Aurora Hanley, an Ofsted Outstanding-rated special needs school in Bucknall, Stoke-on-Trent, has added to its impressive array of awards by achieving our Communication Friendly Setting (CFSe) accreditation.
Aurora Hanley Headteacher Tracy Whitehurst commented: “We are delighted to be one of only 100 education settings in the country to achieve the prestigious Elklan CFSe accreditation.”
“We are passionate that every young person deserves the opportunity to succeed – and as our students often have complex communication needs associated with Autism spectrum conditions, finding tailored solutions to help students develop their communication skills and confidence is essential.”
Elklan CFSe accreditation is awarded to schools that have trained and supported all their staff in communication and language development. Schools achieving Elklan CFSe accreditation will also have shown evidence of embedding this knowledge in targeted interventions and through the implementation of a Communication Policy.
Six Teaching Assistants from Aurora Hanley completed 10 weeks of training. Two of the group were then chosen to become Lead Communication Practitioners – and went on to deliver additional Elklan modules to all school staff. A comprehensive audit was then carried out before CFSe accreditation was confirmed.
Strategies and games
A number of creative strategies and games are employed to help students break through their own barriers to effective communication, including Vocabulary Jenga and the aptly titled ‘Barrier Game’.
This was an activity where students are asked to collect three random objects from outside and then describe them to their partner, who has to guess what it is. A visual display includes prompts for the students which shows them how to communicate with each other during the activity, and of course photos for evidence.
Tracy Whitehurst added: “The training we received from Elklan has built on the skills of the team at Aurora Hanley, and empowered them to deliver a varied and creative program. This approach is helping our young people break down some of the communication barriers they experience so they can maximise their skills and abilities in preparation for future life.”
About Aurora
- Established in 2015, the Aurora Group is the UK’s fifth largest provider of educational services for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities.
- Aurora works with over 80 funding authorities across the UK, who commission a mixture of day, outreach and residential placements.
- The Aurora Group is part of an inspiring B-Corp movement, placing gold-standard social and ethical values at the heart of all it does.
