Outstanding Oaklands!

Local school MOVEs on up to become Centre of Excellence

Oaklands School is to become a MOVE Centre of Excellence – only the third school in Scotland to achieve that status. The special school on Ferry Road will receive the MOVE quality mark accolade at a special assembly on Monday 17 December.

MOVE (Movement for Learning and Life) helps children who have complex disabilities to:

• Acquire and maintain increased independence in sitting, standing, walking and      transferring,
• Learn, gain and maintain more mobility through transference of skills,
• Experience better health, enhanced personal dignity, improved communication skills and access to education.

The MOVE programme is shown to improve functional mobility skills and empower children and adults who have complex physical and learning disabilities to better direct their own lives. The MOVE Programme uses a family/person centred approach to develop functional mobility, based on current theory and research in education, therapy, biomechanics and motor science.

MOVE teaches functional motor skills that the child will need as he / she grows and develops and begins to access the wider world outside of school and home life. Skills taught are carefully selected and aim to help the child reach their identified goals and may include learning to walk 100 meters so they can walk from a car to the entrance of cinema, being able to sit unsupported so they can travel on a bus or being able to pivot transfer to access toilets in the community where disabled facilities can be poor.

Increased abilities in sitting, standing and walking decrease the burden of care for families and care providers. These increased abilities also bring new opportunities for greater participation and involvement in family life and for inclusion into the wider community.

Oaklands School embarked on the MOVE programme with three pupils in 2003, and now supports 23 pupils following the MOVE programme – four pupils have graduated from MOVE. The school has enthusiastically embraced the MOVE concept, and annual MOVE Day celebrations are a particular delight at Oaklands – whether that’s travelling through time and space or enjoying an unforgettable Strictly Come Dancing event!

The school was visited by MOVE Partnership’s CEO Nigel Carter in September and he was clearly hugely impressed – a subsequent glowing Quality Mark report said:

‘The MOVE Programme at Oaklands School is of high quality and is outstanding as compared against the components of the MOVE Quality Mark. The programme is outstandingly led and managed by Anke Baillie, the MOVE Programme coordinator, with outstanding support from the Head teacher, Maureen Mathieson, the leadership team and the Oaklands MOVE Group, who are ensuring that all possible time, effort and resources are being made available to ensure the success of the MOVE Programme.

‘Documentation and procedures are outstanding enabling all to understand and follow the MOVE process and procedures across the school. Students are well motivated and enthusiastic to do their best due to high expectations and a commitment and enthusiasm from all staff.

‘The superb learning environment of the school allows a creative and innovative approach to the delivery of the MOVE Programme that focuses on the key elements of individual pupil need and ensures that MOVE is integrated fully into the school systems and processes. Students make excellent progress and are keen and willing participants in their programme and are supported fully by their parents and carers.

There is a great deal of innovation taking place at the school that it is a model for excellence for the MOVE Programme.’

In short, Mr Carter described the Oaklands setup as ‘the best evidence of good practice I’ve ever seen!’

The presentation of the MOVE Quality Mark and MOVE Regional Centre of Excellence award will take place on 17 December.

Congratulations to all at Oaklands on a tremendous achievement.