Notes

On friday the 26th September we made a visit to Mayfield school in order tot learn about the running of the school and the students and the staff whom the school means so much to.

Mayfield is a school that has been specially made for children from the age of 2-19 with severe and profound learning difficulties, they have 160 students at the moment but the amount is soon going up to 170 by christmas.

When we were entering the school gates and going into the reception I felt quit nevus because I had never been in a setting like that before and wasn't sure how I was going to react when being put that type of situation.

We were meet at reception by Aaron who is one of over 100 members of staff at Mayfield, we then went in to a small room normally used for students to have a bit of space, we were welcomed into the room by Rachel who is one of the teachers at Mayfield. Rachel gave a small talk about the workings of the school and the type of students that attend the school, Rachel then showed us a presentation about the school, the lesson, and the activities that take place around and outside the school. The students at Mayfield have a variety of special needs such as Down Syndrome and Autism. We were also shown a range of scenes from lessons such as music and Rachel explained to us how important these type of lessons are for the students to learn and experience thing such as sound, touch, and feel. One of the activities that the student take part in is the ten tours, I find it so great that the school gives the kids the opportunity to do activities like this because it means that they are getting the experiences as any child Should have.

Aaron took a group of us around the whole school and showed us the secondary half of the school first, I was surprised by the amount of staff in each classroom considering the classes are so small but when you think about how hard some of the children must be to care and how specific their needs must be it is extremely clear why so many staff members are needed. We then went and looked at the primary half of the school, we had to stay quit in this area because Aaron was saying about how the younger ones can get scared of any loud strange noises that they don't recognize. As we toured the school Aaron showed us many of the amazing facilities they have, such as sensory and soft play rooms, a hydrotherapy pool, ICT facilities, specialist curriculum classrooms, spacious grounds and a disabled playground.

I am very glad that I was given the chance to go and visit Mayfield because it is a truly amazing school and the I have so much respect for the people who work there because it must be such a hard job and it something that Im pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to do but the joy they get from their job is so clearly shown on their faces. I also really enjoyed seeing the students because even though life is such a struggle for them they still manage go around with a smile on their face and live life to the max and it obvious that mayfield plays a huge part in making their lives a fun and fulfilling.