Autism Resource Base for secondary mainstream students with autism (ASC)

Information Booklet

THE ARB @ Park School

• Introduction

• Autism and

• ARB provision Bases

• Staff in the ARB

• Timings of school day

• Curriculum

• Timetables

• Lunch and break time arrangements

• The ARB Therapy Dog

• Student expectations

• Home - school contact

• Admissions

• Transport to school

2 Introduction

The Autism Resource Base (ARB) for secondary mainstream students is a city wide provision. It is aimed at providing specialist education for students in who have an Education, Health and Care Plan with a primary need of autism, and who would either find a mainstream school setting difficult to cope with, or where individual needs would not be appropriately met in a special school.

The ARB has been designed and adapted for students requiring a high level of individual and specialised teaching.

Our learning environment is organised to ensure that students are educated in a calm, consistent and structured manner within clearly defined boundaries, expectations and routines.

The ARB’s educational philosophy incorporates a holistic approach to social, communication and academic education and offers a differentiated curriculum, which meets each students’ range of needs. Each student follows a tailored educational and social package, reflecting individual requirements and developmental needs.

The Base itself will consist of individual teaching areas (learning zones), a multi-sensory room, calming individual / group working rooms and a social interaction area. A great deal of thought has been given to the environmental aspect within the base, creating a natural, light and welcoming area for the students.

3 Autism as part of the main school body at Bitterne Park School

It is our policy for students within the autistic provision to be included, where appropriate and, suitable, into our main school body. Opportunity for this will arise is if a pupil has a strength in a particular subject and may be able to follow this course at GCSE. Students will be able to attend these lessons with support from the ASC team. However, if this is not appropriate to the individual, subjects will be delivered within the base itself, either by mainstream teachers, HLTAs or TAs, in liaison with mainstream subject staff.

Students within the ARB will also have the opportunity to access lessons and activities within the highly structured and supported Integrated Studies programme in the Learning Support Department, only if appropriate to the individual.

4 Communication Integrated and Social Skills Studies Based Activities Programme

Individual Identified Bespoke Mainstream Curriculum Opportunities Packages The ARB

The ARB provision Bases

Our ARB provision buildings consist of a brand new full refurbishment – ARB 1 (completed January 2020 ), and adjacent to this, two high spec modular huts – ARB 2 and ARB 3.

Students in year 7, 8 and 9 are accommodated in ARB 1, whilst years 10, 11 and ARB 12 are accommodated in ARB 2 and 3. In each building, there is a year group Learning Base.

All the facilities are shared throughout the year groups.

Each student has their own individual learning zone in their year group Base. These zones can either be an open space environment, or separated off by moveable lightweight screens. Each student has control of their own learning environment, which can be adapted at any point. There is a computer in each zone, as well as a timetable and daily routine board. Within each Base Room, there are group tabled areas for social development sessions and social communication activities.

5 Staff in the ARB

There are presently 3 teachers and 12 support staff in the ARB.

Lessons are also delivered by Bitterne Park School mainstream subject specialists who are all trained to deliver SEND. Depending on the student’s individual needs, teaching staff will liaise with mainstream teachers to develop and deliver schemes of work in the base.

The 12 ARB trained Teaching Assistants, including 4 Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTAs) have a huge range of experience and knowledge in the area of autism.

Teachers and support staff alike are trained in the field of autism in a variety of aspects. These include training through Autism , Behaviour Management, Sensory Integration, Building Self-Esteem and Speech and Language Therapy.

TAs support the students and staff in the ARB as well as in mainstream, as appropriate.

6 Timings of the ARB school day

To alleviate any potential anxieties over arriving with the main body of students at the school, the ARB’s daily structure differs in timings.

Arrival 8:30 - 8:45

Tutor 8:45 – 9:00

Session 1 9:00 – 10:00

Session 2 10:00 – 11:00

Break 11:00 – 11:20

Session 3 11:20 – 12:20

Session 4 12:20 – 1:15

Lunch 1:15 – 2:00

Session 5 2:00 - 2:45

Home 2:45

7 Curriculum

As far as possible, all students in the ARB will follow the National Curriculum subject content and students will follow the mainstream schemes of work. Subject content and skills based tasks will be differentiated appropriately to meet specific individual needs. We recognise that our students need to be equipped with the tools to learn and effectively manage their areas of challenges in order to access the curriculum. The curriculum, therefore, is geared to students’ needs with particular emphasis on communication as well as developing social skills strategies.

All students will have academic, social and personal targets set and reviewed. Teacher assessment levels will be reported to parents three times per year.

Students in the ARB will follow subjects including:

KS3 Curriculum:

English Maths Science Humanities (History, Geography and Religious Education) ICT Art/Drama DT ARB PE Enrichment activities / Food Studies

If a student has a particular area of interest or engagement, we also offer MFL Music Mainstream PE

8 KS4 Curriculum: English GCSE Maths GCSE Science GCSE ARB PE ARB Food and Cookery Enrichment activities

+ Option Choices:

Mainstream GCSE options / Btec courses as appropriate Integrated Studies Curriculum courses

Throughout the school year, opportunities for learning outside of the classroom will be encouraged, depending on the individual student. Trips and visits to local places of interest will be organised to further develop communication and social skills. Independence skills will be developed through outings to local amenities using local transport.

Timetables

Students in the ARB will be given individual timetables for their lessons. Lessons will mainly take place in the base, although students can also work in mainstream lessons. Appropriate adaptations will be made to mainstream classes to support the student as far as possible. Each student’s timetable is displayed on a board in their individual zone area.

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Lunch time and break time arrangements

Students in the ARB have the opportunity of eating their lunch in the designated ‘social area’ within each base.

At both break time and lunch time, students have the opportunity to spend time within the ARB, or if they wish, access other areas of the school. The base is fully staffed at all times of the school day.

Indie – The ARB Therapy Dog

Indie, a Fox Red Labrador, was born on in June 2018 in Cornwall. She has quickly become an integral part of our ARB community, coming into school every day.

Indie has already demonstrated her skill set with the students and staff alike, providing : • companionship • a positive mutual topic for discussion, encouraging responsibility, wellbeing and focused interaction • improvement in self-esteem, often provoking laughter and fun. She has also taught compassion and respect for other living things as well as relieving and reducing anxieties. • positive behaviours • sensory stimulation and therapeutic capacity

10 • an increase in the sense of a family environment, with the benefits continuing long after the school day is over. • reading opportunities for students developing literacy skills and building confidence, through both the calming effect Indie’s presence has on the children as well as the fact that she will listen to children read without being judgemental or critical. • enjoyment – all the above with the added pleasure of playing with and looking after a faithful friend.

Home – School Liaison

A major factor in each student’s success in the ARB will be the regular contact with home. Parents will be contacted through our ARB email address which allows a two-way flow of information between home and school. Parents are encouraged to contact using the ARB email address for staff information or action. We like parents to tell us about events that may have happened at home or more difficult issues such as a sleepless night or issues out of school that could affect their child during the school day. We also encourage telephone contact as well as email on a regular basis.

11 We encourage parents and carers to:

• work in partnership with us • share concerns with us • ensure your child's regular attendance at school • attend progress meetings and annual reviews about your child • support the teaching team and agree to undertake any home/ school learning as appropriate • actively support the school's policies and guidelines for behaviour

Admission to the ARB resourced provision

Decisions over the need for an additionally resourced place are taken on an individual basis following recommendations from the LA SEND Panel. This will normally follow an annual review recommendation or completion of the statutory assessment process (EHCP).

The request to the LA should include the following information: • the latest annual review report • any current behaviour support plan • a recent educational psychologist’s report identifying and describing the pupil’s difficulties relating to social interaction, communication, rigidity of thinking and repetitive behaviour • recent reports from other relevant professionals involved • details of the pupil’s current level of educational attainment • a summary of the current teaching/classroom environment, class size and adult to pupil ratio • a description of what is needed to enable the pupil to learn in the current school environment • an indication of how a change in the normal routine is conveyed to the pupil • a description of how the pupil routinely expresses his/her needs • a summary of parental views about the request.

12 Only those pupils with the greatest levels of need who are potentially able to access the secondary mainstream curriculum will be considered for resourced places. There will need to be evidence of: • an EHC Plan with the primary area of need being severe and complex social communication difficulties/autistic spectrum condition • the pupil being within the ability range of a mainstream secondary school/ having broadly age-appropriate attainments in one or more National Curriculum subjects • the need for a supportive specialist environment to maintain continuing access to a mainstream curriculum.

Transport

Students out of the local area are brought in and picked up by LA arranged taxi provision.

For further information about the ARB, please contact:

Richard Cosford Head of ARB [email protected]

Autism Resource Base Bitterne Park School Southampton SO18 1BU 02380325200

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