Willow - Resourced Provision

 

In Willow Class, we are lucky to have a fantastic team of supportive adults who work hard to help us learn and grow. Our team includes Mrs Darbyshire, Mrs Softley, Miss Pearson, Mrs Kanwal, Miss Levitt and Mrs Gartlan. Together, we ensure that every child feels happy, safe and ready to learn. We recognise that every child is unique, and we aim for all of our pupils to have the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will enable them to be successful.

 

Our Curriculum

Our core principle is:

In Willow Class, our curriculum is built around the individual needs and strengths of each of our children. We believe every child deserves to enjoy learning and feel proud of what they achieve. That’s why we shape our teaching to help pupils access as much of the mainstream curriculum as possible, while still giving them the personalised support they need to thrive.
Our curriculum is designed to help children grow in confidence—especially in their communication, social interaction, and physical development. We use a multi-sensory approach to bring learning to life, offering a balance of continuous provision, one-to-one sessions, and small group work. Many of our children also spend time in their mainstream classes, where they can build friendships and practise important skills.

 We follow the sensory curriculum, written by Jordan Garratt, which focuses on including all four areas of SEND needs in all subjects across the curriculum:

Each half term we link our learning to an overarching theme. These themes are covered over the course of the year and are supported by key texts:

Reading and sharing stories is so important and we read every day. We love to read for pleasure and sharing stories, sometimes from our reading basket of Year Group Authors. Our authors are Sue Hendra & Paul Linnet, Nick Sharratt and Rob Biddulph. 

Every week your child will bring home two books, one linked to phonics and one to share with you. Books will be changed each Monday. 

 

A Personalised Approach to Learning

In Willow, we understand that every child is unique, and so are their learning needs. That’s why we take a personalised approach to help each child grow—physically, socially, emotionally, and academically—so they can reach their full potential in a way that’s right for them.

Our curriculum is flexible and responsive, built around the individual targets set out in each child’s EHCP and Learning Plan. We use B-squared Connecting Steps to carefully track progress in small, meaningful steps. This helps us celebrate every achievement—whether it’s beginning to engage, gaining new skills, or mastering something completely. This tailored approach helps us plan lessons that are just right for each child.

Learning in Willow is hands-on and engaging. Lessons are designed to be multi-sensory, using a wide range of resources to make learning fun and memorable. Our staff play alongside the children, modelling language and interaction to help build strong communication and social skills in a natural and supportive way.

We communicate in different ways to enable our children to have a ‘voice’. This may be through visuals (symbols/photos/Now-Next boards), modelling and expanding language, AAC devices, turn-taking and attention and giving children processing time before responding.

Our Learning Environment & Provision 

Our Resourced Provision offers a welcoming, nurturing and inclusive environment designed to meet the individual needs of our children. We provide a range of carefully planned spaces and resources to support children's communication, sensory development and physical development.

Our provision room provides a range of sensory exploration activities and resources, providing children with opportunities to explore, regulate and engage with their environment in a way that is meaningful to them.

Our learning classroom is where we come together for group activities, as well as providing a calm and supportive space for individual learning and 1:1 work. Activities are carefully adapted to ensure that every child can access learning and make progress at their own pace.

We also have a welcoming outdoor learning space, offering a range of exciting opportunities for physical development and sensory exploration. Our outdoor area includes a climbing wall, sandpit, tunnels and slides, supporting children to develop their gross motor skills, coordination, balance and confidence through active play.

 

Across all areas of our provision we aim to create a safe, stimulating and engaging environment whereevery child feels valued, supported and ready to learn.

Phonics & Core Words

In Willow we use Read Write Inc for our phonics teaching. Alongside our phonics learning, we introduce a core word each week. Core words are words we use frequently in everyday communication and are important for helping children to express their needs, choices, ideas and feelings. We teach each core word through a range of fun, engaging and meaningful activities. We use different approaches to ensure that every child can access, understand and practise the word in a way that works best for them. That may include signing, symbols, reading, singing, sensory activities and using the word naturally throughout the school day.  The picture below shows some of the different ways we support and encourage communication and learning in Willow Class. 

PE

Our PE lesson takes place every Friday. Each Friday children should come to school wearing their PE kit.
Our PE kit is as follows:
- Plain black crew neck t-shirt
- Plain black shorts
- In colder weather, non-branded black joggers/leggings and a non-branded black hoodie may be worn for outdoor PE
- Trainers suitable for active play

Parents as Partners

In Willow, we value strong, positive partnerships with parents and carers. We operate an open-door approach and welcome families to share their child's interests, achievements and learning with us. Working together helps us to build a deeper understanding of each child and ensure that their individual needs, interests and strengths are supported.

Each week, parents and carers are invited to join us for a Stay and Play session. These sessions provide an opportunity for families to experience learning in Willow Class and see the different ways we support our children. Activities may include sharing stories, singing songs, exploring classroom routines and learning approaches and taking part in creative activities linked to special celebrations and events.

We love welcoming our families into Willow Class and creating opportunities to learn, play and celebrate together.