00:00The doors are open on a new chapter for children with additional education needs in Medway.
00:06The Napier School Academy has launched The Harbour, a dedicated specialist resource provision
00:12for pupils with autism spectrum disorder, as well as speech, language and communication needs.
00:18It's very hard in mainstream settings to give them all the support that they need.
00:23It's the government's strategy to make sure that every school has a specialist unit with the skills
00:28and the space and the facilities as well. And to put them in already great schools is exactly the right
00:35thing to do.
00:36But the opening comes as demand for specialist support is expected to grow.
00:40Latest local council figures show that the number of primary age pupils recorded
00:44under the autism spectrum disorder has risen from 373 in the 2022 academic year to 529 last year,
00:53with forecasts showing figures could reach 694 pupils by 2030.
00:57For families, the specialist provision can mean their children receive support closer to home.
01:03I think it's about specialists. I think it's about individualised. I think it's about moving away from traditional
01:07sort of classroom and mainstream classrooms. It's giving them that space, that safe space.
01:13And I think for us, it's a bridge, that stepping stone between a mainstream and an SRP,
01:20so that they have access to the resources where they need 24-7.
01:25The new provision also includes specialist teaching designed around individual needs of the pupils.
01:30And another asset at the harbour here is the sensory room, where pupils can come in and regulate their
01:36needs if they feel like the world's getting that little bit too much.
01:39Now, the room caters for all sorts of sensory needs. Here, you can regulate a sense of touch.
01:45We've got visuals here on the screen with some bubbles and nice lighting as well.
01:49You've got a hard mat here for that extra bit of comfort. And we even have a rocking chair,
01:55in case pupils want a bit of calm movement. And teachers of the provision say that this room is really,
02:02really important for those pupils.
02:03Some children, particularly with autism in our unit, can't regulate their senses without this.
02:09The whole world is too much of a sensory space for them. So this just gives them that chance
02:14to be able to regulate their senses, to be ready for learning. We see the benefit of it constantly.
02:21They can come in and just calm and it gives them their safe space.
02:24And with the number of primary age pupils recorded as autistic expected to continue to rise,
02:29school teachers say spaces like these make all the difference to pupils.
02:34Naila Mohamed for KMTV in Medway.
