STORY BOX PROGRAMMES A structured cumulative and multisensory programme

Where did the idea come from? Maggie Johnson - SALT specialist ‘Bringing Stories to life’ Who created them? Jacqui Bradley – Specialist teacher Sonya Jones – SALT The SENCo Support Project Team

The purpose of the boxes To develop communication skills Aimed at children working within the p-scales and those needing SALT support To access books giving visual and kinaesthetic access to stories Adapting the story – simplifying the story line with repetitive lines

Choosing a group The programme needs to happen in group. The SENCo selects a group of children to take part in the programme. They could include children needing support and a good language role model who may need a small group experience The SENCo must inform the SAL therapist if one of their caseload is involved

Every group must include A child who has been referred to the SENCo Support Project and is an ‘A’ category and has been recommended for the Story Box Programme Other children to be included? Attention listening difficulties Social communication difficulties Receptive language difficulties Expressive language difficulties Shyness EAL Moderate/general learning difficulties

Children’s targets In the target section: SALT targets should always be include Any other targets relevant to the child can be included One target per pupil until achieved or group targets?

The Commitment The person who will be running the programme will need to have attended this training Class teachers and SENCo should be committed to allowing a daily 20 minute small group session following whole class literacy input for ten weeks The SENCo or a member of the SLT is responsible for monitoring the Programme (with support from SALT and the SSP)

The Boxes The programme The book EQUALs curriculum Story props Word/symbol/picture focus activities Diary Memory Stick

The Titles Pass the jam Jim Owl Babies Goldilocks and the three bears x 2 Bubbles Pig in the Pond x 2 Going on a bear hunt Peace at last x 2 The Train Ride Handas Surprise

The programme You will need to photocopy the programme so that you can add the targets Attached to the back of the programme is an itinerary of contents of the box You will need 30 minutes (20 minutes to run the programme and 10 for organisation). Staff will need additional planning and preparation time

The Structure of the Programme A condensed play script Daily Activities MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday  Energiser  Memory activities  Role Play  Games  Energiser  Memory activities  Role Play  Games  Energiser  Memory activities  Role Play  Games  Energiser  Memory activities  Role Play  Games  Energiser  Memory activities  Role Play  Games Focus: Characters Focus: Vocabulary Focus: Questioning Focus: Story structure Focus: Revision

The book There are: Copies of the book Symbol supported versions Interactive ‘velcro’ versions DVDs in some boxes

EQUALS curriculum This gives staff ideas for focused work in class Many of the games in the box are based on ideas from EQUALs

Word/symbol/picture focus activities Symbol cards Snap, dominoes and lotto games

The Diary There is a diary in each box for the person running the group to fill in with comments on: Frequency of programme What works well? Anecdotes of children’s progress, performance, pupil voice, parent voice etc… Effectiveness of resources What resources did you use? Any additional resources added by you? Any problems encountered? Any breakages or losses

Flash Drive Each box contains an 8GB drive so that you can store photos and videos of the children using the resource for your evidence and our research.

The Contract The boxes took many hours and cost a lot of money to make. They are not to be used for general classroom use There will be a charge of £25 to borrow the box – refundable if returned complete and undamaged If damage or loss exceeds £25.00 the school will be invoiced accordingly The head teacher must sign the contract