Welcome to the Autism Teaching Facility (ATF)! 

This September in the ASD unit we had the largest number of new starters that we have had in a very long time, with seven new pupils joining us from all around Carmarthenshire. With this in mind, we thought it would be nice to take you through the process of what happens when new pupils join us in one of the three ASD classes in Pwll CP School. 

Slowly does it 

Pupils usually begin by visiting their new school weeks in advance, accompanied by a parent/guardian, where they will take a tour of the school, meet their new teacher and explore the wide variety of fun and exciting toys and equipment we have to offer. This meeting provides parents with an opportunity to ask questions, receive important information and set their mind at ease about the big changes to come. This is also important for people with ASD, as they can often find a change of routine and unfamiliar places to be quite challenging. This approach means that both pupil and parent are comfortable, assured and confident about the future. 

As well as this, when pupils join their class in September, they will start with what is called a ‘transition week’. This usually means that the student will only do a half day (either mornings or afternoons) during their first week, then on their second week they will gradually increase the amount of time they are in school, until their first full day on Friday. This process helps pupils get acquainted with their new surroundings, new staff and new friends at a pace that suits them. 

“Pairing”? 

So, what actually happens during those first few weeks? Well, our main goal is to show the new pupils just how fun, exciting and interesting their new school is, as well as introducing them to the staff member that’s working with them. We do this through a process that is called “pairing”. Basically, it involves staff members building positive relationships with pupils through the medium of play. To the untrained eye it may appear that Mrs. Griffiths has spent the last hour ‘just playing’ in the ball pool, but what she’s actually been doing is teaching the child she’s been with that she is a really fun person to be around and that hanging out with her is the best because they get to do all these exciting things. 

By doing this, it means that in the future when it’s time to do some academic work, the pupils are happy to come and sit with us because we have spent time building that co-operation and fostering a positive relationship. But pairing doesn’t stop there! It is an ongoing process that is interwoven into everyday life at Pwll, whether we are on the playground, at the park or in class.  

Testimonials! 

We spoke to some of the children in the ATF classes about what they think about their school and this is what they had this to say: 

When asked what his favourite thing about Pwll School is, Romeo (ATF 3), who has been in the school for a while, said “My favourite thing about Pwll School is being in class with my friends” 

We also spoke to Eli (ATF 3), who just started with us this September, and he told us “I’ve made loads of new friends here” 

And finally, another new-starter - Archie (ATF 2) - had this to say: “Pwll School is my favourite school ever!” 

Other news! - A trip to the Gower for Years 3 & 4

Y3/4 went on the bus to Pwll Du Bay in the Gower! It was a sunny day and we walked through the forest which was very slippery and bumpy so we had to be careful. We tasted some blackberries on our way, they were delicious! We got soil and water samples from the river, it was very cold! We had lunch and then we went to the beach and had a paddle in the sea. We walked up a steep hill to get back to the bus and as a treat we had some ice lollies! Everyone enjoyed!

News from Years 5&6

On Friday 15^th September all the juniors went on a school trip to Techniquest.  Mine and Joey’s favourite thing was the Air Stream. It was like a big fan, we had to press a button on a screen to start it and blew lots of air at us. Joey’s hat blew off and it almost got lost.  

Next we watched a show about sea animals. Fun fact, did you know that the world’s biggest fish is a Whale Shark and Megladons are an extinct species? There was a big bang at the end, Joey and I had a shock, it was funny! After the show we had lunch and we looked around a bit more. It was a fun day, we really enjoyed.

Seren (Y6) and Joey (Y5)

Summer Term in Pwll School

It’s been a great time in Pwll School. I can't believe we're in Year 6 now! It feels like yesterday when we were in nursery. Year 5 and 6 have just come back from Pendine. It was such fun. We did canoeing, we did the obstacle course, climbing and we did the big zip line. I also roasted marshmallows on the last day!

We also had lovely weather for sports day down in Festival Fields. We did bean bag throws, archery, shot put and racing... but enough about that.

We’re currently practising for our Leaver’s Play. I can't believe it, I do not feel ready to leave Pwll School! I'm still practicing but we have already memorised the songs. One of songs is lovely but very emotional, I bet the mums and dads are really excited but will definitely cry! We’re really making the most of our last few weeks in Primary School. We’ve had an amazing time.

By Jayden, Year 6

Pwll Summer Term Sports Report

This term Pwll School has been full of exciting sport events including swimming, a football tournament and sports day! The first day of swimming we were all extremely excited to go to the Leisure Centre. We had to walk down the gigantic hill to get to the bus stop. The instructor Rhys assessed our swimming skills to put us in groups, and supported our teachers to help us improve our skills. On the final day of swimming, we had some crisps, chocolate, and a drink of our choice, to celebrate our fantastic achievements! Swimming was fun (other than walking up the hill back to school after swimming!).

Now we are going to talk about sports day. It was very hot and sunny. In our school we have colour groups or teams. They are Coch, Glas, Melyn, and Gwyrdd, my colour group. First, we had the Foundation Phase races. We helped them set up the hurdles.

Then finally it was my time to shine. I finally got to race, the only thing was I didn’t get a place and sadly, my team came 4^th - Erin.

Then it was my time to shine and I got 2nd place. My team somehow came 3rd, even though we usually get 1st every year!   -Rhiland.

The football tournament was also a great event. We went straight into playing football matches when we arrived. Although I fell and hurt myself, we still had an exciting time. Some of us could not wait for dinner, we were so hungry!

We look forward to writing to you again!

By Rhiland and Erin

Summer Term adventures of Year 3 and 4

We visited Parc Y Bocs and first we went to put our bags in the cabin and then they explained some rules to us.

We went to see some cabbages, wigwams, the three sisters and then went to smell some herbs, like basil and Rosemary. Then we went back to wash our hands, collect our drinks and packed lunch. We then went back to the bench and ate our lunch. And every 5 or 10 minutes the dog would come up to us to try and go under the bench. After that we went to see the solar panels and the old chicken place. We went to the gate and opened it to go walk down to the park and we saw a poly tunnel and looked at it. Then we walked to the park played for a bit and then waited on a wall for the bus to pick us up and bring us back to school.

By Isabella, Year 4

We went to Stevie Bees!! It was a long journey walking down and when we got there we went into the piping hot poly tunnel. They also gave us free plants to have fun with in our school allotment!

We also went over the Gower, we had a great day exploring and some people fell flat on their faces when it was their turn on the rope!

By Rory, Year 3

Vicar Lorna

We have been very lucky this term as Vicar Lorna has been coming into school to tell us all about the different stories of the bible. Last week she came to school and spoke about our senses, she had brought in a bag that was full of interesting items for us to smell. The first of which were holy oils, they were really interesting and then perfumes and plants. She spread the perfumes on a paper cloth, and we all had a chance to smell the paper clothes. She then passed around the plants which we rubbed and smelled. In my opinion the plants smelled the best but Jenson absolutely hated the smell of the plants, he puffed the perfumes (he loved the perfumes) I quite liked the perfumes but Max didn’t!

She told us that the bible has a lot of other stories that she would like to tell us and next time she comes in to see us she will speak to us about Easter. We also did a prayer, which I really enjoyed as it made me feel relaxed and helped me think of how to care for myself. We all said goodbye to Vicar Lorna and she went on to speak to the other children in the school. We are all interested in what Vicar Lorna is telling us and we really enjoy her visits.

By Imogen Y5

Comic Relief

For Comic relief the school council put together a school talent show for pupils to enter. Before the event we made a sheet of paper for pupils to sign their names on and include a talent that they wanted to present to the rest of the school. Year 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 participated. We had two hosts and a lot of entries although there were no judges. After lunch we started the talent show. First the hosts came on stage and introduced everyone. They called up the first act, which was Savannah and Will for year 1, they did comedy. They told some really funny jokes. There were many more acts across the school including piano playing, comedy, singing, dancing, and clumsiness (I still do not know if that was a real act). The last act was gymnastics and dancing. They flipped, bent, and danced, they really were very talented and a great way to end our exciting show. It was so much fun watching all the brilliant children we have in Pwll School perform their talents.

By Immy and Kayden Y6

Wheelchair Rugby!

On 23/3/2023 we went on a trip to Coleg Sir Gar to have a go at wheelchair rugby. Where we had such an exciting time. We began by getting on our school minibus and some pupils went in Miss Davies’ car. When we got there, we saw ten interesting wheelchairs which were in a huge sports hall with blue walls with marks on the ground to show where the different pitches were. We had to stay within the lines otherwise we would have to give the ball to the opposite team.

The people who were running this wheelchair rugby course explained what we would be doing and told everyone how to get in a wheelchair, we were so excited but we needed to listen to the rules first so no one would get hurt. We got in the wheelchair, buckled our seatbelt, and put our feet in the safety strap. We were all extremely excited to give it a go. We took off in the wheelchair and it was so much fun. Some of us went fast, some were more cautious and some even went round in circles. Next the coach said we are going to do some fun drills to develop our skills. They taught us how to go around the spots and we also had a race while doing it. Then we had passing skills with a partner. After that we learned how to tackle, we had to crash into the front area of the chair that had a protective bar. Then the coach said let's get into some wheelchair rugby games. We were put into teams of five and it was an amazing experience for us, we loved it so much.

All of a sudden, the coaches told us we had a surprise, we waited for two minutes and then the mascot of the Scarlets (Cochyn) came to see us. We all gave him a high-five and a hug and at the end we all had a picture with him. We all said thank you for having us and we hope to see you again soon.

By Tilly, Erin and Molly Y6

Vikings!

During the Spring term, the children of Year 3 and 4 took part in the Lead Creative Schools project, funded by the Arts Council Wales. 

The school appointed two highly-skilled and talented lead creative practitioners to collaborate on the project. The project enabled the children to develop their imagination and creativity through exploring the invaders and settlers through history. 

The pupils used their imagination and creativity to make a huge bank of Viking artefacts, and to create a final movement piece which was performed to parents, guardians and friends of the school!

Enchanted Woodlands

This term in the foundation phase our theme is ‘Enchanted Woodlands’. To start our topic, we had a visit from Mrs Fox. ‘The fox sounded like a boy! We asked the fox lots of questions, like ‘do you lay eggs?’ and ‘who do you live with?’ (Teddy,Year Two). It was so much fun that we even wrote more questions for her and asked her to come back again to answer them! We asked some amazing questions like ‘Do you eat everything in the world?’ (Harrison, Reception) and ‘What do you hunt?’ (Joey, Nursery).

After that, we had a magical theatre performance from Arad Goch called ‘Where the leaves blow’. We started by collecting natural materials from outside, and then took these to the hall where a huge tent had been set up. It was incredible! We watched as the actress set up her imaginary home using leaves, rocks and wood. She used a mix of English, Welsh and British Sign Language to tell her story.  One nursery pupil said that her favorite part was when ‘a man was hiding but then he woke up,and messed up everything. Then he hid again. Then the woman came back and didn’t know what had happened to her house!’ (Brooke, Nursery). In the end ‘they fell in love with each other and played music’ (Cai, Year Two). Savannah’s favorite part was ‘building stuff’ at the end of the performance with her friends (Savannah, Year One). Cai (Year Two) remembered that he had ‘built an amazing forest’.

The next day, we wanted to learn more about British Sign Language, and why it’s used. We decided to learn how to greet people and spell our names to celebrate British Sign Language week!

WRU Nations Inclusion Festival

Our pupils in the ASD classes had lots of fun at the WRU Nations Inclusion Festival and Wheelchair Rugby Event Carmarthenshire at the Forge, Coleg Sir Gar this March.

‘We got to play wheelchair rugby which was my favourite part, but I also liked passing the rugby ball.’ (Romeo ATF2)

The event was organised well with all pupils enjoying a variety of key skills including kicking, passing, weaving between cones, jumping and of course scoring tries. The inflatable passing game proved popular with all.

‘I liked the dodgeball the most, it was the most fun’ (Xavi ATF2)

As well as learning key skills, pupils demonstrated excellent teamwork especially playing dodgeball.

The event gave our children the opportunity to have a go at wheelchair rugby which some of the older pupils exclaimed was their favourite part of the session.

As well as enjoying this sporting event, we have had an amazing opportunity to visit Llanelli Leisure Centre weekly to partake in SEN skills for sport sessions. The children have enjoyed the variety of sports activities promoting physical literacy on offer coupled with the inflatable fun and sensory room sessions.

Pwll Primary School

It has been a very exciting year in Pwll Primary School.  The national curriculum in Wales has changed, and this year all primary schools in Wales have been working to implement new government guidance to support learners to become ‘ambitious, capable learners; enterprising, creative contributors; ethical, informed citizens and healthy, confident individuals’

Governors, staff and pupils have embraced the changes, and we are in the process of trying out our stimulating new curriculum topics.  We are also thrilled to report that we have been successful in a bid for grant funding to secure the services of two creative artists who will be working with Mr Rees and the Y3/4 pupils on their new history topic, ‘Traders and Raiders’.   We always aim to place wellbeing and enjoyment at the heart of our work with pupils, and as a result try to learn outdoors as much as possible.  Here is a little flavour of what we have been up to in the great outdoors recently.

Kind regards,

Mr Trotman

Headteacher

Climbing a mountain  

As our topic was ‘Misty Mountains and Flowing Rivers’, we prepared a packed lunch and set off to climb Mount Gower. We parked in a car park and began our ascent up the mountain. It was quite hard, and our legs were tired, so we worked together and used a rope to help pull ourselves up. It was so muddy and slippery; it was hard to tell the difference between the mud and the horse manure!  

When we reached the summit, we saw wild horses, used compasses to find North, South, East and West, read a sign which told us how many miles away different cities were, and had a well-deserved break to eat our packed lunch. The descent was a lot easier (and more fun!) because it felt like we were running and falling at the same time! We were exhausted on the bus journey home, some of us even had a nap.

Danielle (Blwyddyn 4)

Our school garden 

In September we planted vegetables that grow quickly like radishes and pea shoots. We also planted lettuces, which gave us salad before we had frost. We have planted winter vegetables broccoli, cabbages, and onions.  We can’t believe how big they’ve grown in the polytunnel over the Christmas holidays! We are looking forward to growing some seeds in the classroom which we will plant in the raised bed garden in the spring.

Rory and Scarlett (Blwyddyn 3) 

The rook pooling trip

In September it was a nice sunny autumn day we went on a rook pooling trip. We had a lot of fun while we were there. At first, we were walking to our location, we saw a lot of salted seaweed, shimmering shells, and all different sorts of interesting smooth rocks. When we got there, we all found a good place to put our bags and coats. After that we started to get our equipment out, we all had a little bucket each and a net when we all had our stuff, we were ready to go! When we were looking for any sea life creatures, we all had to be careful because it was very slippery, and we had to make sure that we did not fill up our wellies with water. I saw a fish swimming around, so I wanted to collect it to see what kind of fish it was, so I did but I did it very carefully and put it in my bucket. I named it Lynda and my friend gave me his crab called Gary. A few minutes later everyone on the trip was saying look at this! So, me and my friends Erin and Molly went over, and Mr. Trotman caught a baby lobster! It’s shell was full of cool colours. Next, we were looking at the sea creatures and looking if they were boys or girls and most were boys. We all had a fun and enjoyable time at Port Eynon, Gower. Luckly, I did not get wet but one top tip, don’t go rock pooling when you have a phone in your pocket or you might lose it like Mr Trotman did!

Tilly Fry (Blwyddyn 6)

Football tournament

Recently we went to a football tournament. The bus driver got lost on the way and the teacher with the other school on the bus helped him out and told him where to go. When we got there, we got off first and went to the gate. A football coach spoke to Mr. Rees and then we got ready. After they called us down, we all rushed to the front gate. We ran to the grass and sat down while the football coaches explained what we were doing. We started with drills, we then had a break. After the break we played a game, you had to be put into teams of 5 and run to get a ball one at a time who ever had the most won. After, we had lunch and watched the football coaches score goals. We got down and we had options if we wanted to play competitive, girls only or not competitive. I chose competitive, they split us up into different groups which were our teams. We got to play against other teams. After that we sat down while they gave out prizes to some schools. It was a fun day out of school.

Immy Jones (Blwyddyn 6)