Total Communication at SilverwoodCommunication is at the heart of life; it is pivotal to sharing our joy and sadness, building relationships, advocating for ourselves and engaging in learning. At Silverwood School we want to provide an environment that fosters a sense of safety and promotes self-advocacy and regulation, in order to enable our students to develop communication skills for life. We recognise that communication is all-day, every day and seek to offer meaningful opportunities for students to experience, learn and practice their communication skills. Meet the Communication team Nicky Caslin – Lead SENCo Faye Booth – Total Communication Lead Hannah Simkins – HCRG Speech and Language Therapist Angela Fairgrieve – HCRG Speech and Language Therapist Ruth Jones – Speech and Language Therapist Rosie Raikes-Palmer – AAC support Becky Nottingham – SENCo Julie Inglis – SENCo Katie Baxter – SENCo Ciorstan Malcolm – SENCo Communication Bill of Rights The Communication Bill of Rights sums up everything we strive to achieve at Silverwood. It is a tool that informs our students and supporting adults as to what and how communication should take place. It speaks to students feeling confident to advocate for themselves, asking questions and seeking support with their communication. It helps adults set their expectations too, in terms of what support they must be providing and considering when working with our students.  Honouring all communicationMany students at Silverwood use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) to communicate. AAC may look different for everyone and so we immerse all our students in a Total Communication Environment. This allows each individual to discover their preferred way of communicating. What does a Total Communication Environment look like at Silverwood? All students at Silverwood have access to a Total Communication Environment. The AAC strategies used across classes include:
Our staff model AAC at every opportunity, for a variety of different purposes. This enables Silverwood students to develop secure communication methods that can be used at school, at home and in the wider community.  Silverwood Core Vocabulary The Silverwood communication team have developed a core vocabulary of signs and symbols that we believe everyone should know. We use Makaton signs and Widgit symbols to teach this vocabulary to our pupils. You can learn these signs by watching some of our pupils and staff model them in the video. We encourage parents to use this vocabulary at home – please contact a member of the team for support or resources.
Speech and Language Therapy NHS Speech and Language Therapy support is provided by HCRG Care Group. The Speech and Language Therapists offer regular scheduled visits to school. They provide advice and support for children and young people who have an open episode of care for communication or dysphagia (swallowing), or both. This advice is written in a speech and language plan which is shared with parents and worked on and monitored by teaching staff. Parents can schedule a review of this plan when they feel it is necessary by calling Single Point of Access 0300 247 0090. Further information about the service can be found on their website
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