Lorna Walker

Classroom Management

I can offer your setting over 25 years of experience working with children with special educational needs and disabilities in various settings I have built up a range of behaviour management strategies as a result and have experienced the joys of learning through a topic based curriculum Through my current role at Lancasterian, I have enhanced my skills in communicating with children and young adults with a range of complex needs using makaton, total communication, symbols, AAC technology and eye gaze Reinforcing language visually, using music and song when appropriate and recognising individual needs through body language and expression is an important aspect of my classroom management Recently at Francis House, I recognised one of the children seemed unhappy and used their iPad communication to support them to express that they were tired and created a personalised environment for them with sensory lights and music of their choice to allow them to rest This allowed the child to then engage with an outing to a concert with peers after a rest period

During my time working at Lancasterian, Beaver Road and Clifton Special School, I became confident with preparing and adapting resources to support children’s individual needs, de-escalation techniques and balancing opportunities for group and individual learning Behaviour is a communication and building strong relationships with pupils, staff and children has always been at the forefront of my teaching Building on children’s special interests and skills is always a good starting point and I enjoy spending the year learning alongside the children and their families Positive reinforcement and praise are a major part of my style of teaching and I feel benefit all children and sharing key moments with home and other staff is really beneficial Active learning, brain breaks, movement, fun, relaxation, life skills, nurturing with the backbone of routines and visuals are all part of my classroom Taking advice and following plans from OT, physio, school nurse and multiple agencies is something I am skilled at and build these into familiar class routines and reviewing progress

Assessment and Record Keeping

A plan, do, review approach to planning has been useful in my teaching experience I have much experience of using photographs and sharing learning journeys with parents on forums like class dojo and Seesaw These methods have been well received as successful communication and assessment tools by parents in my classes ‘thank you so much for keeping us up to date and creating wonderful memories for us’ My recent training on CPOMS and IRIS has allowed me to effectively record any safeguarding or behaviour concerns and to share with relevant professionals as needed I am experienced in creating and reviewing IEPs for children in my setting with parents and other staff I have used assessment for learning, pupil asset and B squared to track progress for children of all levels The findings are analysed by myself and the team to ensure children are receiving appropriate interventions where needed to boost progress Embracing technical tools like Lexia to ensure children bridge any learning gaps where possible

EHCPs are a process I have been part of as a teacher and as a parent with my own son who has ADHD, ASD and DCD They are an important document and give parents, teachers and most importantly the children a voice and funding to support specific needs I am confident at creating targets as a team and reviewing them with relevant professionals One page profiles are a process I have been part of as a parent and a teacher Done correctly they give staff a quick reference to children’s specific and individual needs which can be especially important when having new members of staff join a team

My experience as MCAF (now Early Help) Lead for the school at BRPS has led me to become confident at participating in and chairing multi-agency meetings as a class teacher and lead In my experience, the sharing of knowledge and experience between school staff, parents, the child (when appropriate) and relevant agencies can really benefit all involved Minute taking and accurate record keeping is important to ensure any joint targets made are reviewed and actions are accountable I have supported families over a number of years in my role as MCAF lead and as their teacher It has brought me great joy to see a family make progress with an area that may be a challenge like attendance, a health or building accessibility for a family with mobility needs Making a family feel supported, heard and able to be honest about their struggles is something I feel strongly about and parent partnership is an aspect of my work I will always be proud of

Curriculum

I am currently working at Lancasterian school where I have taught High School pre-formal learners ages 13-16 and supported their transition to post-16 education I have successfully ensured that my previous Year 11 pupils left school with ASDAN accreditation which evidenced their engagement in community participation and life skills such as care and independence Giving my pupils the opportunities to make choices and giving them control over their environment is something I am passionate about Creating links with the wider community is something I have become skilled at and recently worked with the wider school, parents and learners to do a collection for the Trussell Trust Food Bank Parent partnership is something I pride myself in and I organised supportive talks for Year 11 parents with activities like baking and crafting with their young people in class followed by Post-16 support with specialists

In my previous role at Francis House, I supported children from birth to over 18 and their families to have respite and get the most enrichment from their stay through outings in the local community and to provide nurturing, therapeutic and memorable days with exciting activities Prior to this role, I worked at Beaver Road Primary School as a class teacher for 16 years teaching Nursery, Reception, Year 1, 2 and 3 I have planned and delivered stimulating and challenging activities for children of all abilities during this time My key strength as a teacher is that I am ‘exceptionally good at making children feel good about themselves’ as written in a report by my teaching mentor I would love to continue Lancasterian’s mission statement ‘Inspire-Grow-Achieve’ and wish to extend their belief of celebrating young people and their individuality in your setting I put this idea into practice recently by providing a young adult at Francis Lodge with resources to design costumes and music to put on a show of ‘Frozen’ for staff and peers Inspiring each other and growing together to achieve our best is something I am passionate about I believe that being outdoors is an important feature of learning, for example with my High school class we watched and learnt about the life cycle of a butterfly by growing eggs and then released them into the sensory garden which inspired many cross-curricular activities

My personal philosophy is to treat the child as expert and master of their own learning environment In practice I offer children a variety of learning activities, giving them a balance of adult led and child initiated experiences I learn alongside (from and with) the children and this informs my planning An example of this was when I taught Year 2 and they were learning about Africa, a child brought in a cassava from home and through this we planned and made instructions with visuals to then make our own cassava curry using a recipe from the parents I am committed to the full life of Withington Adult Learning Centre by offering extra-curricular activities and making links with the community At Lancasterian I have taken a lead in music and organised musicians, enrichment days and training for staff At BRPS I have taken a lead in the subjects of Literacy, PSHE and had the role of Nursery and Reception lead teacher In addition, I have organised and ran after school clubs for art, lego club and music club at BRPS and Clifton Special School

My lessons are always child-centred, in that they promote experiential and co-operative learning in a secure environment Recently my Assistant Head Teacher commented after a lesson observation that I ‘create a positive atmosphere in my classroom that is contagious’ and have a ‘deep knowledge of each individual child’s abilities’ I have been able to build excellent working relationships through mutual trust and respect and I have found that my enthusiasm permeates to the children motivating them to learn I am proud of the feedback received from my previous class at Lancasterian: 'heartfelt thanks for the incredible care, kindness and dedication' and 'your support has been truly inspiring and impactful'

Home/School Links

I worked in partnership with Healthy Schools Manchester to develop the SRE curriculum at Beaver Road and with their input and advice hosted a parent and staff meeting Following this I organised online lessons plans and taught them across the year groups Previously I have delivered phonics workshops, PPEL (Parents as Partners in the Early Years) play bag training, and new parent meetings to support home links With my class and year group team I have organised class fundraising including a WaterAid concert, Guide Dogs talk and supported many PTA events, Didsbury Festival and fairs in and out of school hours I have organised many school trips and gathered parent volunteers to support to Jordell Bank, Legoland, Seashell Trust Fair, MOSI, Tatton Park Farm, Smithills Farm, Aquarium, Sea Life, Trafford Centre, hat museum, Transport Museum and many more Creating a lending library of bags to support phonics skills with resources to use at home across the classes was a project which brought me great satisfaction and feedback ‘love using the bags to learn while playing at home Hosting regular parent events was part of my practice for years like: EYFS learning day, children’s art gallery, concerts, shows, parents evening, sensory stories, stay and play

My experiences have allowed me to develop partnerships with parents and be aware of their involvement in their child’s learning I use this participation to ensure my learning reflects the work that is going on at home and informing parents of what is happening in their child’s education An example of using partnership skills was when I invited the parents of a boy in my class with ASD to experience a day in the classroom and they were amazed at how he would brush his teeth and wash his hands for me at school but refused at home I shared good practice using songs and number games about ‘Thunderbirds’ (his favourite show) to make these routine tasks enjoyable As an early years teacher I have provided home visits to ease transitions, invited parents to read stories in class and to inspire children by talking about their job roles I have regularly organised support for parents with the school nurse, SENCO, CAMHS team and other professionals as needed Regular calls, ongoing chats, home-school diaries and photos and videos through seesaw have allowed parents in my settings to feel involved in their child’s learning experiences I created Numicon packs to support families with activities to try at home to have fun with during daily activities like bath times and consolidate basic number skills

Inclusion

My experience has familiarised me with the ‘SEN Code of Practice’ and I have had extensive experience and training in which I have completed courses that qualify me to deal professionally with challenging behaviour as well as my commitment to inclusive teaching

I have worked with babies up to young adults in mainstream and special needs settings to provide lesson plans and to get the best from their day I always like to involve the young people in giving them choice and input into creating their environment and lessons Making them feel listened to, supported and confident to reach out to staff with any issues and to celebrate their successes Having high expectations for all children and giving lots of opportunities to be independent and develop life skills in areas like cooking, ICT, gardening, using public transport are some of the methods I use to engage my pupils Ensuring the environment is enabling children and inclusive to their changing needs through necessary specialist equipment like communication software, sensory toys, mobility equipment is of importance in my classroom I would utilise the school environment to its full potential to support learning needs through use of the sensory room, soft play and pool to ensure the children can meet their physical, emotional and educational needs In my current and previous job roles, I have been confident at organising visits to and from theatre companies, therapy animals, art groups and historical workshops My experience has given me a strong background in supporting transitions moving on to the next year group and to a new setting I have provided transition visits, meetings, social stories and visuals to support the move as well as ongoing communication to ensure smooth movement from classes and settings

I strongly believe all children are different and require individual consideration when planning and teaching I have become sophisticated at differentiating learning experiences for children, for example during a poetry lesson in Year 1, I provided stations where children could record their ideas verbally on iPads, make word wands and play rhyming dominoes My peer support and ‘Kagan’ co-operative learning training allows all abilities to support each other and work together inclusively on tasks For example, I used a drama session to reflect on an ongoing problem with the class – fighting over football at playtime, using social stories, puppets and acting out we were able to freeze frame the situation The class were split into two groups so both could put themselves into someone else’s shoes and a solution was worked out as a class team and playtime rota created

In my experience at BRPS, learning walks, book looks, peer observation, delivering and attending staff workshops have enabled me to develop a sharing culture as well as my skills as a reflective practitioner In my previous role as Reception and Nursery team leader I have held weekly meetings and completed appraisals in which I have supported staff with their personal development and training needs Completing a ‘Leading from the Middle’ course at MMU has helped me to develop strategies to support managing teams and supporting individuals to find solution based thinking skills In addition, I have supported student teachers, volunteers, work experience and parent helpers to develop their experience, knowledge and skills I feel proud to be always learning and believe continuous professional development is important to stay up to date with best practice to support learning needs I arranged for After Adoption to attend school and deliver staff workshop to provide information and support materials to help teachers develop better understanding and strategies Ensuring efforts are praised and celebrated at every opportunity and developing resilience in pupils and an attitude of ‘magic mistakes’ being a chance to learn are important in my classroom School assemblies give children an opportunity to be together as a whole and express themselves through music, performance and share learning, also a chance to celebrate one another I have delivered and attended many school assemblies and supported children to participate in song, story and to work together to improve an area in school like the playground I worked with the BRPS Rights Respecting Festival to involve parents and to petition for safer parking as part of community goals and the Rights Respecting Curriculum

Working at Francis House has expanded my knowledge and skills in supporting a range of children and young adults with complex medical needs I have gained competencies in supporting children with oxygen requirements, gastrostomies and tracheostomies I have also become experienced in completing care plans for children and checking Medical Administration Records as well as checking and administering medications Ongoing training with syringe drivers, diabetic equipment, ketogenic diet, cochlear implant and safe swallow have allowed me to continue my learning Liaising with GPs, pharmacists, ventilation and feed teams have provided me with enhanced medical knowledge which I am always keen to stay up to date with I have an up to date CRB in my current and previous roles with enhanced disclosure which can be updated as needed

Living in the Withington community, I would love to be part of supporting young people in the local area to develop in all areas of their life at the Withington Adult Learning Centre I believe that my communication and interpersonal skills would benefit the life of your centre and I would love to work in a setting that is devoted to the fundamental qualities of high quality learning support and inclusion As an enthusiastic practitioner, I believe I share your desire to create a stimulating environment for young people to learn and develop in I would relish the opportunity to support the young people in your setting to develop their futures in a creative, nurturing and active way