Another trip to Tiger!

Yesterday, Hannah and I went along to the Tes SEN Show in London. It was our first time at this free event. We had a great day, although there wasn't that many stands for PMLD we still managed to spend quite some time chatting to some fabulous people on the MOVE and Evidence for Learning stand.

We had a little time in the middle of the day to venture out before one of the exhibitor workshops later in the afternoon. I have spent a lot of time in London since I was little and know it quite well, however this was a new area of London but I loved it. We got off the tube at the station Angel, one stop on the Northern line from Kings Cross. I can only describe it as a great town within a city. It had everything on one street that you could possible want and the fabulous Business Design Centre which was a great exhibition space. Anyway, we ventured back a few meters towards the shopping centre and were surprised to pass a few stands giving away FREE innocent drinks - we get nothing free in Boston! Hannah needed a birthday card so we went for a browse in Paperchase.

 Anyone who knows me will know that I am a list freak, I have lists of lists, it has become quite an obsession, so I am slighly like a child in a sweet shop looking at the various pretty post it notes and journals! I have decided I need a new note pad as I have already filled up the notes pages in this years diary. Being a PMLD teacher I had a feel of the different sequin and squidgy ones but then found this...

I spent my childhood dancing and idolosing Darcey Bussell so a pink, glittery, squidgy ballerina notepad was just perfect! I look forward to using it in the many parent meetings I have coming up this week.

Next we found ourselves in Tiger. Hannah and I had a planning meeting last week to come up with some initial ideas for our next topic 'seasons' and of course we will be doing a very sensory Halloween week. Well Tiger was just full of sensory Halloween goodies! I took lots of snaps to share with you all.

Whilst great for decoration, this skeleton would also be great for SLD group learning about the body and our bones. If teachers want to purchase a skeleton from a school resource shop as a science resource they can be ridiculously expensive!

Who doesn't love candy floss? It instantly makes you think of the fair. I love candy floss as it's a great taste experience for pupils who aren't able to swallow. This one from Tiger is apple flavour so very halloweeny! We purchased this to use in a future sensory story. We'll see how long it lasts and whether or not the staff can resist temptation.

We bought both of these to create a spooky sensory umbrella. I loved the glittery spiders! Glitter yes... real spiders not so much. Hannah is the designated spider remover!

Also great for decoration or on an umbrella. Poundland also have great value Halloween lights at the minute. 

I had to get another of these. I bought one last time (different theme) for one of my children's sound item in the sensology box. They absolutely love it and quickly learned to press the button on the top. Another one of my children also loves it and tries to sneak it from their box so I had to buy another!

I love these they are so tactile. I bought a few hearts for a pupil last year whose favourite thing was that hearts pump. They also came in handy during doctor week this term. It would be nice to incorporate these into Halloween week some how. 

These are bowls but we thought they would be great to hang things off or act as large scoops as they are quite shallow. 

Lovely lights. 

These are great for children who need something bigger to grip or for children who may be tactile defensive, a lot of people hate the texture of chalk. 

I love a confetti cannon! We thought this would be a lovely sensory experience for the bonfire night fireworks sentence of our sensory story. The only trouble is with the repetition needed of a story this would soon get incredibly expensive, but they are lovely none the less. 

A cause and effect activity, visual stimulation as well as translating to a practical life skill. 

Musical instruments a plenty and fairly good value. 

We loved playing with the slimy starfish last time but the floating UFO is new. It could be great for visual awareness and tracking. May also encourage releasing an item for some children. 

A lovely resource for a role play area for SLD children or in an EYFS area. 

Great for hand eye coordination. 

I have one of these currently in my outside area for use during 5 minutes down time. One child loves pushing it back and forth between an adult. It is a great multi sensory activity - proprioceptive, auditory, visual. So much fun. Hopefully it'll last me a little while. It has managed a week so far. 

Extendable fishing nets! More hand eye coordination development opportunities. 

Another addition to next terms sensology boxes - an auditory experience but also cause and effect. 

Lovely mark making pattern wheel. It's really chunky too. 

After this blog has been posted, I will be uploading a competition to our Facebook page to be in with a chance to win a set of our Dispense the Sense PMLD activity cards. All you need to do is like our page, share our competition post and tag a friend who you think may be interested in our blog. 

Good luck and have a great week. 

An Inclusive Trip to Alton Towers

In June this year we took our two classes on a visit to Alton Towers.  The trip would not have been possible without the installation of two new Changing Places toilets (toilets designed to meet the needs of people with complex care needs including a hoist and adult sized changing bench).  It is so important that more places install these facilities. Without these facilities, visits are often cut short in order to meet these individuals’ basic needs or families and carers are often forced to resort to changing on toilet floors. For many it is simply not feasible to visit at all.  The Changing Places Consortium is campaigning for Changing Places toilets to be installed in all big public places. You can find more information about Changing Places on their website here including ways you can support or become a campaigner. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter @CP_Consortium.

Pre visit 

We initially did a pre-visit in order to carry out our risk assessment. Alton Towers offer Teacher VIP days which include an hour long seminar offering you information on the opportunities and facilities available and free tickets to explore the facilities for yourself. We were fortunate that on the particular day we went there were no more than 8 other teachers who attended the VIP day. This enabled the seminar to be really tailored to answer the specific questions we needed in order to make our visit possible. You can find examples of these below.

FAQ

Q1. We require a higher staffing ratio for our pupils with complex care needs. How many free adult places do you offer for these pupils?

A1: One free adult per child with an EHCP plus an extra adult per 5 children. We were advised to take each child’s EHCP with us on the day however, they later agreed to accept a letter from the head of school listing the children and their needs as well as confirming that all the children had an EHCP.  We would advise you to clarify with Alton Towers what they would accept on your trip.

Q2. Where are your changing places toilets located?

A2: There is a changing places toilet located in X Sector and a Space to Change facility located in Fountain Square. These are easily identified on the map by the changing places logo.

Q3: Some of our pupils will need physiotherapy during the visit- are there any wheelchair accessible rooms which we are able to use for this?

A room can be provided (this is different from the one usually offered to mainstream schools and is located in ‘Cloud Cuckoo land’ which is further from the main entrance). There is also a medical centre. If you visit the medical centre staff during your free day, they are happy to help. The medical staff advised us that we would be able to use their medical bed for one of our pupils who requires daily chest physiotherapy.

Q4: Are any of your rides wheelchair accessible? Some of our pupils need to be lifted or physically assisted. Can you advise which rides might be suitable for these pupils?

A4: There is one wheelchair accessible ride in CBeebies world. We were advised to go and speak to staff working on the specific rides that would be able to advise us on which ones would be suitable for individuals during our visit. We found that there was one wheelchair accessible ride in CBeebies Land- The Numtums Number-Go-Round (please note that only one wheelchair is allowed on each time). There are other rides that can be accessed if the pupil is able to brace such as the Night Garden Magical Boat Ride and Postman Pat’s Parcel Post. Lucy created a chart for each of the rides in the park that we planned to visit, with the pupil’s names down the side and a tick box to identify which children were able to access which rides/facilities. This was essential when we split into groups as it enabled group leaders and staff members to know in advance which rides they were able to use. You can find this resource along with other related resources for free on our TES resources page here.

Q5: When do you pay for the trip?

A5: You have to pay 10 days in advance for a school trip. Cost depends on time of year but in June it was £8 per child.

Q6: Is there a fast track available for our pupils?

A6: Fast track was offered to all of our pupils at no extra cost, we just had to collect the wristbands from the entrance on the day. Fast track was great, we went straight to the front of the queue but there are systems in place if it’s busy whereby your card is marked with the next time you can ride.

Q7: Are any radar keys available at the park in order to access the Changing Places toilets?

A7: Radar keys can be borrowed from the information centre for a deposit if needed for the changing spaces facilities.

Q8: Does Alton Towers Theme Park have the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality badge?

A8 Yes- “The Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, which recognises providers offering good quality learning outside the classroom and managing risk effectively awards the Quality Badge to educational destinations which meets the stringent criteria for quality school trips. It can reduce red tape for you when planning visits, assures effective risk management and gives you the freedom and confidence to incorporate more learning outside the classroom into the curriculum.” (Alton Towers Resort School Planning Pack 2017)

Q9: Is there anywhere to store temperature sensitive medication?

A9: The medical centre can store temperature sensitive medication for you in their medical centre refrigerated medicine storage.

We held a parent’s information evening before the trip took place to offer information, pictures from our risk assessment visit and opportunities for us to answer any questions they may have. You can find the PowerPoints from this information evening for free on our Sensory_Dispensary TES resources page here.

What opportunities are there on offer for pupils?

There were many areas of the park that offered great opportunities for our pupils with PMLD. In CBeebies Land there was Mr Tumbles Sensory Garden which offered a wealth of sensory experiences particularly stimulating the olfactory sense with plants including lemon balm, rosemary, mint and lavender offering a variety of strong scents along the path. There were also ‘fun house’ mirrors and Mr Tumble’s voice along with music was played in different spots. There are also ‘lift-the-flap’ activities for more able pupils although we found that these were not always accessible from wheelchairs.

Nina’s Science Lab provided many opportunities for exploration. There were different textures to feel, plasma globes, smells to experience in a guess the smell ‘lift-the-flap’ activity, talking tubes and much more. Again, we did find that some elements of this area were difficult to access for those pupils with bigger, non-height adjustable wheelchairs.

The Aquarium provided amazing visually mesmerising sensory experiences and the staff were very accommodating in enabling our pupils to participate in Tropical Interactive Pool for tactile sensory experiences! Pupils were able to feel starfish and encountered some strange manicure giving shrimp as they dipped their hands into the water.

There were also interactive shows at various times throughout the day from 'Big Fun Show Time' and 'The Furchester Live Hotel' which were a big hit for our pupils with familiar characters and songs that brought big smiles and giggles to many faces! The performers were great at ensuring our pupils were involved in the games, singing and dancing.

For more able pupils Lola's world was very popular, especially the interactive floor and ball pit. This was great fun as the children were able to put the balls in a tube and anticipated them dropping down. Lola’s world is wheelchair accessible and we found it was possible to lift some of our pupils out of their chairs to explore the interactive floor. It was also possible for some of our pupils who have more mobility out of their wheelchairs, to be physically assisted to get into the ball pool. There are cupboards to open and explore, various noises to listen to, dressing up activities and more.

Mr Bloom’s garden was also a hit with many of our children with SLD. It is a fully interactive experience including action songs and hands on practical activities led by Mr Bloom’s neighbour, Mr Blossom. It is also a lovely opportunity for learning about recycling and looking after plants.

Another sensory experience was discovered by some of our pupils as we were standing underneath a roller-coaster. We had to wait outside the Changing Places toilet which was next to the Smiler roller-coaster ride with two of our pupils who found great pleasure in the shaking, vibration and ‘clinking’ sounds as the ride climbed up the slope along with the whooshing and shouts from the people on board as the ride zoomed down. There is also music playing all around the park as well as plenty of naturally occurring sounds and smells that were enjoyed by many.

A lot of work went into making the visit possible and staff and parent volunteers were invaluable to making it a huge success. A fantastic day was had by all!