Welcome to Natterjacks

We are the Natterjacks, and we are supported by our class teacher Mr Stretton alongside our wonderful support team Mrs Renshall, Miss Gemma, Mrs McCormack and Mrs Bevan.

Please enjoy our class page which will give you a sneaky little peek into what our lovely, and very busy days of learning look like in Natterjacks.

In Natterjacks ..... We are a very busy bunch who love to explore lots of messy and sensory activities! 

We especially love playing and learning outside within our lovely outdoor classroom.

In Natterjacks we are all learning how to communicate with our teachers and each other, and each one of us has our own way of communicating. We are always busy learning lots of different ways to help us communicate such as talk, gestures, visuals and communication systems such as communication boards, AAC's (Augmentative and Alternative Communication devices) and Makaton.

We have lots of outside professionals who come in to support us as well such as speech and language therapists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists. 

Everyday is a new and exciting day of learning and adventures in Natterjacks!

A Day in the life of Natterjacks

Natterjacks.mov

Our Environment

Our Indoor environment

Our Natterjacks indoor classroom has a number of spaces where we can access continuous provision independently and with the support of our teachers throughout the day. These areas include; cosy sofa areas, our circular tables, a large painting easel, sand and water play, construction and small world, malleable and sensory play and our multifunctional arches. All spaces in our classroom are enhanced with lots of lovely story books and information books which we love sharing with our teachers.

We use all of our areas throughout the day and our teachers are there to continuously enhance our spaces to support our play. Using our classroom in this way and valuing our interests  ensures we feel happy, scaffolds our play skills, helps us to be engaged in our learning and supports our language and communication  development. Using our interests and play as a vehicle for our learning also develops our social and interaction skills as well as developing our independence and life skills.

Our outdoor environment

We are very lucky in Natterjacks to have a large and wonderful outdoor classroom all to ourselves. Our teachers keep the door open all day so that we can make a choice about where we would like to play and learn.

Our outdoor classroom is very important to us as it provides us endless opportunities to practice and learn lots of new physical skills. It also gives us the opportunity to explore and learn about the world around us as well as allowing us to explore our learning on a much larger and messier scale than we would indoors.

Our outdoor classroom also supports our mental health and well being by enabling us to be outside in the fresh air, being physical and giving us a space away from an environment that might sometimes get over stimulating for some of us.

We are very lucky to have a climbing frame, swings and ramp access to support all of our learners. 

All of our learning areas, both indoors and out are carefully enhanced with exciting learning experiences and provocations with each of our individual needs and interests in mind. This means our environment and provision can change multiple times a day and is led by the children.

The Burrow

We love to use our amazing sensory space to help with sensory regulation, emotional well being and support our learning. We are so grateful to everyone who helped us to create this space as you will often find at least 1 Natterjack in The Burrow at all times. 

The Burrow has two projectors, a bubble tube, fibre optic lights, sensory boards, an infinity mirror, ball pool and a range of resources such as soft play that we can adjust when needed.

We have loved using this space individually, in small groups and with our families during our parent sessions.

We are so lucky! 

Our Pre-formal/Informal PATHWAY

In Natterjacks we follow the Equals Pre-Formal and Informal curriculum pathways. This means that we are supported to engage in a wide range of curriculum areas that support us to make progress and develop at our own rate. Our wonderful staff support the children using a range of strategies such as direct engagement/teaching during an activity, playing with or alongside children, modelling interactions with provocations or others, role play activities, targeted sessions and most importantly, by knowing our children and their targets well. Staff are skilled at using all interactions as teaching and learning experiences for our children and recognise that the children are active learners and leaders in their education. We love working in this way and especially seeing the steps of progress of each child and their families in Natterjacks.

Pre-formal_Informal Pathway.pdf

My Communication

We love to communicate with our supporting adults and each other using a range of strategies!

My Cognition and challenge

In Natterjacks we are all supported to engage with activities that engage and challenge us at a level that is appropriate for our needs. 

My Creativity

We love to get messy and be creative! Our supporting adults model abstract thinking ideas for us, so we can further explore the world around us in a creative way. 

My cultural capital

Having a wide range of real life experiences provides us with great opportunities to understand our world and engage with new activities we may never have tried before. 

My outdoor school

Outdoors is where we love to be, so this area of our curriculum is one of our favourites. Travel training is so important to help us become more independent and we're making great progress!

My physical

We work on our physical skills all day every day using a range of therapies, equipment and activities that help us to strengthen our bodies and our minds as we become resilient!

My self determination and independence

We are never short of self determination or independence in Natterjacks. We love support from our supporting adults, however we like to push past our boundaries and reach for the stars!

My sensory play

Sensory play is a huge aspect of our day. We love to explore our world through sensorimotor exploration of toys, activities and the world around us. We benefit from having all of our senses engaged whilst learning. 

My social relationships

Positive relationships are key to everything we do in Natterjacks. Learning how to support one another, engage, interact and communicate with each other and most importantly... share joy with others is magical!

My Wellbeing

We recognise that positive mental health is so important to children feeling secure, safe and ready to learn. our Well being aspect of our curriculum ensures we are feeling regulated and ready to go!

Our Whole School Rules

Mr Potato Head rules with golden rule.pdf

Come and explore our virtual classroom

Useful websites

Here are a few websites we use in school to help us to learn lots of exciting and useful things!