Life in Rainbow Room
Intent
The Language Provision, also known as Rainbow Room, is an Additionally Resourced Provision (ARP) for up to 10 primary aged children with significant Speech and Language needs. All pupils in the Language Provision are placed by Together for Children SEND department on a time specific placement of up to 6 terms (2 years), with the first term being an assessment term to determine if the placement is correct. Pupils access Language Provision on a 4 day / 1 day basis (4 days in the provision / Friday at their home school). Children remain on the roll of the home school and they continue to be responsible for the child including seeking involvement from external services, all normal statutory duties, including making requests for Statutory Assessment. The children who attend the Language Provision are known to SALT and have a profile where their main area of need is communication and interaction. Children will have worked with the Intensive Support Team (IST) within SALT whereby it has been recommended that an intensive level of support may be of benefit to meet their needs. Pupils who attend the Language Provision have access to specialist teaching to address and support their individual needs. They are provided with opportunities to develop a number of aspects of their learning, primarily their communication and language skills, as well as their social interaction with their peers.
Implementation
The curriculum within Valley Road Language Provision is broad, balanced and meets the needs of our children. It is carefully planned, builds in strategies to embed knowledge and understanding, and prepares the children for their return to mainstream education and / or their next stages in life. Due to the nature of the provision, developing the speech and language skills of the child is paramount and takes priority within the timetable. Each term, focused studies are planned, in conjunction with SALT, and are based around functional language to ensure the children are able to move towards independence, achieve their speech and language goals and return to mainstream education. Learning is adapted and tailored from the National Curriculum to meet the complex needs of the children via highly differentiated learning. We aim to provide experiences which allow children to develop independence and understanding of the world around them. We have a visit, or visitor, at least once per term and plan these carefully to allow children to embed and practise their key speech and language skills. Within the provision there are 3 staff employed by the school: A specialist teacher in charge of the provision, an LSA who supports the Speech Therapist and delivers follow up work and a second LSA for classroom support. The provision also has access to Speech Therapists for two days across the week who provide therapy, targets and follow up work for the children. The Speech Therapists are employed by the NHS. Children who join Valley Road Language Provision join the Valley Road family. They join in with whole school activities, themed days / weeks, assemblies, break and lunchtimes. For some children, where it is suitable, they may access parts of the mainstream curriculum away from the provision. This is on an individual basis and decided in conjunction with home schools, parents and SALT.
Impact
All children in the Language Provision make good progress towards their Speech and Language targets. The children also make progress towards academic targets due to specialised teaching strategies. At the end of the placement, children transition back to their mainstream schools with strategies, skills and resources to support them. For children where mainstream education is not appropriate, they are supported to transition to a more specialist setting with a detailed profile of their needs identified.
Curriculum Overview 2025-2026
