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The Lodge - Autism Support Centre
At Great Easton Primary School, we have an enhanced provision (ASC) for eight pupils. The ASC supports autistic pupils with an Educational Health Care Plan (where the primary need is Autism) in accessing mainstream school.
What is the Autism Support Centre (ASC)?
Some mainstream schools across Essex have extra support available for pupils with special needs and disabilities. These are called ‘Enhanced Provisions’. These are not the same as special schools: Enhanced Provisions provide a safe space for pupils to overcome their barriers to learning within a mainstream school. The dedicated ASC teams support pupils to build their attendance in mainstream lessons over time. When in the ASC, pupils can access their work and complete timetabled interventions that meet their specific needs.
Across Essex, there are four primary Autism Support Centres and four secondary Autism Support Centres.
To have a placement in one of the Autism Support Centres, including here at Great Easton, a child must have:
- a diagnosis of autism
- a finalised Education Health and Care Plan for children or young people with autism as the primary need
- The cognitive ability to access the mainstream academic curriculum with appropriate support from the autism support centre to overcome their barriers to learning.
Places within the ASCs are requested via the annual review process. All requests are carefully considered by the Essex Autism Panel.
The purpose of the ASC is to ensure that the pupils attending the centre (The Lodge) make progress as detailed within their Education Health and Care Plan. The ASC provides enhanced support using evidence-based strategies, to enable the pupil to spend increasing amounts of time accessing the classroom and engaging with their peers in a mainstream setting.
Please note that pupils who are currently educated within Great Easton Primary School mainstream setting must follow the same process, to ensure equity for all students in the county.
What does a day in the ASC look like for our pupils?
ASC pupils are greeted every morning by the ASC team. Pupils who are not yet able to attend tutor time remain in the ASC to complete structured activities such as sensory circuits, snap revision, quiz mornings and reading time.
Throughout the day, pupils are encouraged to complete their individualised timetables. These visual timetables are created with the pupil’s input and are tailored to meet the pupil’s particular interests and provisions set out in their EHCP/One Plan. Most pupils will attend core subjects, or complete the work set in the ASC. All pupils have the option to return to the ASC should they become dysregulated – the ASC is a supervised safe space where they can self-regulate with access to the right resources. To help avoid dysregulation, pupil have timetabled regulation time built into their timetable.
ASC pupils can attend break and lunch time in the ASC. Some pupils prefer to be accompanied to the hall to collect their food. Some use mainstream areas to socialise with their peers. During social time, pupils are encouraged to engage in Social and Communication Play. Activity stations enable pupils – who may at times struggle to interact with peers – to work in pairs or small groups to complete activities such as card games, jigsaw puzzles and board games.
Example Timetable
Links:
- Autism Enhanced Provision
- Great Easton Autism Centre Information
