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Launch Pad (LP)

The Launch Pad


Jo Buxton
Launch Pad Lead Teacher


Jo Brackley
Launch Pad Teacher


Debbie Long
Launch Pad LSA (AM & PM)

For an overview of Launch Pad please take a look at our parent leaflet attached below:

What is Launch Pad?

Launch Pad is a small highly personalised learning environment where a pupil spends half of their school day. Each day lessons follow a topic led curriculum and lessons are structured to be multi-sensory to support the development of a variety of skills.

What is the Rationale for Launch Pad?

Research shows that pupils with more complex special educational needs benefit most from some time spent in a smaller more supported environment with staff that are specifically trained to meet their needs. The smaller more focussed learning programmes that such an environment can offer these pupils enables them to make good progress from their starting point.

Who has access into Launch Pad?

This provision is accessed by children who may have a Statement of Sepcial Educational Needs, an EHCP or are in the process of undergoing a Statutory Assessments of their Special Educational Needs. 

The place in Launch Pad is only offered to pupils for one year at a time. At the end of that time, in June, the multidisciplinary access panel will review all of the needs of pupils within the school and offer places for the next academic year to the pupils with the most complex needs who meet the criteria.

For more information please take a look at our Launch Pad Criteria attached below:

How is Launch Pad structured?

Children spend half of their day in Launch Pad and half of their day in their regular classroom. 

If your child is in Years 1 or 2 they will register in their usual classroom in the morning and go to the Launch Pad for their lessons in the afternoon.

What do they do in the morning class?

Literacy: This includes reading (including comprehension and inference), writing, handwriting, spellings and phonics.

Speaking and Listening: Children engage in activities where they can learn attentional skills, conversational skills, giving and following instructions, working together and turn taking.

Maths: Children will follow all other areas of the curriculum but the learning would be broken down and differentiated. Basic skills and concepts around numbers are taught and there is a focus on mathematical language. 

If your child is in Years 3,4,5 or 6 they will be registered at Launch Pad in the morning and spend the first half of their day there. In the afternoon they will go back to their class.

What do they do in the afternoon class?

Literacy: This includes reading, writing, spelling and phonics. Children learn simple sequencing activities to aid their understanding.

Speaking and Listening: Children learn how to effectively sit, look and listen to improve their attentional skills. They learn how to effectively follow instructions and the group engage in lots of pretend play to enhance their social skills.

Physical and Sensory Skills: Children participate in lots of engaging activities that follow the advice from professional occupational therapists to improve motor skills. For instance, this includes activities such as 'messy play'.

Support that takes place within Launch Pad

Our planning of lessons to support children with high levels of need follows the advice from many professionals working with Rabbsfarm Primary School. For instance, we work closely with the Speech and Language Therapist, Occupational Therapist and Educational Psychologist.

Examples of support include: 

  • Multi-sensory teaching approaches
  • Questions are pitched at different levels
  • Purposeful seating arrangements
  • Abstract concepts made concrete (e.g. maths word problems are modelled with resources)
  • Pre-teaching vocabulary or concepts to enable access to future lessons
  • New or difficulty vocabulary is clarified, written up, displayed and revisited
  • Visual timetables to help children understand the structure of the day
  • 'Toast and Fruit Time' where the 'helping hands' for the day help give out the snacks and water. This provides children with experiences of positive interaction and develop social skills
  • Positive reinforcement is provided throughout Launch Pad, for instance in the morning children are rewarded at the end if they collect enough marbles together and in the afternoon this is the same but using our dojo and sticker chart system


Social Play Skills:

The AP's at Rabbsfarm have developed structured play for children accessing the morning group at break time. The break time is structured to help focus and teach skills that can be used in the play ground, such as turn taking, following game rules and instructions from others. 

The children have access to 'Decider Cards' to help them learn how to decide who it 'it' within games, 'Game Cards', which outline the instructions simply to aid understanding and Stretch/Cool Down Cards, which are used at the end of break time to allow the children to stretch/cool down before returning to the classroom. This is to help regulate sensory sensitivies and hyper activity and some have been developed following the Occupational Therapists advice.  

Children have their own individual 'Passport' and when they have a set number of stamps in the passport they can make their transistion to the playground. Such targets to be stamped are "I can play ___ appropriately" and "I know the rules to ___". This acts as postive reinforcement to encourage childrens skills. 

FRIENDS Programme:

In Launch Pad we run the FRIENDS Programme for children assessing the group in the morning. This is a social skills and resilience building program that is recognised by the World Heath Organisation for over 12 years of comprehensive research and as an effective means to prevent anxiety for children aged 8-11. FRIENDS for Life is proven to reduce anxiety and give participants the tools they need to cope in these stressful and challenging situations. Further to anxiety treatment, Friends for Life also improves a participants social skills, ability to focus, confidence, and the ability to relax and regulate emotions.

What can I do to support my child?

  1. Make sure your child is in school, on time and in the school uniform every day to reinforce routine
  2. Show an interest in your child's work and encourage them to complete their homework
  3. Try to attend parent meetings, monthly parent group meetings and therapy appointments
  4. Spend 5-10 minutes every day with your child to look at or read a book
  5. Complete the home-school communication book every day to inform the school of any new skills or changes you have notices
  6. Use the visual prompt cards or charts that we use in school to ensure there is a consistent approach between home and school

Above all, make sure that you keep talking to us, only by working together can your child reach their full potential!

If you would like any further information on Launch Pad, please contact
Sara Daly, the schools SENCo, on 

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