Changes to our primary school 'resource bases' for children with a hearing impairment
We propose that there will be 2 primary resource bases and 1 secondary resource base for pupils with a hearing impairment. There are currently 3 primary and 1 secondary resource bases for pupils with a hearing impairment.
We propose closing the resource base at St John’s C of E Primary School. There are currently nine children who use the base. We will meet with the parents of all the children to discuss what they would like to do next.
The options for these children will be to:
stay in their current school with support from the sensory support service
move to one of the other primary school resource bases
move to their local school with support from the sensory support service.
The children will all have an education, health and care plan, which will set out how we will meet their needs and the support they will receive.
What the different resource bases will do
Alma Park Primary
Alma Park will provide specialist support from Nursery to Year 6. It will offer auditory verbal, aural and sign or a mixture that is best for the pupil. The teaching will be the same as it is now. There may be more pupils with a hearing impairment at the school.
St Andrew’s C of E Primary
St Andrew’s will provide intensive specialist support from Nursery to the end of Key Stage1 or early Key Stage 2. It will offer an auditory verbal and aural approach appropriate to each pupil. The teaching will be the same as it is now.
At the end of Key Stage1 or early Key Stage 2, children will be assessed and we will work with their parent, carers and the other organisations working with them to decide what kind of support they will need in the future. The choices will be:
stay at St Andrew’s with support from the service
move to a local school with support from the service
if they need longer term specialist support move to the Alma Park resource base.
Manchester Academy
Nothing will change at the secondary school resource base at Manchester Academy
Management of the resource bases
There will be one line manager for both primary school resource bases, making sure the bases are flexible and have the same standards and ways of doing things.
The specialist staff will all be employed by the sensory support service but will be allocated to each resource base. They will sometimes work across both bases to share best practice.
The consultation closed on Wednesday 8 February.