Our ARP

At Longwood, we have two classes dedicated to autistic children who are pre-verbal
and also have learning difficulties. While the children are very much part of our
community and take part in events such as sports day or festive workshops, we
know the environment they thrive in is low arousal and very structured. To support
this, we have created two spaces to ensure the children have the best opportunity to
learn.

Both our ARP classes are set up with a main teaching area, a communication table
for 1:1 direct teaching and work stations to complete independent tasks. The children
navigate this very well which is evident in the progress made in the communication
and regulation.

The environment is purposely designed so it is not over stimulating including less
colours and displays. Learning takes place indoors and outdoors with sensory
activities planned to continue to support learning, communication and regulation.
Each class has a small sensory space which children can visit at any time during
their learning. It is a dedicated space that contains sensory equipment to modulate
the environment and provide sensory stimulation across different sensory domains.

The Team

We have an ARP Lead who plans the teaching and learning, adapting the tasks to
meet the needs of each individual child.

Each class has a Higher Level Teaching Assistant and two Learning Support
Assistants who ensure the teaching and learning is implemented effectively on a day
to day basis.

All our staff are experienced practitioners who have worked in Special Schools and
Alternative Resourced Provisions.

Our own Trust speech therapist also works closely with the team, assessing the
children’s communication needs to ensure provision is matched and progress is
seen.

We also work in collaboration with consultants from London who are specialist
providers for autistic children and young people as well as health agencies,
Occupational Therapists and NHS Speech and Language Therapists.

How does a child get a place in our ARPs?

 Pupils will have a diagnosis of autism and also have an Education Health Care Plan.

Admission will be made after receiving the Education Health Care Plan and all recent advice. The Local Authority will make the final decision regarding the placement, taking into account the school’s views, specific criteria and capacity and will make the necessary arrangements.