Family Hub
Family Hub is where we invite friends, family, colleagues, and governors into Old Hall school to share training on a variety of topics that we feel will benefit our pupils and their families.
Some of the sessions we have delivered are:
Makaton for beginners
Read Write Inc
Numicon
Music therapy
On-line safety
Rebound therapy
In addition to regular in house training sessions that we deliver, we also invite other professionals in to deliver training such as the Nursing Service where they can advise on sleep issues, toileting and general behaviours.
Walsall College have visited school to let parents/carers know what training courses are out there for themselves or family members.
The Occupational therapist has delivered training on ‘sensory diet’ and involved the children to explore and interact with resources.
To ensure the sessions are child friendly the children are invited in to the hall to work with parents /carers on the activity. This ensures parents / carers feel confident in delivering the session in the home.
Training sessions
Rebound Therapy
During the Rebound Therapy training, the following was shared:
- The history of Rebound Therapy
- The main benefits of the programme to children who participate
- How we will adapt the programme to different needs across the school
- Examples of success stories for children who had already participated in Rebound Therapy.
- Consent forms and Risk Assessments
The Family Hub meeting allowed us to give parents an insight into a new addition to the school curriculum and gave them a chance to ask questions and resolve any concerns about their child’s participation in Rebound Therapy.
Parents were given the chance to explore the feel of the trampoline and watch videos of the children accessing it.
Communication through Art
The aim of this session was to show parents/carers how art can be used to develop children’s language skills, encourage engagement, explore differing tactile experiences, and promote positive behaviour. This session introduced parents to a range of ideas on how you can use PECS (Picture exchange communication system), ‘I want’…… sentence strips, aided language boards and different communication aids such as big macs and switches, to encourage choice making and verbal communication. We also discussed simplifying instructions and giving the child time to respond and how we use CIP symbols to do this.
The parents, alongside their children, then participated in different Christmas arts and crafts which included sensory activities. They had the opportunity to practise applying all the new ideas they were introduced to, as well as focusing on developing their communication skills between themselves and their child.
Numicon
A demonstration of what Numicon is and how it can be used was shared at Family Hub. It was explained that it can be used at any developmental stage from Early years to Year 6. Numicon was modelled and then parents / carers shown how to support number recognition, value, ordering, addition and subtraction with it.
Music and Movement
Our music specialist has delivered a music and movement session. During this session key Makaton signs were taught to enable adults to sign a long with Christmas songs.
Makaton
Makaton stages 1 and 2 were delivered with additional work sheets for the finger alphabet. Parents / carers encouraged to join in by signing and saying the word. A Makaton word of the week is shared with parents / carers on Dojo.
Coffee and Craft Session
Coffee and craft sessions were brought in to give parents a chance to just chat and share stories in a comfortable environment. It is difficult when children arrive at school on transport for relationships to be formed with other parents /carers in a similar situation as themselves.
Craft activities are available if they want to do them as this can break the ice for parents who are shy and not so confident. The adults who have participated in these sessions have come together to raise money for school fund.
Read Write Inc.
As a school we follow Ruth Miskin Literacy (RML) this session was to explain to teach phonics and early reading to parents / carers.
The adults engaged in making sensory resources and enjoyed spending time with their child in school.
On–Line safety
A ten-minute awareness slot was given to make parents / carers aware of on-line safety. Information shared was to support the whole family including older siblings.