Fleet Infant School & Velmead Junior School - Proposal for a Resourced Provision (RP) for pupils with Autism (ASC)

Children with an autism diagnosis can have difficulties with social interaction, communication and can also have speech and language needs and the schools already support a number of children with such needs. It has been identified that there are an increasing number of children in the county who are being diagnosed with this condition and we are working towards expanding our offer of support to these children.

The pupils who would attend these new provisions would generally be from the local area. They would be on roll at Fleet Infant or Velmead Junior School and the schools 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, when appropriate.

Additional classroom space is required as a base for the Resourced Provision. At Fleet Infant the school proposes to utilise an existing single modular classroom on the school site. At Velmead we propose to install a new modular building. Appropriate IT, furniture, equipment and secure external play space will be provided. These works will allow the schools to add a Resourced Provision which will add an additional up to 9 places at Fleet Infant School and 12 places at Velmead Junior School over 3 years starting from September 2025.

The governing bodies of both schools are fully supportive and the Headteachers will work closely together 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 new Resourced Provisions for pupils with autism at Fleet Infant and Velmead Junior Schools 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 8 November to 6 December 2024.
• A report outlining the consultation responses received will then be taken to the Executive Lead Member for Children’s Services in January 2025 to decide if the proposal should continue to the formal statutory consultation stage.
• If approved, a statutory Public Notice would be published in February 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 both proposals with Hampshire County Council officers will take place on Wednesday 20 November between 3:30pm and 6pm at Fleet Infant School.

Frequently asked questions

If you are unable to attend the drop-in and wish to make a comment, then please write to [email protected] by Friday 6 December 2024.