Specialist Resource Base - The PAD

The ASC SRB at Stalham High School is called The PAD

The meaning behind the name is two-fold. Firstly, as an acronym it stands for the values incorporated in the base. These are:

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P - Personal development: 

We strive to support the whole child and their personal development because we are aware autistic children have personal and social communication differences. We will support the children in understanding a neurotypical world through interventions and opportunities to achieve personal successes. Whether riding a bike or tying a shoelace – we will develop a bespoke package of provision for their own development using the ‘Healthy Living’ component of AET Progression Framework.

Progression Framework Delegate Pack autismeducationtrust.org.uk

A - Academic success:

We will promote academic success for our students from whatever their starting points with us are. We will understand through careful assessments their strengths and challenges. We will then work with them to ensure they are striving for academic success through academic interventions and support in lessons.

D - Diversity and Inclusion:

We will promote an understanding of neurodiversity for all our students so that they understand their diagnosis and are able to find coping strategies which allow them to flourish in a neurotypical world. We will run a tutor program that actively celebrates the neurodiversity of individuals through history. This will allow our students to feel empowered by their diagnosis. 
 
As a visual for our children ‘The PAD’ will work in three ways: 

• Primarily, it will be a landing pad that catches them and makes them safe. 
• Secondly, a home or ‘lily pad’ throughout the years allowing the children to use the base as a safe space to work from and leap between the school and ‘The PAD’. 
• Lastly, we hope it will be a ‘launch pad’ that will rocket them to success.

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The vision of The PAD at Stalham High is:

• To be an integral part of an outstanding teaching school and a centre of excellence for autistic children and children on the autism spectrum who, with support, can access opportunities in secondary mainstream education.
• To be a base where autistic children and children on the autism spectrum are supported to learn strategies to overcome their lifelong, neuro developmental differences. We focus on communicating and interacting with and relating to others, and experiencing the diverse, real world around them.
• To be an inspirational beacon of inclusion and equality.

The PAD provides:

• A place where neurodiversity is celebrated, and children's individual strengths are nurtured.
• A rigorous assessment system to ensure pupils are in the right place at the right time so that no pupil falls behind.
• A learning community where pupils, families and staff collaborate to refine practice, e.g., sharing ASC friendly approaches and coping strategies, and develop positive and rewarding relationships.
• A workplace where staff contribute to professional learning communities.

The PAD aims to give pupils strategies to:

• Access their mainstream class, as much as possible, and inspire their future aspirations.
• Access a knowledge rich curriculum and develop their communication and interaction skills and developing their attention and concentration.
• Cope with social, emotional and mental health issues such as anxiety by developing self-regulation.
• Participate in physical and sensory activities and develop their happiness, health and well-being.
• Participate in cognition and learning activities, develop reading for pleasure and participation in the arts.

The PAD Admissions:

• The PAD caters for twenty autistic pupils..
• The PAD provides a calm and quiet space with routines, structures and visual supports that enable the pupils to attend to and concentrate on their learning and make progress towards their short term One Page Profile targets and/or their EHCP outcomes.
• The PAD focuses on supporting the inclusion of the pupils in their mainstream classes for as much time as possible.
• Within The PAD the pupils are supported by two class teachers, Mr Frost and Miss Driscoll, two Higher-Level TAs (HLTA), Mrs Strong and Mrs Benson, and two Teaching Assistants, Mrs Smith and Miss Puttock. 
• All PAD staff have experience, are trained in, or are actively engaged in continued professional development (CPD) related to working with pupils with ASC.
• The approaches taken in The PAD depend upon the individual pupils and their needs. Pupils may require a certain approach or a mixture of strategies to support their learning.
• Through collaboration with pupils, families, and teachers and other professionals, rigorous assessment and approaches will be adapted to meet the needs of pupils.

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Various interventions and strategies are used to:

• Engage pupils.
• Improve and increase attention.
• Develop self-regulation.
• Encourage interaction.
• Increase communication.
• Develop vocabulary.
• Develop and nurture emotional literacy.

In The PAD we:

• Have a flexible approach to teaching and adapt teaching, assessment and feedback to meet the needs of individuals.
• Focus on individual’s interests and skills.
• Celebrate difference, diversity and being neurodiverse.
• Strategically promote inclusion and support integration into the mainstream school.
• We actively respect and promote neuro diversity within our SRB and celebrate the positives in human difference and brilliance of the autistic brain.

Each pupil is:

• Included in mainstream school lessons and events, as much as possible and as much as their individual needs allow.
• Supported throughout the school day as needed including supervision during breaks and lunchtimes.
• Supported through close liaison between home and school where parents and carers are actively involved in planning and reviewing their children’s learning with termly review meeting and daily contact with home school diaries and weekly emails home.

Each pupil has access to:

• A learning support package and a full-time individualised timetable in line with the mainstream school day.
• A calm, quiet environment and space which is just for members of The PAD
• A dedicated sensory space and garden
• Resources and equipment to enable them to access and achieve in their learning and development e.g., transactional, and visual supports.
• Specialist support from professionals including educational psychologists and occupational therapists.
• Support before and after school with designated times to get ready for the day and decompress after the day.
• Support with homework and home learning.
• The ASC SRB pupils will be assessed using the Autism Education Trust (AET) Progression Framework.

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Resources

Terminology Guide - Autism Young Experts

Neurodiversity Digital Library

Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS)