Parklands benefits from the inclusion of a Special Support Centre (Orchard Class and Forest Class).

There are 18 planned places for pupils with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) specifying social communication needs. All pupils receive specialist individual and small group support from experienced teachers, special support assistants, and speech and language therapy. The timetable for each individual pupil is designed to cater for identified areas of specific need, as well as more global learning needs. These typically relate to sensory processing, the understanding of social situations and communication.

The West Sussex County Council guidance for SSC’s in mainstream schools asserts that;

“The overall aim of the provision is to support each pupil’s development academically, socially and emotionally through exposure to life in mainstream classes and individual or small group support from Special Support Centre Staff, in order to maximise inclusion.”

Inclusion in mainstream classes is different for each pupil. Some join lessons for an hour each day while others attend up to 5 hours each day. The levels of support provided depend upon the needs of the child and requirements of their EHCP. Many are supported in small groups whilst others benefit from 1:1 support. A variety of strategies are employed to support effective inclusion for each pupil including personal learning plans, social skills lessons, speech and language therapy, Lego therapy, jump ahead physical education and the consistent use of visual timetables and social stories. We work hard to ensure inclusion is effective and more than simple “geography,” i.e. where the child completes their lessons. Rather we focus upon how they complete them, encouraging collaborative work in pairs or groups to develop social and communication skills. For this reason inclusion within the SSC is a two way process as some pupils requiring additional support join lessons in the SSC each day.

Mrs Harris and Mrs White are the class teachers for Orchard and Forest Classes. The class teaching assistants who work alongside the teachers are: Mr Cheesman, Mr Smith, Miss Thomson and Mrs Watkis and Mrs Donna Gonclaves.

As the SSC is a Local Authority (LA)additionally resourced base, admission to the SSC is through the LA and children come from a wide geographical area.

For admissions details please click here.