Fort Royal’s School links with the local community

Friends of Fort Royal

Friends of Fort Royal is a Registered Charity (No.504033) raising funds to benefit the children at Fort Royal Community Primary School.  FofFR is run by parents and other people who care about the children at our school. They are closely involved in most of the large school projects supporting us financially and through resources, props, own time, and volunteering at the events. Please see Friends of Fort Royal bookmark for more information on how to support the charity.

Operation Encompass.

Our school is part of a national project, which is being run locally in partnership with Worcestershire Children First and West Mercia Police. Operation Encompass is a process whereby the police and county council will inform a member of staff if a child or young person has experienced any domestic incident. This will be done prior to the start of the next school day. Information sharing between professional agencies allows school staff to provide emotional and practical support to their pupils experiencing domestic abuse. Domestic abuse can broadly be defined as ‘any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour; violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who have been intimate partners or family members. This can include but is not limited to the following types of abuse – psychological, physical, sexual, financial, and emotional.  Operation Encompass ensures that a member of the school staff, usually the Designated Safeguarding Lead, is given special training, to enable them to liaise with the police and Local Authority in receiving and using the information that has been shared, in confidence. The sharing of details under Operation Encompass is permitted under Statutory Safeguarding Lead and in respect of local authority schools under the Crime and Disorder Act (for the prevention of crime) and doing so without the child’s or parent’s consent is permissible, under both pieces of legislation and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Church

For more than 15 years Fort Royal School has had a close relationship with the local church, St. Martin’s. We generally hold four events there each year, at harvest time, Christmas, and Easter, and finally too in July to celebrate all the achievements of the school year as it comes to a close and to wish farewell to our students during Leavers assembly held in the church. The community at the church are always extremely welcoming and supportive of us, allowing us to run our events in a way which is meaningful to our children, whilst always attending and participating. Over time we have developed this so that different parts of the school take more of a lead in different events, therefore allowing the children to take ownership over a variety events throughout their school life. The great highlight of our services is the school choir sitting up by the altar. We always welcome parents and friends in our special celebrations at St. Martin’s church.

Horse-riding

For many years, pupils who are receiving the Pupil Premium payment have been lucky enough to access horse riding through Riding for the Disabled at a beautiful working farm in the most stunning Worcestershire countryside near Bromyard.

Led by the wonderful Julia and her team of volunteers with great understanding of the children’s conditions and potential difficulties, the children learn to ride a horse in a safe, but fun environment and this experience helps our pupils in many ways. It can help them to develop their core strength physically, gain in confidence, help them with sensory and/or emotional regulation and develop their communication and social skills. The children get the opportunity to connect with not only the horses but also with the other animals on the farm and with the nature. They participate in a Nativity at Christmas, an Easter Egg Hunt at Easter and go swimming/paddling in a stream and have a picnic in the Summer. The whole annual experience gives pupils at Fort Royal fantastic opportunity to develop personally, socially and to thrive.

Arts week

Arts Week is held annually at Fort Royal School and all the children are given an opportunity to take part in a range of activities and workshops; some led by artists and performers from the community both locally and nationally as well as by our own passionate Teachers and TA’s.

In previous Arts Weeks we have welcomed local dance company ‘Dancefest, musicians ‘Drumlove’, interactive story tellers ‘Fantastic Journeys’ and theatre company ‘White Socks Theatre’. The children have created their own performances as well as having the opportunity to watch these specialists perform. Our sessions with ‘Anjali’ Dance company have particularly inspired many of our children as the dancers themselves have SEND.

A highlight for many of the children is attending Any Pidcock’s interactive music sessions. Andy tailors his sessions to children with SEND and has performed with the BBC in the past for inclusive audiences.

We’ve also been lucky enough to host several sessions with Oxford-based interactive, multi-sensory musicians ‘Soundabout’. They use music, sound, silence to create an opportunity for children with complex SEND to enjoy and express themselves; including our children who are pre-verbal.

Welcoming these specialists into our school has inspired and captivated many of our children who may not otherwise have access to such activities outside of school. It is invaluable for them to be able to be included in these workshops within a familiar setting and we welcome many of the same performers back year after year.

Parent Community Views

We regularly survey our parents and are very proud of their positive views and comments about the school.  If something is not right, we listen to parents and try to help them. Leaders are always accessible to parents, and we use school-home diaries to share any good news or concerns. Our school office team is always happy to arrange a meeting if parents wish to discuss anything with the teachers or our leaders. As a school we provide additional training to parents to meet their needs, this includes sign along.

Sign-along

Signalong is a key word sign-supported communication system based on British sign language and is used in spoken word order. It uses speech, sign, body language, facial expression and voice tone to reference the link between sign and word. At Fort Royal School we use a total communication-based approach to help support each child’s needs and to also enable every child to communicate with one another. Training is offered to the parents who are willing to take part in regular evening sessions with the two sign-along leaders. Children practise sign-along during school assemblies and in lessons.

Additional Sports Activities

Fort Royal have welcomed several Cricket coaches over the past few years. Children from across the school have had the opportunity to experience table cricket which is an inclusive adaptive game for all using a tennis table as a pitch.

We have also had fun with softball cricket in Key Stage 2 with children developing their skills and playing a shortened version of the game.

Children have also experienced ‘Balance ability’ where they are taught the early skills for riding a bike and progression to full pedals.

We have also attended inclusion festivals at the University Arena where other special schools and SEN groups attend a festival of different games and skills.

The children really benefit from these experiences through socialising with other children and adults from other classes and schools along with the benefits of developed skills they achieve a sense of positive wellbeing and achievement especially when they learn to cycle.

ECT’s

Here at Fort Royal school, we pride ourselves on the commitment and dedication we provide to ensuring our Early Career Teachers feel supported and guided to develop their skills, knowledge and classroom practice required to be successful in their roles. The Early Career Teacher (ECT) Programme is a two-year training and support entitlement for early career teachers based on the Early Career Framework (ECF). We use instructional coaching, one of the best-evidenced forms of professional development, meaning early career teachers will benefit from bite-sized content and tailored, observational feedback to help them to keep getting better over time. We have been fortunate to support many ECTs who have successfully completed their training and have become outstanding practitioners.

Worcester University (OT students)

At Fort Royal we have developed strong links with the Occupational Therapy department at Worcester University through student placements, supported by Alison Double, university lecturer and our independent sensory occupational therapist. During their placements they have supported the development of several initiatives in school, such as the sensory cabin and the sensory library. Their most recent project has been the development of sensory bags to support pupils' transitions around our school. They have also attended coffee mornings where they have delivered presentations to parents on the senses and their impact on our daily lives and they have also show cased the sensory library.  

Young Voices New Visions

Young Voices New Visions is an annual exhibition at Worcester Cathedral, showcasing visual artworks created by children and young people. The exhibition is open to all schools and community groups in Worcestershire who work with children and young people, Fort Royal Community Primary School has been performing and exhibiting pieces of art for V&V’s over a decade. Work can usually be made collaboratively or by individuals in any visual art medium, children have a choice of variety of options and ideas within a different theme each year.

Focus is usually chosen to unify the artworks submitted by schools and community groups. The following quotes are from visitors and participants to previous Young Voices New Visions exhibitions.

“I was surprised by the degree of originality and creativity expressed by the young people”. 

“The exhibition showcased the enormous talent and the imagination of the children and teachers”

“The exhibition made me happy and pleased that so many young people are so creative.”

Fort Royal School works closely with the local SEN high school, Regency

Links with Regency High School have always been strong with Fort Royal with around 90% of year 6 children transitioning to this secondary SEN school. Throughout the academic year there are several opportunities for the schools to work together and share experiences. Regency have previously hosted a Primary Panathlon funded by Sport England, The National Lottery and Active Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. The KS2 Primary Multi Skills Panathlon Festival is designed to target pupils with special educational needs and/or disability in Years 3-6. Further to this, staff members from Regency school visit UKS2 classes in the summer term to carry out assessments, meet the pupils in their setting and create passports and social stories ready for transitions in September. Children from Fort Royal also have opportunities to visit Regency school for sport or any other theme related mornings and afternoon sessions. These sessions consist of planned activities, tours, and time to meet peers and staff. This helps ease the transition from primary to secondary school. There are also strong links with the PSHE lead at Regency school and there is a good continuation with the PSHE curriculum across the schools.

Trainings for parents run by the school family support worker.

Through our links with Starting Well Partnership we are able to offer parents access to a ten-week course called ‘Understanding your child with additional needs’. This is based on the Solihull approach, a NICE approved resource which parents can also access online if they are unable to make it to the courses held here at FR. They also offer a range of different parenting courses and resources to help with older children, family conflicts and pregnancy support.  Starting Well Partnership | Worcestershire | Starting Well (startingwellworcs.nhs.uk)  As well as offering this, our school Family Support Worker is available 5 days a week to be on hand to offer support. That might be help with filling out forms, sleep/ toileting/ food advice, behaviour support or financial support. When parents request home visit, these are arranged, FSW can also meet at a cafe or any other neutral place to accommodate. It may even be just a chat at morning drop off to share some worries parents have. We also offer coffee mornings/afternoons once a term, to meet with other parents, professionals such as the nurse or the Occupational Therapist (when available) and discuss anything parents would like support with.

Smart box volunteers

Fort Royal is very lucky to welcome some volunteers from the SmartBox company that support our children with the communication aids for iPads. They support school during the enrichment days and take part in activities with children.

Students

At Fort Royal we welcome a range of students from local colleges and universities. We have developed strong links with the University of Worcester and Birmingham as well as Chadsgrove teaching school to provide teacher trainee placements. We also work with local colleges to provide students with short- and long-term placements.

Social media re personal development and enrichment

Fort Royal uses both X and Instagram as another way of engaging with parents, past and present, as well as staff.   We have a weekly sign of the week which classes take turns in doing, this is often linked to the weather at the time, events that are happening or general common signs.  Classes also submit photos or videos of activities within class or trips and events that may have occurred, it is also used as a way of sharing upcoming events.  Using social media has increased engagement with parents, parents enjoy seeing what the pupils have been doing and sharing this with friends and family, it is also a nice opportunity for school staff to see what other classes have been doing.  During covid when families were at home engagement significantly increased and families would share home learning via direct message to share with others.

King’s School

For many years Fort Royal has had a close relationship with Kings School Worcester who organise an annual Fun Day for us. At first this used to take place in their beautiful gardens but over the years, as the needs of our students have changed, it is now held on the field at Fort Royal School. This ensures that it remains accessible for all of the children. The day always includes a wide selection of activities and entertainment, including bouncy castles, face painting, music and dance performances, and sports and sensory activities, to name but a few. Every year we keep our fingers crossed for a dry day but we always make the best of it, regardless of the weather!

Waddle of Worcester

The great Waddle of Worcester is being brought to the city by St Richard’s Hospice. The charity has delivered two previous, hugely popular Wild in Art trails; Worcester Stands Tall, in summer 2018, and Worcester’s Big Parade, in summer 2021, which combined raised more than £700,000 for the care of patients and families. Year 2024 brought in penguin chick, and this time we are also proud to support this great cause. Children painted all the animals which are now brightly welcoming visitors at school. It is always a great opportunity for our students to get together, create, play and share with the local community.

Local services (Police, fire brigade)

We are lucky enough to have links with the local Fire Brigade who have volunteered to visit us at school and have allowed us to visit the local fire station too. This has allowed the children to see a real fire engine and other vehicles, experience the sounds of the sirens, use the different buttons on the panels, try on the uniform and helmets and use the hose to water the path and flowers! This is always a great real-life experience for our pupils and the local fire fighters are always helpful in supporting the individual needs of our students to enable them all to have access to the experience.

SEN dance festival

Few years ago, three dedicated practitioners sat down together and decided on a brilliant idea to run SEN dance festival, Michele, Rose and Sylwia initiated and organised the first SEN dance festival for children with special educational needs in Worcestershire. The following year children from another county joined, then COVID19 surprised us all, but they haven’t stopped providing exciting opportunities for SEN children to get together and express themselves through dance. The festival has been hosted by Fort Royal and supported with Dancefest practitioners; our last theme was called Reimagine Dance Project. Students from across Worcestershire and Herefordshire were sharing their dance pieces, danced and laughed together showing enthusiasms and their special interest. It is amazing way to include our students and enhance their desire to dance and express though movement. It was collaborative work between Fort Royal, Dancefest and the School Games Organisers.