or auditory, regular activities enable learners to begin to predict the order of the world around them and the events that happen during their day.  We have routines for lots of elements of the school day, from arrival and departure in the school hall, to arrival in their classroom, and routines within learning activities, including personalised songs to greet learners.  Smells can also be used as a cue for some activities, for example the arrival of lunches in the classroom.  Touch cues are an essential part of the routines around movement whether using chairs, standers or other equipment, or being hoisted up and down during personal care.  If you are interested in seeing these in action, do ask your child's class team to demonstrate them to you.

Transitions

Our children make many transitions through their time at Rosewood.  Some of these transitions are the simple moves between spaces within the class or the school, while others may be more significant.  Here are a few of the ways in which we look to support transitions for learners in school.

• Moving between different pieces of equipment, or different rooms in school can be challenging transitions for some of our learners.   These transitions are supported through cues, and where appropriate through co-regulation - emotional support individual to each learner in order to help them cope with the immediate changes in their environment.
• Moving up through the school through classes and Key Stages - these transitions are supported in various ways.  Annual Reviews take changes in Key Stages into account and learners' EHCPs may be formally amended at significant points, for example the transition between Primary and Secondary education.  We like to mark significant transitions with a celebration, whether it is moving from Nursery into full time school, finishing Primary and starting Secondary education, or leaving school.  Class changes are supported with an extensive process in school, beginning with teachers sharing information about learners, short visits to the new class, then gradually extending visit times and ensuring that all members of the new class team know each learner.  When a learner moves class we always move a 'friend' (a staff member who knows them really well) with them to support their move.
• Transition to Adult Services at age 18 is a key change.  We work with health and social care colleagues to ensure a smooth move into different services and to make sure that all our families have effective support for their young people at this stage.
• Leaving Rosewood is another big transition for many learners who may have attended school for up to 17 years!  Again, we will do our best to help each family identify appropriate next steps for their young person, and work with other agencies to enable each learner to move on to a place where they will be well supported.  We will do this by sharing relevant information and working with the next setting or provision to create a bespoke transition plan for each young person.  Learners leave Rosewood with a comprehensive PAL (Passport for Adult Living) which is a compilation of everything we think is important in order to provide good care and support for them in the future.