A huge thanks to Andre and his partner Naomi for completing the tough mudder course on 19th September to raise money for the school. By pushing themselves out of their comfort zone, running and overcoming obstacles they have raised in excess of £800 so far. Well done to both of you and for your support …
Secondary 4 enjoyed their first trip to the allotment as part of Scouts. They have been learning about what plants need to grow and have been busy planting seeds at school. At the allotment they picked some rhubarb and watered the plants. Well done S4!
S4 have been having fun outside in basketball group this term. From passing and catching to shooting some hoops the pupils have been demonstrating their amazing ball skills. Well done guys and keep active!
Rainbow Class have been enjoying a variety of groups and engaging in fun activities. They have been learning a selection of topics ranging from: maths (identifying and matching shapes), literacy (listening to fairytales), P.E (outdoor and indoor games) and RSHE (learning daily living skills- brushing hair, teeth and washing hands).
This term secondary classes have been exploring ‘Volcanoes’ and within the topic have been looking at states of matter including solids, liquid and gases. S4 really enjoyed watching volcano experiments including: dropping mentos in a diet coke bottle to make the coke erupt, as well as mixing oil, water, and food colouring with a vitamin …
Last term, Secondary classes were looking at the Polar Regions. They explored the animals that live in the Arctic and Antarctic through arts and crafts, videos, game play (bingo) and quizzes. S4 particularly enjoyed taking part in ’How Big is a Million’ sensory story based on penguins, and S1 showed great independence making a Walrus …
All pupils had chance to participate in a reindeer making workshop before Christmas. We worked with a local social enterprise, Pericles, where some of our sixth form pupils already attend woodwork sessions. The sixth form pupils were able to prepare the materials for using during the workshop at their sessions prior to the workshop. The …
The classes have been holding class assemblies to celebrate achievements and notable events. The school has not been able to gather together during the pandemic so it is very important that we continue to celebrate together in our smaller teams. Sixth Form 2 were very pleased to receive their certificates of achievement in the class …
Otters class were able to visit Blacklands farm in January and make the most of the sunshine. The pupils were looking for and identifying animals on their walk. Great work everyone.
On Monday 19th October, we were visited by Gez from LLynch and Carolyne from Kier, who have lent us some machinery to build an access track for machines to use for delivering on site, ensuring that no heavy vehicles need to access the school site during school hours. A huge thank you to them and …
The new term has seen some new friendships develop. Two primary pupils have moved over the the secondary part of the school and have enjoyed being with their new classmates. They have been undertaking activities together at the start of the year.
Gruffalo class have been working on their fine motor skills through a range of activities, connected to their topic this half term of The Ocean. Well done, especially on the threading as this is a real challenge. They have been really engaged during their group work sessions and are working very hard.
Step By Step has a new allotment in East Grinstead, which we have taken over the management of from this September. Sixth form pupils have been to visit and are helping to tend to the plot. The allotment is a very peaceful place, which provides work based opportunities, reinforces many communication targets and enables a …
The pupils have begun resuming trips, mainly outside and in line with Covid restrictions. Rainbows were able to visit Sheffield Park last week, a lovely place to go to see the Autumn taking shape. They even bumped into a surprise visitor on her maternity leave.
During the summer break we have been able to work on our forest schools area, erecting new fencing and the yurt. The area will be matted so grass seed can come through and we will be installing a seating area ready for our fire pit and the pupils making some raised vegetable beds. It will …
Phase one of our build project to create permanent spaces and remove the Portakabins began just after the Easter holidays. There have been some Covid delays to the project but also much progress. We have many bids in for funds to assist us with completing the build and the pupils completed their ‘Journey’ initiative in …
During the pandemic we have been utilising all available space and have undertaken lots of visits to Blacklands Farm, which is currently closed to all visitors. The pupils have been able to enjoy the fresh air, space and be able to go on the short trip with some different peers. It’s great for exercise and …
Our pupils in Rainbow class have been learning about rainbows with Sarah and their tutors. They have made some rainbows, learning about colours and textures in support of all our NHS and key workers during this time. Well done team, they look great and a lovely message from you all.
On the 12th March Rainbows Class visited Tilgate Park and went to see the animals there. They all had a fabulous time and remembered to go and wave at the otters for Gayle, as she loves them. This was Rocky’s first class outing and he did amazingly well.
On February 28th Step by Step hosted the Allied Health Professionals ABA forum at Step by Step. 22 Speech and Language Therapists and Occupational Therapists attended from 7 schools who use ABA from in and around London. The day focused on sharing best practice and peer supervision on a number of topics including ‘developing pupil-friendly …
We hosted our second school conference in January 2020. This provided an opportunity for three of our staff who have completed their ABA MSc to share the results of their research. We also enjoyed talks from one of our Speech and Language therapists and two of our Senior Tutors. Please see our conference schedule for …
The school is building up it’s contacts with local businesses in order to access work placements in the community for our pupils. Well done to Victor who has had a very positive start at a local launderette. Victor has been supported at his placement by one of his tutors and is enjoying his weekly work …
On Friday 31st January, the school launched it’s new fund-raising initiative, The Journey. Pupils from the school will be making the journey (virtually) from John O’Groats in Scotland to Lands End in Cornwall, an amazing 874 miles! We are hoping to raise £6,000 in 6 months as the pupils contribution to the build project the …
Pupils from 3 different secondary classes teamed up and went to Jump In in Burgess Hill on Friday 24th January. The trip to Jump In is always a popular one and it was lovely that the pupils got to experience the trip with different peers. Lots of happy pupils, who expended lots of energy during …
The week beginning the 13th January was History Week at Step by Step. The focus was on the moon landings. Pupils got to take part in an assembly, where they watched some actual footage, practiced their best moonwalks, learnt about astronauts and the planets. There was a sensory planets experience set up in the cabin …
Many congratulations to Rachael, Carrie and Sophie who graduated from Queens University in Belfast on December 11th. Each of them have completed their Masters in ABA and we are very proud of them. Their hard work doesn’t stop there though as they are all hoping to go on this academic year and become Board Certified …
On Friday 6th December, 5 pupils attended a Sports Activity afternoon at Young Epilepsy school. They took part in a range of activities including archery, balloon tennis, beanbag throws, curling golf, scooter relay, table cricket and badminton. The Young Epilepsy staff lead the activities and the pupils responded really well to them. Some Young Epilepsy students …
On Monday 1st December, each class attended a trip to the Llama Park for a Christmas Experience. They walked through the Christmas Grotto, met Father Christmas and received a small gift from him. After this they had the opportunity to look at some of the animals at the farm. Well done to Nicole for her brilliant …
On Friday 29th November several classes attended Dane Hill Church to create and celebrate Christingles. Classes included S1, Gruffalos, Rainbows, and Otters + S2. Upon arrival at the church they had an opportunity to explore the grounds and inside the church, and see the Christmas decorations within. They then created Christingles, using an orange, red tape, …
On Monday 18th November and 25th November, all pupils took part in a Remembrance Day assembly. The assembly included a short video from the cBeebies ‘Poppy animation’, a tasteful representation of the celebration. A poem was read with an attention autism grabber, poppy petals falling from a tall height. Finally, pupils came up one at a time …
On Friday 15th November, staff and pupils took part in activities to raise money for children in need. A cake sale was held in the school shop, cakes donated by families and made by the pupils during their teaching sessions in the week. A photo booth was set up and the pupils (and staff) enjoyed …
Gayle, Faye and Clare were able to attend the NASS special schools conference in Brighton on the 10th and 11th October. There were some very useful presentations and workshops, including ones from OFSTED, a research project from Vancouver in Canada, Transitions into adulthood, safeguarding but my personal favourite was a presentation given by a 15 …
On Tuesday 5th November the school dedicated an INSET day to emotional health and well-being for the staff. There were 3 workshops in the morning that all staff had the opportunity to attend, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Mindfulness and Transactional Analysis. Staff were able to sign up to activities in the afternoon to do with their colleagues, …
On Wednesday 6th November, Clare and Gayle attended the graduate recruitment for students at Sussex and Brighton University at the American Express Community Stadium in Brighton. We spent the day talking to undergraduates about the school, ABA, teaching and the opportunities that may be coming up over the next year. We made some really useful …
On Tuesday 15th October, the East Sussex Fundraising Committee held their annual fair at Ardingly showground, to raise money for Step By Step. The pupils had made some goods to sell during their enterprise work with the curriculum team at a stall. Some pupils attended the fair during the day to serve the public, hand …
Sir Nicholas Soames, our Local MP visited the school on Friday 4th October to meet the staff and pupils and see first hand the super work we do. It was a privilege to show him around the school and he took a moment to be served by one of our pupils in the school shop! …
We were delighted to welcome Deputy Mayor John Dabell to officially open our school shop on Friday 19th July. It was great to see so many pupils and families celebrating this with us, even the weather didn’t dampen our spirits! Huge thanks to John, who was a big hit with pupils and staff and we …
Three of our classes participated in a residential overnight at Hindleap Warren this term. The pupils got to try lots of different activities, enjoy a camp fire and stay the night. The pupils and staff were able to eat in the canteen together and share the spaces with pupils from other schools. The staff at …
We are delighted that our new school shop is finally open for business, although we will be having an official launch before the end of term with the Deputy Mayor of East Grinstead. It has been amazing seeing the pupils serving customers, handling money, labeling and organising the goods. The pupils have managed the electronic …
As part of the 30 days Wild campaign, our pupils have been engaged in nature and physical activities. We have had the pleasure of watching our very hungry caterpillars form into chrysalis and then hatching as butterflies. All pupils were able to see this amazing phenomenon of a unique life cycle. For an in depth …
