Inclusion

Our commissioned role in the Specialist Resource Base is to facilitate inclusion for our children and enable them to be part of a thriving school community, whilst receiving specialist support. Our expectation is that by the time of the child’s first annual review there must be some inclusion within one of our mainstream classes taking place, for at least part of the week.

Commonly, children joining the Shirehampton Primary School Specialist Resource Base will start by spending all, or the vast majority, of their time in one of the two dedicated classrooms which benefit from small classes (no more than 8 per class) and specialist staff. Whilst in Specialist Resource Base, the children will benefit from a low-sensory environment, a highly structured and individualised curriculum and an emphasis on developing vital language and communication skills, alongside other core areas.

However, our aim is to work towards inclusion into the main school, as this is the key difference between a Specialist Resource Base and other specialist units or settings. Once we feel that a child is ready to begin including into the main school, they will begin familiarisation activities.

Each Special Resource Base child is linked to one of our mainstream classes and we work towards including children according to their needs and abilities. Wherever possible our children participate in the full life of the school during the school day and are invited to participate in learning activities, assemblies, whole school events, trips and experiences with their mainstream peers.