Acle Academy SRB

Overview

Wensum Trust would like to hear your views on our proposal for Acle Academy, South Walsham Road, Acle, Norwich, NR13 3ER, to add a 25 place Autistic Spectrum Disorder Specialist Resource Base (ASD SRB) from 1 April 2025. 

We appreciate that young people with autism spectrum disorder, can struggle to engage with learning and cope in a classroom without additional strategies and interventions. A Resource Base can support young people to overcome their barriers to learning, be better able to cope and to be re-integrated into a mainstream setting, in which they can achieve their potential. 

We are very keen to provide this support at Acle Academy.  Our Specialist Resource Base will be located near the Acle Academy main building, within the school site. It will be new purpose built building, creating an enabling environment for SRB learners in a bespoke accommodation base.  The Base will be managed by the headteacher and governing body of Acle Academy.

The Base will have a recurrent funding agreement to support an agreed staffing structure for the Specialist Resource Base, including resources, equipment and running costs associated with the Base.

Places at the Specialist Resource Base will be agreed through the County Councils’ Autism Base Admissions processes and the school will be part of the decision-making process. It will grow to full capacity through this admissions process and may therefore not be full on 1 April 2025. 

Specialist Resource Bases are a key part of Norfolk’s Local Offer for children with special educational needs and their families and have been identified in Norfolk’s SEND Strategy as a priority for development.

Please note; Our proposal is subject to significant change determination, a full building programme including tender process, planning determination and construction periods as well as staff recruitment and training in line with our Trust and whole school policies and procedures.

What happens next

Wensum Trust will consider all the consultation responses and decide whether to complete a business case and send it to the Regional Department for Education Director for a decision.