The effect of the wide provision of interventions to support the development of pupils’ literacy, numeracy, motor, personal, emotional and behavioural skills

Effective Practice
Share this page

Quick links:

Information about the school

Ysgol Gyfun Aberaeron is a bilingual 11-19 comprehensive school that is maintained by Ceredigion

local authority. There are 581 pupils on roll. Around 27% of pupils have additional learning needs

(ALN), which is above the national average (over three years) in secondary schools, of 16.1%.

Around 30.5% of pupils come from Welsh-speaking homes, 50.1% come from non-Welsh-speaking

homes and 19.4% do not speak Welsh. Nearly all pupils come from white British backgrounds. The

senior leadership team includes the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, two assistant

headteachers and one senior teacher.

The school has specialist learning bases for pupils, including:

  • Canolfan y Môr – A specialist centre that caters for pupils with profound speech and communication needs, along with pupils with autism, sensory and medical needs.
  • Canolfan Croeso – A life skills centre that provides individual provision for pupils and supports them (depending on their age and ability) through mainstream provision.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

The school’s vision is to ‘ensure that our students are ready to face the challenges of the 21st Century and that we support them to develop their potential academically, physically, socially and emotionally’. In the specialist learning bases, a wide and rich variety of projects and interventions are provided to ensure engagement, well-being and progress in pupils’ personal and social skills and abilities. Art therapy sessions have been introduced to develop pupils’ emotional literacy skills and a ‘clay club’ to develop pupils’ handwriting motor skills, alongside more traditional interventions. ‘Story Massage’ sessions have been established, in addition to yoga and mindfulness sessions. In partnership with a local theatre, performance projects have been planned to promote pupils’ communication skills.

Description of the nature of the strategy or activity

To support pupils with a wide variety of additional learning needs (ALN), interventions are used which include:

  • Clay Club: The Clay Club is a club to develop pupils’ motor skills and handwriting. Groups of pupils take part in the ‘Clay Club’ for up to 3 sessions a week – clay exercises to develop pupils’ motor skills, which includes the use of music, movement and discussion.
  •  Art Therapy: Pupils receive these sessions to develop their personal and social skills and their well-being. In small groups or individually, pupils complete work with the specialist art therapist. There is an exhibition of their work in the therapy room and pupils are very proud of this.
  • Celf ac Enaid / ‘Art and Soul’ – The ALNCo, along with the school’s specialist assistants, run therapeutic art session across the bases and entry groups. The sessions start with an emotional check, the statement of the day and a discussion and then art activities. The activities are differentiated according to pupils’ ability, knowledge and skill level. The aim is to develop emotional literacy skills in a safe and calm environment.
  • Story massage – Story massage sessions have been established, alongside yoga and mindfulness sessions for pupils, as a means of presenting curricular themes and supporting their well-being. Staff have received specific training and use scripts that include a story, pieces of poetry, dialogue or an article, which accompany the movements. It is an effective means of teaching specific aspects of a text to pupils with ALN, particularly those who learn in a sensory manner. This promotes the well-being and learning of the pupils at the bases.
  • Performance project – This programme was developed to develop learners’ personal and social skills, communication skills and independent learning skills. Through weekly theatre experiences: movement, dance, role play, sensory play and filming, pupils develop a range of skills. By working with Theatr Felinfach, performances and workshops have been run to coincide with termly themes e.g., Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, The Red Dragon, Space.

Literacy and Numeracy: ·

  • Interventions such as Dyfal Donc and personal dictionaries to develop pupils’ skills
  • Extended reading interventions that are differentiated significantly – see the case study on the school’s programme to develop reading skills
  •  Cyfri Ceredigion and other interventions to develop pupils’ numeracy skills.

What impact has this work had on provision and learners’ standards?

Through the various activities and interventions, the school has seen a high level of engagement and enjoyment in learning from nearly all pupils. Pupils’ self-confidence and willingness to try new activities have developed well. Through the activities, pupils deepen their knowledge of the themes or topics that are studied.

When scrutinising learners’ work, the school recognises step-by-step progress in pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills. Pupils note that they enjoy these interventions and that the support helps them to develop at school.

How have you shared your good practice?

Ysgol Gyfun Aberaeron is currently sharing the good practices in the region through the health and well-being website, the ALN department newsletter and through ALNCo networks. The ALNCo has worked with an art therapist to produce guidance booklets on art activities that promote pupils’ emotional well-being. The success of the theatre performance project has led to the expansion of the project across the authority to other specialist bases.