Specialist Resource Base (SRB)

Monmouth Comprehensive School hosts an inclusive Specialist Resource Base (SRB) which is overseen by Monmouthshire Local Authority.  Students within the SRB are part of the Monmouth Comprehensive School community and experience education alongside their peers.  The SRB provides specialised support for students with identified additional learning needs, allowing students to access elements of mainstream where appropriate, alongside specialist teaching, learning and wellbeing delivery.  Provision is developed through person centred practice in order to identify barriers to learning and approaches to overcome these.  Staff within the SRB work closely with the Local Authority ALN Team, Educational Psychology Service, Health and Social Care Professionals and the Monmouthshire Network of SRBs.

The SRB has an admission number of fifty five, with an age range of 11 to 19 years old.  The designation of the SRB is identification of complex needs in one or more of the following areas:

• Severe learning difficulties;
• Autistic spectrum disorder;
• Speech, language and communication challenges;
• Physical and medical challenges.

Admission to the SRB is determined by a team of professionals and has to be agreed by the Local Authority ALN Panel.  In nearly all cases students will be in receipt of a Statement of SEN / Education Health Care Plan / Individual Development Plan and will require specific additional learning provision in order to secure a place in the SRB.

The Lead for the SRB is Mr Michael Hobbs.  There are a further six specialist teachers, one HLTA and a team of teaching assistants who work across the SRB.  Each member of the team has a specialist skillset and on-going professional development in order to fully meet the needs of the students placed within the SRB.  This includes training in areas such as ELKLAN, Step Back, Attention Autism, Word Aware, Makaton, Numicon, and Precision Teaching.

Our school is designed to allow the SRB to be at its centre.  We have a suite of five classrooms within the SRB Hub, alongside small group rooms, a sensory room, sensory garden and a fully equipped hygiene room.  There are small class rooms in our Core Faculty areas and smaller group rooms accessible throughout the building.  This supports our inclusive ethos.  Students within the SRB access all of the key facilities in the school, for example Catering, Design Technology, PE and the outdoor spaces. 

Students within the SRB experience the same opportunities as students across the mainstream setting, with adjustments as required.  Timetables are developed around individualised needs through person centred practice, with bespoke support in the identified areas, for example speech and language therapy input, precision teaching.  Students accessing the SRB are supported, as required, throughout their day, from point of entry into school each morning, through break and lunch times until they leave at the end of the school day.  A focus is placed on developing functional skills, independence and resilience in-line with individual student progress.  Access to the wider school environment and local community supports further development of essential skills to support our students as they progress into adulthood.

Progress is tracked in a variety of ways to ensure success for each individual student.  B Squared is used as a method of tracking progress in key skill areas, including literacy and numeracy.  Each student will have targets which are tracked, monitored and reviewed on an on-going basis.

Learning programmes are reviewed on at least an annual basis.  They take into account the student’s stage of development and aspirations.  A range of qualification routes which support the development of personal and social, as well as functional and academic skills are considered at Key Stage 4 and 5.  The content of qualifications, as well as the assessment routes, are reviewed to ensure skill development, success and that we provide every opportunity to secure the next pathway.  In order to ensure a holistic pathway, work placements and further experiences are explored at Key Stage 5.

For more information, please contact inclusion@monmouth.schoolsedu.org.uk