The Orchard
We are proud to have a Resourced Provision which is school led for children with communication and interaction needs including autism. The children entering school will be having or will have had their needs identified through the multi agency approach. This includes parents, health and education. All of the children in the Orchard have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
We call our provision 'The Orchard' as this follows the school pattern of naming our classes and houses after native trees and forests. The Orchard rooms are Pear, Apple, Peach, Cherry and Plum. The rooms in the Orchard allow for emotional regulation and allow for quiet, distraction free places to work with adults or as part of a small group. It is staffed by a lead teacher and support assistants who also work in the mainstream school.
The Orchard staff work as a team and are familiar with teaching children across the age ranges. We communicate daily with parents via the home/school diaries and offer advice and support to ensure consistency of approach. We work closely with other professionals to support with advice and training.
The Orchard staff work within the wider school context and the children take part in all activities and are included in mainstream classes on a needs led model. Integration of the children from the RP into mainstream school is regular and planned and viewed as a vital part of child's education, in whatever context that might be for each individual.
The children in the Orchard follow may follow programmes of learning from mainstream school with appropriate adaptions.
The wider school benefits from classrooms which are communication friendly. This includes visual timetables, symbols, task planners and constant use of visual prompts. All of these strategies support mainstream inclusion for the Orchard children.
The school is clear that inclusion is central to its aims.
