Conisborough College

Resource Base @ Conisborough College

The Resource Base is a facility for young people with a diagnosis of SEND.  We are an alternative curriculum provision offering personalised learning to those that find a mainstream setting unmanageable.

Within Resource base we support young people with a range of moderate learning difficulties, including:

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and learning
• Social, emotion and mental health difficulties
• Sensory and/or physical needs

Students are provided with a safe and stimulating environment in which mutual respect, friendliness and an understanding of individual needs supports young people to achieve.

Our Approach

There is a capacity for 8 students in each year group within the Progress Unit Resource Base.  Students are taught by four specialist teachers, two Higher Level Teacher Assistants (HLTA) and 5 Teaching Assistants (TA).  A Speech and Language Therapist works with the children in the Progress Unit for two days a week.

Although students attend a tutor group in mainstream school with approximately 30 other students, they are taught in the Progress Unit Base for the majority of their day in school.  These are a group size of 8 with a teacher and 1 to 2 TAs depending on need.

In the case of lessons such as Drama, Technology, PE and Art students are taught in the appropriate specialist classroom of that subject, and the lesson is taught by a mainstream teacher in conjunction with an SEN teacher and support staff.

Alongside specialist teaching, learners access a wide range of interventions tailored to individual areas of need.  Our overall aim is to provide children with an opportunity to:

• Develop maturity to be an independent citizen throughout life
• Develop strategies to pursue lifelong learning
• Develop self confidence
• Benefit from a safe and secure environment allowing children to meet their full potential.
• Access a broad and balanced curriculum

Students enter the base by means of referral from Lewisham LA, not from within the school.

Criteria

All students in the unit have a diagnosis of SEND and EHCP/statement

• Students must be working considerably below the appropriate level for children of their age both academically and socially
• Students require support in the following areas of their development to fit in to the intervention plan: communication and interaction, cognition and learning, social and emotional and sensory and/or physical needs, with cognition and learning being their primary need
• Students should not require personal care and be able to dress/toilet independently
• Students should not have a history of challenging behavior which requires regular physical intervention.

Entry into Key Stage 3

• Students must be working below NC Level 2c in Num/Lit
• Students should be functioning below the expected level socially and lack independence skills e.g. travel/budgeting/relationships

Entry into Key Stage 4

• Students must be working below NC Level 3c in Num/Lit
• Students should be functioning below the expected level socially and lack independence skills e.g. travel/budgeting/relationships
• It would be appropriate to sit Entry Level/Level 1 'gateway qualifications' as opposed to traditional GCSEs for (example AQA ELC in Literacy and numeracy)