• The Integrated Resource will support young people who have an EHCP for Communication and Interaction Needs (Autism) as their primary need.  The IR will serve up to 30 pupils, with approximately 5-6 in each year group from Years 7 to Year 11.  The pupils will predominantly be from our catchment, so that local children can access high quality provision at their local school, and close to their home. 

  The Local Authority will be the admissions authority and will make the decision about whether a pupil will have a place in the IR.  It is important to note that not all pupils with this designated need will receive a place and there is no guarantee that naming Newfield on an EHCP will ensure an automatic placement.  However, we have been working with the local authority and have agreed that our provision will serve children from the local area.

  The IR would be an extension of Newfield School, with the same high expectations, values, and ethos. As the IR is part of Newfield School, the routines and times of the day will be the same as the mainstream school and school uniform will be worn.  It is important that our pupils in the IR know they are part of the Newfield community.

  Pupils will be integrated into mainstream routines, lessons, enrichment, extra-curricular activities where appropriate – the aim to fully integrate pupils where possible.  However, based on the assessment of current and future need, there will be pupils who would need full-time or close to full-time specialist provision.  A bespoke timetable and curriculum will be put in place for each pupil.  This will include time for any specialist support from external providers, e.g. Speech and Language therapy, Educational Psychology assessment, Family therapy etc.  Breaks and lunch will generally be at the same time as the mainstream school.  Some pupils may have some of their lessons or group sessions with pupils in a different year group in the IR.  We will place pupils in groups very carefully based on individual need.

  The IR will be staffed by specialist teachers and support staff.  There will be a minimum offer of the following:

• Maths, English, Science, Creative Subject, PE, Personal Development
• Bespoke therapeutic support
• Life skills and post-16 preparation (Year 10 and 11)

All children with have an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) for Communication and Interaction Needs (Autism). Children already within the school (who will take up the majority of places) with this designation will automatically access a place within the IR if parents request this through an Annual Review. Other pupils will gain access via the Local Authority SEND admissions protocols.

We plan to construct a purpose-built base, including classrooms, meeting rooms and therapeutic spaces on the current site.

We expect all construction work to be completed in the next 12 months.

The Headteacher and Head of Special Educational Needs will have direct responsibility for oversight of the Integrated Resource. This is alongside their overall responsibilities for school leadership and the offer to all children.

The Governing Body, and Mercia Learning Trust, will also have strategic accountability for the quality of provision, alongside the Local Authority who have co-commissioned the provision.

The provision will be led by a specialist teacher with experience of leading SEND, particularly in Communication and Interaction needs (Autism) and supported by a range of specialist teaching and support staff.  (In the first instance, the SENDCo, 2 teachers and 4 specialist support staff, although this may change depending on the needs of the pupils).

The IR is planned to open in September at the beginning of the 2024-25 academic year.

However, this is a significant new build, and we cannot guarantee it will be ready by September.  If this is the case, those pupils who would have a place in the IR will remain in Newfield School but will benefit from a higher staff to pupil ratio and a more bespoke offer through our Learning Support Department.

School will operate as it does now, with the specialist IR adjacent to the main school.

Mercia Learning Trust has considerable experience of running IRs as one has already been established for many years at King Ecgbert School.

The school conducted a formal consultation process in January/February 2024, including two events in school. 

During the process, feedback was gathered, the overwhelming majority of which was positive.

Once Newfield has the agreement to open the IR and our Memorandum of Understanding has been finalised, we will consult with the Local Authority about current Y6 pupils.

Ethos and values are the same as school. The IR is not a separate provision but fully immersed in school life, therefore, expectations remain the same, including uniform.

The Memorandum of Understanding will ensure that the majority of admissions to the IR are from our catchment and so there will be space each year as the Y11 cohort leave.

We will continue to provide first class support and education for those children with other SEND needs.  An IR will allow us to reorganise our resources so that all our pupils have the provision they need to thrive.

Based on our current cohort and a review of pupils’ needs coming through primary schools in our locality, a 30 place IR is right. We do not want our IR to be any bigger as this takes away from the bespoke nature of support we want to offer.

We are in conversations with the Local Authority about admissions and are confident that an agreed Memorandum of Understanding will ensure the majority of pupils in the IR will be from our catchment.

We have successfully recruited to all our vacancies so far and have secured excellent staff.

Of course. Children in the IR (dependent on need) will spend time in mainstream lessons, in the base and interact at social times.

We expect to begin to recruit staff in readiness for IR opening in September from April 2024 onwards.

IR children will receive appropriate support whilst in provision and in lessons as required to meet their needs.

The school / trust has been carefully tracking SEN pupil trends for some time. We believe current pupil numbers and future admission data suggests establishing new provision is in the best interests of children and school.

It so happens that our approach is supported by the Local Authority who are also committed to addressing the SEN sufficiency challenge and developing a locality / mainstream solution.

The Local Authority manage SEN admissions. School has a high number of appropriate SEN children already in school who will benefit, but data from the locality suggests this need is apparent also.

We therefore expect to fill from school catchment and the locality. However, children can be placed from out of area and via SEN tribunals.

The Local Authority.

We believe 30 children is an optimum size for a mainstream secondary IR. As such we are keen to keep numbers at this agreed number.

School already provides strong SEN provision and specialist support to designated children. The IR will provide secure and additional funds to the school so it can boost its capacity to meet need. School will also create a robust curriculum / therapeutic offer by strengthening ties with key external agencies.

Yes, we anticipate this will increase and will use additional resources to increase our capacity to manage this.

Schools (primary and secondary) within Mercia Learning Trust are working together to create a common curriculum, share best practice and increase the use of external SEN agencies. As the specialism is communication, speech, and language / ASD, we are particularly focused on the communication curriculum.