Welcome to Crofty!

Our Class:

Our class is led by Jess Roberson (Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri) and Sam Murray  (Thu) assisted by a team of teaching assistants who are extremely knowledgeable of the needs of the pupils. We are supported by a team of Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists and Speech and Language Therapists with whom we work closely to produce targets and programmes for the pupils. These programmes are built into our everyday learning and the therapists enjoy joining us to see their programmes in action! Crofty class provides a happy, stimulating, fun and safe place to learn.

Our Curriculum:

Crofty class learn through a highly active, structured and holistic multi-sensory curriculum. This is informed by a developmental perspective where the starting point is the individual learner’s (EHC plan). The curriculum is personalised for each pupil, addresses the priority areas relating to the development and needs of the learners throughout the day. The aim in Crofty class is for each learner to achieve his or her personalised goals in terms of cognition & learning, communication & interaction, sensory development, physical & motor skills, social & emotional awareness and independence. We practice our communication and interaction skills with our friends, class team and the wider community. We learn through physical, fine and gross motor activities benefiting from spending lots of time learning in different environments and especially out of our chairs. We learn through social & emotional activities which often include working and playing with our friends from other classes and Illogan school.

Reading in Crofty Class:

In Crofty class we are working on our pre-reading skills.  We really enjoy songs and rhymes, these are part of our early phonics learning.  We are learning to recognise environmental sounds, enjoy rhythm and identify difference in sounds, for example focussing on fast and slow rhythms, or listening to loud and quiet sounds.  All of this comes into Letters and Sounds Phase 1 phonics, and all of the skills we are practicing will support us to learn to ‘read’ our environment.  For all children this is the first building block in their reading journey.  Additionally we will be taught how to interpret photographs, symbols and signs, another component in early reading development.  In Crofty Class reading and communication are closely linked and often cross over. 

Many of our topics are taught through books and stories, helping us to develop a love of literature.  We enjoy sensory stories and rhymes, massage stories and we are encouraged to share books with adults, a great way to develop the relationships that we have with each other.   Some of our children with specific needs are able to share specially adapted materials such as the Living Paintings, specifically designed to support children with visual impairments.  Making stories and rhyme accessible and enjoyable to every member of the class is at the heart of our planning every time we choose a text to share.

Learning Environment:

At Curnow Lower school we access a range of learning environments which support and vary our learning opportunities. We have a spacious classroom with a covered balcony, outside play areas including a sandpit, trampoline and plenty of accessible space for everyone. Our sensory room is used for a wide range of sensory, social, physical and cognitive learning activities and the movement room provides a soft play area for structured and free play sessions. We use the hall, classroom and outside space for physical activities both in and out of our chairs. The pupils work in small groups in different learning environments throughout the school day ensuring their learning is stimulating, varied (often messy) and most importantly, active and fun!