Autism Spectrum

Autistic students at St Rose’s are supported to achieve their full potential using best practice drawn from a range of recognised and evidence based approaches.

We enable every student to work at their individual pace and level to maximise their potential. We aim for personal well being, academic achievement, communication development and independence for every student. Our curriculum is personalised to the individual, taking into account special interests to motivate the learner. We use structured teaching and a high level of visual support to promote understanding, communication and independence across the school and college day.

Multi-disciplinary teams comprise class teacher, teaching assistants, speech and language therapists, occupational therapist, physiotherapy team, nursing and care team. As a team, we set challenging targets which will enable achievement. Staff across St Rose’s seek to nurture individual talents, interests and abilities. Staff ensure that strategies to support each student are used across their curriculum and leisure time in a consistent manner. We regularly celebrate our students achievements and are excited to see the way in which they make progress and enjoy their learning.

We believe in inclusive education with appropriate therapeutic intervention supporting students’ development and learning. Staff are passionate about professional development to support this. A wide range of St Rose’s staff regularly attend the most up to date external professional development in the field of autism and we have a comprehensive staff training programme to ensure that practice at St Rose’s is of the highest quality.

Communication is promoted throughout St Rose’s using a wide variety of strategies such as Intensive Interaction, wide ranging visual supports, low tech and high tech communication aids and Makaton signing. We recognise that behaviour is a form of communication and manage all behaviours proactively, aiming to foster communication development as part of support plans.

Structure is central to supporting all students at St Rose’s. We support autistic students with a carefully planned school/ college programme with emphasis on predictability. Attention is given to the layout of learning and residential areas to promote access, understanding and independence. Students are supported to use all of the school and college facilities and outdoor spaces to generalise learning, be healthy and active and reduce anxiety.

We place particular emphasis on meeting each student’s individual sensory needs so that they can develop self-regulation skills. Students access personalised sensory programmes and are able to take regular sensory breaks to enable them to learn in the way that suits them best.

Work related learning and being part of our local community is very important at St Rose’s. Students regularly visit local shops, cafes and the library to practice and generalise their communication and independence skills. Other off site activities include visits to the farm, bowling alley, cinema, theatre and swimming pool. We are well supported by community partners who offer valuable opportunities to our students, further enriching their fulfilling programmes.