Sporting success and upcoming open day at Thames Valley School

Parents and carers of autistic children aged 5 to 16 in Reading and the surrounding area are invited to join Thames Valley School, part of the Liberty Academy Trust family, at its Open Evening on Thursday, May 16. The event will be an opportunity for prospective families to look around the school to find out more about its educational ethos and meet members of the staff team.

Gemma Buley, Principal, Thames Valley School, said: “We are looking forward to welcoming prospective families to look around our happy and inclusive school. At Thames Valley School, we seek to advance thinking on what autistic people can achieve and we take enormous care to give each child the tailored support they need to learn well, develop confidence and embark upon their journey towards independent adulthood.

“We recognise that each child’s needs and abilities are different and we support our students to follow a personalised programme – comprising a core curriculum of English, maths and science, with optional subjects like art, music and PE to provide enjoyment and breadth. Each year, we enter students for a range of vocational and traditional exams and are proud that amongst our alumni are young people who have gone on to university and local sixth form colleges, as well as those who have taken on apprenticeships in their chosen fields. We have excellent on-site expertise and facilities, and students benefit from regular sessions in our brand-new sensory room with our specially trained therapeutic teams.

“We are keen to build a local network of experience and support for autistic children and local community partners, including representatives from SENDIASS or our local authorities, are also very welcome to attend.”

Anyone who would like to attend Thames valley School’s open evening should email to book their place via office@thamesvalleyschool.org.uk

Last week the children enjoyed sporting success, after staff organised a carefully-planned sports day at Palmer Park stadium. Children from Year 3 to Year 10 joined in a host of sports – displaying skills in traditional track and field events including javelin, hurdles and high jump, as well as getting stuck into sports day favourites like the obstacle, and egg and spoon races.

The event was structured thoughtfully with students’ needs in mind, and to help ensure everyone could enjoy and participate fully in the day. In the run up, staff spent time sharing ‘social stories’ with students – a tried and test means of supporting autistic people in new situations through the use of pictorial guides.

The sports day social stories explained each stage of the day, including what students needed to wear and how they would travel to the stadium, as well as tips for what to do if they felt overwhelmed – for example, to wear their headphones, or speak to an adult. To extend their learning, students spent time in class researching various sports, including their origins and rules, and the medal-winning men and women who had achieved great heights of success – all to inspire their own performances on the day.

Gemma Buley, Principal, Thames Valley School, said: “A traditional school sports day can be lots of fun, but also bring noise, crowds and commotion – all things that can be challenging for autistic children and young people. Therefore, it was all the more special to see our whole school community enjoying our sports day, and to know that the careful preparations we had put in place helped to ensure students felt confident and content to join in. There was a great atmosphere at the stadium, and some amazing sporting effort to see. Well done to all the competitors!”

Reading, Berkshire