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• Y11 Leavers Celebration

  Fri 29 Jun 2018 Mrs Cox-Wall

  Lots of our Y11s came back now their exams have finished to celebrate with our staff and their families. Mr Andrew Slade,  Chair of the Management Committe presented every attendee with their Record of Achievement and several other academic and personal certificates. We were also joined by our much valued tutor from our Bridgend College partnership, Alyson Jones, who recognised the pupils' efforts in their Media GCSE.

  We very much enjoyed a drama performance, written by Katy in Y9, performed by a professional actor and coordinated by our Drama Therapist Izzy Rabey. 

  Dylan made a very moving short speech about his personal journey and some funny memories and Georgia sang a stunning solo which was a strong metaphor for life at the Bridge.

  After the formal presentations, most stayed to enjoy refreshments and reflections with each other and our very emotional staff!

  We'll miss you all, good luck and rememeber our motto: "step by step, always forward".

  

• Festival of Learning 2018

  Tue 26 Jun 2018 Mrs Cox-Wall

  The Bridge Alternative Provision has been very excited to be part of the BCBC wide Festival of Learning 2018 and is hosting 5 specialist workshops for our colleagues across schools, third sector groups and elected members.

  Lego Based Therapy has been of particular interest and we were asked to appear on BBC Radio Wales to talk about the benefits of Lego Based Therapy and to give the presenters a challenge of completing a model by collaborating and communicating! Full marks to Gareth and Felicity for making the model racing car so quickly!

  Lego Based Therapy has many benefits for pupils and helps improve their communication, cooperation, collaboration and the big C - compromise! It is accessible and no experience is required meaning it can also work well for non verbal pupils. The Behaviour and Wellbeing Outreach team provide excellent training on this to our schools on a regular basis.

  Feedback from those who attended the workshop was extremely positive and included comments about how useful the workshop was and how many ideas they could now use in their own schools.

  Well done to Amy and Linda for thier preparation and delivery.

  Other workshops offered this week, all fully booked, inlcude Anxiety First Aid, Self Esteem and Mindfulness and relaxation. Wellbeing for pupils and staff is a priority for us at The Bridge and every school or workplace in Bridgend. Investing in workforce wellbeing will keep you all going in tough times, whatever role you have. I called in to each workshop and the atmosphere of productive engagement has been a delight to see. Well done also to Tammy and Charlotte.

• Success of former pupil

  Mon 25 Jun 2018 Mrs Cox-Wall
  Mrs Morriss and Ms Thomas both went to Carnegie House last week to view the art work of our former pupil Jasmine. Jasmine is currently studying Level 3 Art and Design at Bridgend College. Their end of year exhibition showed Jasmine's very personal and expressive work displayed to a public audience and the reception was very positive. Its great to see a pupil overcome their challenges and continue their personal development and education to such a high standard. Well done Jasmine.

  

• Ty Llidiard staff visit Into Film Cymru event GloWorks

  Fri 08 Jun 2018 VR, AT, EM

  GloWorks is the fast growing creative industries centre in Cardiff Bay. Into film Cymru hosted an event there for teachers and educators, giving them an opportunity to learn more about different aspects of the film production process and the type of skills these companies look for from their employees with a view to supporting future students with learning and career choices.

   The companies based there are Cloth Cat Animation, Bait Studios, Milk VFX, Gorilla, Thud Media, Boom Cymru and Hartswood Film (Hartswood West) which cover a variety of different aspects of the industry.

  Three staff members attended the event and visited the following companies:

  Clothcat Animation: Producing animation for "Luo Bao Bei" on Channel 5’s Milkshake; "Shane the Chef" and the hand drawn animation "Ethel and Ernest "which was screened on BBC1 over Christmas, to name a few. Clothcat is a skilled and experienced animation studio with a multi-skilled team of artists, technicians, producers and directors. They have a passion for design and engaging storytelling. Currently there is an opportunity for post 18s to request work experience but it is worth looking at the website to get a feel for what the company produce and what job opportunities are available. http://www.clothcatanimation.com/applying-for-a-job-at-cloth-cat-animation/

  Hartswood Film: In 2010 Hartswood opened Hartswood West, a dedicated National and Regional office operating from Cardiff. A quick glance at some of Hartswood’s credits reveals the company’s remarkable versatility. Star-studded dramas include four series and a "special" of "Sherlock". Did you know that "Sherlock" is filmed in Wales? Did you know that it takes approximately 18 months to 2 years from idea to completion of a series? Did you know that behind the scenes there are all sorts of jobs from producer to social media marketing and set design? Do you know what under 35s are watching, as this age group aren’t watching traditional television anymore! How can programmes be developed to capture the interest of this age group?

  Lots of questions!

  

• Hope Rescue visit

  Wed 06 Jun 2018 Mrs Cox-Wall
  KS3 visited the Hope Rescue centre in Bridgend, taking supplies of dog chews and hot dogs! We also presented the money raised in our "brownies and berries" snack sale, held before half term which was the woof-tastic sum of £40!

  

• D of E bag packing event

  Wed 06 Jun 2018 Mrs Morris

  As part of their D of E course, our Y10 MAPHR pupils went to our local ASDA store to bag pack and raise funds. If you have ever done this, you'll know its a challenge to approach strangers and ask them if you can pack their shopping as people are often rushed or don't want to interact. This was right out of the comfort zone of all our pupils and we are very proud of how they approached and conquered the challenge! Well done.

  Fel rhan o'u cwrs D o E, aeth ein disgyblion MAPHR B10 i'n siop ASDA lleol i becyn bag a chodi arian. Os ydych chi erioed wedi gwneud hyn, byddwch chi'n gwybod ei her i ddelio â dieithriaid a gofynnwch iddynt a allwch chi becyn eu siopa gan fod pobl yn aml yn cael eu rhuthro neu nad ydynt am ryngweithio. Roedd hyn yn iawn allan o barth cysur ein holl ddisgyblion ac rydym yn falch iawn o'r modd y maent yn cysylltu â nhw ac wedi cwympo'r her! Da iawn.

  

• Rights Respecting Schools Silver Award

  Wed 06 Jun 2018 Mrs Cox-Wall

  The Bridge Alternative Provision, based on the Bryncethin Campus, has recently achieved the Silver Award of UNCRC Rights Respecting Schools. This very prestigious award recognises the level of commitment from both staff, learners and the wider school community to listening to the views of and upholding the rights of the learners in The Bridge. This is particularly important in a PRU setting where children and young people can be placed at a time of transition or crisis and be in real need of specialist support though they may not recognise this.

  The Bridge Alternative Provision is the only Pupil Referral Unit in Wales to achieve this award and staff, learners and parents/carers are very proud of the exemplary practice and work across the four standards that was evidenced during the external verification process:

  Pupils spoken to during the focus group were confident in their knowledge of the UNCRC and spoke about the ways that they have been engaged in the provision’s RRSA journey e.g. staff facilitate a meeting on the first Tuesday of each month for pupils to engage with the RRSA steering group. This should be recognised as good practice and ensures the continued and open engagement of young people who transition in and out of The Bridge. Pupil questionnaires show a significant increase from 27% of pupils stating they had learnt about the Convention when the first focus group questionnaires were completed compared to 93% of pupils in the most recent round of questionnaires.

  Standard B “The whole school community learns about rights”