Darell School Special Unit
   

Darell Special Unit caters for children with learning difficulties from across the borough of Richmond. The special unit takes up to ten Statemented children between the ages of four and seven, referred to us by the Special Educational Needs Panel of the local education authority.

The unit has its own classroom with toilet facilities. It provides the children with a period of intensive teaching targeted at their individual needs. All the children have Individual Education Plans and speech and language targets as appropriate. Teaching is individual and in small groups, and the children are encouraged to learn to work independently where possible.

Independent learning

Staff

The staff includes a full-time teacher, a part-time teacher (1.5 days a week). There are two part time welfare assistants who operate a job share. They support the teaching staff and look after the children in the playground. They both hold first aid certificates. There is an allocated supervisor who looks after the children at lunchtime. The special unit also has a speech and language therapist, provided by the health authority, who works weekly with the unit staff on programmes tailored to the needs of individual children. The staff also liaise with other support services such as occupational therapy, physiotherapy and the educational psychology service. The school nurse also visits the special unit and liaises closely with staff.

Curriculum

The children follow a broad topic-based curriculum which meets the requirements of the Foundation Stage and National Curriculum at an appropriate level. We work intensively to develop basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics and we use a balance of group and individual work designed to encourage language development and social skills.

Role play	"Finding out" in maths

We have a daily snack time, weekly cooking and swimming sessions and have access to an outdoor learning area.

We enrich the curriculum with a wide range of trips and visits. We have a lesson each week with a specialist music teacher and we also visit the Croft Centre at least once every half term for sessions in the activity room, sensory room and for music therapy.

A visit to the Croft Centre	Performing for the school

The children join in school assemblies and take their turn in leading a class assembly where work is shown to the whole school and to parents.

Integration

The children are very much a part of the Darell School Community. The join the mainstream children for playtimes and lunch times, assemblies, performances and other school events.

Each child has a programme of integration. The unit group, with the staff, joins a mainstream class for PE each week and individual children may have additional integration sessions into classes if appropriate. Individual integration is always discussed and agreed with parents beforehand. Groups of mainstream children also join the children from the special unit for some sessions as part of our integration programme.

Involving parents

Here at Darell, we are committed to working in partnership with parents. Staff are available to talk to parents at any reasonable time before or after the school day and appointments are always available during the week for longer meetings if required. All children have a home/school diary so that information can be passed daily between home and school. Parents and friends are invited to class assemblies and performances. As well as annual reviews, termly meetings are held to discuss the children’s progress towards meeting their educational targets. Parents are welcome to visit the classroom and look at the children’s work at any time. We are always pleased to have parents helping out in the classroom and all parents are very welcome to become involved in PTA activities.

Transport

Richmond Education Authority provides transport for some children, depending on where they live, together with an escort to supervise the children between school and home. The escort brings the children directly to the special unit staff and collects them from the classroom at the end of the day. At no time are the children left unsupervised.

Transfer

Each child’s learning is closely monitored. Formal meetings with parents are held regularly so that all concerned can discuss progress and decisions can be taken on the appropriate next steps for the child. When a child is ready to move on to another educational setting his/her transfer is carefully planned.

Some of the children transfer into mainstream education, some go on to other special settings. The transfer from the unit is managed according to each child’s needs.

Please contact the school if you would like to arrange a visit:

Darell Unit
Darell Primary School,
Darell Road,
Richmond
Surrey TW9 4LQ

Tel: 020 8876 6721

Teacher in charge :Sue Morton
Part-time teacher : Sue Newman
Welfare assistants : Jill Regan, Faith Polya
Lunchtime supervisor :Jo New
Speech and language therapist : Katie Yoe

Updated February 2007