Children with learning and physical disabilities become active and independent
The Cre8us effect...at Castle Wood Special School: 'The Butterfly Impact'
A recently amalgamated broad-spectrum special school, Castle Wood, was created by bringing together children with moderate learning disabilities and profound and multiple physical difficulties.
The transition from the two sites to one new site was challenging; uniting children as well as preparing for the move to a new building and all that was entailed both logistically as well as structurally was tough. The school worked hard to bring together all children and staff in regular weekly sessions as part of collborating together before the move. It also adopted a radical approach, in partnerships with local Coventry theatre company 'The Shysters'.
The Shysters had worked regularly in the school with a wide range of pupils and staff for four years prior to the Butterfly Impact project. A principle aim of the work this year was to support the children and staff in the time of transition. Ways of working together that created a sense of adventure and excitement about the move were discovered by exploring journeys both real and imaginary. This work culminated in a cavalcade procession to the new school site involving the entire school.
The staff were at the heart of the programme in order to experience the work for themselves and learn how to take the approaches into other areas of learning. The work was highlighted to parents, carers and community partners to encourage them to visit and join in through the cavalcade event.
Impact
- Of the cohort who had not previously used these techniques, 83% say they have benefited;
- 25% of all the staff have taken this further and developed a deeper understanding of the work and apply it within their own lessons;
- 75% of all staff are willing to participate fully in sessions, whether on the floor or pretending with the children - an increase of 50%;
- The proportion of staff discussing their findings with each other has increased from 25% to 80%;
- The proportion of children pretending to problem solve within stories has risen from 20% to 40%;
- The proportion of children copying and replicating has gone from 25% at the start to 95% at the end.
"We have been using a theatre-based creative approach with children with moderate learning disabilities to great effect. We want those with profound learning disabilities to benefit too, and to see how this process could support the transition of our school to a new site and the creation of our new curriculum. We want, therefore, to understand the structures, processes and activities required to give staff the confidence and skills to extend these techniques to all pupils." Melanie Morgan, School Creative Partnerships Co-ordinator
Results
"The project is working much better than expected. The success has come from the inset day, which enthused all staff and enabled them to have an understanding and ownership."
"Staff used to say, 'that's all that child can do' ...Now it's about how far can we take this."
"Those with limited physical ability are participating in ways we had not imagined."
"A child who is blind and in a wheelchair gets upset if he doesn't like the music. Over the past few months he has stayed in the sessions and will now respond to the voices of the Shyster leaders."
"She thinks about the work and has the courage to go and find out what was underneath the net; taking the risk and working it out."
"A child in Year 2, does not speak but likes to watch the other children. As she has gained confidence she joins in more. At the end of the year, she wanted to be the 'leader' in our copying session - she did it very well."
If you are interested in this project and would like to find out more about this project and others, please visit: www.cre8us.org.uk
