Team Africa (Autumn & Spring Term)
Cubs, Lions, Pangolins, Zebras
Meet the Teaching Staff
Class Teachers: Jane, Louise & Aimee
HLTA's: Pam & Jo
Teaching Assistants: Sade, Gemma, Hayley, Beth, Sue, Jessica, Emily H, Evie, Sandra, Shaunie, Chloe, Mel, Caitlin, Emily c, Julie, Laura, Allison
Apprentices: Mia, Charley
SPARKLE CURRICULUM
The children in Cubs, Lions, Zebras and Pangolins class follow 'SPARKLE CURRICULUM' which is delivered in a multi-sensory, creative way which will enables pupils to access learning using their senses through a holistic approach. It has been designed for our pupils with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD) and Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD) who require specialised management for physical disabilities, sensory impairments and complex medical needs.
The SPARKLE CURRICULUM is:
· MOTIVATING Our pupils learn when they are interested, stimulated and engaged.
· RELEVANT It is relevant to the learning styles of the pupils and takes into account their prior knowledge and learning needs.
· CHALLENGING All teaching staff have high and realistic expectations of the pupils and with specialised, inclusive teaching — progress is evident.
· FOCUSED Shared targets from EHCP, Physiotherapists, OT, SALT etc. are central to the pupils provision.
Sparkle curriculum is predominantly made up of sensory themed learning and therapeutic activities. More time will be spent on more beneficial, holistic and individualised activities e.g. positioning in specialised equipment, visual stimulation, hand and finger work (exploration – sensory play), therapies (hydrotherapy, rebound therapy etc), movement, relaxation, Tac Pac, story massage etc.
IMPORTANT DATES
- 04.01.23 - Return to School - Start of the Spring Term
- 01.02.23 - Cubs and Pangolins Class Assembly 9:15am
- 17.02.23 - Break up for half term
- 27.02.23 - Return to school
Summer Topic Web - Explorers
Spring Topic Web - 'Stories'
Autumn Term Topic Web - I am A Hero
31.03.23 - Easter Egg Hunt with our school Easter Bunnies!
30.03.23- Lions making Easter Bunny biscuits in cookery.
29.03.23 - Lions and Zebras enjoying an end of term trip to Kosmic Kingdom.
27.03.2023 - Pangolin class enjoyed the lovely sunshine today, we visited the park and fed the ducks... it was so much fun!
24.03.23 - In cookery today we made bunny shaped carrot cakes. The children enjoyed exploring new tastes and smells including cinnamon, orange zest, honey and raisins.
22.03.23
Today Zebra Class visited Ward Jackson Park to look for signs of Spring.
We used our senses to listen for birds, look for new buds on trees, feel plants and smell daffodils and crocuses.
We also enjoyed the sunshine and used our Gross Motor skills to climb, jump and spin on the play equipment.
22.03.23- Lions visited Ward Jackson Park to look for signs of 'Spring'.
21.03.23 Pangolins and Cubs have been making mini-quiches this afternoon. The children have enjoyed making their own pastry and chopping up the ham, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and grating the cheese. The quiches were delicious!
21.03.23 - Cubs and Pangolins are 'Rocking our Socks' for World Down Syndrome Day!
17.03.23
​​A visit to the park
The sun was shining today, so Zebra Class took advantage of this and walked to the park. We enjoyed taking turns on the swings and slide. We really enjoyed playing together and alongside each other, asking adults for help if and when we needed it.
Some of us challenged ourselves to climb that little higher or go that little faster too!
We used our gross motor skills in all aspects of the park, but most of all had FUN!
17.03.23- Lions finished product of Mothers Day Cakes and Red Nose themed cakes.
16.03.23 - Lions loved having Maisie the PAT dog in class. We all took turns brushing her fur and stroking her body.
15.03.23 - MOTHER'S DAY ASSEMBLY Well done Pangolins and Cubs - Your Class Assembly was Fantastic!
14.03.23 - Lions enjoyed our parent 'Share a story' session today and exploring props from the story with the library staff.
13.03.23 - Pangolin Class enjoyed sharing the sensory story 'Floss' in History today.
13.03.23 - Lion class enjoyed printing with paint making patterns and mark making with different media.
10.03.23 - Lions participating in sensory, texture exploration linked to our Gingerbread Man story.
Zebra Class 10.03.23
Zebra Class loved making gingerbread men. They explored the ingredients, worked hard to mix and enjoyed decorating them. They were delicious!
10.03.23 Sarah informed Pangolin Class that last week they achieved a 100% attendance. Sarah give all the children a special treat out of her box. Well done Pangolins!
09.03.23 Jane sang the song: 'Five Mother's Day Cakes in a Bakers Shop' to the children in Pangolins. The children counted the cakes with adult support. Some children were able to count different amounts of cakes correctly and select the corresponding numeral too. Well done Pangolins!
Lion class swimming.
The children in lion class enjoyed their weekly swim and exploring the toys in the water.
Happy Birthday Surveen !
We celebrated Surveens birthday today. Thank you for the lovely party bags. We all had a fantastic party
Have a lovely weekend celebrating!
Goldilocks and the three bears! - Pangolins and cubs class have enjoyed listening to goldilocks and the three bears story whilst exploring the props. They have also enjoyed making their own bears with plates!
2/03/23 World book day! Pangolins enjoyed dressing up into their favorite book characters
02.03.23
World Book Day
The children loved dressing up for World Book Day. We had a Fantasic Mr Fox, George Pig, Paddington Bear, a dinosaur and lots of pyjamas.
Don't we look fabulous!?
28.02.23
The Gingerbread Man sensory story.
The children in Zebra and Lion class enjoyed our sensory story, 'The Gingerbread Man.'
We had lots of resources to explore and enjoyed taking part in different activities linked to the story.
14.02.23: Happy Valentine's Day Mouse! - The children in Pangolins and Cub class have thoroughly enjoyed Valentine's crafts and creating their own love heart biscuit for someone special.
16.2.23- Maisie the PAT dog.
15.2.23- Pangolins and Lion Cubs enjoyed sharing a story with Sharks.
15.02.23 - Trip to the Farm
Lion and Zebra class enjoyed a trip to Tweddle Farm today. We loved exploring and finding the rabbits from our weeks story 'Guess How Much I Love You.'
We enjoyed feeding the animals, exploring different textures and smells, playing in the park and riding on the barrels.
14.02.23 - Making heart shaped biscuits for Valentine's Day!
14th February - Happy Valentine's Day!
13.02.23 - Exploring cars and vehicles together!
The children have been developing their early mark making skills. We have been using different materials to draw lines and circles. We have also been enjoying the sensory experience of making marks in shaving foam, rice, pasta and sand!
10.02.23 - Ribbon Dancing: Pangolins loved participating in our fun and creative, movement ribbon dance! We also enjoyed dancing to the 'Conga' and 'Hokey Cokey'.
07.02.23 - Safer Internet Day: The children have enjoyed learning all about Safer Internet Day! We have been reading the story 'Webster's Bedtime'. Pangolins and Cubs played interactive games with adult support.
09.02.23
Zebras enjoyed our nursery rhyme '5 little penguins'. The children explored the icy water and listened to the song with their penguin mask. We had lots of fun!
08.02.2023
Zebras and Lions enjoyed a trip to Headland park, we enjoyed exploring all of the playa areas.
The children in Pangolin Class really enjoyed listening to Jane singing fun stretchy band songs. The children worked as a group holding onto the stretchy band, in group cooperation they developed their sequenced body movements and balance.
01.02.23 Pangolins and Cubs hosted a reading café, it was great to have our parents and carers in our class sharing books with their children.
07.02.23- Physical Development - Lions and Zebras have enjoyed getting outside in the fresh air, developing their gross motor skills.
02.02.23
The children in zebra class have been practicing their communication using symbols to Stop, Wait and Sit. Also some of the children have been turn taking with an adult.
02.02.23
Linked to our story 10 little penguins, the children in Zebras and lions enjoyed painting with rollers, brushes and sponges and we used the colours of penguins. The children had lots of fun!
02.02.23
Exploring props, new tastes and smells in our new sensory story 'Ten Little Penguins'.
01.02.2023
Happy birthday to Hayden in Zebra class.
30.01.23
Enjoying water play!
27.1.23
What a messy afternoon we have had exploring different food textures, tastes and smells.
26.1.23
Lions enjoying a music session- exploring different musical instruments and their sounds.
26.01.23- Lion Cubs enjoyed 'Cause and Effect' activities on the interactive board.
25.1.23 Sensory and Physical, Personal social and emotional Development.
Lions enjoyed exploring the ice play we explored texture and used our fine motor skills to pick up and move the ice around the tray.
24.1.23 Communication and interaction, Personal Social and Emotional and Sensory and Physical Development.
Lions and Zebras really enjoyed exploring out sensory story using all of our sense's to explore props and characters from the story was so much fun.
23.01.23 - Pangolins have loved water play today, we learned all about objects that float and sink!
Pangolins and Cubs have been developing their fine motor skills by squashing, squeezing, rolling and cutting out gingerbread men from playdough.
Pangolins and Cubs have had fun relaxing with their feet in the foot spa...
Happy 5th Birthday Henry! - We hope you have a lovely day with your friends in Pangolin class!
20.1.23- Pangolin and Lion Cubs enjoyed sensory activities to celebrate Chinese New Year.
20.01.23 - Communication and Interaction
Lion class using PECS in the pool and choosing their favourite water toys.
19.01.23 - 20.01.23
We have been very busy celebrating Chinese New Year this year, We have baked and decorated 'Rabbit' biscuits, engaged in messy play and sensory activities and tried lots of Chinese food.
20.01.23
Chinese New Year (Year of the rabbit) - The children in Lions and Zebras enjoyed a special visit from Buddy the rabbit, Buddy especially enjoyed time in our sensory room.
18.01.23
Zebra class enjoyed a trip to the town centre today, all the children had lots of fun exploring the play area.
17.01.23
Lion class enjoyed 1:1 interaction, engaging in one of our favourite nursery rhymes - Row your boat.
16.01.23
Pangolins and Lion Cubs have had the best afternoon baking a ginger cake! We can't wait to taste it tomorrow!...
16.01.23 -
Pangolins visited the local park to feed the ducks and act out 'The Gingerbread Man' story.
16.01.23
Happy birthday Isabelle.
16.01.23
Zebra Class love their Hydrotherapy session. We are able to practise our communication and physical development skills.
12.1.23- Having fun making cakes and copying actions of mixing and scooping.
11.1.23- Sensory exploration: Exploring colour and texture using gloop!
I look in the mirror and see.......me!
10.01.23- Expressive Art & Design: Are we ready to paint and print using different shades of blue for Winter?
09.01.23- Maths: Exploring water, filling and emptying using different sized containers.
09.01.23- Lions enjoyed exploring colour using the light up blocks and exploring the torches in the light room.
06.01.23- Book exploration - Jack loved engaging with the animal flap book today and showed good anticipation skills when the adult demonstrated 'Ready, Steady, Open!' and looking at the different animals.
5.1.23 Lion and Zebra Class Messy play.
First day back at school and a big happy 9th birthday to Sidney!
Visit from Santa! December 2022
16.12.22- The children had fun exploring the Winter sensory tray!
14.12.22- Cookery - Making Christmas Cake!
13.12.22- Well done George for achieving your Discovery Duckling 1 swimming award!
13.12.22- The children have really enjoyed our Polar Express day.
9.12.22- Our wonderful Lion Cubs ready for their Christmas performance.
8.12.22- The children in Team Africa enjoyed baking Christmas cakes this afternoon.
8.12.22- We are ready to perform our Jingle Bell Rock song for our Christmas Performance!
5.12.22- Team Africa enjoyed a trip to Kosmic Kingdom and the interactive soft play area/ sensory areas.
2.12.22- Pangolins and Lion Cubs enjoyed a trip to the Raby Arms for a Christmas breakfast.
2.12.22 - Meeting the Elf in town and enjoying the Christmas lights and decorations!
1.12.22 - We all worked together to decorate the class Christmas tree and independently chose the baubles.
Christmas has arrived in Team Africa!
1.12.22- Christmas Themed Sensory Play - We had fun exploring the glittery shaving foam and making pretend snow.
30.11.22 - Physical Development: We used our gross motor skills, balance and coordination skills and moved in different ways using the equipment.
28.11.22 Shopping for our assembly
22.11.22 Red Riding Hood Story Props
Lions have enjoyed exploring the story props and acting out our story of Red riding hood.
21.11.22 World Cup fun
We all had so much fun playing football and making England flags in support of our football team in the world cup today.
Computing - The children are exploring a variety of cause and effect toys.
18.11.22- Children in Need 2022
15.11.22- Outdoor Sensory Assembly! We had fun engaging with the parachute and hoops, getting messy with shaving foam, popping bubbles and balloons!
14.11.22 - Cubs, Lions and Pangolins wore odd socks today to support Anti-Bullying week!
14.11.22 'We will Remember Them' - Lions & Pangolins visited to the Cenotaph in town today.
11.11.22- Today is a day of Remembrance. We participated in a 2 - minute silence at 11am and enjoyed a cookery session, creating our own Poppy cakes to share with our family.
10.11.22- Outdoor messy play - Mark making in shaving foam!
7.11.22 Buying Poppies
Today Lions and Pangolins enjoyed visited the Remembrance Day Poppy sale. we looked at all of the different types of poppies and the kind people even let us hold a big Poppy.
4.11.22 Bonfire night activities
Pangolins and Lions really enjoyed exploring different Bonfire night activites we moved our bodies to the interactive whiteboard making fireworks. We also enjoyed creating our own firework pictures useing paint and glitter.
31.10.22 Halloween fun
Lions and Pangolins had an amazing Halloween day we explored messy play and listened to Halloween stories and observed what the props from our stories done.
31.10.22 Pumpkin picking at the Allotment
Lions and Pangolins Loved visiting the Allotment to explore Pumpkin picking, We explored different vegtables and tasted different fruits.
31.10.22 - Maggie won 1st prize, and George won 2nd prize for the best Halloween fancy dress costumes in Team Africa today! However, all our children looked amazing!
21.10.22 Here are some of the Halloween activities the children have enjoyed completing this week in school.
We had lots of fun using the Projector ! 20/10/22
We have been looking at Art- work by Henri Rousseau's "Surprised" we were able to explore lots of multi-sensory green materials and also make our own Art -work!19/10/22
We all enjoyed the story "Winnie the Witch " we then got messy and made Wilbur Cat! 19.10.22
18.10.22 - Creating monster handprints of Dr Frankenstein!
18.10.22 In cookery this afternoon, we have been making 'witches fingers' using hotdogs. The children enjoyed tasting them!
17.10.22 - DT - After reading the story 'Winnie the Witch' we wanted to make our own magic wands, so we did!
14.10.22- This week's Wonderful Award goes to Emmanuel! Well done!
12.10.22- All of Team Africa children visited Throston Library and enjoyed rhyme time with musical instruments.
11.10.22 - Water play - exploring Red objects linked to our colour of the week!
10.10.22 Computing: The children are creating their own super potato characters by touching the screen on the interactive white board.
07.10.22 - Henry received the 'Wonderful Award' in assembly on Friday. Well done Henry!
7.10.22- Hydrotherapy session - focusing on floating on our backs!
6.10.22 - Team Africa have loved there first sensory Dance session with Abbie! Check out our dance moves!!
4.10.22 We're going on a leaf hunt sensory story.
Lions and Pangolins have started a new sensory story 'We're Going on a Leaf Hunt', we will be exploring props and going on new adventures to find some Autumn objects.
Happy 6th Birthday Jack
3.10.22 Fun at the park
30.9.22- Exploring water beads using our touch sense with feet.
29.9.22- In cookery today we made some apple crumble. We all took turns chopping the apples, mixing the crumble and pouring the custard.
Check out our Supertato's!
26.9.22 Lets make a Superhero using potato's!
Lions and Pangolins have been making there very own Supertato using real potato's and props. They have loved exploring ways to be creative.
26/09/2022 Fantastic tracking in the light-room
23.09.22 We had fun creating 'Superhero' foot print pictures!
21.9.22 Library visit
Following our school visit from the library Lions thought it would be nice to go and visit the Library we shared enjoyed singing songs and listening to stories. We even made our own shooting stars.
20.9.22 Exploring light and movement.
Lion class enjoyed exploring light and movements they discovered that our new blocks changed colour when they moved them. the children enjoyed stacking the blocks and exploring which lights were which colour.
Sensory Cooking - The children in Pangolins and Cubs enjoyed making apple and pear crumble. The children carefully helped Jane mush up the apples and pears using a hand held blender.
20.9.22 Lions and Pangolins enjoyed their Library session this afternoon, they read: 'The Golden Book'.
Super hero story exploring, today Lions and Pangolins explored the different stories about super hero's and what different things they save the day from. We explored our cause and effect senses opening the doors and turning on the lights.
15.9.22 Mark Making - The children moved their fingers and hands to colour in 'Superpotato!'
Lions have enjoyed finger painting potato pictures this morning we love getting messy.
14.9.22 Lions, Cubs and Pangolins enjoyed listening to our new story called 'Superpotato'. All the children enjoyed exploring all the multi-sensory story props.
Lions and Pangolins have began there story of Super Potato over the next few weeks we will explore props and senses based around our story.
13.9.22 Lion class enjoyed shopping for story props
Lions enjoyed going shopping for props for our story Super potato.
12.09.22- Lions had fun at Seaton Park!
Lions loved exploring movements at the park today we used a range of movements and our whole bodies to have fun and play.
09.09.22 - Hydrotherapy Pool - Lions and Pangolins enjoyed moving in the water in different ways and working on our floating skills.
08.09.22- Today we participated in a TacPac relaxation session. Some of us even enjoyed hand and foot massage.
07.09.22- Vegetable printing with potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and peppers!
05.09.22- Our First Week Back to School - The children in Cubs, Lions and Pangolin class are so happy to be back in school. Here are some photographs of the children exploring their new environment.
