In Sutton, as in other local areas, we have commissioned places that local authorities fund from the High Needs

Block for children and young people

with Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) in either resource based provision in mainstream schools, in special schools or in alternative provision
(AP).
We have developed and implemented Commissioning Agreements with our specialist providers so that there is shared understanding and clarity
regarding what each setting provides through commissioned places. Within these commissioning agreements there is a 'statement of provision'
which sets out in detail what the provider offers and what pupil needs can be met.

School: Oaks Park (Horizon Year 7 -13) Date: September 2022

A. School/base Expertise and Capacity:

Student numbers
70 commissioned places for 22-23 and 65 commissioned places for 23-34.

Aims and Outcomes

● To access mainstream provision at post 16 and be able to take part in adult society
● To support students to make good progress and have aspirations to achieve, preparing them
successfully for the next stage in their education
● To develop students’ social and communicative skills so that they can increase their access to
mainstream provision, their social relationships with their peers and communication with adults
● To help students cope with a wider range of environments and self-manage their sensory and
self-regulation needs accordingly
● To develop more independence e.g. short local travel, accessing local social facilities, making considered
decisions
● To think about their future and plan for what they need to develop to achieve it

Curriculum adaptations
The specialist base provides small group teaching with high levels of adult support in the areas of social and
communicative curriculum for up to 6 hours each week; this course also delivers Personal, Social, Health
and Careers education as well as RS for Horizon students.

At Key Stage 3, delivery of the mainstream curriculum (19 hours) for secondary students (i.e. English,
Mathematics, Science, Geography, History, Art, Drama, Music, Technology, PE and/or Occupational Therapy
advised activities) is through small group teaching, with high levels of adult support, either within the base
or in specialist subject facilities. Individual children may access a mainstream class with support but this is
rarely the norm. Those wishing to take modern language would need to access mainstream classes

At Key Stage 4, delivery of the GCSE curriculum (19 hours) in the core subjects of: (English, Mathematics,
Science, PE and/or Occupational Therapy advised activities and two additional option GCSE or Vocational
subjects (eg BTEC courses) is generally through small group teaching, with high levels of adult support,
either within the base or in specialist subject facilities. Restricted options are offered within the base, and
progression routes to post 16 are taken into account. Students may also access mainstream classes and
options.

Teaching is differentiated to take into account needs and therapy provision is embedded as much as is
possible

Enrichment and social activities are an important part of the curriculum

B. Provision:

● Mainstream curriculum – differentiated in its delivery to take into account ASC.

● Small group teaching and high levels of adult support within a specialist environment to manage
sensory, environment or communication needs for all lessons taught in the base.
● A significant input (of up to 30%) through a specialised social and communicative curriculum delivered
in small groups by staff trained in this area.
● Embedded therapy work, supported by advice from specialists, that is delivered within the context of
the planned curriculum in small teaching groups whenever possible and in 1-1 or small groups
otherwise.
● Separate facilities in a self-contained unit with its own entrance, classrooms and social area as well as
science lab, food technology area and dining hall and OT/small Hall area. All classrooms are fitted with
an interactive whiteboard allowing creative interaction with learning resources and each classroom has
its own ICT resource.
● ELSA trained staff for input and managing emotions/self-regulation activities and other staff overseen
by the Educational Psychologist
● Safe haven and sensory room for students if needed during the school day
● Behaviour policy which explains the principles and systems that it uses in managing behaviour in the
context of the special needs of the children in the base.
● Staff alert for indicators of stress and worry, with plans for managing these emotions. The best plans
are those discussed with the family and child to see what works best. As well as the short-term
responses to any moments of pressure, the base also has activities within the curriculum as well as
specialist input to support development of skills in these areas.
● Systems for parental communication and support e.g. offer of specialist programme to children with
chance for parents to be part of this; half-termly formal meetings with parents; work with well-being
team on strategies for use at home
● Tracking and monitoring systems: Each child in the base has a designated teacher who oversees their
progress. Most will also have a dedicated support worker who takes an especial interest too. Each year
group has a tutor assigned to the year group. The tutor runs morning sessions and usually delivers all
or part of the social and communication programme (up to 6 hours each week). Students also take
various base-line assessments as needed to provide a clear picture of their current academic levels and
future needs.
● For those children accessing mainstream lessons monitoring includes lesson by lesson feedback through
a member of support staff. There are also regular drop ins to observe and check all is well. Within the
base, there are learning walks and an open door policy is encouraged.
● In addition to drop ins and gathering of pupils' views, formal academic data is gathered each term and
this informs reports home to parents/carers. Children are each set academic targets and their progress
towards these are used as part of whole school, subject and horizon group analysis. This supports
review and additional interventions as needed. There are twice weekly Students Review meetings at
each of KS3 and KS4 to review progress and make any changes to support strategies or focus for Horizon
students.

Therapies Provision
Therapy provision is embedded within the curriculum as much as possible, using advice and support from
specialists. Examples would include:
● Adapting the English curriculum to deliver SALT objectives and outcomes within taught lessons
● Using the social and communicative curriculum to deliver both SALT and OT self-regulation and
social communication strategies
 ● Adapting the PE curriculum to reinforce Occupational Therapy objectives, or providing distinct
provision for those requiring targeted work
● Using local trips or visits to practise key skills and decision-making

This, similarly, applies to other input such as Dyslexia or Art Therapy teaching. The small groups within the
base, coupled with high levels of adult support, allows delivery effectively and in a way that embeds the key
outcomes more effectively.
However, there are occasions when specialist input is required directly. This would usually be for a period
of time to address or support particular issues that have not responded to the taught curriculum.
Alternatively, this may be to address short term difficulties that need overcoming to maintain access to the
small group teaching classes and benefit from the provision.
The base has an overall allocation of time for Educational Psychologists and Therapists that it uses as
needed to support students to meet their outcomes as per the Educational Health and Care Plan. Much of
this time is used to support the work described above. However, specialist support may be required for
example:
● 1-1 or pair work to address particular self-regulation, social or sensory issues
● Individual strategies to support accessing the provision successfully
● A “course” of specified length to develop specific skills or coping strategies
● Work with our ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) staff

Work with an Assistant Psychologist under the supervision of an Educational Psychologist

Preparation for Adult Life

A key purpose of the base is to support children and young people to develop skills during key stage 3 and
key stage 4 so that they can:
● Access post 16 mainstream provision e.g. colleges or sixth forms and manage the mainstream
environment successfully
● Form friendships and develop a social network
● Cope with a wider range of environments and self-manage their sensory and self-regulation needs
accordingly
● Develop more independence e.g. short local travel, accessing local social facilities, making considered
decisions
● Think about their future and plan for what they need to develop to achieve it
● Careers programme and Advisor input

Support for this aim is through:

● tutorial system, where children meet their tutor and work with support staff each morning, getting
them ready for the day and addressing any immediate issues as well as delivering key aspects of the
social and communicative curriculum
● use of specialist programmes aimed at supporting the development of social and communicative
awareness for those with autistic conditions
● access to mainstream social and extra-curricular facilities, with support, to develop and practise coping
strategies and interact with a wider range of their peers
● adaptation of the base curriculum, using opportunities within English, Humanities, Art, PE and
Technology in particular to develop skills and understanding
● Planning individual small tasks and steps each term to support personal development and confidence.
This will mean moving out of the “comfort zone” with support at times, but is an important part of
growth and maturation for a child.
● Increased exposure to mainstream staff during key stage 3 and 4.

Enrichment / social activities

Intention : to practise skills in the larger community as well as build self-esteem and confidence.
Enrichment activities form part of the tutorial programme and social and communication programme. This
includes LIFE skills, e.g. cooking and travel safety. Also organising events or activities within Horizon e.g.
Local day trips; access to Diamond Riding Centre; cinema trips and other social activities; charity events.
Access to mainstream social events, extra-curricular or trips is available where a student can manage the
environment successfully with support.

Support staffing (per week per class, on average)

66 hours for LSA support in classes, managing emotions support, meeting, escorting to transport; social
time and breaks
7 hours ELSA/well-being support
6 hours AP time
5 hours floating LSA for additional input for key students
6 hours additional therapy input (including SALT and OT) – LSA equivalent; intention to reduce this as
embedded therapy works into the system
6 hours support for attending mainstream individual lessons (eg assumes that one child for eg 2 subjects in
a class on average)

96 hours

Numbers of classes
5 (averaging 8/10 students) with 1 teacher for 25 hours plus tutorial time (20 minutes per day) with
additional teacher time for support and intervention averaging 1 to 8 overall for 25 hours a week.
Students may also access individual mainstream subject lessons as and when manageable for their needs;
they are usually supported to attend mainstream assemblies and, for a very few individuals, may be
attached to mainstream tutor groups.

C. Admission Process:

The Local Authority should consult with the Horizon base, as per the statutory process, for students with an
EHCP who are seeking a placement within Horizon base.

Criteria for Admission

● Students whose prime need is classed as Autism and who are able to access the mainstream curriculum
in terms of their academic ability with high levels of support related to their autism diagnosis, but
would otherwise be unable to do so. The base is not appropriate for a student with extensive learning
needs who needs a highly adapted curriculum as the Horizon base delivers a differentiated mainstream
secondary curriculum.
● Students who can learn in small groups and manage the associated classroom environment and
relationships with others. A student who needs 1-1 support and/or 1-1 teaching will not find the
Horizon base provision matches their needs.
● Students who can access some mainstream classes with additional support but needs access to the
base provision for social communication and other lessons.
● Students who, as part of learning groups and other social activities, are able to tolerate others’
presence and those routine behaviours and sensory experiences that comes with teenagers and the
group environment.

D. Review of student provision:

Every student will have an Annual review of the EHC Plan with any recommendations for change. Students
Annual Review outcomes, will be broken down into termly targets and monitored via a SEND Support Plan.

E. Outreach Commissioned:
None commissioned.

F. Funding and moderation processes

The Council will develop and put in place governance arrangements that ensure that the different
pathways and numbers within them are part of a moderation process involving specialist provision leaders
so that cohort changes are recognised and there is parity across provisions in terms of judgements.

G. Transition Processes
A comprehensive transition program is key to building student confidence and enabling a smooth start to
their new school. After a student has been offered and has accepted a place in Horizon the following
transition programme will take place:

For students who are transitioning from Year 6 into Year 7:

● Attendance by Horizon Staff at the Y6 Annual Review
● Summer term transition lessons: 3 mornings where taster days are offered. Students will be
accompanied by their current LSAs for 2 of these mornings, but supported or taught by Horizon
staff
● Parents are given a Horizon specific information pack
● Students are supported by transition booklets given out at the end of the summer term
● Parents will be connected within the Horizon community via regular coffee mornings and parents’
evenings

For students who are transitioning Post Year 7:

● Transition program will be developed on an individual basis depending on the circumstances and
needs of the student.
● This will include visits with trusted adults, transition booklets and experiencing lessons. Students
timetables may be modified to support a gradual transition where appropriate
 ● Parents and student (and in some cases current LSAs) to visit Horizon to discuss individual student
needs, supports, expectations and process involved in the upcoming transition.

For students who are transitioning from Year 11 into Post 16:
● Arranging visits for Post 16 provisions, including internal Sixth Form and external colleges.
● Arranging time for students to read prospectuses and looking and provider’s website.
● Career planning, as part of the Princes Trust qualification.
● Discussions with parents and supporting parents via Open Evenings on Post 16 planning.
● Transition booklet and interview preparation.