Rainbow Room
‘At the heart of education is the capacity to transform a child’s life for the better and equip them to enjoy active citizenship in 21st century society.’ (Carpenter 2011)
Intent
To provide suitable programmes and approaches for transition within mainstream education.
To enable confident, social and regulated children.
To provide adaptive personalised intervention for mainstream learners.
To ensure a safe, caring, happy environment for all.
To enable children to develop positive attitudes and become independent learners.
To develop and nurture a respect for all.
To provide a stimulating environment motivating all to succeed.
To encourage and develop contacts with the wider community.
Who is suitable for a Rainbow Rooms approach?
Rainbow Rooms approach may prove beneficial for young people and children who:
Emotional and anxiety difficulties - and as a result may demonstrate related behaviours
Those working below 85 standardised score and as a result experience very low self-esteem
Those who need additional support with transition
Those with cognitive difficulties
Those experiencing mental health problems
Those who are transitioning from being electively home educated.
Implementation
Within Rainbow Room, we use a multi team approach, working alongside the mainstream schools as an enhanced in-reach. We take a holistic, nurturing, and sensory approach to meet the needs of the children and have a high staff ratio to enable us to do this.
Our sessions are mainly hands-on, and we use the classroom and the outdoor environment to deliver these sessions. We encourage our children to be as independent as possible and we give our children opportunities to practice these skills. We teach the children life skills to help them in their future life.
We learn through individualized learning approaches – but with a common thematic thread – this enables us to broaden the world for our learners. Our children are encouraged to use PECS as a communication aide and we use Makaton, if needed. Intensive Interaction is an important part of their day to develop their social skills.
We utilise the Leuven Scale for monitoring progress both in well-being and engagement. We also utilise the Boxall Profile to develop appropriate targets that are personalised and specific.
What happens during Rainbow Rooms approach?
Our approach is often used in combination with a range of therapeutic interventions, such as Pet therapy, Forest School, Hands on Therapy and Thera build, to provide a well-rounded intervention.
Rainbow Rooms approach views a child’s learning needs as equal to their emotional needs. More focus is given to emotional needs to ensure the individual feels secure. By meeting emotional needs, the young person may have more skills and understanding to place more importance on their learning.
Impact
Rainbow Rooms approach brings many benefits for the child, including:
Increased feeling of security
Increased confidence in self
Increased exploration of their environment
Increased sense of empathy for others
The ability to see a situation from someone else's view
Reducing the attainment gap and levelling up.
Increased sense of positive wellbeing
Fully enabled to access learning in their local setting.
What happens after Rainbow Room attendance?
After the child will have more understanding of the importance of emotional wellbeing in relation to learning and other elements of life. Outcomes from attending Rainbow Room will be provided during a feedback session and a short-written report.
