DRUMBEAT SCHOOL Monthly Newsletter Dear Parents and Carers It has been a wonderful term and a wonderful year for Drumbeat. Thank you for all your support with your children. We could not do so well without this. Challenge Partners is a learning partnership we work with and they carried out a review of our school this month. They agreed with us that we are Outstanding. They were glowing in their feedback about the rich curriculum, the quality of leadership and teaching and the superb way we support our children. The report is on the website. Our Christmas markets raised a lot of money, so thank you again for all your support. Christmas Jumper Day also raised 100 for Children in Need. I have enjoyed the wonderful Christmas concerts on both sites and have been amazed at the talent of our children. I want to thank all our staff for all their hard work this term. They are amazing every day. Sadly we have to say goodbye to Rosie, our Occupational Therapist. We thank her for all the work she has done supporting our children and wish her all the best for the future. Dates for the Diary. Friday, 21 December School closes at 1pm for Christmas Holidays Monday, 7 January Staff Training Day Tuesday, 8 January Pupils back at school Friday, 25 January Meet the Governors at Downham from 10am Wednesday, 30 January Coffee Morning Topic: Life beyond Drumbeat Brockley at 10am Friday, 15 February Last day of Spring Term 1 Alison Luker will be joining us in January. She will be a Teacher in the Primary department. I would like to wish you all a happy Christmas and New Year and I hope you have a restful holiday. Marie Neave Executive Headteacher Drumbeat School & ASD Service 1
Gatwick becomes first UK airport to open sensory room The new, free-to-use sensory room provides a calming space for passengers with special needs to relax in before their flight. The new space in the North Terminal has been designed for passengers with autism, dementia, cognitive impairment or other special needs who would benefit from a designated place to help them feel at ease before their flight. Passengers using the sensory room have the option to transform it from a calming and relaxing environment to a stimulating interactive space full of light and sound with just the flick of a switch. The chill-out zone for those needing calm includes floor cushions, bean bags and digital display panels, which generate colourful visual wall features. The separate interactive zone stimulates the senses through tactile panels, textures and a game to improve memory, motor skills and encourages learning. Activities to experience in the room include: Catherine Wheel Panel colour and sound displays including firework effects Abstract Tactile Panels raised and recessed fluid shapes in contrasting textures Sound to Light Showtime sounds converted into a dazzling light show of colour Waterless Rainbow Tube colour wheel with both calming and stimulating effects Interactive Giant Causeway step on each segment to activate colourful lights Continued on the next page Drumbeat School & ASD Service 2
The free-to-use room is available only to departing passengers and their families or carers, who can book a 45-minute session at the North Terminal s special assistance desk after they ve gone through security. The desk is part of a new airline lounge style area, which opened earlier this year for passengers who require special assistance one of the biggest of its kind in any European airport. The special assistance area has capacity to seat up to 90 people and has been designed with a premium lounge feel, providing bespoke chairs and soft furnishings to provide a quiet, calm environment for passengers to relax in before their flight. Gatwick Airport s Head of Terminal Operations, Andy Pule, said: We recognise airports can be stressful environments for some passengers, which is why we are extremely proud to offer this new space for them to relax in and enjoy before their flight. Gatwick is committed to providing passengers who have a disability of any kind with the support and services required to ensure their time at the airport is as comfortable as possible and this remains a key area of focus for the airport. Chief Executive of the National Autistic Society, Mark Lever, said: There are around 700,000 autistic people in the UK and they and their families want to access the same opportunities others often take for granted, and this includes holidays and travel. But many rely on routines to make sense of an often confusing world and can find the busy and unpredictable airport and flight environments distressing and disorientating. This is why we were delighted that London Gatwick, who achieved our prestigious Autism Friendly Award in 2016, have gone a step further and created a fantastic new sensory room for autistic travellers. A calming space like this can help autistic people to decompress and relax before departure, helping them to better manage their anxiety during the flight. Supportive spaces like these play an essential role in opening up the world for autistic people and their families. Autism Ambassador for Gatwick Airport, Maria Cook, said: I cannot thank the whole team involved in this project enough for making it a reality. Working closely with Gatwick I explained the vast benefits of having such a wonderful facility available and the positive impact it has for people with complex conditions and their families and they did not hesitate to create something very special indeed. It is the most amazing Sensory Room I have ever seen. To have somewhere like this to explore and reduce anxieties before boarding a flight for someone with Autism, Dementia, a learning difficulty to name but a few conditions, is so important for the person themselves, their carers and accompanying family and it could very well make the difference between someone actually getting on the plane or not at all because it had become too stressful. Please visit www.internationalairportreview.com/news/76072/gatwick-sensory-room/ for more information. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 3
Drumbeat Coffee Mornings for Parents 2018 2019 Coffee mornings will be held at both sites and are open to all Drumbeat parents and carers. Please attend as many as you feel relevant to you. Date & Time Drumbeat Site Theme Led by Friday, 25 January at 10am Downham Meet the Governors This is an opportunity for parents and carers to meet the Drumbeat Governors in an informal setting. Parents can discuss with Governors the role they fulfil within the school. Sheryl / Katy Wednesday, 30 January at 10am Brockley Life Beyond Drumbeat Post 19 options This session will be led by a member from adult social services and Lewisham Education. The aim of the session will be to provide information about pathways for young adults with disabilities. This will include what is available and entitlement. You will have an opportunity to ask questions throughout. Denise Gallagher DHT, Lewisham SEN & Linda Smith Lewisham Adult Social Care Friday, 8 February At 10am Downham Meeting sensory needs at home How do you child s sensory needs show their behaviour at home? Always on the move? Refusing to get in the bath or shower? Problem tolerating normal household noises like washing machine or hoover? Come along to this session to find out more about sensory difficulties for children with autism, and share ideas for things to try at home to make everyday life easier. Wednesday, 13 February Brockley Growing up and relationships How do you understand your child s changing needs as they grow up and go through puberty? This session will look at the often complicated issues for girls and boys with autistic spectrum disorders as they go through their teenage years and discuss how to support your child to form healthy and happy Relationships. Dr Emma Mahoney Clinical Psychologist & Anna Harper Behaviour Counsellor Friday, 8 March at 10am Brockley PIP How to tackle Personal Independent Payment applications (PIP) Support and advice from other parents and professionals. Sheryl and Contact a Family Wednesday, 20 March at 10am Downham Anxiety what it looks and feels like and how to help you child manage it. This session will help you to understand anxiety, what it looks like and how it affects your child, and how to help them to manage. Dr Emma Mahoney Clinical Psychologist & Anna Harper Behaviour Counsellor Drumbeat School & ASD Service 4
Drumbeat 6th Form Drumbeat School and ASD Service caters for young people on the autism spectrum. Our 6 th Form is open to 16-19 year olds. We run a 3 year programme focussing on life skills and independence. Come and see what we are all about by booking a place on one of our open days. The next open day will be on: Thursday 17 th January at 1.30pm To book your place, please call 020 7635 9022 or email a.effahmensah@drumbeat.lewisham.sch.uk Drumbeat School & ASD Service 5
Downham Christmas Fair The Downham Christmas Fair was a huge success and we would like to thank all our parents and staff for the generous donations. With your help and generosity we raised 350.11 for the school. We would like to say a special thank you to the following people: Emma Moss for donating the lovely chocolate hamper, kids hampers and for helping at the fair. Dennis Whitcombe for all the toys and for helping at the fair all day. Congratulations to all our raffle prize winners. Thank you for your continued support and have a Merry Christmas Drumbeat School & ASD Service 6
Drumbeat Christmas Project Thank you to all the donations that we received and especially to the hard work of our young people our Xmas Project has been a great success. As you know students from KS3 have been busy by collecting donations, preparing hampers and also by travelling using public transport to the venue where the project took place. Here they supported volunteers and staff from the Voluntary Services Lewisham. Our students help and interaction was fantastic and greatly appreciated. During those weeks we ve been so, so proud of our students as their work made a difference on a lot people s life people this past Christmas. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 7
Issue 60 December 2018 Drumbeat s performance of Macbeth at the Albany, Deptford last month was a great success. A photographer from the festival was present to record the evening. Here are a few of the special moments from the show. Thank you again to everyone who made this such a special evening. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 8
Issue 60 December 2018 Turtle Class Turtle Class have been involved in some exciting events over the past month. There have been three highlights however. We spent a morning at the Adventure Soft Play Room in Bellingham Leisure Centre. All the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves. It was a great morning. The class went to see Santa in his Grotto at school. I was really impressed at how sensible everyone was while they waited to see Santa. Finally a big thank you all the parents who came to see us in the Christmas show and a big well done to all the children in Turtle Class who took part in the show. Continued on the next page Drumbeat School & ASD Service 9
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Issue 60 December 2018 Tiger Class Tiger Class have been preparing for Christmas. We have been making decorations and we enjoyed performing in the Christmas Show. Continued on the next page Drumbeat School & ASD Service 11
Issue 60 December 2018 We celebrated our successful term by taking the children to Bellingham Soft Play. We all had lots of fun! Drumbeat School & ASD Service 12
Crocodile Class Wow! What an amazing and busy first term in Crocodile Class. We have loved learning all about the book Peace at Last by Jill Murphy. We made our own watches to tell the time, we cooked tea and biscuits ready for bed just like Daddy Bear and made bear masks to help us tell the story. Maybe you could visit your local library and see if you can find Peace at Last to read at home. On Monday we went to Bellingham Soft Play Centre and had so much fun, we ve visited the local shop to buy ingredients to make some yummy mince pies and took part in the fantastic school Christmas show. The adults in Crocodile Class are very proud of us. Have a lovely Christmas holiday. See you all in the New Year! Drumbeat School & ASD Service 13
Issue 60 December 2018 Tigers Class Sensory Room Lisa-Marie and Kirstyn turned the classroom into a Christmas Sensory Room. Here are some photos of the pupils having fun! Continued on the next page Drumbeat School & ASD Service 14
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Zebra Class To celebrate all our hard work and the end of term we decided to arrange a KS1 trip to Bellingham soft play. We enjoyed playing with our friends and had so much fun. We visited Father Christmas in his Grotto and got presents for being excellent Drumbeat pupils. It was a lovely experience and the grotto looked amazing thanks to Santa s elves. We also really enjoyed performing in our Christmas show we hope you enjoyed it too. Continued on the next page Drumbeat School & ASD Service 16
It has been a fun filled term and we are looking forward to the spring term. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 17
Giraffes Class Giraffe class visited the Horniman Museum; we looked at the farm animals in the grounds, at the exhibits in the museum and then we all went to the park and had fun playing in the playground. All the children had a wonderful time and were very interested in everything we saw. Ismail asked the curator lots of questions about what was on display and Abraar liked the little mice and the bees in the interactive centre. This week Giraffe class visited Santa in the beautifully decorated Grotto - the children received a present from him and dressed up in Santa and elf hats. We have been doing lots of Christmas arts and crafts this week; making and decorating trees, penguins, stars and cards. Giraffe Class really enjoyed performing in the Christmas show- they sand their song Christmas cards are everywhere brilliantly. We also have had a little party for Laurie who is now 9. What a wonderful cake! Continued on the next page Drumbeat School & ASD Service 18
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Issue 60 December 2018 Lions Class Lions class enjoyed the Christmas celebrations. They were fantastic during the Christmas show performance and they made lots of lovely Christmas decorations. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from everyone in the Lions Class. Continued on the next page Drumbeat School & ASD Service 20
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Leopard Class Earlier in December Leopard class went on a trip to Ruxley Manor. It was a very busy day and we had difficulty finding somewhere to park. While at the garden centre we looked a t the lovely displays and we also saw the reindeer. We had the opportunity to stop and have lunch by the ice rink. I was cold but it was also funny watching the people try and skate. We all had a great day and it got us in the Christmas spirit. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 22
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Wembley Class It has been a busy term for Wembley class students, but we have had a great time. Humaid has enjoyed his swimming sessions each Friday and can swim a width of the pool unaided! In our Life skills sessions we have been learning to cook eggs in different ways and particularly enjoyed making our cheese and mushroom omelettes. Of course the proof is in the eating. Outside, we have been keeping fit, with regularly running 8 laps around the exercise area and then playing a game of football rounders. In the New Year we are aiming to complete 10 laps before our game. Some of Wembley class also took part in a rowing machine competition in December and gained runners up medals. Well done! Drumbeat School & ASD Service 24
Work experience at Good Hope and Jammi Café Students Otugoma, Oswaldo,Taylor, Donte and Shequille have been attending work experience at The Good hope café and Jammi cafe every Thursday this term. They have been learning skills in customer service, making and preparing food and drinks and maintaining a clean and hygienic kitchen area. Staff and customers at the café have commented on how well the students have conducted themselves throughout their placement. Well done to all of them and a big thank you to Sharon and Harry for supporting them so well during their placement there. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 25
Millwall Football Club Independent Living Course 6 th form students have been attending Millwall football club training ground to take part in the ASDAN independent living course. The first part of the course required them to develop their money handling skills, learning how to budget for the weekly food shop and learning how to cook nutritious meals that they can cook at home. A big thank you to Vincenzo, Beverley, Matthew and Tammy for supporting the students during the course. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 26
Tower Class Last week as a Christmas treat, some of the students in Tower class went to the Greenwich Picture House to watch Arthur Christmas. Lots of fun was had by all. We would like to say a big thank you to Ben the manager at the Cinema who kindly allowed us to have the display for a new film called Spider-man into the Spiderverse. Many of the students have a great interest in Marvel DC and Super Hero films, so were delighted to dismantle the display and bring it back to school. It has even managed to have a role in our Christmas show. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 27
Battersea Class Battersea class have been researching the local area of Battersea and got to go on a visit to check out the local area. Students visited Battersea Park and used maps to orienteer and navigate their way around. They found many interesting landmarks including the peace pagoda on the river Thames, the bandstand and the playground to name a few. Students also checked out the new development at Battersea power station and we are planning further visits to Battersea cat and dog home. A big thank you to Beverley, Joan, Darren and Harry for supporting them so well during throughout the trip. Drumbeat School & ASD Service 28
If you are in receipt of any of the following benefits you may be eligible to receive Free School Meals for your child: Universal Credit Income Support Income-based Jobseekers Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance Child Tax Credit net earnings threshold of 7400 from April 2018 Guarantee element of pension card Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 To apply for Free School Meals please go to www.lewisham.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals You will need to create an account and submit an online application. For more information email pupil.support@lewisham.gov.uk Whilst your child will be eligible for the Universal Free School Meals in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, the school could benefit from Pupil Premium funding of up to 1320 per child if you are in receipt of any of the following benefits Universal Credit Income Support Income-based Jobseekers Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance Child Tax Credit net earnings threshold of 7400 from April 2018 Guarantee element of pension card Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 An application for Free School Meals will confirm whether you are eligible and allow the school to claim the funding. To apply you will need to create an account and submit an online application at the link below www.lewisham.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals For more information email pupil.support@lewisham.gov.uk Drumbeat School & ASD Service 29
AUTUMN TERM 2018 SCHOOL TERM AND HOLIDAY DATES 2018/2019 AUTUMN TERM 1 HALF TERM HOLIDAY AUTUMN TERM 2 CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY Monday 3 September Staff training day Tuesday 4 September Students first day of term Friday 28 September Staff training day Friday 19 October - Students last day of term MONDAY 22 OCTOBER FRIDAY 26 OCTOBER Monday 29 October Students first day of term Friday 21 December - Students last day of term* (School will close at 1pm on this day) MONDAY 24 DECEMBER FRIDAY 4 JANUARY SPRING TERM 2019 SPRING TERM 1 HALF TERM HOLIDAY SPRING TERM 2 EASTER HOLIDAY Monday 7 January Staff training day Tuesday 8 January - Students first day of term Friday 15 February Students last day of term MONDAY 18 FEBRUARY FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY Monday 25 February Students first day of term Friday 5 April - Students last day of term* (School will close at 1pm on this day) MONDAY 8 APRIL MONDAY 22 APRIL SUMMER TERM 2019 SUMMER TERM 1 HALF TERM HOLIDAY SUMMER TERM 2 Tuesday 23 April Students first day of term Friday 24 May Students last day of term (MAY DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY WILL BE TAKEN ON 6 MAY) MONDAY 27 MAY FRIDAY 31 MAY (SPRING BANK HOLIDAY WILL BE TAKEN ON 27 MAY) Monday 3 June Students first day of term Friday 19 July Students last day of term* Monday 22 & Tuesday 23 July Twilight Staff Training Days non attending Drumbeat School & ASD Service 30