The Dommett Centre

Specialist Resource Provision for Autism

• The SRP can provide support for up to 24 autistic students with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) with primary need in the area of ‘Communication and Interaction’.
• Our focus is on building successful inclusion in the academy and the amount of time each student spends in their mainstream classroom is specific to each student with a minimum expectation of 60-80% of a mainstream timetable after transition.
• Young people will access specialist interventions and support every morning through the SRP tutorial programme as well as additional interventions, as required. They will access support in the SRP as well as in their classroom as appropriate. There are no lessons taught in the SRP.
• Hayley Edmunds, the SRP Lead Teacher, is a specialist autism teacher with a Postgraduate Diploma in Autism Education and is a qualified SENCO. A team of autism intervention practitioners with autism-specific training support students throughout the school day.
• Kent County Council have commissioned 24 places for students in Key Stage 3 and 4 for the current academic year.
• Potential students will be those with an EHCP who have been deemed appropriate for an autism SRP by the local authority. This is dependent on assessment of the young person’s needs, alongside their appropriateness to be educated with the existing students on roll in the Provision. KCC will make the final decision as to whether ‘access to the school’s specialist resource provision’ is included in Section F of the young person’s EHCP.
• Students with a high level of Social, Emotional & Mental Health (SEMH) needs, those with a complex profile such as Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) or with a conduct disorder such Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD) are not usually considered suitable for an autism SRP.

Specialist Interventions

• Specialist interventions can be delivered in the SRP but also accessed through our in-reach programme where mainstream students can be referred for support. These include:
• All About Me – a step-by-step, 1:1 or small group programme to discuss autism diagnoses
• The Autism Workbook – a 4–6-week programme developed to help older students understand their diagnosis and what it means for them and for those around them.
• Incredible 5-point Scale – assisting students in understanding social interactions and controlling their emotional responses.
• Recognising Emotions – these exercises are intended for Key Stage 2 and 3 students who have difficulty in reading expressions, in recognising the state of mind of other people, or in knowing how they themselves feel. The exercises could be useful to pupils who are understood to be on the autistic spectrum, but also for any student who has difficulty in perceiving emotion in themselves and others.
• After school gardening club in the SRP garden is offered as part of our enrichment programme on Mondays 3.15pm-4.15pm, led by some of our autism intervention practitioners.
• As part of our mainstream offer, The Marsh Academy SEND team can also provide:
• Talkabout – a structured programme for teaching and measuring social skills which starts by developing a child’s self-awareness and self-esteem before progressing onto body language, conversation skills, friendship skills and assertiveness.
• Lego Therapy – a social development programme for children and young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other social communication difficulties.
• ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) – a weekly, 1:1 session with our trained ELSA practitioner.