HIDDEN among the side streets of Maesglas is the main site of Maes Ebbw, a purpose built special school which takes pride in its sensory facilities and communication.

With more than 150 children and young people from the ages of three to 19, the school has three sites. The school’s main site is shared with Maesglas Primary, but there are two other sites across Newport, including its satellite sites ACD Centre in Brynglas and the Maes Ebbw Bach site.

The three sites are equipped with 24 classrooms, a hydra-pool, rebound therapy rooms and a sensory garden.

Head teacher Julie Nichols said: "We provide full access to the national curriculum.

“So the children in here do each subject as they would in a mainstream school, but we break it down and we find creative and imaginative ways to deliver it so that everybody can join in.”

The school gives a huge emphasis on the educational therapy for the children as well as teaching the usual subjects.

Around 95 staff work across the three sites, which includes a multi-professional team including occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists and school nurses.

All of these help to support each child in the school, and each classroom is individually catered for the children.

Specially-built walking frames and wheelchairs are also located in the corridors, and are available for each pupil.

“We look at ability rather than disability,” deputy head teacher Mark Evans said.

“We look at what our young people can do and we work and build on that.

“Because we do have small numbers in each class we do get to know our individuals really well and get to connect, so we know how to engage with them and support them.”

With around 4 to 10 in one classroom, depending on what care each child needs, Mrs Nichols says getting to know the parents is very important.

“We are really close with families as well, which is a positive and we really enjoy that side of it.

“It’s a very important aspect to us.”

As the children in the school are there until the age of 19, some are prepared for college and leave with course accreditations.

“We find the right level of accreditation and they do go on to another form of education.

“That’s a massive positive for us and the school to see that,” said Mrs Nichols.

The school share their main site with Maesglas Primary School, and the two schools interact and work with each other regularly.

Mrs Nichols puts emphasis on the school’s interaction with many others across Newport, as Maes Ebbw itself does not have a specified catchment area and the children come from various places across Newport and Gwent.

The school also has business enterprise groups, which are groups of children who do different activities such as making and selling toast and raising money for charity.

These enterprise groups then compete against each and are joining a national organisation to compete against other schools next year.

“Our pupils do a lot of work with other schools,” Mrs Nichols said.

“The business enterprise groups are really good, and it helps to teach them numeracy and learn about business as well.

“Sometimes they don’t know they are doing numeracy because they’re making a cake for example.

“But they’re counting things out and thinking it through, which turns it round and into a learning process.”

Learning and communication have a massive emphasis within the school, and nearly all staff use sign language along with speech to help communicate.

One unique aspect in helping communication is that every room in the school has a card outside with a colourful toy animal taped to it.

Mrs Nichols says this is to help them identify the animal and colour with a member of staff.

“It helps some of the children who may have a lesser awareness of who is who.

“If, for example, they are sent to me, I’m the pink duck.

“So if they come to me they come to me carrying the pink duck and look for the door, stick their duck on it.

“Everyone has one which is associated with that office and area.”

The recent report on the school from Estyn states that the school is judged as adequate due to pupils not reaching their individual targets and there is room for improvement.

However, Mrs Nichols says she is pleased with the outcome of the report and that she aims to push the children forward in terms of learning and reaching their targets.

“It’s given us some things to work towards in terms of education

“But it has recognised how we have progressed and moved the school forward.”

But Mrs Nichols says for her and Mr Evans, the children’s education is not the only thing that is measured.

“It’s measuring how far the children have come with us,” she said.

“We do access our children and give them levels, but it’s also about things like a youngster who has learnt to walk while she’s been here.

“It’s something like someone who has learnt to feed themselves on their own or who has made a friend.

“It’s all those things that children in other schools take for granted, and when we see that happening it’s really difficult to measure it, but to us that is what we’re about, enabling.”

In-between learning, some of the children do use the hydra-pool and are given regular physiotherapy and speech and language therapy, which help them develop.

“We give that extra layer of support.

“If the children are here it means that the parents don’t have to take them for separate sessions so they’re in and having that support.

“If a programme is in place we can continue with it. For example if a child is learning to walk across a room we practice it frequently with them and we are equipped for that,” said Mrs Nichols.

If anything can be said about Maes Ebbw, it’s that the children’s welfare and improvement in not only education but in everyday life are the most important things.

“Our children mean a lot to us,” said Mrs Nichols.

“That’s the main thing about our school, making sure the children enjoy their time here and enjoy the learning process.”