SEND

Autism is a complex developmental difficulty that affects social and communication skills. People with Autism can often have accompanying learning difficulties but everyone with the condition shares a difficulty in making sense of the world. Often the condition can create episodes of acute anxiety and there is a higher than average rate of depression amongst people on the Autism Spectrum. 

William Hulme’s Grammar School has a specialist secondary Resourced Provision to support students who are on the Autism Spectrum. Places are allocated by Manchester City Council to students with Education, Health and Care plans (EHCPs) and have a diagnosis of Autism or Specific Language Impairment. Each student will have a bespoke programme to suit their needs. The aim for the students within the resource base is to access mainstream lessons. On some occasions students may need to spend time within the provision. This may be full lessons or part of lessons e.g. time out. On these occasions teachers will be asked to provide work so they can continue their lesson within the base. It is vital that there is clear communication links between the base staff and teachers to ensure the pupil makes progress. The class teacher will always remain responsible for the progress of that child but the staff in the base will provide the necessary support to enable progress. 

Students who are allocated a place in the base have access to a range of therapies including speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. There may be occasions where students have to leave lessons to attend these sessions and it is necessary they do so in order to meet the requirements of their EHC plan. We also currently run interventions relating to social skills, life skills as well as Lego Therapy and mindfulness. The resource provision is open before and after school as well as break and lunch times to support students. 

We will aim to provide an ASD friendly school. Students in the mainstream of William Hulme's Grammar School with an Autism diagnosis (with or without an EHCP) will receive support from our Mainstream Learning Support Team rather than from the Resourced Provision Unit. Admissions applications for Mainstream and for the Resourced Provision Unit are allocated and funded completely separately by the Local Authority, so resourcing available to meet your child's need is dependant upon whether you choose a Resourced Provision or Mainstream place. The Resourced Provision Unit and Mainstream Learning Support Team work closely to ensure expertise and knowledge is shared for optimal benefit for all our students at William Hulme's Grammar School.

Admissions to the ASD Resourced Provision are decided by Manchester City Council with consultation with the William Hulme’s Grammar School Resourced Provision Manager. All students have an Education, Health and Care Plan. If you feel that the ASD Resourced Provision would be a suitable provision it is important to talk with the SENDCO at your child’s school. Arranging a visit to the Provision would be encouraged and the discussion of an ASD Resourced Provision should take place in the EHCP annual reviews. It is useful that Manchester City Council are aware of the situation. It would be advisable to be looking around suitable provisions in Year 5. During the application process you should specify a preference of William Hulme’s Grammar School Resourced Provision rather than William Hulme's Grammar School.