SEND Statement
Aktiva is for Everyone:
There’s no better feeling than enabling all children to have access to the exciting opportunities for play and learning that wraparound and holiday care provides.
At Aktiva we pride ourselves on our inclusivity. By closely following the SEND code of practice (Viewable here) and working with parents, we aim to offer wrap around and holiday care to all.
We also care deeply about celebrating achievement – all children should feel empowered to try new things, stepping outside their comfort zone and being rewarded for their efforts.
By making necessary modifications to our delivery in line with individual SEND requirements, we try our best to ensure all children leave a session feeling this sense of pride and belonging.
When you sign up to an Aktiva Holiday Camp or School WAC:
Step 1 – Booking with us:
“The team here at Aktiva will work with you to create a care plan to tailor experiences for children with SEND...”
You can expect a high level of personalisation regarding your Childs experience.
Aktiva will contact you when you sign up using our booking system and discuss your child(ren)s needs.
A discussion where information is shared freely will help us best provide for them, and we’ve found that being able to provide setting staff with QRS (quick reference sheets – single page documents to help all staff understand care requirements) based on this discussion has greatly helped our SEND offer and level of inclusivity and understanding of support required amongst staff.
Step 2 – Your child's QRS:
When a QRS is shared with staff working with your child, it contains information about the level of support they might need (as per the SEN support model – Universal(1), SEN(2) and SEP(3) ), as well as any triggers and regulation methods which work for them as individuals.
All children are unique and it’s important to Aktiva that as much tailored support is available as possible to your child. A good example of this would be ensuring there are adapted resources on site for those who might struggle with fine motor activities, for example.
These QRS also help us build relationships – finding out from you about their interests and using this information to start a rapport. A child who feels welcome and accepted is of upmost importance to us as an organisation.
Step 3 – Coming to Sessions:
- Parent and child walk onto site and are greeted at the door/front desk by a member of staff, usually the Site Manager.
- If you are booking a WAC session, children are collected from classroom as the school day comes to an end.
- They will be signed in on the register – any checks that they have equipment needed will be done at this time.
- Depending on the site, the child will then be taken by another member of staff to a base room/area where they can leave their belongings and begin to settle in. Assuming other children are already there, they are given the option to join in with the ongoing activities or start something by themselves or with a team member. Staff wait until all children are marked as attending or absent before delivery of planning.
- There will be two or three morning activities, broken up by a snack time (around 11am), then lunch time sometime between 12 and 1.30pm. And it's the same sort of thing for the afternoon, including a snack time.
- In the case of WAC, children have an activity followed by snack and social time. On occasion, another activity might take place. This often follows children's interests.
- Home time happens depending on the length of session that has been booked. Parents and Carers are welcome to ask about their child(ren)s time with Akitiva and for information on things such as behaviour, toileting and what they might participated in.
Open Communication:
If you have any questions during the booking process or would like to request further communication regarding your child's needs prior to sign up, please contact: bookings@aktivacamps.com . Please include a contact number, if you would like to arrange this as a telephone consultation, along with the best time(s) to reach you.
If you would like to discuss anything else, please ask to speak to a member of the SEND team. This includes any feedback regarding provision and any information you’d like to provide regarding your experience. Aktiva welcomes any feedback and will always pass on information to site where relevant.
Inclusion:
Aktiva aim to be an inclusive as possible – provided there is assurance of a safe environment for all children we work with. We will always aim to signpost provision where possible on the rare occasions we are unable to meet your child's needs.
By building in elements such as the QRS, we can offer more tailored camp and wrap around experiences which not only meet the needs of the children but provide genuine enrichment possibilities as well.
All sites will:
- Come equipped with individual visual aids where these have been identified as needed.
- Have QRS in place for each child with SEN attending (where setting staff have been briefed on their content. This obviously depends on a need having been declared upon booking.
- Be well resourced for SEN, including items for sensory play and aids to help children cope with any dysregulation.
- Have access to training and resources to aid communication.
- Be working in partnership with schools (where applicable) & parents to ensure the best outcomes for children.
If you have any questions regarding our SEN provision, please contact
SEN@Aktivacamps.com where someone will be happy to discuss things with you.