RNIB Rushton Schoo and Chidren s Home Supporting chidren and young peope with compex needs and sight oss
About us Estabished in 1957, RNIB Rushton Schoo and Chidren s Home offers speciaist education, 52-week residentia care, therapies and heathcare for young peope up to the age of 19. Our on-site schoo aso offers education and therapies to a sma number of pupis who attend on a daiy basis. We support young peope who are bind or partiay sighted and have earning difficuties and disabiities (*P Leves 1 to 8). We aso support: Socia, emotiona or behavioura difficuties Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Physica disabiities Communication difficuties Additiona sensory impairment Additiona heath care needs. We can admit young peope from any area of the UK or, in exceptiona circumstances, from overseas. Day pupis usuay come from within easy daiy traveing distance of Coventry, where we are ocated. An offer wi be made subject to an initia assessment indicating that we can effectivey support an individua young person. Our current faciities accommodate 19 young peope with six additiona day paces. Redeveopment RNIB has embarked upon one of its most ambitious projects to date. We are repacing the existing site with state-of-theart faciities. The main phase of redeveopment is due for competion in 2011 and wi be purpose-buit, fuy accessibe for young peope with compex needs and sight oss. Architect s impression of the new faciity Our exciting new faciity wi provide a home for up to 60 young peope. The schoo wi provide education to a iving on site, as we as an additiona 10 day students. Young peope wi aso benefit from an on-site water therapy suite. Our aim is to create a provision that others wi emuate and to enabe more young peope across the UK to reach their fu potentia for earning, independence and fufiment in everyday ife. 2 rnib.org.uk/rushton
Contents Learning at Rushton........................................4 Curricuum.............................................4 Individua Education Pans................................5 Faciities..............................................6 Learning resources.......................................6 Living at Rushton..........................................7 Residentia faciities.....................................7 Staffing...............................................8 Care pans.............................................8 Socia and eisure opportunities.............................9 Heathcare and therapies...................................10 Heathcare pans.......................................10 Therapies.............................................11 How to appy.............................................12 rnib.org.uk/rushton 3
Learning at Rushton We beieve that earning shoud be enjoyabe and that the deveopment of the students is best served where they are activey engaged in and motivated by their work. Teaching takes pace in a variety of ways, with students taking part in one-to-one work, sma group sessions and whoe cass activities. Cass groups are kept to a sma number of six or seven pupis and are arranged by Key Stage. Staff within each cass incudes one teacher, a senior teaching assistant and a minimum of two additiona teaching assistants. Curricuum Our curricuum is theme/topic based and we ensure that it is broad, baanced and reevant. Students receive their entitement under the Nationa Curricuum. Our programmes of study are adapted to ensure suitabiity to individua needs and earning styes. Our curricuum deivery is supported with input from other speciaists, such as speech and anguage therapists and physiotherapists. Key Stages 1 to 4 A pupis between the ages of five and 16 foow the Nationa Curricuum Key Stages one to four. There are a number of ways in which we monitor and record pupis progress. One of these incudes PIVATs which heps us to assess achievement within the P-Leve Scaes so that we are abe to monitor a areas of teaching and earning. This system enabes targets to be set effectivey for individua pupis. 4 rnib.org.uk/rushton
Sixth Form The EQUALS Moving On curricuum is foowed by students in Sixth Form. This focuses on ife skis, vocationa studies and work experience, and knowedge and understanding of communities and cutures. The teaching of key skis is embedded within these subjects. This encourages a sense of progression and aows a focus on age appropriate activity and earning. This curricuum is externay moderated and eads to Certificates of Achievement provided by EQUALS. We are aso recognised by EQUALS as one of the nationa moderating centres for this curricuum. Individua Education Pans A the students have individua goas reated to their cognitive, sensory, communication, physica, persona and socia deveopment. Teachers deveop these goas, in conjunction with members of the muti-discipinary staff team and the targets form the basis of the students Individua Education Pans. These are discussed and shared with the students themseves, their parents or carers and, in the case of residents, with care staff. Individua Education Pans are monitored, adapted and updated on an ongoing basis. A safe, happy and joyous pace. Pupis are cared for and nurtured outstandingy we. Ofsted, 2009 rnib.org.uk/rushton 5
Faciities Separate cass areas are provided for young peope over the age of 16. Our current faciities offer a ibrary, a ight and sound room, a speciaist music area and a movement room to support both group and individua work. There are good faciities for the persona care of young peope and overhead tracking for hoists is provided in a areas. Corridors are wide and a areas are accessibe to wheechair users. We aim to provide an uncuttered environment in which partiay sighted young peope can use their remaining vision and their senses of touch, hearing and sme to deveop their orientation and mobiity skis. Avaiabe in 2011, our new schoo wi provide purpose-buit music rooms with appropriate acoustics and caming muti-sensory environments which wi encourage progression and promote understanding and earning. Learning resources RNIB Rushton is very we equipped with resources which enabe our students to access earning through a variety of aternative sensory means. Switches enabe them to operate a range of different equipment, and communication aids support aternative means of communication. We have exceent IT provision and students may access the internet to enhance and extend their earning. 6 rnib.org.uk/rushton
Living at Rushton We support young peope in deveoping their persona and socia independence to their own potentia. Our Chidren s Home currenty has four units, each providing a home for up to five young peope with sight oss and additiona compex needs. We provide a comfortabe and homey environment, which is both stimuating and supportive. Residentia faciities Each unit has a shared ounge, kitchen and dining area and access to outdoor pay areas. There is a sma payground area equipped with speciay adapted swings for wheechair users and mobie young peope. Bathrooms and persona care areas are we equipped and overhead tracking for hoists is provided in a areas used by the young peope. A the residentia areas are accessibe for individuas who are wheechair users or who have restricted mobiity. Each young person has their own bedroom which is made safe and persona to them, giving them their own private space. Famiies and carers are encouraged to hep make Rushton more famiiar to the young person, by providing items that remind them of their famiy and home, or that have a specia meaning. From 2011, we wi offer new bungaows each with six bedrooms, three bathrooms and ounge, quiet ounge, dining room, kitchen and gardens. Young peope wi aso have the opportunity to enjoy a new outdoor pay park. rnib.org.uk/rushton 7
Staffing The staffing structure of each unit has been estabished to ensure that the compex needs of the young peope are met. A residentia units have a designated team of staff which incudes a Unit Leader, Deputy Unit Leader and a dedicated team of Socia Care workers (incuding waking night staff) who provide 24 hour care. Care pans A young peope iving at Rushton have individua care pans which are written in the first person, making them as individua as they are. Individua care pans are compied by our care team based on the knowedge of the particuar young person to recognise their uniqueness and personaity, often demonstrating the young person s sense of humour. Some pans, such as Behaviour Management Pans, span across Rushton providing continuity of care across a of our services. Care pans are reguary reviewed to recognise deveopment and achievement as the young person grows and progresses. 8 rnib.org.uk/rushton
Socia and eisure opportunities We provide many opportunities for young peope to take part in eisure and reaxation activities. By offering access to a range of activities the young peope have the opportunity to deveop a sense of identity and enhance their sef-esteem. The young peope are invoved in panning and choosing their own eisure activities according to their needs and preferences. Activities incude attending footba matches, cinema and theatre, pop concerts, swimming, bowing, shopping and using oca restaurants. Every year, our young peope have the opportunity to go on hoiday with peers, accompanied by staff who are famiiar with their routines, wishes and needs. The expertise and care Tom has received at the schoo and home is exempary. The support he has received has heped him to deveop at so many eves in ways I woud never have thought possibe. Sue Tom s mum Oivia has done amazing things in the four years she s been here. She has fun, she s happy and it s made a difference to the whoe famiy s ife. Nataie Oivia s mum rnib.org.uk/rushton 9
Heathcare and therapies A young peope at Rushton have access to the highest eve of heathcare. Young peope who ive with us are registered with a oca Genera Practitioner (GP) and may have access to a visiting Paediatrician. The GP makes a weeky visit to the Chidren s Home and oca community heath services and hospita appointments are made as and when required. Based on-site are two behaviour speciaists trained in the care of peope with earning disabiities. They are professionay supported by our oca Primary Care Trust in North Warwickshire and by a network of feow professionas through Coventry University and other externa bodies. Care and Education staff are trained according to best practice protocos to meet individua young peope s heathcare needs. This training is carried out by our nurses, therapists and by staff from the Primary Care Trust. Heathcare pans Each young person iving at Rushton has a heathcare pan which forms part of their overa care pan. These pans detai how, and by whom, appropriate services are to be deivered. They are subject to reguar review and update. 10 rnib.org.uk/rushton
Therapies Our range of therapies enabes the young peope to access the curricuum and eisure activities more effectivey, and to maintain and extend their skis and capabiities. The foowing therapies are an integra part of the provision at Rushton: physiotherapy speech and anguage therapy music therapy occupationa therapy. Therapists and Therapy Assistants work cosey with education and care staff to ensure that therapy targets are fuy integrated into both individua education and care pans. We aso commission a cinica psychoogist to oversee and support our behavioura nurse speciaist s work with young peope. In 2011, young peope wi have access to an on-site water therapy suite with hydrotherapy poo and scope for a swimming poo. If Rushton didn t exist who knows what ife woud be ike for Anna and us, but I am very confident that it woud not have been anywhere near as joyfu as it is now. John Anna s father Fabian woud be ost if it wasn t for this pace. The way they ve deat with him, through patience and kindness, has reay heped. Jacqui Fabian s mum rnib.org.uk/rushton 11
How to appy To discuss paces or arrange an informa visit, pease contact: Liz Gutteridge RNIB Rushton Schoo and Chidren s Home Wheewright Lane Ash Green Coventry CV7 9RA Ca 024 7636 9531 Emai rushtoncontact@rnib.org.uk Visit rnib.org.uk/rushton This brochure is avaiabe in arge print, audio and braie. We can tak to you in your anguage about what we offer. Contact us and we wi ca you back with an interpreter. RNIB Hepine: 0303 123 9999 or emai hepine@rnib.org.uk Your direct ine to support, advice and products RNIB May 2010 Registered charity number 226227