Education Business

Appleford is a school for children with dyslexia and associated learning difficulties aged seven to 14. It is situated in a rural location, on the outskirts of the village of Shrewton, 12 miles from Salisbury. The school operates as a day, weekly and full boarding school and enjoys a small, warm and caring community. It has recently received an "outstanding" Ofsted report for its education and care.

How does the school approach teaching children with dyslexia and associated learning difficulties?   
We operate a whole-school, holistic, 24-hour curricular approach to dyslexia, with research-based multi sensory programmes designed to encourage confidence, self-esteem and feelings of success. A full but differentiated National Curriculum is offered to meet the needs of the individual.
    
Our teaching groups are small, with the adult-pupil ratio often one adult to four children. Plus the language of the classroom is adapted and instructions are given one at a time. All staff are specialists in the teaching of dyslexics or must be in training for a Sp.L.D. qualification.

What are the challenges?
No two pupils with dyslexia or associated learning difficulties are the same. Our staff must therefore have knowledge of each pupil and the teaching methodology must meet the needs of each child. They must also be prepared to undertake INSET as part of their CPD.
    
What’s more, approaches must be consistent across the curriculum, as well as in the boarding houses, so we feel confident that we are meeting social, emotional, pastoral and academic needs.

What is the school ‘ethos’ and how do you achieve it?
We aim to restore self-confidence so that pupils believe in themselves and become aware of what they can achieve. We also aim to cultivate courtesy and consideration by developing an understanding of the individual within a community.
    
All our staff – whether they are catering staff, domestic staff, support assistants, maintenance, or teaching staff – know the pupils by name. This reinforces the Appleford ‘family’ spirit where the message of ‘working to one common goal’ is delivered.

How does the school promote healthy eating and lifestyle to its pupils?
We take a positive approach to healthy lifestyles, promoting it as an essential part of the pupils’ development. Exercise, PE and our after school activities are all given a high status and pupils must choose at least one sport after school, as well as the PE and games taught within the week. We do not operate a canteen system; all pupils sit at tables of around six and meals are served at the tables, with the careful monitoring of staff.
    
The food is well balanced and nutritious with limited additives, colourings or preservatives. Special dietary requirements – such as for vegetarians or those with allergies to dairy, nut and gluten – are also catered for.

How do you ensure the security of your pupils and staff?
School security of course is essential. We are located in a rural area surrounded by fields and quiet lanes. The school is contained within a fence and railings and classrooms located near the fields away from the main building all have personal intruder alarms.
    
As we are a small community, all faces are readily recognised by staff and pupils, and all pupils are aware of ‘stranger danger’. Visitors coming to the school must report to the reception area where they must sign in and out and all visitors must wear a visitor badge.

How important is ICT to your pupils?
ICT is an important part of the learning in any school but it is essential here. We are a small school of approximately 90 pupils but every teaching room has an interactive whiteboard and at least one networked computer. We also have two ICT suites. In addition, we have 15 small hand held ASUS computers, which are wireless. They have built-in web cams and are essential to promote and assist learning outside the classroom.
    
Computer software to support literacy, spelling, English and maths are available and voice activated computers are also used.

At present we are trialling software designed to help pupils with dyslexia to develop writing skills.

What are your views on learning outside the classroom? Do you get put off by health and safety?
Learning is taken out of the classroom as much as possible with many educational visits arranged to support the curriculum. For example, our year five and six pupils studying the Victorians visited a Victorian town and dressed in Victorian costumes.
    
Every visit outside the classroom carries its own risks and requires particular staffing levels, but these are rigorously put into place prior to any trip. So, no, we are not put off by health and safety issues. Staff here are mature, experienced and highly skilled and the supervision of pupils is a high priority at all times.

What are the challenges when it comes to staffing the school?
Fortunately, staff tend to stay for a number of years so the turnover of teaching staff is low. Our greatest difficulty would be in recruiting well-qualified specialist staff, whether it be in the area of Sp.L.D. or TEACCH, who also have maturity and experience.
    
Other difficulties with support staff is the geographical location of the school. We are rural, set on the outskirts of two tiny villages some 12 miles from Salisbury so we try to recruit from the village population.

For more information
Web: www.appleford.wilts.sch.uk