Applemore College – Proposal for a Resourced Provision for pupils with Autism (ASC)

Hampshire County Council and Applemore College are consulting on the proposal to create a new Resourced Provision (RP) for up to 15 pupils with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC), opening in phases from September 2025.

Applemore College currently operates a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD) RP which has recently reduced in number due to demand. The addition of an ASC RP will not affect the remaining SpLD RP places.

Autism spectrum condition (ASC) is a lifelong condition that affects how people learn, communicate, and interact with others. The school already supports a number of children with autism and having this provision will enhance the in-house support available across the school. It has been identified that there are an increasing number of children in the local area who are being diagnosed with autism, and we are therefore working towards expanding our offer of support to these children attend local schools.

The pupils who would attend the new RP would generally be from the local area. They would have Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and have needs meaning that they currently find it difficult to manage full-time within a mainstream school environment, however, have the ability to attend some lessons and work towards examinations. When places in the RP are agreed by the special educational needs (SEN) Service, the children would go on roll at Applemore College and the school would receive additional resources to ensure that the children’s needs are well supported so that they can successfully access the mainstream environment and curriculum.

The school proposes to utilise existing surplus accommodation to become the base for the RP, only minor adjustments, safeguarding measures, IT and furniture will be required.

The governing body of the school are fully supportive and the Headteacher will work closely with Hampshire County Council to ensure all pupils benefit regarding this joint project.

The Consultation

The purpose of this consultation is to ask for your views and consult on the development of a new Resourced Provision for pupils with autism at Applemore College from September 2025. It is important to hear your views at this stage so we can consider them as part of the work to be undertaken, should approval be obtained. 

The consultation and decision-making process is outlined below:

• This consultation will run from 14 March 2025 to 11 April 2025.
• A report outlining the consultation responses received will then be taken to Children’s Services Department Management Team in April 2025 to decide if the proposal should continue to the formal statutory consultation stage.
• If approved, a statutory Public Notice would be published in May 2025 setting out Hampshire County Council’s intent to increase the capacity of the school. This is a four-week period in which any representations can be made to the local authority.
• A final report would then be taken to Executive Lead Member for Children’s Services Decision Day in June 2025 who will decide whether or not to proceed with the proposal.

Further Information

A drop-in session where you will be able to discuss the proposal with Hampshire County Council officers will take place on Thursday 27 March 3:30pm to 6pm at Applemore College.

Frequently asked questions for Applemore ASC RP

If you are unable to attend the drop-in and wish to make a comment, then please write to [email protected] by Friday 11 April 2025.