Bridges : Foundation
A life skills scheme to prepare students for adulthood.
Handbook for parents and teachers
Sample
Legacy: A tribute to Sonya Daniels
Gesher is both privileged and humbled that the Bridges life skills scheme has been made possible by working in collaboration with the Daniels family from the Pinner Jewish community in order to honour the extraordinary life of Sonya Daniels, their wife, mother and grandmother.
Sonya Daniels was passionately involved in education throughout her life with a love for teaching and a desire to help others. This saw her involved in numerous ventures and projects including working with children as one-to-one support in school, co-founding the Pinner synagogue’s Pre-Cheder (Sunday school), being a governor of the synagogue nursery, taking on the role as one of the lead educators hosting local schools when learning about Judaism, visiting the synagogue and volunteering with the Board of Deputies in their national schools education programme, and not least her active involvement in her own grandchildren’s lives.
Sonya not only loved teaching but she loved learning; she was not afraid to try new things. If it was something she was interested in or she identified a need, she put her creativity to the test learning Ivrit, taking courses in interior design, becoming a skilled patchwork quilter and qualifying as a trained hypnotherapist.
SampleIt is evident how important it was for Sonya to be an active part of her community and give to those around her who benefited from her love, passion and expertise. Part of our hope for our students is that they grow to be independent learners who are engaged and active in their communities. This life skills scheme is a living legacy of the core values that Sonya Daniels embodied.
She is and will continue to be an inspiration for our students and for many future generations of students, who we hope, like Sonya, will have the resources and tools to explore new skills, exciting opportunities and meaningful experiences as part of the journey they have chosen for themselves.
Why life skills?
Gesher is a community of ambition built on relationships and compassion. We want each and every student to embark on an educational journey that will encourage them to learn, explore, discover and question the world around them as well as themselves as individuals so that as they navigate through life they are safe, happy and valued. Navigating this journey and everyday life can be challenging and we want to ensure that our students have the skills in order to do this successfully.
“ The World Health Organisation (WHO) have recognised the importance of these skills stating that life skills enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life”.
In other words, life skills prepare an individual to live independently and productively within a society. They go on to say that these skills...
“...help people make informed decisions, solve problems, think critically and creatively, communicate effectively, build healthy relationships, empathise with others, and cope with and manage their lives in a healthy and productive manner.”
SampleAcquiring life skills often occurs through modelling and spontaneous teaching as young people go about their daily routines, watching and learning from the adults around them, as well as their peers. Whilst life skills can be picked up through experience, young people need to be guided on this journey. The WHO have identified 10 core skills related to life skills:
•Self-awareness
•Critical thinking
•Decision making
•Coping wit h stress
•Coping wit h emotion
•Empathy
•Creativity
•Problem Solving
•Ef fective communications
•Interpersonal relationships
The purpose of Bridges has been to embed these soft skills in a scheme that creates opportunities for realworld experiences, enabling every student at all stages of development, to achieve independence and the effective tools to navigate the world.
Themes and badges.
Bridges is rooted in the four areas identified in preparing for adulthood and we have taken each area and broken it down to create eight accessible themes so that the journey to adulthood can start as soon as a student joins Gesher in the Early Years.
•Employment •Independent Living •Health •Community and Inclusion
Sample
Each badge focuses on particular content but also aims to develop the 10 core skills identified by the WHO as outlined earlier. This includes critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, communication and collaboration, as well as highlighting a commitment to personal and social responsibility.
Bridges: Foundation
Within each of the colour coded eight themes, the aim is for students to acquire a variety of life skills through being awarded badges. There are 11 badges within each theme that students can work towards to achieve a particular skill.
Travelling
Learning
Exercising
Balancing
Sharing
Bridges Foundation: An individual life skills journey.
Bridges reflects the individual and personal journey that each of our students will go on. For each badge, they will take four steps of challenge, broadly reflecting a student’s growing independence in that particular skill.
By step four, students are challenged to not only achieve independence but also complete the steps needed to take full responsibility for that skill as part of their daily life.
It is important to note that the different steps are not age-related but rather based on a child’s own stage of development at any given time and based on their individual skills and needs. They have been written to provide ample opportunities to guide the students from their primary phase into their secondary phase. The pathway to adulthood is not a linear one and students will navigate their own winding path. This scheme has been designed to ensure students are provided with new opportunities and experiences, and adults are able to guide and facilitate along the way.
Bridges: Foundation
Bridges Foundation: Attainable and achievable.
For every badge, there is a checklist of success criteria (found in part 2 of this handbook) that help students, school and home, identify the skill steps that are needed to achieve the badge. The success criteria have been developed through extensive research and drawing from the expertise of our Occupational therapists, Speech and Language therapists, Creative therapists and Educational Psychologist.
Sample
As the students complete the checklist, whether at school as part of dedicated learning sessions, or at home, they will build a body of evidence to show their achievements which they will record in their own student portfolio. This may include them writing up their experiences, photos of them participating in various activities and/or factsheets and posters they create to show knowledge and understanding. These evidence pages are important for the students to reflect on what they have learnt and demonstrate what they have achieved, and over time lead to the completion of a step.
On completion, the student will be awarded badges which they will add to their journey map in their student portfolio, allowing them to visibly record their ongoing achievements as they follow each step along their life skills journey.
The students will have the chance to share their portfolio with their peers, teachers and family to celebrate their achievements.
My Safety
We want to ensure that students are given the opportunity to learn how to be safe in a variety of settings; at home, at school, when out and about visiting different places and when using technology, something that is particularly pertinent living in the digital age of the 21st century.
The world is there to be explored and enjoyed and we want students to be able to do this safely and wisely. Developing skills such as critical thinking, decision making and problem solving are a crucial part in keeping safe when interacting with the world around us and with other people, and what we hope our students will develop as they complete these badges.
Sample
STEP 1STEP 2 STEP 3STEP 4
Complete Step 3 PLUS...
Complete Step 2 PLUS...
I am aware of road signs for cars and pedestrians . (e.g. traffic signals ahead, school crossing, icy road). I know and can share with others the full Green Cross Code . (6 steps)
I can be a trusted person to help other people including those younger than me cross the road .
Complete Step 1 PLUS...
I know several safe places to cross a road: traffic lights, pedestrian crossing, island crossing . ( NOT between parked cars or on corners).
Sample
I can identify and find safe places to cross . ( Flashing yellow beaacons for Zebra crossings, black and white road markings for crossings, traffic light signals at pelican crossing or yellow traffic island beacon). I can independently cross the road safely when out on my own or with others .
I can follow the rules of STOP, LOOK and LISTEN (part of the Green cross code). I can move out of other people’s way when I walk on the street and also be safe from cars, bikes and scooters . I can spot traffic lights as a safe place to cross the road.
I can stop on the pavement near the kerb to be safe.
I can make sure I am not near the road when walking in the street. I can make sure I am not near the road when walking in the street.
Crossing the road safely.
Complete Step 3 PLUS...
Complete Step 2 PLUS...
I can be a trusted person to someone younger than me to practice good hygiene and be safe in the kitchen. I can show that I can safely and hygienically prepare food for another person.
Complete Step 1 PLUS...
I can follow good hygiene practice when handling food and utensils. (e.g. washing hands, no cross contamination). I can safely clean equipment/utensils with sharp points or edges. I know where kitchen items belong and can help to keep them in the right place. I can make sure that all appliances including ovens are switched off before leaving the kitchen.
I can identify a number of hazards in the kitchen and can say why they are unsafe.
I can walk sensibly in the kitchen to prevent hurting myself or others.
I can use suitable equipment that is safe for me to use when cutting or slicing food with adult support. (e.g. Child friendly knives).
I can make sure I ask an adult to help if I want to use any hot or electrical appliances. I can use protective equipment when touching hot food or appliances.
I can wash my hands before touching any food in the kitchen. I can keep my hands away from my mouth if I am touching food. I can keep my hands away from dangerous appliances or utensils.
My Body
A healthy body leads to a healthy mind.
Some of the badges within this theme focus on self-care skills involving fundamental everyday tasks that ensure we are ready to participate in our day to day activities. They not only support in developing fine and gross motor skills but also help in learning to plan, sequence and organise ourselves to successfully achieve a task.
Other badges found here promote the importance of being active in keeping our bodies healthy. Research has shown that regular exercise along with a balanced diet helps maintain a healthy, positive sense of physical and mental wellbeing.
Sample
STEP 1STEP 2 STEP 3STEP
Complete Step 3 PLUS...
I can be responsible for making sure having a bath or shower is part of my routine. I can run myself a bath or turn the shower on independently making sure it is set at an appropriate temperature. I can independently wash all the different parts of my body thoroughly including those that are difficult to reach like my back.
My Body
Complete Step 2 PLUS...
Complete Step 1 PLUS...
I can get everything ready that is needed to wash my body: soap, sponge etc. I can independently wash the different parts my body. I can independently dry myself with a towel.
Sample
I can use a sponge to wash my body with adult prompting (naming the parts of my body). I can help a parent get me dry with a towel.
I can name some of the parts of my body that need washing. (arms, legs, tummy, face).
I can have a bath or shower when my parent tells me to. I can hold a sponge to help wash my body, with adult hand over hand support. I can let an adult get me dry with a towel.
Having a bath or a shower
STEP 1STEP 2 STEP 3STEP
Complete Step 3 PLUS...
I can plan a journey and confidently ride my bike/scooter to a destination making sure I keep to safe pathways.
My Body
Complete Step 2 PLUS...
Complete Step 1 PLUS...
I can independently ride my bike/scooter, without stabilisers and navigate bends and obstacles. I can put on my safety equipment independently.
Sample
I can use my scooter/ bike (balance or with stabilisers) to glide a short distance using both feet to push off on a bike and one foot on a scooter. I can travel on my bike with stabilisers using the pedals. I can stop my bike/ scooter using the brakes. I can travel on my bike with stabilisers using the pedals.
I can balance on a scooter/bike (balance or with stabilisers) whilst being pulled along. I can put on my helmet (and any other safety equipment) with some adult support. I can wear my helmet at all times to keep me safe when I travel on a bike/scooter. I can safely dismount my bike/scooter.
Learning to ride a scooter or bike.
Gesher is an Ofsted Outstanding all-through school that has expanded into secondary provision. We cater for children aged 4-16 years with a range of mild to moderate needs including autism, ADHD, dyslexia and Down’s syndrome.
Gesher School Cannon Lane Pinner Middlesex HA51JF
www.gesherschool.com
© 2023 Copyright protected.