Summer

Newsletter

Dear Families and Friends, The weather was against us on the first day and we The month of July is a time of mixed emotions endured torrential rain and unforgiving winds which when we say goodbye to a number of pupils and staff that are moving on from Sherbourne but most importantly it is a time to reflect and celebrate the year we have had. Once again pupils at Sherbourne have been tremendous in the effort and determination they display on a daily basis. The staff have worked tirelessly to ensure that all of our pupils have made outstanding progress with a wide range of learning activities that they have been involved with throughout the year.

As you read through our newsletter I hope you enjoy finding out about some of the many activities, trips and visits that have made our year so enjoyable.

meant we had to call off the climb half way through. Read more about this incredible journey in our newsletter. This event would not have been possible without the support of Mark and the staff team from Sherbourne; this trip was the fourth of our Five Peak Challenge after successfully climbing Ben Nevis last year. I would like to express my thanks to the staff at Sherbourne for their support with this trip. Once again they have been second to none.

The Wedge Corner Café continues to offer great work experience placements for our pupils and after its first year of trading we are happy to report that we have made £652.72 profit.

We are delighted to continue to offer Independent

Travel Training to our Post 16 pupils. Currently 3 of our Our outdoor learning has gone from strength to post 16 pupils travel to and from school independently. This is a great achievement and we hope to further strength over the last year – it has been great to increase the number of pupils taking part in this see our pupils engaged in learning outside the opportunity in the next academic year. classroom, building structures and shelters, constructing fires, and creating some wonderful Sports Day was again a huge success this year with a natural art pieces. Team work, problem solving range of exciting sessions throughout the morning. and communication are key skills that are There were a large number of families who took part in developed in our Outdoor Learning Programme the day and enjoyed refreshments from The Wedge and we look forward to extending this part of Corner Café. Congratulations to the Red team who our curriculum next year. triumphed on the day!!

On Monday 27th June, 7 staff and 7 students

Many pupils have experienced residential

from our school embarked on a challenge to climb Carrauntoohill in Southern Ireland. Our climb was led Mark Wood, local polar explorer who once again very generously gave up his own time to support us. As you know our pupils face daily challenges which can be physical, sensory or emotional. This trip was a challenge of a different kind and the pupils had to dig deep to overcome the barriers they faced.

opportunities throughout this academic year. Three groups spent a week in Plas Dol y Moch enjoying canoeing, abseiling and sea kayaking. Our DofE pupils camped overnight in Rough Close, they had to pitch their own tents and build a camp fire to cook on before venturing into the woods on a night walk!

We had a fantastic 50th birthday celebration for Sherbourne with many pupils and staff both past and present with their families joining us for a wonderful evening of live music, BBQ and stalls.

Summer newsletter 2016 The association made over £2000 – a huge thank you to all involved in supporting this event and a particular thank you to all the members of the association who give up their own time to raise much needed funds for the school.

We continue to promote student voice through our student council. They have taken part in a number of projects throughout the year including advising the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board. We recently took part in the Digital Creativity Awards winning two trophies – one for best stop frame animation and the other for creating avatars in E-safety. All Special Schools in Coventry were invited to attend the event and as usual our pupils shone on the day, their behaviour and manners were applauded.

Next year we continue to develop our links with

His passion for creativity has extended to outdoor learning and it is this passion that has driven this part of the curriculum. We cannot help but mention his other passion of music which is celebrated at every summer fete by his performances with Flat Badger!! Simon should also be thanked for his tireless work with the School Association for which we are hugely grateful.

Laura Slinn Assistant Head of Primary and EYFS who started with us in September 2013 is leaving us to take up a post of Head of School at Two Rivers. Laura has been a pleasure to work with and an asset to Sherbourne. Her expertise in special needs and her child centred approach made her an instant part of the Sherbourne community. We wish her every success in her new post.

Kiera Williamson, Primary Teacher is leaving us to

Coventry Rugby Club with two new rugby players, Tom Jubb and Rob Conquest have already started with us and are once again proving to be a real asset to the school.

pursue her childhood dream to work with animals. Kiera has been a fantastic teacher and will be a great loss. We wish her well with her new career and although we know she won’t miss her daily commute from Evesham everyone at Sherbourne will miss her greatly.

One Body One Life will also continue to work

Jo Gill is moving to the Philippines to pursue her passion

with our school next year supporting the Post 16 Curriculum with their Healthy Lifestyle course as well as providing a ten week course for our families on healthy living. We are also delighted to be able to work with Blind Children UK again next year extending the provision which was bought in this year. Due to the progress that some of our VI children and young people have made with body awareness and tracking around school we feel this is an essential part of the curriculum.

Our EYFS will continue to be supported by the Performing Arts Service in the next academic year benefiting from a music and movement curriculum approach which has proven this year to be hugely beneficial in developing communication with some of our younger PMLD pupils.

So after such a busy year we now have to focus on saying farewell to a number of staff. Simon Gibbons – Assistant Head KS4, has been teaching at Sherbourne for over 19 years is taking early retirement. Simon will be hugely missed by staff and students alike, he has been an incredible teacher and an effective member of the management team for a long time.

of teaching English. Jo has taught in both Key Stage 4 & 5 and has been a great addition to our English team. We wish Jo all the best for the future.

All of the above have been outstanding teachers throughout their careers at Sherbourne and both staff and pupils have hugely benefited from working with them.

We would like to also wish Suzanne Bent a long standing HLTA the best of luck in her new role in Warwickshire working with young children with additional needs. Suzanne has contributed a huge amount to Sherbourne over 17 long years. She has been an absolute pleasure to work with and I know she will be a huge asset to her new team.

We would also like to wish Jackie Moore a well-deserved and happy retirement. Jackie has been a TA at Sherbourne for over 18 years. Jackie has worked throughout the school and her calm approach and thoughtful manner have made her a hugely popular member of staff. “Jackie can you still have the rabbits in the summer for us?” We will really miss you but know you will keep in touch.

Summer newsletter 2016 Beth Hopkins leaves us to start her teaching career by beginning her PGCE at Warwick University in September. Beth has been with us for 2 years after she graduated and we immediately knew she had the makings of a fantastic teacher. We wish Beth fantastic luck in her new career.

We welcome the following staff to Sherbourne Fields after the summer break as Teaching Assistants, Amie Cullen (KS5), Paul Doolan (KS5), John Shaw (KS5) Jayesh Mardania (KS4), Emily Woodcock (Primary), Cerys Binnie (Primary) Ryan Copping (Primary).

Sarah Nelmes joins us as Assistant Head of Primary and EYFS. Sarah has extensive primary and SEND experience with particular expertise in Autism. Sarah has spent many days at Sherbourne over the last term and we feel she will be a huge asset to our team.

Zoe Civzelis will also be joining us as a teacher in KS5 from September. Zoe is experienced in SEND and joins us from a Warwickshire special school where she is really highly regarded. We are really excited about her appointment and it was great to see her joining the Key Stage 5 pupils for their end of term BBQ.

Congratulations to Adele Morris, Megan Lewis and Casey Cockerill for successfully passing their TA apprenticeship course. They have been outstanding apprentices and it has been an absolute pleasure to support them through this. Casey has successfully gained a place at Liverpool University and Megan and Adele join our team as permanent TA’s from September.

On the Tuesday 6th September Next term events at a glance…… Every Wednesday Parents Coffee Morning 9.30-11am

Monday 5th September Teacher Training Day

Tuesday 6th September Pupils start term begins

Friday 23rd September Jeans for Genes Day

Friday 30th September Macmillan Coffee Morning

So in summary… it has been another great year at Sherbourne! I would like to say a big THANK YOU to all the staff for their tireless commitment and hard work and to all the families and friends of Sherbourne for their continued support. I hope you all have a wonderful summer holiday and I look forward to the seeing you all in the new school year.

Shivaun

Friday 21st October Break up for Half Term

Monday 31st October Back to School for pupils and staff

Summer newsletter 2016

This half term Key Stage 3 kicked off with India

Our trip to the space centre Blue Class really enjoyed

their topic all about Space. They listened to lots of space stories, made lots of space pictures and mobiles and learnt all about who the first man on the moon was. But their favourite part was our day trip to the Space centre where we found a giant earth, looked at the stars in the planetarium, took a lift Everyone spent time working hard in the kitchen up all the way up to the top of a rocket and dressed up as aliens. to make vegetable pakoras, chapattis, daal and vegetable rice which we enjoyed with a chicken/ quorn curry at lunchtime! Day during which pupils learned about Indian culture, food and music. Each group looked at the Indian flag, the meanings of the colours and then made their own Indian flag. We delved into Bollywood and looked at traditional Indian music and then composed our own piece to accompany the Bhangra dancing we had learned.

We all loved trying on the colourful Indian Saris and beautiful traditional jewellery. A fantastic way to start our last half term of the year!

Suzanne Balmond—Blue Class Teacher

The Wallace Charity

Linzi Savage—KS3 Teacher

A big thank you to the management and customers of the Wallace Pub in Coundon (especially Gary Daffron!) They have very kindly donated £680 to the school this year which has enabled the students to access the wider school curriculum. Lynne Kennedy—School Business Manager

Summer newsletter 2016 Key Stage 5 Dol-Y-Moch Trip From Monday June 6th to Friday June 10th ten Key Stage 5 students attended out annual residential trip to Dol-Y-Moch in North Wales. We arrived late Monday afternoon to glorious Welsh sunshine before settling into our rooms and sharing a meal with another school. On our first activity day we did some climbing which some students really excelled at whilst others enjoyed being hoisted high up in the trees. We spent the afternoon on a mountain walk where we all enjoyed the scenery in spite of being under constant attack from midges!

On the Wednesday we were yet again greeted

Leavers Assembly Friday 15th July at 10am we once again have our leavers assembly where we will be waving goodbye to 13 students. Our leavers are moving onto a variety of college provisions both in city (Hereward, Henley, City Colleges) and one who is travelling a little further afield.

This is always a lovely occasion, where we will share memories, experiences and pictures from years gone by. All are welcome to attend to see off our leavers. Sam Kendall—KS5 Assistant Head

by sunshine so we hit the beach at Black Rock Sands. After spending some time playing games in the sand some students were brave enough to swim in the Irish sea before sharing a picnic on the beach. In the afternoon we got into wet suits and re-entered the sea this time with some sea kayaks. All students took to this fantastically, even though it did involve falling in occasionally.

On our final activity day we took a short drive to Our parent’s coffee mornings continue every a reservoir where we were able to get all students into a canoe to go on a long canoe ride before playing some games in the water. In the afternoon we split into two groups with some students enjoying a relaxing walk around the Welsh valleys whilst some others tried their hand at the zip wire. On the final evening we enjoyed a camp fire and sing song with the other school.

Wednesday between 9.00am and 11.00am. We have had speakers from Citizens Advise Bureau, Crossroads care agency, and ‘one body one life’ come in to talk to us. This is a great opportunity to get to know other parents and have a chat over coffee and biscuits. Please call in any Wednesday morning, we would love to see you, all welcome.

All students behaved impeccably throughout the duration of the trip and did the school proud.

A huge thank you as well to the staff who gave up their time to support the trip. An excellent week had by all. Sam Kendall - KS5 Assistant Head

We recently held a special school ‘into adulthood’ transition event at Coventry Rugby Club. This was a great opportunity for parents to gather information on support services that would be available to their child as they move into adulthood. We had over 40 providers offering information and it was a well-attended event. Carol Lucas— Family Liaison and Transitions Advisor

Summer Newsletter 2016

KS3 History Week June 14th-17th

Bingo Night

KS3 shared another successful history week with President Kennedy students. The theme being the 1960s as both schools were celebrating their 50th anniversary. Thank you for everyone that supported the Bingo Night. It was a very successful night and fun was had These are the activities we enjoyed taking part in and by all. A big thank you to people who donated raffle learning about; prizes. The hall was once again packed out with families and friends of Sherbourne and we raised a Space race and the moon landing staggering £1000. Thank you to everyone for your Fashion of the 1960s continued support this is a great achievement. Pop art Assassination of President Kennedy Music and dance of the 1960s Games and toys Cooking 1966 World Cup Match Treasure hunt to name 1960s famous people A good time was had by all!

Whole School Challenge Day took place on Tuesday 28th June – it was a fun packed day for all. Pupils took part in challenges in a variety of activities from swimming, dance, cooking, ICT, Music, Sport, Science etc.

We linked in with our Mountain Climbers at 2.30pm Barbara Pinder— HLTA KS3

from the top of Carrauntoohil in Southern Ireland. We wished them a careful decent and applauded their climb so far.

Back at school pupils were busy throughout the day and really enjoyed working in teams, with different staff working hard to achieve challenges.

A great day was had by all. Claire Antrobus—Deputy Head

Summer newsletter 2016 Sherbourne Students complete their climb up Carrauntoohil the Highest Peak in Ireland and the 4th of their 5 Peak Challenge!

Undeterred by the previous attempt they surpassed the previous day’s distance and continued on and up Devils Ladder – a challenging part of this mountain for the ablest climber.

Wet through after a short pit stop to enjoy the view and refuel, the group finally reached the peak at 2.30pm.

Exhausted and elated Chris Mitchell– Sherbourne Fields student, spoke of the achievement ‘I am so proud of what we have achieved as a group. This is our 4th peak and we can’t wait for the next one!’

This is the penultimate climbing challenge to be attempted by the staff and students with just Slieve Donard remaining. Students and staff have already successfully conquered Snowdon in July 2013, Scafell Pike in July 2014, and Ben Nevis in July 2015.

Headteacher Shivaun Duffy Moriarty, who was also part of the team Said, ‘My proudest moment was when the students committed to attempting the peak for the second time. Their determination to succeed captures the very spirit of Sherbourne Fields. With the right support we can help them achieve so much in life.’

Anyone wishing to sponsor the students on their final climb can contact Lynne Kennedy (School Business Manager) by emailing her on [email protected]

On Monday 28th June 2016, 7 students and 7 staff set off from Sherbourne Fields Special School, Coundon Coventry to conquer a personal challenge of a different kind; to climb Carrauntoohil – the highest peak in southern Ireland.

Lead by local Polar Explorer and Adventurer Mark Wood, the climbers set off at 9.00am keen to get the climb underway. By 2.00pm and after 5 hours of climbing, the team had met with some dangerous and hazardous weather conditions. Local explorer Mark Wood had to make the difficult decision to call off the climb.

Heartbroken and exhausted the group made the descent back to base camp where morale was at an all-time low.

After a hot meal and an early night, the group woke with true grit and determination deciding once more, to give it another go.

Setting off two hours earlier than the previous day, the group began the gruelling journey for a second day.

Lynne Kennedy—School Business Manager

Summer newsletter 2016 Sports Day 2016 was a huge success this year, great fun was had by all and the rain stayed away!

The students were able to participate in a variety of activities which included; archery, tennis, football, tac pac, dance, music, table cricket, kurling, swimming and of course the fantastic primary and secondary races.

Congratulations to the Red Team, winning the day with an amazing score of 139 points. The Blue Team scored 125 points and the Yellow Team came very close with 123 points. Everyone participated with enthusiasm and showed great sportsmanship. I would like to say thank you to all the staff and parents for all their support on the day.

Many thanks, Angie Collins—Sports Co-ordinator

Dol y Moch KS3 Trip On Monday both groups arrived at the Dol y moch centre safely after a long emotional journey of keeping some students awake and the coach group feeling like they were on a rollercoaster. All luggage unpacked and settled into dorms.

Being Safe and Healthy Week This year we have explored our first ‘Being Safe and On Tuesday all to the beach for sea kayaking and picnic. Healthy Week’ as a Primary and EYFS department, where we dedicated a week of our curriculum to learn about different aspects of this topic. We enjoyed a visit from Nurse Rachel, who showed us how to use bandages and plasters and helped us to become more confident with nurses – this was great.

We

also enjoyed a visit to the Guide Dog Training Centre in Leamington – here some of our pupils were taught how to groom and care for the guide dogs and the jobs that these working dogs can do to keep us safe and healthy.

Endured the most amazing weather fun on the beach walking around the caves and finding crabs in the little rock pools. A spot of lunch before sea kayaking then returning to the centre.

On Wednesday Train ride and lunch on a pebbles river bank. After experiencing a ride on the steam train the group walked up their appetites heading up river to find a suitable spot for lunch. Some of the group went on to participate in gauge walking up river.

An evening of pancakes on the wood fire outdoors

followed by night line walk and labyrinth. Outstandingly We also had a fantastic visit from the fire service – amazing time had by all. where the children were able to explore the fire engine On Thursday river canoeing lunch on the river bank. After and have a turn with the hose. During the week the a tiring journey canoeing along the river with hot chocolate children learnt about being safe when crossing the road, and biscuit stops to revive our energy. A quick game or being near traffic and stranger danger work – between the three boats was played in a part of the mature thinking about who is safe and who isn’t and what to do river (area river gets wider). Everyone dismounted the if we get lost. boats for a spot of lunch.

We

also looked at the importance of keeping our Returned to the centre and after dinner had an amazing bodies healthy through exercise – completing our one activity filled evening in the onsite, labyrinth enjoyed by mile walk and what foods are healthy and unhealthy. A both students and staff. really important week for the children, where they were able to really focus on keeping themselves safe and Tsannah Lennox—Teaching Assistant KS3 healthy. Laura Slinn—Assistant Head EYFS and Primary

Summer Newsletter 2016 Key Stage 3 Transition

For some it will still be the same school, but moving into

secondary. For others it will be a new school and new people. But for all of them it will be an exciting start to a We are lucky to have a large group of pupils coming into new part of their school lives. Year 7 this year. We have 4 of our own Sherbournites Sue Wookey—KS3 Assistant Head from Key Stage 2, and 8 students coming from different schools. Our first session was in the middle of June Key Stage 5 Work Placements when our new visitors came to find out what Sherbourne had to offer. The theme for our first session was getting to know you, which we did through This year we have had a really successful work parachute games. On the first session there were a few experience week. We have established new links with a worried faces, from parents and new students – unsure range of companies and businesses. Our placements what to expect and how they were going to get on. But this year included Cardinal Wiseman farm, Arlington not to worry, parents survived, and so did their children! Automotive, North Street Garage, Costa Coffee and The Sherbourne hall always gets a – ‘WOW! This. Is. Belgrade Theatre. Some students were supported by a Big!’ from new pupils who think the hall is huge! It was member of staff and others went independently. soon time to leave with the promise of more activities to Despite different placements, all students gained so much from their week. It gave them an insight into the come. The pupils seemed very excited to have got working life. through the session and were looking forward to the following week. I visited all of the students during their placement and Our next session saw a group of much more relaxed and was met with a similar response from all supervisors, our chilled out parents bringing their excited new starters to students were a credit to themselves and to Sherbourne Fields. Well done for a great week – Lewis, Adam, Sherbourne. We carried on finding out more things Georgia, Emily, Stephanie, Nathan, Megan, Gavin, about our new pupils, by playing parachute games. Jaydon, Joel and William. Everybody was beginning to remember each other’s

That time of year comes around quickly – transition!

names. The staff being helped along by name stickers on Marie Geary—KS5 Teacher all the new starters sweatshirts! The third transition brought the challenge of Boccia football with everyone mixing together and playing each other and new Student Council students being without name labels which meant the We have been really busy this year on the student staff had to work hard to keep up with the students; who seem to have done well in remembering everyone’s council. We have all remembered to attend all meetings and we have been feeding back to our classes about name! what we have talked about. This year we have set up The final transition day was on the 6 July when our buddy programme. We’re very proud of this and it’s everybody stayed for the morning and then lunch at going really well. This will carry on next year and we can Sherbourne Fields. Our theme for the morning was The get some new buddies. 1960’s, which linked in with our 50th Anniversary celebrations. There was a variety of activities including We also made a dvd this year about what values we have here at Sherbourne Fields. It was hard work pop art and cooking 60’s food. All part of getting to putting it together but we were really pleased with the know each other, making friends and getting to know final copy. Ian helped us out a lot. the routines of a new school. Everyone enjoyed the morning and one or two students were reluctant to We look forward to another great year from September leave and go back to their usual routine! on the student council. Have a great Summer holiday! September 6th will soon be here, after enjoying the summer break. Although transition went well, we are Aaisha & Ben—KS5 Students still expecting nervous faces on the first morning coming into school after the minibus drops off our new pupils.

Summer Newsletter 2016 End of term Celebration A big thank you to parents for supporting our end of

On Friday 20th May we held our 1st whole school

term celebration – a slightly different one this year! We really enjoyed visiting ‘the seaside funfair’ to show you lots of skills that we have developed over the year. The children really enjoyed the fun activities and sharing with you all of the skills they have developed over the year. We hope you have a fantastic holiday and a brilliant time in your new class next year. Laura Slinn— Assistant Head EYFS and Primary

"Outdoor Learning Day". Students were set the challenge of building shelters and cooking on a campfire. There were some impressive structures using a variety of methods and awards for the best KS shelter. Groups also took part in orienteering, music and leaf and bug hunts. Simon Gibbons—Assistant Head KS4

Key Stage 4 Dol-Y-Moch Trip

From 4th-8th July 10 students from KS4 participated in a residential to Plas Dol y Moch. They took part in a range of activities including a beach day with sea kayaking , tree climbing, steam train ride, campfire, forest adventure and canoeing. It was a busy but rewarding week with all students developing their outdoor skills. Simon Gibbons—Assistant Head KS4