St. Michael’s Inclusion Team meets every week to discuss the how each child can be included and supported to meet their potential in social, emotional and character development in addition to the academic curriculum.
We look at the “whole” child, and bring a range of expertise and professional contacts to each child we discuss and support, either personally or with advice given to other staff, parents and external professionals (parental permission will be sought before involving other agencies).
Members attend Pupil Progress meetings termly with and class teachers.
All the Inclusion Team are Advanced level 3 Safeguarding trained.
The team consists of staff trained in areas such as dyslexia, autism, deaf/hearing loss, speech and language, sensory and physical needs, mental health, nurture, bereavement support, safeguarding, children in care, restorative justice, attendance, parent support, Trauma Informed Schools, PRICE, British Sign Language, The Neurodiversity Profiling Tool.
- Since 2020 we have been developing our BSL and Deaf provision for our pupils, parents and staff who are d/Deaf.
- BSL is used throughout the school in most collective worship sessions and school performances.
- All staff have had deaf awareness training and been enrolled on a 10 session introductory BSL course (including office and premises staff).
- We now have 2 fluent signers (one profoundly Deaf ), 4 members of staff are part way through Signature level 3 course, 2 are doing level 2 and a further 5 have gained a Signature accredited level 1 qualification.
- We work closely with the Teachers of the Deaf from the Local Authority, who are in school supporting students and staff most days.
- We are an educational member of the National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) and have good working relationships with all the Cornish interpreters registered with the NRCPD.
- In classes with Deaf pupils, their peers learn BSL along with them and use sign when playing outside or communicating in class.
- There are Deaf bases in both the Infant and Junior Departments, these rooms provide distraction-free areas rich in visual resources to develop attention, vocabulary, signing, and English skills, needed to access the whole curriculum.
- There are many BSL signs around the school and we currently have a BSL lunchtime Club to help the older pupils who have had less exposure to BSL during their journey through St. Michael's (we plan to extend this to other years).
- More about BSL at St. Michael's