The Avenues (part of Belgrave St. Bartholomew's Academy) - Organisations

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We are a Special Needs Unit that operates over three sites over Stoke-on-Trent.

Our first site is called The Avenue and is based on Queensberry Road in Normacot.

Our second site is called King's Avenue and is based within the site of Kingsland CE Academy in Bucknall.

Our third and final site is Church Avenue and is based within the site of Priory CE Academy in Trentham.

Both The Avenue and King’s Avenue cater for children in year groups Reception and Year 1 and our Church Avenue site is for children in Year 2.

All of our wonderful children join us with an EHCP in place, and they have a wide variety of needs including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Global Developmental Delay and Speech and Language difficulties.

We use a highly personalised approach to learning and in our EYFS units, we assign all children with a ‘keyworker’ who has the skills to meet their needs.

Children who attend our settings make really good progress with Speech, Language and Communication due to intensive specialist support and close work with our local NHS Speech and Language Therapists. We have a range of different abilities regarding communication, from non-verbal through to fully verbal, and always meet the child at their level. We regularly use programmes such as PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System), Makaton (sign language), Communication boards (laminated tables of most used symbols), PODD books (Pragmatic Organisation Dynamic Display).

We aim to work collaboratively across all three sites. Not only does this prepare our children for future transitions but also allows them to form relationships with all our staff at The Avenues. Our staff share their specialist SEND expertise and good practice with parents and carers through our extremely popular parent workshops. We also pride ourselves on collaboration with external agencies and providing support for our families. 

Facilities 

Through careful planning and delivery, our curriculum is differentiated and personalised to meet the needs of our learners, enabling them to reach their potential and celebrate their successes. We believe our pupils deserve the best provision possible and therefore, we have high expectations and regularly review and evaluate the curriculum to ensure it is fit for purpose.

Our three sites are spread around the city, meaning that families should find a provision that is close to home. We also have lots of children accessing Local Authority transport to and from school if they live outside the specified distance.

Our King’s Avenue currently caters for 20 children and has two lovely classrooms, one of the classrooms is set up similarly to a typical EYFS classroom with all of the areas of learning available to the children. We then have a higher needs classroom that is calmer and quieter for those children that find a busier environment a little too overwhelming.

The Avenue currently caters for 28 children and is a larger building with a bigger space for children to explore. Group work takes place in quieter areas of the classroom, and we have a wonderful adapted outdoor space for the children to develop their gross motor skills.

Our Church Avenue site is a smaller building, and currently has 14 children attending that are shared between two classrooms. One of which is set up as a KS1 classroom, and the second is the lower stimulus quieter environment for those that need it.

Curriculum:

It is extremely important to us that the pupils at The Avenues are happy and are placed at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that every child is unique, and we celebrate their success in the most meaningful way for that child.

Our core values are the ethos and culture for all. We want our pupils to be curious, with the ability to work together, and to be nurtured throughout their journey at school.

Together we will open the door for a journey of self-discovery, so that all our children blossom and grow and find their place in the world.

Our aim is to encourage and nurture our children throughout their own unique and personal journeys by:

•          Scaffolding foundations for positive behaviour and social interaction

•          Modelling and facilitating communication and language

•          Encouraging self-help and independence

•          Working collaboratively with families and professionals

We focus on the skills and knowledge that our pupils need for life and ensure that children learn and develop well, are kept healthy and safe have the knowledge and skills they need to access the curriculum.

Our EYFS settings, King’s and The Avenue work towards the Development Matters framework. This is based on the principal of seven key areas of learning for younger children. The targets start right from birth meaning that all of our children are able to be accurately assessed against this, and the small steps in progress can be seen and celebrated.

The seven areas of learning are as follows:

1. Communication and Language
2. Personal, Social and Emotional Development
3. Physical Development
4. Literacy
5. Maths
6. Understanding of the World
7. Expressive Arts and Design

Our Year 2 setting at Church Avenue works towards an adapted version of the KS1 curriculum where all national curriculum subjects are taught at a developmentally appropriate level and measured in ‘steps’ of learning, from Pre-Step 4 up to Step 6.

The children across all sites also have daily opportunities to develop their phonics skills using the Read, Write, Inc. programme, personalised EHCP targets and Occupational Therapy targets for both physical and sensory needs.

Parents:

At The Avenues, we pride ourselves on the work that we do with our parents. We run parent workshops discussing the main issues that families tell us are a challenge at home. Examples of previous workshops include Speech and Language, School Nurse visits for toileting and sleep advice and Caudwell Charity and SENDIASS support service for them to explain what they can offer for you. We also manage a range of referrals including requesting assessment for any learning needs that are identified along with signposting to professionals for further support. This also includes referring to charities for specialist equipment that you might need for your child.

Uniform:

Our children currently wear full school uniform everyday which is:

 • White polo shirt

• Plain Navy jumper OR the burgundy Belgrave jumper

• Plain black trousers or jogging bottoms

• Black school shoes

 • Appropriate coat for the weather.

Lots of our children are not yet ready for toilet training and still wear nappies. We also ask that parents send in nappies and wipes for your children to be changed throughout the day.

All of our sessions are offered on a full-time basis, and we encourage parents or nursery settings to join us in transition visits to prepare the children for joining us on their first day.

Consultations for places must be sent to us via your SENMAS keyworker. You are very welcome to join us for a tour of the setting prior to requesting the consultation.

UNIFORM

School logo jumper/cardigan

Loose fitting trousers e.g. jogging bottoms 

White polo shirt 

Comfortable footwear suitable for outdoor play 

Reasonable adjustments will be made for pupils who have a genuine need. Please feel free to discuss this with staff.