Mount Street Infant School (Powys) - Understanding Service children experiences and challenges

1. What challenges do Service children and families face at Mount Street Infant School?

• Deployment of a parent, causing separation within a family
• An awareness of parent deployment. Parents will let the school know if the serving parent will be absent for an extended period but for shorter absences the school is not always informed
• Mobility, where Service children trickle in and out of school across the year and stay approximately two/three years
• Many children are learning Welsh for the first time
• Experiences of different curriculums prior to starting at the school, with different learning objectives and subjects
• Gaps in the children’s ability to approach learning using problem-solving skills
• Separation from friends when they move on, affecting the Service and non-Service children staying at the school

3. How does Mount Street Infant School identify and monitor Service children’s needs?

On entry/admission to the school

• All parents who wish to consider our school for their children are encouraged to visit the school prior to admission, providing an opportunity for us to learn about the needs of the child and family
• The school secretary initially assists with ‘information gathering’ for Powys local authority admissions and for school information, where Service children are identified.

During their time at the school

• All staff liaise closely with the parents within the first month to ensure the children are settling in well; any issues are discussed and resolved
• We allow a settling in time during the first few weeks, before any formal assessments
• All staff monitor the emotional wellbeing of Service children and offer support
• The school uses ‘INCERTs’ programme tracks data and curriculum outcomes, which is updated regularly across the year
• Baseline assessment is undertaken for reception age children
• Assessments are undertaken at the end of Year 1, including standardised spelling, reading and mathematics
• Assessments at the end of Year 2 are undertaken, including teacher assessments/national testing
• The school uses daily, ongoing assessment through high quality teaching and learning activities to assess and review children’s progress. This also involves the children using self-assessment to support the process.

4. What strategies and support activities are available at Mount Street Infant School once a need is recognised?

• Groups of learners are targeted by the class teacher and Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) as part of daily learning opportunities
• Nepalese support across the school is available with an LSA – we assess children’s learning needs and provide appropriate intervention
• The staff encourage the development of friendships
• A buddy system is in place to support new children settling in
• All staff understand the needs of Service children and support the settling in and moving on systems
• Staff with a Service background are employed across the school, which adds additional support and understanding
• A Mandir is available in the school, which is a place of worship for Nepalese children
• The school has links with the Gurkha community to share events from the culture and celebrations
• Service children are part of the eco-community, where they work collaboratively and build leadership skills to impact on a sustainable school environment, which resulted in the school achieving the platinum eco school award
• Through pupil voice activities and personal and social development learning, the school listens to the needs of all children and takes action on the points raised
• The school has ‘Rights of the child’ ambassadors across the school including Service children
• Each class has an area on the website to share information about the class for families and children
• Curriculum information is available on the website for parents
• The communication system available for parents called SCHOOP shares daily information, messages, photos from the school
• Leaving cards are made for those moving on as a memory to take with them.