At Llangiwg Primary School, we are proud of the support that we offer for learners with Additional Learning Needs. All learners within the school are supported well and we have positive working relationships with learners and their families as well as other individuals and organisations that work with the young person. The support, guidance and interventions that we offer are tailored to meet the needs of each learner individually and this support is monitored and adapted in a pupil-centred way.

Additional Learning Needs legislation in Wales has changed. This is known as the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Reform. 

Additional Learning Needs in Wales

What is ALN?

 

ALN stands for Additional Learning Needs. At Llangiwg Primary School we recognise that all pupils come to school at different stages of development and with different needs. Whilst many factors contribute to the range of difficulties experienced by some children, we believe that much can be done to overcome them by parents, teachers and pupils working together.

Llangiwg Primary school values the abilities and achievements of all its pupils. All children are valued, respected and nurtured. We endeavour to provide the best educational opportunities for each child and strive to maximise their potential in a ‘can do’ learning culture.

Pupils who meet our criteria for having ALN  will be supported by class teachers, teaching assistants other adults  and their learning environment.

Useful Documents 

ALN Reform Easy Read Guide

ALN Reform Frequently Asked Questions

ALN Reform Parent Information Sheet

PCP Guide for Families

PCP Guide for Learners

The Inclusion Service website can be accessed via the following link 

 https://www.npt.gov.uk/pupilinclusion

Some useful websites/ documents

NPT Family Services https://www.npt.gov.uk/2107

School Based Counselling Service https://www.npt.gov.uk/schoolbasedcounselling

Speech and Language Resources https://speechandlanguage.info/parents

Zones of Regulation

Zones of Regulation is ... ‘A framework designed to foster self-regulation and emotional control’.In simple terms it teaches children how to recognise different emotions and gives them strategies to help manage how they react or behave as a result of those emotions i.e. how to self-regulate. All pupils start the school day by 'checking in', this enables adults to support individual pupils and their emotional needs. There are four zones;  

Zones of Regulation (ZOR) categorises all the different ways we feel and states of alertness into four coloured zones:

1. The Red Zone is used to describe extremely heighted states of alertness and intense emotions. A person may be elated or experiencing anger, rage, devastation or terror when in the Red Zone.

2. The Yellow Zone is also used to describe a heightened state of alertness and elevated emotions; however, a person will have more control when they are in this zone. They may be experiencing stress, frustration, anxiety, excitement, or nervousness when in the Yellow Zone.

3. The Green Zone is used to describe a ‘calm’ state of alertness. A person may be described as happy, focused, content or ready to learn when in the Green Zone. This zone is where ‘optimal’ learning occurs.

4. The Blue Zone is used to describe low states of alertness, or ‘down’ feelings such as feeling sad, sick, tired, bored, fed up etc. In this zone, children are going to be reluctant or negative about completing work, however it is also the zone where the body has time to rest and recover.

The Thrive Approach

 

 

For all of us at Llangiwg Primary School, our first priority is to care for every child in a secure, friendly environment enabling them to enjoy their time in school and feel confident to learn. In order to maintain this ethos, the staff team work together to support children’s emotional and social learning, we maintain this attitude during lesson times, break times and through all activities that take place throughout the day to make sure our children feel secure in school. This method is called the Thrive Approach.

What is the Thrive Approach?

Not all children can put their needs into words every time they experience a different emotion, but the way children behave can tell us a lot about how they are feeling. In the olden days children who were finding life hard were sometimes given harmful labels, like ‘naughty’ or ‘very shy’. The Thrive Approach draws on the latest research – from current neuroscience, recent attachment research, current studies of effective learning and current models of child development – in order to help our school to understand the needs being signalled by children’s behaviour. It gives us targeted strategies and activities to help the re-engage with learning and life.

Why do some children need Thrive?

Unfortunately, (like all of us at some point in our lives), children may face challenges that knock them off course. What is needed then is understanding and support to get them back on track. Many children will respond to the care, understanding and support given by parents, family, friends and teachers. However, some children need a little bit extra to enable them to:

• Feel good about themselves
• Know that they matter
• Become more resilient and resourceful
• Have a positive place in society
• Form trusting, rewarding relationships
• Be creative
• Be compassionate and empathetic
• Be thoughtful and self-aware
• Be productive
• Be able to overcome difficulties and setbacks

What extra support can Llangiwg Primary offer?

Children who need a little bit of extra help are identified through a variety of ways such as our whole-class screening process, by class teachers, or through communication with families or outside agencies. For some children there may be an obvious reason why they need a bit of extra support. This might be bereavement, family break down or an identified medical. For others, there can be no obvious trigger as to why they are finding some aspects of school and/or home life difficult.  Working closely with parents and class teachers, our staff carry out full assessments of identified children’s social, emotional and behavioural needs. This helps us to build a bespoke Thrive Action Plan of activities to support their needs.

What is a Thrive Action Plan?

A Thrive Action Plan is plan of activities tailored to support a child’s identified social and emotional learning targets. The activities are carried out with pupils. They are play and arts-based activities designed to help the child feel better about himself; become more resilient and resourceful; form trusting, rewarding relationships; be compassionate and empathetic; and/or be able to overcome difficulties and setbacks. They might include playing in the sand tray, cooking, painting, model making, exploring difficult situations through role-play or comic strips, playing strategy games or projects focusing on the child’s own interests – all dependent on the needs of the individual child.  We will always share Action Plans with parents and encourage you to do some of the activities at home if possible. The Action Plans are reviewed regularly so that we can see the progress children have made.

So who gets Thrive?

For many children across the school, Thrive time is considered a real treat! Who wouldn’t want to spend time with the attention of a caring adult completing play activities! However, we try to emphasise to everyone that Thrive is just like any other learning intervention. If children struggle with reading, writing or maths, we give them extra support, and it’s the same with social and emotional learning, if they are struggling, they get extra support.

Everyone gets class Thrive activities (although they might not realise it); most activities are taught within the Thrive Approach. But if your child needs regular out of class Thrive time, one-to-one or in a small group, you will be consulted and asked for your input into their assessment and Action Plan.

What makes Llangiwg Primary a Thrive school?

At Llangiwg Primary we don’t consider Thrive to be an intervention for just a few children, we consider it to be a whole-school approach. We all believe that all behaviour is communication and that communication needs to be understood and supported – not “dealt” with. Thrive feeds into everything we do; celebration assemblies, getting to know everyone and their families, sharing all achievements – not just academic ones, celebrating our diversity and our collective spirit.

Website: www.thriveapproach.co.uk