Year 9 JFS pupils recently participated in a four-week disability awareness training project, Hand in Hand. The project was delivered by Norwood staff for the third time and culminated in a one-day visit by pupils with complex and profound learning disabilities from Norwood’s Annie Lawson School (ALS) based at Ravenswood Village in Berkshire. The project took place for one day each week at JFS and the activities were designed to break down social barriers and increase the disability awareness of the JFS pupils and teachers. The visit from the ALS pupils was also great opportunity for them to get to know their peers at JFS, where they received a warm welcome.
During the first three days of interactive sessions, the JFS pupils were given insights into living with a disability and also learned communication skills such as basic sign language. For the final day, which had a sporting theme, they laid on a fantastic, fully accessible obstacle course for their guests from the Annie Lawson School, followed by prizes and hand-made medals for everyone.
Liz Auchincloss, Deputy Head teacher at the Annie Lawson School, stressed the importance of forging links with mainstream schools such as JFS. She said: “Projects such as these have many wide-ranging benefits. They enable our kids to have the normal social interaction with their own peer group that they aren’t usually able to enjoy. Also, if just one of these children at JFS enters a profession in which they work with people with disabilities, then that would be fantastic.”
Year 9 JFS pupil Jason Abizadeh, 14, said the sessions gave him a lot to think about: “I have learned so much, including some sign language. During one activity, we put on clothes which restricted our movements, hearing and vision and had to move around the school. It was really difficult and gave us an idea of what it must be like to live with a disability”.
Rafael Joseph, who teaches Jewish Studies at JFS, said: “ This has been an amazing few weeks. For many of these children it has been their first experience of spending time with children who have a disability. Throughout the year, we teach our children about support and caring for others, and on days such as these they get to put it into practice.”
For further information please contact David Wosner, Public Relations Officer at Norwood on 020 8420 6942 or email david.wosner@norwood.org.uk
