VOLUME 2  •  TERM 4 • 2019

THE BSM CHRONICLES

T E R M L Y U P D A T E O N E D U C A T I O N A L P R O V IS IO N S U N D E R TH E B R U N E L S E N M A T

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IN THIS ISSUE: WELCOME
BY CEO JACKIE SMITH

What a fabulous, action packed term we have had across the

WORLD BOOK DAY Brunel SEN MAT. From the fantastic costumes on Red Nose Day to
the funky odd socks raising awareness of World Down's Syndrome
Day. It is great to see our children and young people having such a
RED NOSE DAY
wide range of opportunities and enjoying their learning.

A TRIP TO AVEBURY The ambition that Brunel SEN MAT staff have for the children and
young people is obvious and the children and young people
flourish because of this aspiration.
CHURCHWARD SCHOOL
I would like to thank all parents and carers for continuing to
UPDATE support us and work with us to ensure your child or young person
has the best opportunities now and in the future.
+ MORE!
Happy Easter!

Jackie Smith, CEO

BSM NEWS
BASIS
BASIS Access Day
The Vision Support and Assistive
Technology Teams from BASIS
were involved in organising and
running Access Day in February.
Children and young people who
have difficulties accessing
mainstream sport are invited to
such events twice a year. The
winter event currently takes
place at The Oasis.
The event went very well with
lots of positive feedback.
Particularly significant was the
feedback from Helena Robinson,
SBC Service Lead – Community
Health and Wellbeing:
BRIMBLE HILL SCHOOL
New Minibus for Brimble Pupils
Brimble Hill School are very pleased
to announce that they have been
successful in their application for a
new Variety Club mini bus.
Crest Nicholson have agreed to be
the sponsor for this and the school
is looking forward to the arrival of
the new bus after the Easter
Holiday.
Brimble Training Update
Brimble Hill held a staff training day
on 15 February. Staff either
“I had the pleasure of popping
along to Access Day on Friday
and the privilege of being able to
watch and in some cases stop
and talk to you and the children.
The atmosphere was electric and
I was overwhelmed by the level
of participation and interaction
taking place. Everywhere I went,
children and their carers were
smiling, laughing and clearly
having a wonderful time”.
participated in Team Teach
refresher training or completed a
paediatric first aid course.
Many thanks to Lucy and Lou,
Brimble's in house trainers for the
team teach update.
Red Noses at Brimble
Brimble Hill celebrated Red Nose
Day by ‘Wear what makes you
happy’.
Staff and pupils wore favourite
clothes, festive clothing, fancy
Job Spotlight
ARC ALL ABOARD NURSERY –
NURSERY MANAGER
Hours: 37 hours per week (Nursery is
open 48 weeks per year between
8:00am – 6:00pm) For the right
person we are prepared to consider
flexible working arrangements e.g.
part time/term time.
Salary Scale: Q Scale – from
£30,754 FTE (this salary will be pro-
rata if flexible option taken)
Start Date: June 2019
 
As our ARC All Aboard SEN Nursery
manager you will work with your
team to further develop an enabling
environment where children aged 3-
4 presenting with behaviours that
indicate they have social
communication and interaction
needs can be assessed and
supported to develop and grow. You
will use your leadership skills,
knowledge, expertise and passion for
quality early learning experiences to
deliver a programme of support for
children and families that helps them
all to be ready to for their learning
and social journey ahead.
Closing Date: 12th April 2019
Contact: hr@brunelsenmat.org.uk
dress or favourite sports teams.
What a great way to smile share
and shine with others what makes
us happy.
Worms Wonderful Worms
Brimble Hill school received a
donation of a hand built wormery
from the Sodexo grounds
maintenance team.
The children had great fun filling it
with soil and plants during their
outdoor learning session supported
by students from Marlborough
College.
 THE CHALET SCHOOL
World Book Day at Chalet School!
Phase 1 have been celebrating
World Book Day in lots of different
ways. The children bought their
favourite books in from home and
enjoyed reading them in class. The
children had some special snacks
as they read!
They also enjoyed reading outside
in reading dens that they built!
Becky, Phase One leader and
Stingray class teacher, led a World
Book Day assembly and everyone
acted out ‘We’re Going on a Bear
Hunt’.
Phase 2 engaged in lots of activities
about reading. Starfish and
Octopus classes joined together to
share books with peers and watch
stories on the interactive
whiteboard. They were able to
make choices about which books
they wanted to look at.
Seahorse class spent some of the
afternoon making bookmarks
and sharing books. They
identified favourite characters
within books and some children
even dressed up as characters.
Shark class read books
independently, in pairs and in
small groups. They completed
book reviews about their
favourite books and
demonstrated how they can read
everywhere…including on the bus
to swimming!
Thank you to the 21 parent/
carers and families (just over a
third of parents across the
school) who took up our invitation
to join their child for an afternoon
of ‘Relax and Read’.
Chalet to the Rescue!
Some Phase 2 children from The
Chalet School recently had the
opportunity to visit the Wiltshire
Air Ambulance.
Above: Chalet pupils observing the helicopters
They were lucky enough to see
the helicopter taking off and
landing during the visit. They also
saw one of the air ambulances in
the hanger waiting to be serviced.
During the visit, pupils learnt
many first aid skills including
performing CPR, how to put
somebody in the recovery
position and how to help
somebody if they are choking.
Children heard about the high
costs that are involved in
providing this service and the
importance of fundraising. Pupils
were keen to think of fundraising
ideas and would like to organise
this later in the year.
All the pupils involved were really
motivated and all received a
certificate to show what they had
learnt. Well done to everybody!
 THE CHALET SCHOOL
Chalet School's Parent
Engagement
Chalet's Headteacher is enjoying
getting to know the parents more
at the termly Parent/Carer &
Family Forum meetings which
are held 6 times a year.
The latest gathering was on 12
March and Eddie Roofe (current
parent and former governor of
the school) gave up his time to
share with parents the benefits of
playing table tennis with their
children e.g. it’s a great stress
buster (as we found out).
Eddie is a table tennis coach by
trade and we experienced first-
hand the fun to be had playing
the game with each other and it
sparked the interest in one
parent to introduce the activity to
their child in the home. The
headteacher is committed to
introducing lunch-time table-
tennis for the pupils in the
summer term.
So far this year the parents have
had the opportunity to attend the
meetings and listen to a range of
speakers including the school’s
speech and language therapists,
the Occupational therapist and
Kirk Anderson (Community Nurse
and expert in ASC) talk about the
impact of autism on behaviour.
The next gathering will be on the
morning of 24 May and will be a
gardening taster session held in
Chalet's wonderful school garden
and led by Forest Schools leader,
Ruth Parsons. Some parents have
shown an interest in wanting to
know more about what their
children experience in this outdoor
learning environment and will
experience for themselves the
holistic benefits of being outside
and learning in nature.
The headteacher plans to consult
with parents before the end of the
year via an online parent
questionnaire on what focus they
would like at next year’s meetings,
frequency and location so that
everyone has been listened to.
Chalet now has a Suggestions Box
in their main school entrance after
a suggestion from a few parents
via the Online Parent Questionnaire
sent out in the autumn term.
Job Spotlight
UPLANDS SCHOOL
TEACHING ASSISTANT
Hours: 29.5 hours per week
Scale: K3 – K7
Start Date: ASAP
Contract: Fixed Term
Successful candidate will:
- Be committed to meeting the needs of SEN
pupils
- Be an effective communicator
- Be highly motivated
- Have an ability to remain calm when dealing
with challenging behaviour
- Be flexible
- Enthusiastically participate in all training
opportunities
We require candidates to have a good level
of flexibility and a reasonable level of fitness
as lifting and exercise may be a part of your
everyday role.
Closing Date: 15th April 2019
Interviews: 24th April 2019
To apply, contact: hr@brunelsenmat.org.uk
CHURCHWARD SCHOOL
TEACHER
Grade: Main Teacher Scale + SEN 1
Start Date: September 2019
SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES WILL:
• Have Qualified Teacher Status
• Have experience of working with children
with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC)/Social
Communication and Interaction Difficulties
(SCID) (this is an advantage but is not
essential);
• Have excellent Communication and
Numeracy skills;
• Have the ability to use ICT effectively to
support teaching and learning;
• Have an enthusiastic, imaginative and
caring approach to children with Special
Educational Needs and Disabilities;
• Be able to work as part of a team and build
positive relationships;
• Have high expectations of pupils’
achievements relating to learning,
independence and behaviour;
Closing Date: 7th May 2019
Interviews: 13th May 2019
To apply, contact: hr@brunelsenmat.org.uk
CHURCHWARD SCHOOL
“I am my own muse"
This term in Churchward's Art
Class, Luther-King Class had the
opportunity to explore the work
of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo
and learn about the life and work
of this famous painter.
The students used clay to
reproduce one of her favourite
animals…monkeys!
Churchward's budding young
artists came up with lots of
different versions of this funny
and cheeky animal.
Inclusive Artists
On Thursday 14 March five
students from Churchward chose
to watch a performance at the
Wyvern Theatre.  The
performance was part of the
‘Reach Inclusive Arts’ group.
Above: Churchward students standing with stones at Avebury
There were performances from explored inside the Neolithic
Uplands School, Crowdys Hill tomb. Students also enjoyed
School and Commoneweal jumping in muddy puddles! A
School. For many of the our great day out from the classroom
students it was their first time at well done boys!
the Wyvern and it was great to
watch other young people Masks of Africa
perform. Hawking Class at Churchward
School have been making African
Perhaps next year it will be masks in Art. It was a two week
Churchward students on the project involving design, paper
stage! mache, and decoration.
Avebury Adventures Students also learned about the
On Wednesday 13 March history of the use of masks in
Churchward's Hawking class went Africa.
to Avebury to support their topic
of Civilisations. It was an
extremely windy day with a bit of
rain and it certainly made a
memorable trip!
Students enjoyed looking at the
stones and learning about the
history. They walked to the West
Kennet Long barrow and
 CHURCHWARD SCHOOL
Planning for Churchward school's new building is making great progress and we are all very excited to share with
you an update from the Headteacher and Chairperson as well as some images and a video tour of the school!
Dave Dearsley, Headteacher of
Churchward School, tells us more
about the plans and what this
new school means to the
students, families and community
as a whole:
"To open a free school is an
amazing achievement for all
involved and huge thanks must
go to the families and local
community who believed in, and
supported us along the way.  We
now have the privilege to create
outstanding educational
Above: A plan of what the new Churchward building will look like
opportunities for students with
complex needs so they can learn
and develop to their full potential.
Having a purpose designed building
will go a long way to support our
students and help staff manage the
environment, something not
possible before.  This is an
extremely exciting journey for us
and one that we hope will enhance
the lives of not just the students
who attend Churchward School but
those around them as well.
The building offers a blend of
therapeutic supportive rooms
alongside general classroom
spaces designed to support the
academic, social and emotional
progress of the students.
There are break out rooms
attached to classrooms and safe
external areas for students to learn
to regulate their emotions and
actions.  What also sets this building
apart from others is the specialist
teaching rooms that are integrated into
the design.
Students will have the opportunity to
learn cooking skills, art, design, science,
music, drama and dance in dedicated
spaces.  The whole building has been
created with flexibility in mind and can
adapt to the ever changing and diverse
range of student’s needs to ensure that
they have every opportunity to make
the next steps in their lives – whatever
they may be."
TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR!
Click the image below
(www.brunelsenmat.org.uk/News/Churchward-School-New-Build)
 CHURCHWARD SCHOOL
My name is Del Fry and I am the
chairperson of Churchward
School's Local Governing
Committee.
At our most recent meeting we said
goodbye to Fiona Clark who stood
down from the committee. Many of
you will know Fiona as the Head
Teacher at Uplands School, an
outstanding school in the BSM.
What you may not have known is
that Fiona has been with
Churchward from the very
beginning and was project lead
when the idea of opening a new
Above: More views of the planned Churrchward building
school for Swindon’s ASC learners open in September of 2020. Our new
was first muted. We wish Fiona purpose built school will offer students
well and thank her for all of her unrivalled opportunities to learn in a
hard work over the last three state of the art building. The school
years. which is being built under the free
school programme is specifically
While saying goodbye to one designed for students with ASC and
governor, we welcomed Elise associated learning disabilities.
Jackson to our committee. Elise,
who is a teaching assistant at If you would like to talk about our new
Churchward, joins us as our new school you can contact me at this
staff governor. At our most recent address:
meeting we had reports on chair@churchwardschool.org.uk.
finance, a headteachers report
and a presentation on the Thrive Or our headteacher Dave Dearsley at:
approach to learning. We as ddearsley@churchwardschool.org.uk
governors were very impressed
with this new initiative at
Churchward and we firmly believe
that Thrive will enable our students
to better engage with learning and
will therefore lead to better
outcomes.
Finally we had an update on the
new building being planned for
Churchward School which is due to
 UPLANDS SCHOOL

text

Above: Pinocchio enjoying his favourite book on World Book Day

Uplands Celebrates World peers and for some, this was a It was an outstanding and
Book Day in Style big test of their self-confidence.  unique opportunity for our
The day was a great success for The more IT savvy students students to be part of such a
Uplands School, in a large part shared book reading apps with prestigious event, to which they
due to the fabulous participation others and demonstrated how fully committed themselves, the
by students and staff alike, and they could be used to follow a rehearsals, preparations, and
due to the meticulous planning narrative without the support of then the actual performance.
by Chris James, teacher of an adult.
Hawk Class. Their individual personalities and
In the afternoon classes enjoyed skills shone, only to be even
The prize for the best student a shared story writing experience more appreciated with the
costume went to Kyle together with a book inspired standing ovation they received
MacKenzie  who had turned treasure hunt.  It was a fantastic at the end, before they made a
himself into the incredible hulk day and we look forward to professional exit stage left!
for the day, requiring the carrying on some of these ideas
contents of at least 3 pots of for reading throughout the year. Many thanks to the organisers
green face paint to achieve the and all of the other staff from
look! Dance Like Nobody is Watching Upland’s who supported and
As part of Upland’s Outreach helped to make it happen, as
The Thursday coffee shop Inclusive Arts and Dance events like this, open doors, and
became a book club style event  Programme, the Upland’s Dance lead our students on and
for the morning, with students Club were invited to perform at upwards into their world of
sharing their favourite books the opening ceremony of the recognition and success.
with each other over a drink and South West Regional Finals of
a piece of cake.  Many of ‘The Great Big Dance Off’
Uplands' more confident competition, at the Wyvern
readers chose to read to their Theatre, Swindon.
HORIZONS COLLEGE

Horizons Training Day

The staff at Horizons took part in
an all-day Intensive Interaction
Training course delivered by Julie
Calveley from INTERACT.

The training was fabulous and all

staff have given amazing feedback
saying what they were taught will
be invaluable for the work we do at
the College.

Thames Class Bake it for the

Donkeys
On Friday 15 February, Thames
Class students at Horizons College
held a bake sale. Above: Horizons staff at their training day.
Below: Super Heroes at Horizons!

Thames Class baked and sold sale, it was a lovely morning! As

cakes to raise money for their
chosen charity, The Donkey
Sanctuary. This charity gives a
better quality of life for donkeys,
mules and people worldwide
through greater understanding,
collaboration and support by
promoting lasting, mutually life-
enhancing relationships.
Students worked hard by baking
cakes and biscuits for the bake
they got the college community
involved in their fundraising
cause, they have managed to
raise over £80 for the charity by
selling cakes, which is amazing!
Thank you everyone who
contributed to the cause.
Red Nose Day
Red Nose Day last week went off
with a bang at our provisions with
lots of staff, pupils, students and
learners all taking part in fun
activities and fancy dress!

Horizons College held a 'Dress as

Your Favourite Superhero' Day
which saw the arrival of Wonder
Woman, Supergirl, Batman, Iron and Facebook page for more
Man and others, at the college! details of this upcoming event.

Recruitment Open Evening Alternatively, if you are interested

Horizons College is planning an
open evening in Term 5
showcasing the job opportunities
that are available at Horizions
College. Please keep an eye out
on the Horizons College website
Above: Fantastic baking going on at Horizons
in joining the teaching staff at
Horizons or any other BSM
provision, please contact our HR
department on
hr@uplandseducationaltrust.org.uk
UET NEWSFLASH
UPLANDS ENTERPRISE TRUST
Come Dine With Me
Last Friday's event was a great
success at the CEC! Everyone had a
lovely meal which was prepared
and served by the UET team. 35
people attended and thoroughly
enjoyed the evening and our
raffle, the feed back was amazing!
On the menu we had tomato and
pepper soup served with a crusty
roll for the starter, the choice of
main dishes were chicken and
vegetable casserole, or vegetable
ragu both served with mash potato
and green beans and the dessert
options were strawberry trifle or
strawberry cheese cake - all
homemade by our wonderful UET
team.
Thank you to everyone that sent
thank you messages!
Above: The UET star chefs
Vacancies for Holiday Club Staff Welcome Jessie!
There is a recruitment event for UET Chris and our young adults have
Holiday Club staff coming up on been very busy this week making a
Thursday 25th April, 4pm-6pm, at nice new home for our beautiful
UET Gorse Hill Enterprise, 117 Skills for Life rabbit Jessie.
Cricklade Road, Gorse Hill, Swindon.
As you can see she loves her new
UET's Friend-chip with Oak & home and has settled in well. A
Furrows massive thank you to Chris and the
We have had a very large donation young adults!
of wood chippings at the farm. This
was through our association with
Oak & Furrows Wildlife Rescue
Centre. This fantastic donation really
highlights how local charities are
able to help each other out.
This has developed through Chris
Johnson (works at farm) and his
volunteering position at Oak &
Furrows.
This kind donation is used for some
of the animal enclosures and the
market garden. Above: Jessie enjoying her new home
Above: Chris working hard at the farm
USEFUL INFO
IMPORTANT DATES
TAKE NOTE:
SBC TERM DATES*
Keep an eye on the BSM website as it is
Term 5: Tuesday 23 April to Friday 24 May continuously updated with useful
*Monday 6 May is a Bank Holiday information:

May Half Term: Monday 27 May to Friday 31 May www.brunelsenmat.org.uk

*Monday 27 May is a Bank Holiday
Key Websites
Term 6: Monday 3 June to Thursday 25 July Brimble Hill School
www.brimblehill.swindon.sch.uk

The Chalet School

THE CHALET SCHOOL www.chalet.swindon.sch.uk
Tuesday 30 April 15:00 to 18:30 - Pupil Progress Meetings
Thursday 2 May 15:00 to 18:60 - Pupil Progress Meetings Churchward School
www.churchwardschool.org.uk
HORIZONS COLLEGE
Wednesday 24 April 17:45 - 19:00 - Parents and Carers Evening Horizons College
www.horizonscollege.ac.uk
CHURCHWARD SCHOOL
Wednesday 15 May 15:30 to 19:00 - Parent and Carer Evening Uplands School
www.uplands.swindon.sch.uk
UPLANDS SCHOOL
Wednesday 15 May 15:30 to 19:00 - Parent and Carer Evening

Please check your provisions' website for more information

GIFTS FOR STAFF

Staff across the Brunel SEN Multi-Academy Trust are committed to,
and love working with your children and young people, and at no
time expect gifts in return for their hard work. However, we also
understand that sometimes parents and carers like to express their
Spam and Phishing Emails
thanks to our staff with gifts, which is truly appreciated.
Please be extra vigilant when
Please note that as part of the rules of being a Multi Academy Trust, opening emails, making 100%
staff are not able to accept gifts of alcohol for any reason. Any gifts sure the email is from a trusted
of alcohol received by staff cannot be personally accepted, and sender before opening and
instead will be donated to a fundraising raffle to benefit the children
clicking on any links contained
and young people within the MAT.
in it.