Welcome to our Resource Base
I am delighted to welcome you to The Resource Base at Christ the King Catholic School. The resource base welcomes young people aged 5-11 from across Wiltshire with communication and interaction difficulties who have speech, language and communication need (SLCN) - in particular Developmental Language Delay (DLD) as their primary SEND. Our provision enables our resource base pupils thrive and gain the skills and knowledge they need to progress both socially and in their education.
Pupils have class teachers who are supported by a team of teaching assistants within the classroom. In addition, there are a range of staff who deliver bespoke programmes of support outside the classroom to enable children in achieving their EHCP targets. Our resource base classrooms are located within the main building of our mainstream school to further support our inclusive ethos: This not only sets us apart from other resource bases where the unit is located away from the mainstream school, but enhances opportunities for mainstream engagement for our resource base children. We identify opportunities where children are ready to spend learning time in age and stage-appropriate mainstream classes across the school day, in an effort to achieve the government expectation of 50% mainstream inclusion for all children within an SEN resource base.
This specialist resource-based provision includes two classes; Cherry Class and Hazel Class. These classes are typically organised into our younger pupils (Cherry) and older pupils (Hazel) with the classes being organised according to the needs and social skills of the pupils. We aim to provide a practical curriculum that both inspires and challenges children to reach their full potential. We ensure pupils can access the main curriculum topics but also bring their learning to life through a variety of activities delivered in an SEND friendly way. All pupils have high levels of speech and language support to ensure they access all areas of the curriculum, the delivery of which is supported by a qualified Speech and Language Therapist from HCRG, who works in the school 1 day a week, either supporting and assessing individual children within the resource base or providing guidance and training to staff so that they can deliver a thorough speech and language therapy (SaLT) programme to our pupils.
Please click on our individual class pages to see what wonderful learning we have been engaged in recently.
Supporting Your Child
"All teachers are teachers of special needs" (SEN Code of Practice 2014)
Our HCRG speech and language therapist is allocated to the resource base for 1 day a week working closely with the staff and children providing programmes tailored to each child's specific areas of need.
At Christ the King Catholic School, we want all pupils to experience a broad and balanced curriculum which will allow them to develop their skills and knowledge and enable them to be successful in whatever they choose to do. We provide:
- small group work
- National Curriculum topics adapted to the SEND of the class
- visual timetables for lessons and activities
- managed, supportive environment to enable transitions
- Speech and Language input and advice guidance from a designated speech and language therapist for the school
- A dedicated Thrive Practitioner who works to support the pastoral, social and emotional needs of all pupils
- interpretation of Educational Psychology advice and guidance
- interpretation of Occupational Therapy advice and guidance
- support with relationships/social skills
- structured and individualised curriculum
- PSHE and Emotional Literacy curriculum tailored to the SEN of the children
- positive approaches to behaviour, working with the Wiltshire Behaviour Support Service
Keeping in Touch with You
We recognise that parents have a vital role to play in supporting their child’s education. We are passionate about working in partnership with you, as parents. We understand that by the very nature of the provision, face-to-face contact is not always possible as the majority of our children come to school in taxis. As such, all pupils in the Resource Base have a home-school communication book which is completed daily, and a weekly phone call for parents of children who come via the school taxi transport service. Parents are also invited to the school for many opportunities throughout the year and we expect all parents/carers to attend Annual Reviews and Parent Consultation Meetings in person.
We aim to foster an atmosphere of trust and co-operation with families by:
- involving parents at every stage of their child’s support;
- valuing their contribution in decision making and the on-going support of their child;
- offering consultations throughout the year to discuss your child's social and academic progress twice a year at parent-teacher meetings, and their progress towards EHCP targets once a year through Annual Review meetings. Additionally, parents are warmly invited to talk to staff regularly or make additional formal appointments for meetings at any time within the year;
- recording any concerns expressed by the parents and acting upon them accordingly.
How do I access the Communication and Interaction Resource Base for my child?
All children are referred to Christ the King Catholic School's Resource Base by Wiltshire Local Authority and it is through them that our placements are made. Each child will have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) in place in which their primary area of need is identified as Speech and Language.
What do I do now?
To find out more about our resource base, please feel free to contact us to arrange a visit and an informal chat.
Christ the King Catholic School,
Parsonage Road,
Amesbury,
Salisbury,
Wiltshire.
SP4 7HU
Telephone:- 01980 622039
e-mail: office@ctk.thedcet.com
To find out more, visit you can visit our class pages for the Resource Base here:
Expansion of the Resource Base at Christ the King Catholic School, 2023
In 2023, Christ the King Catholic School, a member of the Dunstan Catholic Educational Trust (DCET), in response to discussions with Wiltshire Council, expanded its resource base (a Special Educational Needs (SEND) provision). The proposal was been developed in response to an increased demand for special educational needs provision in the Amesbury area. The expansion of the resource base at Christ the King Catholic School is part of a wider plan of increased SEND school place capacity across Wiltshire to ensure countywide SEND school place sufficiency.
The base has a designation of speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and supports the needs of children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). Under the proposal the base expanded from 18 places to 24 places across the two classrooms. The Published Admission Number of the school remained the same and was not impacted by this change to the Resource Base.
The case for expanding the resource base at Christ the King Catholic School
Wiltshire Council has a statutory duty to secure sufficient school places for pupils with special education needs (Children and Families Act 2014) and to ensure that these places provide both high quality provision and value for money. The council believes additional places at Christ the King Catholic School will support this aim in being fulfilled within the Amesbury area and this is supported in principle by the School, the Members and the Directors at DCET. The expansion of the resource base at Christ the King Catholic School was implemented, following successful consultation, for the following reasons:
- Wiltshire Council has identified a demand for increased resource base provision in the Amesbury area
- Christ the King Catholic School is committed to inclusion and delivering a high-quality SEND provision
- The resource base provision has supported numerous children over a number of years and this would be an opportunity to provide this provision for more
- Existing, suitable indoor and outdoor space at the school has been identified for the resource base with accommodation being adapted to be fit-for-purpose as part of the proposal
Implementation
Following a successful consultation in July 2023, Christ the King Catholic school worked with the local authority to ensure that all admissions for the additional spaces were handled effectively and efficiently, with additional pupils will starting at the resource base during the academic year 2023-24. We were also able to relocate the resource base classrooms to larger spaces that have better integration to the mainstream school.
Supporting Documents
Parents and member of the community who would like to see the original proposal and supporting documents from the consultation in July 2023 are able to access these below. Please note that the consultation period has closed and the significant change has taken place.