Chailey Heritage School

At Chailey Heritage School all learners are highly valued and are provided with learning opportunities appropriate to their learning level. 

Some pupils have a profound learning disability in addition to other disabilities (PMLD). All pupils who have PMLD have great difficulty communicating. Many of them have additional sensory or physical disabilities, complex health needs or mental health difficulties.

Pupils with PMLD are learning skills that generally appear at a very early stage of development. Teaching approaches, resources and curriculum content are specialised to cater for the needs of individual pupils in order to enable every student to reach their full potential. Support is pupil-centred, flexible and creative to facilitate positive experiences and learning. Emphasis is placed on developing positive relationships with key people who know a pupil’s unique individual characteristics and needs. A variety of strategies and activities are used including:   

Responsive environments - Staff have the expectation that all pupils may respond to interaction and other stimuli. Pupils are given time to process information and respond at their own pace. Every response is treated as communicative and in turn responded to. All pupils are given opportunities to take the lead in their interactions. Research has shown that all learners are more likely to develop interaction skills if their interactions are treated as valuable communication.  

Cause and effect activities - Intentional actions and vocalisations are encouraged and developed through the use of activities and interactions that give meaningful feedback as a reward. Pupils are motivated to ‘try that again’ and in time anticipate the reward. These ‘cause and effect’ activities may be interpersonal (see ‘Intensive Interaction’ below) or may involve switch control of devices. Pupils enjoy using switches to activate a wide range of toys, lights, sounds and domestic environmental aids, such as the food processor. At Chailey Heritage School pupils also operate an exciting range of bespoke switch activities designed by our Research and Design Department, such as the can crusher, water fountain and train. 

Routines – Daily routines, such as class greeting time, provide regular, consistent and predictable experiences.  

TAC PAC (Communication Through Touch) is a type of sensory massage. A series of actions/massage with distinctive textures are carried out precisely to specific music tracks. Through regular repetition of routines, pupils learn to anticipate elements of familiar activities. Individual routines such as TAC PAC help pupils to express their likes and dislikes, and to request ‘more’ of their favourite things. 

Intensive Interaction – These individual sessions are pupil led with the adult imitating and building on the pupil’s vocalisations and actions. Every sound and movement produced by the student is seen as a potential attempt to communicate. Through these intense one to one sessions, students develop their interactions with their communication partners. By having every form of expression valued in this way, pupils develop a sense of worth and a feeling of being ‘good to be with’.

Multi-sensory approach to learning - Therapeutic programmes are integrated into daily classroom activities including individual ‘sensory diets’ for each child which take into account the sensory input they need in order to reach their full potential. Pupils encounter controlled sensory experiences in the Sensory Studio, Dark Room or Classroom. Students with PMLD who are also visually and/or hearing impaired are helped to communicate with the support of interveners. Working 1:1, an intervener acts as an enabler, promoting the person's soclial and personal development, encouraging their independent skills and facilitating their communication with the world around them. Our interveners are trained by SENSE. 

Social integration - As well as being in designated class groups designed to cater for the style and pace of learning for students with PMLD, all pupils are encouraged to integrate with other students in the school. It is fabulous to witness the interactions that take place and the genuine caring of the more able students towards the students with PMLD. All pupils take part in whole school events and participate regularly in offsite educational visits.