The Launchpad staff all work to support the children: Mrs Dacosta, Mrs Bray, Mrs Armstrong, Mr Minter, Miss Lovatt, Mx Evans and Miss Russell.
What is Launchpad?
The children in the Launchpad are aged between seven (Year 3) and eleven (Year 6). The aim of The Launchpad is to provide a specialist Key Stage Two Inclusion Base which will make sense to children, young people and their families that addresses their needs earlier and to be a place where all pupils achieve their full potential in a learning environment where they feel safe, happy, accepted and included. These are pupils that will struggle to access a mainstream classroom as their needs may make it difficult for them to cope with the sensory overload of a mainstream classroom, require a highly differentiated and bespoke curriculum and higher ratios of staff to pupils.
Our belief is that for children in Launchpad, with complex and multiple special educational needs, that this will be best achieved in a specialist resource base within our mainstream schools. We are committed to our role in promoting inclusion, and strongly believe in the power of early intervention with the cooperation and partnership of all those, who share our commitment and endeavours to improving the life chances of children and young people affected by special educational needs.
Within The Launch Pad we aim to offer a broad and balanced curriculum which is personalised to give those pupils that attend affected by complex and multiple special educational needs unprecedented opportunities to learn, so they can surpass all previous expectations for attainment and achievement.
Due to the special educational needs profile of the pupils in The Launch Pad the ratio of adults to pupils will be significantly higher than in a mainstream classroom. It is considered, however, that pupils will require lower levels of support in this specialist environment than in mainstream.
“I have made lots of new friends, I like learning outside too!” Comment from a Year 6 pupil
“By being part of the Launchpad class, our child has been given the opportunity to be able to participate and be involved in learning that is pitched at his level of interest, understanding and development, meaning he can finally withhold the new information that he’s receiving.
Before the Launchpad, we felt he was lost in the classroom with his peers because the gaps were so huge that he couldn’t even begin to connect to receive and contain new information. Now he can come home and tell us about his learning and share his new knowledge and skills with us and we are seeing him growing,” -Comment from a parent
“The Launchpad is very good because we get to draw lots of things, colour and do Maths too!” comment from a Year 3 pupil.
“We get to learn lots of things and the adults are nice. I like helping create the outside area with Mrs Armstrong.” Comment from a Year 5 pupil.
“I like coming to school on the minibus. I really like our Art lessons. I enjoyed making my very own sensory bottles.” Comment from a year 4 pupil
“It is really fun, we get to do lots of exciting things. I enjoy running the mile everyday and being able to do learning outside. I like using my Chromebook to help with my work!” -Year 3 pupil
