Newsletter

Summer 2016

‘Outstandingly warm and respectful relationships between pupils and staff form the basis on which the pupils make good academic progress’. Ofsted, 2016

Dear Parents,

It has been an exciting term at Rainbow School. We have welcomed lots of visitors throughout the term, including Ofsted, who completed their inspection towards the end of June. The inspectors visited all areas of the school and observed nineteen teaching sessions in total! The inspectors even visited the local supermarket with one of our Sixth Form students to see how our tutors teach in the community. They were impressed with the school, students, and staff. As a school we are delighted with the report. It is an excellent reflection of all our hard work and we believe it highlights our strengths well, including their judgement of ‘Outstanding’ for our personal development, behaviour and welfare of children and young people. A copy of the report has been sent home with your child, but it can also be read on the Rainbow School and Ofsted websites.

The summer term has included many trips, from a bowling alley to Hampton Court. However, the highlight was our whole school residential trip to Stubbers Adventure Centre. It was a fantastic few days and a unique opportunity for our pupils. Activities ranged from grass sledging and quad biking to powerboating and jet skiing! All the students and staff had a wonderful time and many memories to share. You can see more photos of the trip on the BeyondAutism Facebook Group.

Our pupils have been working very hard this year and I am delighted to inform you that we have 13 pupils who have successfully completed the ASDAN Entry 1 Personal Progress, and one student who has completed the Entry 1 Personal and Social Development qualification!

It was wonderful to welcome so many parents to our Mother’s and Father’s Day Assemblies. Rich LeRoy and Phillippa Pickering led two fantastic assemblies celebrating our pupil’s mums and dads.

We are extremely grateful to the SAP Foundation for awarding the Upper School a generous grant of £10,000 for new IT equipment. The grant will go towards supplying individual iPads for our Year 10, 11 and Sixth Form students, so they can record and evidence their strengths while in and around the community. SAP is an organisation that is creating pathways to employment for people with autism around the world.

At the end of any academic year there will always be people who are moving on, exploring new opportunities and taking on new challenges. This year is no different. We are grateful for how hard all our staff work, and we wish the very best for all those who are leaving us at the end of term.

We hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable summer break, and we look forward to welcoming you back on the 5th September 2016.

Bennie Lesch David Anthony Head of Lower School Head of Upper School Newsletter

Stubbers Residential Trip

During the week of the 4th July pupils attended a residential trip to Stubbers Adventure Centre in Upminster, Essex. Each class spent a night and two days at the centre and took part in a range of exciting activities whilst there, including grass sledging, quad biking, team challenges, bell boats and speed boat rides. Everyone really enjoyed the trip, with many of our students experiencing new challenges for the first time like going on a jet ski!! It was also the first night away from home for many of our students, and everyone coped really well.

Staff worked with real dedication to make this trip a success, encouraging all of our students to have lots of fun, and working really hard to make sure that each child was able to access all of the activities. It was amazing to see the engagement between staff and students, and the amount of care and support there is in school for our students.

Our members of staff who volunteered in the kitchen worked relentlessly to ensure that everyone was well catered for food wise and did a fantastic job of supporting specialized dietary requirements.

Quote from Kirsten, Max’s mum:

‘We think Max really enjoyed it and clearly so did the staff. We were satisfied that Max was safe and happy and well cared for with the people he knew and that knew him. For us parents it was a real opportunity to just relax and recuperate. Max had never been away from us both and we would normally not entertain that thought, but we knew he was in safe hands. We were completely chilled out!’

Highlights from the summer term

As we approach the summer break, it is lovely to have the opportunity to look back on some of the highlights from the term. Our annual parent open days at the end of June were a great success. It was a wonderful opportunity for parents to observe their child’s programme in the context of a school day. We’ve also had a lovely assembly for Father's Day and another Jack Petchey Award nomination phase.

BeyondAutism and Rainbow School were represented with their own stands at the Wandsworth Fayre in May and the Autism Show in June, meeting parents and professionals and showcasing our services. We were delighted to have an opportunity to present at the Autism Show. Our Head of Upper School, David Anthony, presented in the Hub Theatre on the topic of ‘Post 16: Launching Lives, through the teaching of the whole child’, the session was well attended and it was great exposure for the organisation.

Last Friday our Year 11 and Sixth Form students enjoyed their special leavers assembly and prom. Several of our Year 11 students have successfully completed their Entry 1 Diploma in Personal Progress from ASDAN. We are very proud of their achievements.

We now look forward to an action packed sports day and achievement assemblies on Thursday to round off a wonderful term.

Newsletter

Term Dates 2016/2017 Jack Petchey Awards

Summer 2016 Since 1999, the Jack Petchey foundation has given £100 million to support youth projects and Term ends: Fri 22nd July at 12.30pm reward achievement. Almost 2,000 schools, Autumn 2016 colleges and youth organisations throughout London and the UK run the Achievement Award Term starts: Mon 5th September scheme, and this is the first time we have ever

(Inset day: 1st and 2nd September) run the scheme here at Rainbow School.

Half Term: Mon 24th - Fri 28th October Each term we have held nominations for the Term ends: Fri 16th December at 12.30pm Jack Petchey Achievement Award. This award is for a pupil who has made outstanding Spring 2017 progress in the term. This year the awards have Term starts: Fri 6th January been given to Oliver Clark, William Kotey and Jonah Fox. They are all very well-deserved (Inset day: 4th and 5th January) winners. Half Term: Mon 13th - Fri 17th February This year’s staff Jack Petchey Leader Award Term ends: Fri 31st March at 12.30pm was awarded to Rich LeRoy. Summer 2017 We hope to be elevated to the silver scheme Term starts: Tues 18th April next year which will mean we can distribute

(Easter Monday Bank Holiday: 17th April) more awards each year.

Bank Holiday: Mon 1st May

Bank Holiday: Mon 29th May

Half Term: Mon 5th - Fri 9th June Staff Training and conferences

(Inset day: 12th June) It has been a busy term for staff training. A number Term ends: Fri 28th July at 12.30pm of new staff have been trained in Team Teach, two members of teaching staff attended an ASDAN training day and Chloe Watkins delivered SaLT training to all staff. Two extra members of staff attended the Wandsworth safeguarding training for Parent training new Designated Safeguarding Persons and the Heads of School were trained to become the This term we aired a parent training webinar Designated Safeguarding Leads. David Anthony on ‘Sexuality & Sexuality Instruction with also completed Safer Recruitment training and adult Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorders’. safeguarding training. First Aiders and Class We also hosted a coffee morning in late April Leaders have been trained in how to administer which included information on accessing medication effectively.

support for disabled children, including short Following the success of the Makaton parent training breaks and respite. In June we held a parent in the past term, Cat Bradly will be running a information session on sleep disorders, which Makaton Beginners Workshop with staff next term, was led by Luci Wiggs from Oxford Brooks which provides a practical introduction to the University. We hope you have found these Makaton Language Programme. Sessions include discussing commonly asked questions, hints and sessions helpful. tips for effective signing and symbol use and how to start using Makaton in everyday situations at home or work.

School nurse We are delighted to announce that Mikaela Green has passed her studies and is now a qualified Wandsworth are supplying a school nurse BCBA. We would also like to congratulate Matt Le Blanc and Cat Brackstone who have completed their from September. The nurse will carry out teacher training. termly visits to train staff and audit our systems - with a total of 6 visits a year. Newsletter

Leavers assembly and prom

Last Friday we celebrated with Violet Class as they graduate and move into Sixth Form. The leavers assembly was a fantastic celebration of all of their achievements and they all looked so handsome in their graduation hats! We are sad to say goodbye to Gabriel as he moves on from Rainbow School to West Thames College where we are confident he will continue to excel. Violet Class and Sixth Form, along with a multitude of staff members, enjoyed their prom hosted in the school hall. The students made all of the food and drink themselves and enjoyed the DJ set from Heart n Soul – a charity that provides discos for individuals with special needs. The students loved having a go on the DJ decks and danced their socks off! What a fantastic way to celebrate the students achievements and end the school year!

Wandsworth Safeguarding Children Staffing and recruitment Board (WSCB) Welcome to… ABA Tutors Clare Cummins, Paula Gonzalez Fernadez, Chinwe Atumto, Tammy Saville- David Anthony, Head of Upper School, now Tucker, Estefania Tessier Mendez, Carlos Pinero represents Rainbow School at the WSCB Fernandez, Nicola Stanley, Chevonie Bonner-Phipps, Network Board Meetings with professionals Jazuela Wall, Nadia Richards, Yu Jin Kim, Ruben from across the borough. The meetings are Deodato and Martina Maggiolini! termly events and they provide a wealth of information on safeguarding in addition to Goodbye to… Charlotte B, Rebecca V, Krisztina K, strengthening our presence in Wandsworth. Sarah H, Eileen U, Isabel B, Eleni P, Alin L, Hang N, Cat Brackstone, Cat Bradly, Michelle K, Kloe L, Natalia K, Paulina P, Jessica M-L, Anna D-G, Nana S, Sophie F, Alice R, Adela H, Barbara S, Paula G-F, Giulia L, Megan P and Rachael B. We also say a Upcoming events fond farewell to Emma Sankey, EA to Heads of Services, Bennie Lesch, Head of Lower School and The next parent priority meeting with Tracie Amy Lewis, Head of Outreach, ABA Practice and Linehan will be on Thursday 8th September Development. Thank you to each and every one of from 9.30-11am in the hall at Spencer Park - you for all your hard work and good luck in your 48 North Side Wandsworth Common. At this future endeavours! meeting there will be a chance for parents to

We are pleased to confirm we have recruited Kieran meet the new members of the SLT and Tracie Bird, who will be taking over Bennie’s duties as the will also respond to staff turnover concerns. Head of Lower School. In addition, we have recruited There is a letter with an RSVP slip attached to Emma Price as our new Head of Pastoral. In her role this newsletter - please complete and return to as Head of Pastoral, Emma will also be joining the school or RSVP by email to: SLT, with a focus on PSHE and Safeguarding. [email protected] Newsletter

Highlights of the term Red Class

Red Class have had an excellent summer term, and have settled in to our new classroom at Garratt Lane. The pupils have enjoyed having more space, and in particular running around and playing on our rooftop playground. This term we have explored the topics of ‘living things’ and ‘holidays’ through activities set up as part of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. These topics have been perfect for the summer term, and have allowed us to get outside and explore our environment. In Summer 1 we got some class caterpillars that we fed and watched grow, form a chrysalis and turn into butterflies. We read the book ‘The very hungry caterpillar’ and enjoyed seeing the changes happening in our new classroom pets. Once they had turned into butterflies we took them to our playground and released them in to the wild. All the pupils enjoyed watching the butterflies flying off to explore their new life. In Summer 2 we also were lucky enough to visit ‘NatureScope’ on Wandsworth Common where we got to explore nature some more by going on a nature walk, going pond dipping and going mini-beast hunting. We saw lots of different creatures including ducks, swans, geese, newts, flies, woodlice, and worms. We also had two more days in nature with the whole-school trip to Stubbers. Although we were sad not all of our classmates could join us, those who came loved experiencing all of the activities and enjoyed their first trip away from home. Red Class wish everyone a happy and fun summer holiday.

Orange Class

Summer term has been excellent for Orange Class! A very memorable event of this term has been the amazing opportunity to visit the NatureScope Centre where the pupils participated in pond dipping and observed bugs and insects through magnifying glasses. We also went for a stroll along the Wandsworth Park and came across ducks and swans. Following the summer topic “Living Things” we participated in various activities related to the topic, including making “The very hungry caterpillar” from cucumber, tomatoes and beans. We also took part in summer activities related to the holidays theme, such as building sandcastles using colourful buckets and exploring sea shells hidden in the sand.

Yellow Class

The summer term is always an exciting one and this year has been no exception. Yellow Class have enjoyed trips to the Horniman Museum, the very exciting overnight trip to Stubbers and are also due to go on an outing to the Magic Garden at Hampton Court. The trip to Magic Garden will be a treat for Yellow Class from William, who won money to spend on his class following winning the Jack Petchey award. William was nominated for being helpful around the class, making excellent progress with his vocals and making such good progress across his program. In Food Tech this half term Yellow Class have been learning to make healthy smoothies – we made them different colours by using different fruits. The red smoothie was berry based, the green one had spinach and green grapes in and the yellow one was mango and banana. Most of the class tried them although for some just a sip was enough! Yellow Class have also taken part in the Discovery certificate which is an art award. The theme was African Art and this involved looking at work from different artists, and using a range of art mediums including collage and painting. The class also had to share their work with their friends and look at each other’s work in return. Newsletter

Highlights of the term Green Class

This summer term has been an exciting and an eventful one. Green Class really enjoyed the themes of ‘space’ and ‘holidays’ and have worked brilliantly together as a team, creating their display and exploring different materials. In the first half of the summer term Green Class learnt how to create their own smoothies in Food Technology, using different fruits. All of Green Class worked really hard on improving their self-help skills such as cutting fruits safely. Some of the pupils really enjoyed the smoothies, others weren’t so keen! Whilst learning about ‘Space’, each pupil in Green Class enjoyed creating their own rocket, using different coloured papers and loved to listen to our story ‘Man on the Moon’ on a Friday afternoon during Storytime. The second half of the summer term was another fantastic one for Green Class. Besides creating a holiday scene for the class display during Art every Wednesday afternoon and going on a class trip to the Horniman Museum, Green Class loved being able to go on a mini holiday with the whole school to Stubbers. Although we were sad that not everyone could join the trip, those who were able to come loved experiencing different activities, such as grass sledging, kayaking and enjoying pure nature. Green Class wishes everyone a happy and exciting summer holiday.

Light Blue Class

Light Blue Class have had another excellent summer term. We have focused on two different topics including ‘earth and beyond’ and ‘holiday travels’. Light Blue Class have worked hard during their art sessions to create a fantastic art display which explores the different planets found in the universe. This term has also seen us celebrate events such as Father’s day with a special assembly. The pupils created their own designs on ties to give to their Dad’s.

This half term we have focused on sessions based around transport. Light Blue Class have been learning to read different words and numbers found in the community and around school. We have also had a focused PSHE group based on identifying different community workers, and the pupils have been creating different vehicles for these workers.

Light Blue have had a great summer term and are looking forward to the holidays and starting again in September! Newsletter

Highlights of the term

Dark Blue Class

Dark Blue Class have had a great summer term with lots of learning around our themes of Space in Summer 1 and Holidays in Summer 2. As part of our space theme the class made different art projects for the class display including paper roll rockets, dot paintings of stars and papier mache planets. The students made their own work and took pride in displaying it on the wall. In the second half of term the class have had weekly food tech lessons and have been learning to make smoothies with different fruits. Apples and bananas have been a big favourite to chop up and blend. The students all worked together to make their smoothie, with everyone cutting their own fruit, using the blender and talking about what they liked. During PHSE lessons the class have been looking at community helpers that we can talk to such as police, firefighters and doctors. In music sessions we learnt songs about superheroes for the Father’s day assembly which quickly became some of the class’s favourites. The class have also participated in science activities this term, relating to light, dark and forces. They have explored making shadows and silhouettes with different objects using lights. They have also experimented with different objects to see which ones will roll and used magnets to find magnetic objects. Overall it has been a great term for Dark Blue Class with everyone learning and having fun.

Indigo Class

Indigo Class have had a great term. The pupils have all excelled when we have taken their learning outside of school. With regular visits to Sainsbury’s, ASDA and sweet shops our pupils have been able to learn vital life skills such as appropriate walking, reading bus timetables, making a shopping list, crossing the road safely, buying products and using the self-service machines...the list goes on and on!

Pupils have also gained a lot of confidence in navigating around the community, going swimming, entering a dark cinema and getting on buses.

A highlight of the term for Indigo Class was the Stubbers trip. Everyone had a turn on the quadbikes, grass sledges, jet skis and power boats and thoroughly enjoyed their time.

The class also had a really enjoyable trip to the Science Museum. The pupils enjoyed looking at the exhibits in the museum, and everyone tried on 3D glasses to watch an amazing 3D motion picture about our universe. Newsletter

Highlights of the term

Violet Class

Violet Class have had a tremendous term with multiple trips and many achievements! Rainbow café has been a roaring success over the summer term with our newly adapted menu – the students have been becoming more and more independent in their preparation and serving of the food and the customers always receive a warm welcome! Violet Class loved their recent trip to the Oxygen Free Jumping trampoline park where we jumped, battled on the gladiator bar and flew into the huge foam pit. The train ride to and from was also a hit! All of the students in Violet Class this term achieved their Entry Level ASDAN qualification in personal progress – a fantastic achievement and a qualification to be proud of! With the end of term just around the corner, our students say goodbye to secondary school and move on to 6th Form – a sad goodbye but an exciting opportunity to develop their independence and academic skills. We are looking forward to a restful summer break and an exciting autumn term!

6th Form

6th Form have had a great year! We have taken part in many activities within the community including an educational placement within Lambeth College for the students to take part in cooking classes. We have also been focused on work experience this year, gearing up our students to enter the world of work with placements at the Platform 1 cafe, the Stepping On Out card shop in Teddington, and recently at a Scope charity shop. This summer we have also been visiting Roots and Shoots gardening centre in Kennington. Staff at the centre teach our students about environmental issues, and they also learn gardening skills. This term we have learnt about basic gardening tools, as well as creating seed bombs and learning about how they can be used to populate empty fields. 6th Form have also been working hard in school. Students have been taking part in functional group lessons which have focused on kitchen skills, using money, travel and transport. These topics involve learning several different skills, from reading functional words whilst using transport, to functional maths skills like reading the bus arrival time, or being able to recognise different coin values. Over all it has been a fantastic year, filled with many brilliant activities and opportunities for our students! Newsletter

A word from the charity

Tracie Linehan, CEO

Wow! What a term. The school fully excelled themselves with a fantastic Ofsted, the pupils had an amazing time at Stubbers and the fundraising for our new Tram House building is over half way towards our target of £1.5m. We are continuing to deliver our Outreach and Training service and are taking the first exciting steps towards a post-19 college provision. There is much to celebrate on our journey of Empowering People and Launching Lives. I hope you all have a lovely summer holiday and I look forward to seeing you in September.

Tram House update We are delighted to announce that so far this year we have raised £763,000 towards the Tram House Appeal – that’s over half of our £1.5m fundraising target! Thank you very much to all parents who have supported the appeal to date, whether by making a donation, supporting our annual charity quiz night, or contributing to our charity film and case studies! Over the next academic year, we will be working hard to raise the balance, and will be holding a number of events to fundraise for the new school – not only challenge events , but a new series of events hosted by friends of the charity! Watch this space for ways in which you can take part.

Octopus Foundation As part of our ongoing partnership with Octopus Investments, the Octopus Foundation has given BeyondAutism a very generous donation of £65,000 in support of our Tram House Appeal, bringing their total support for BeyondAutism in 2015/16 to a whopping £73,646! They are also supporting the charity and school with their time: reading to students on World Book Day, helping to run Sports Day, taking photographs at Prom and sending volunteers on class trips. In the autumn, they hope to be hosting a work experience student from Rainbow School, and also holding a charity Halloween abseil event in their building in Holborn to raise further funds for our new school. Fancy dress and heights, what could be scarier! Let us know if this is something you’d be interested in.

SAP Software SAP Software, who have made a commitment to hire 1% of their global workforce from the autistic spectrum through its Autism at Work scheme, has awarded £10,000 to Beyond Autism to purchase new mobile IT equipment for the Upper School. This will buy a Macbook, 24 iPads, 8 iPod touches and 8 sets of headphones. They have also entered three runners in our Royal Parks Half Marathon team, with one runner also taking on the Three Peaks Challenge and Tough Mudder in support of the charity!

Quiz The quiz night in May was a fantastic success and we raised over £12,500 for the Tram House Appeal. Thank you very much to all those who attended and contributed to the raffle, we couldn’t have done it without you!

Superhero Run We had a great day in May watching our Superheroes run through Regents Park in costume. Our Superhero staff running team managed to raise a fantastic £3250, with all proceeds going towards the Rainy Day Fund to be used to purchase much-needed equipment for the school.

Royal Parks Half Marathon – 9th October We’re delighted to say that we have filled our places for this October’s Royal Parks Half Marathon. Please send a donation their way if you can, and come along on the 9th October to cheer them on! All proceeds will be used to support the Tram House Appeal.

Rainbow School facebook.com/BeyondAutism 48 North Side Wandsworth Common London SW18 2SL twitter.com/BeyondAutismUK Tel: 020 3031 9700 beyondautism.org.uk