Cameras capture joy inside Britain's largest special school where love is on curriculum

Hitting the apical notes of Puccini’s “O mio babbino caro” arsenic she sands her woody pallet, Suzi has the dependable of an angel – and each the carpentry skills of Woody Woodpecker.

Merrily making holes successful her container arsenic she charms everyone with her opera, Suzi is simply a prima of BBC ’s life-affirming programme A Special School, which starts its 3rd bid connected Dec 1.

It is filmed astatine Ysgol Y Deri successful Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, wherever we conscionable 16-year-old Liam successful the woodworking classroom. “I’m the brag here,” helium booms. “The task manager.” “And I’m the selling manager,” pipes up Suzi, reapplying articulator gloss acceptable for her photograph close-up. “You’re precocious maintenance,” Liam tells her. Suzi is gangly and slim with elfin features, and sprinkles compliments similar fairy dust.

“You’re pretty,” she tells assorted teachers. As we each melt astatine her sweetness, Liam snorts. They are a large treble act. “This is James, he’s successful finance,” explains Liam. James, 19, is focused connected getting an aboriginal chopped for luncheon – possibly showing helium is perfect to beryllium their institution accountant.

Here to interrogation the students and staff, I americium starting successful the woodworking room. But the kids soon crook the tables. “Are you from the Barry and District News?” asks Liam, tying his apron. “No,” I say, “We’re from the Mirror.” “Oh, wherever tin we get that?” helium says, sounding disappointed. “In each bully newsagents,” I guarantee him.

As sixth signifier teacher Katie Jones and teaching adjunct Jack Mortimer manus retired woody boxes to sand, it is soon wide that the unit are the sidekicks to these kids – caller from entering arsenic the Wacky Woodworkers successful the Young Enterprise Wales, competing against mainstream and peculiar schools.

Work-related acquisition is successful the caller Welsh program and is the taxable of the programme’s 3rd series. The youngsters are keen to thatch maine their taxable song, “We’re the Wacky Woodworkers and we’re redeeming our satellite 1 pallet astatine a time,” but look disappointed that I can’t outcry it arsenic loudly arsenic them. It is captious for immoderate subordinate of unit present – oregon visitant – to beryllium capable to header with the deficiency of filter successful children with autism.

“Did you cognize it was our 10th anniversary?” Liam barks astatine me. When I admit I didn’t, helium says: “Well if you were a bully writer you’d cognize it was our 10th enactment past week!” As we permission to sojourn caput teacher Chris Britten, Liam mischievously warns us: “Don’t misbehave.”

Avuncular Chris is simply a antheral who cares deeply. “Ysgol Y Deri’s children are predominantly autistic,” helium says. “But our scope of pupils is unique. We person children with profound and aggregate learning difficulties, and conscionable astir each syndrome you tin deliberation of – immoderate precise rare.”

The past twelvemonth has been particularly hard. A unfortunate of its ain success, the schoolhouse is moving retired of room. Chris explains: “We started 10 years agone with 200 kids. Now we person implicit 600, and astir 500 unit crossed 5 sites.” It includes a marque caller unit, Derw Newydd, connected Barry Island, for pupils who person been excluded from school.

Chris adds: “Many person been fto down by adults. We’re present to physique their self-esteem. They each larn the curriculum, conscionable astatine antithetic rates. I privation to springiness them each a accidental to enactment and to contribute.”

Not that each of them are guaranteed to turn up. Some person life-limiting diseases, but present they get to marque the astir of their often shorter lives. “We besides person an engagement work supporting implicit 500 pupils to support them successful mainstream schools,” says Chris. “And we’re gathering a sixth signifier a mates of miles away.”

Chris’s methods are intelligibly working. He explains: “Some of our children person connection problems, which results successful frustration. Others person sensory integration difficulties and tin beryllium overstimulated, which is erstwhile you spot children rocking oregon stimming [repetitive actions that assistance calm themselves].

“We get kids acceptable to learn, past we enactment the teacher successful beforehand of them and get the outcomes we want.” Chris says the therapy broadside has been “game-changing”, adding: “If you walk each time with kids with meltdowns, it’s hard to get thing affirmative done.”

Chris’s biggest privation would beryllium for inactive much space. As for the children, helium says the schoolhouse “will undoubtedly person been the champion spot of their lives”. A postgraduate successful experimental psychology, helium lone turned to teaching astatine 26. Before that helium ran a pub connected Barry Island, past had a occupation gathering upwind vigor turbines.

Now, 62, Chris is owed to discontinue adjacent Christmas to his location adjacent Bordeaux successful France for “wine and sunshine”. A locomotion down grey corridors reveals everything from darkened sensory rooms to ones with agleam lights and music, oregon fitted with trampolines – each filled with engaged, blessed children.

One, called Launchpad, looks similar my aged 1980s sixth signifier communal room, with an arcade machine. I americium astir impressed by the physio room, wherever a tiny kid is strapped to what looks similar a slow-moving measurement instrumentality – 1 of a brace of question immunodeficiency that outgo £40,000 each.

Chris tells me: “In Norway, each peculiar schools person them. They assistance with sleep, bowel movements, everything – particularly for children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The children emotion to walk clip connected them.” Outside are play areas, climbing frames, gardening and bee-keeping. Chris says his concealed is however the unit stock cognition and innovate.

He says: “One dropped successful and said, ‘This miss has cerebral palsy, but erstwhile she’s connected a PlayStation, you spot each her rigidity is gone.’ I knew what was coming. I said, ‘OK, we’ll get one’.” The BBC archetypal noticed the schoolhouse erstwhile assistive technology pb Lisa Rees Renshaw won an grant for a connection aid. Chris explains: “Lisa was a finalist for the Pearson Teaching Awards, the Oscars of teaching.

“They sent a unit to movie her task with 1 of our children, Reuben, and his duplicate member Zach, and their astonishing mum Martine.” Blond Zach and dark-haired Reuben stock specified a enslaved that Zach has fixed his dependable to his brother. Reuben, diagnosed with autism astatine three, was non-verbal until six.

The assistance helium was fixed to talk with made him dependable similar Stephen Hawking. Martine explains: “Zach thought Reuben didn’t similar utilizing it overmuch due to the fact that his dependable was robotic and not what helium would dependable like.” Zach recorded his ain dependable and it was mixed with Reuben’s by specialists Speak Unique. It has been revolutionary for Reuben.

Martine says: “I won’t beryllium present for ever. I request to equip my boys with the skills to unrecorded arsenic independently arsenic they tin – that’s what drives me.” After retraining arsenic a learning enactment assistant, she created a ocular regular planner app called Day, to assistance Reuben and different autistic children.

Each weekday has a antithetic colour and emojis correspond activities. Martine says: “It helps Reuben’s anxiousness – helium tin spot his week planned ahead, truthful helium copes amended with last-minute changes to schedules.” In a premix of his dependable and Zach’s, Reuben chips in: “I… am… happy.”

Bumping into Liam again, helium is afloat of questions. “I’d similar to beryllium a quality pre­­senter. Do I request to spell to college?” helium asks. “Mr Britten? Can I instrumentality GCSEs?” “Yes, you can,” answers Chris firmly. At Ysgol Y Deri, it’s not what these children can’t bash – it’s what they tin do.

A Special School, BBC Wales and BBC iPlayer, Monday, 8pm