Autism Resource Base

The Hub is a supportive resource centre designed for girls aged 11 to 16 who have an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP) with a primary need related to Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

The Hub accommodates up to 20 students from Years 7 to 11, with approximately four students per year group. Currently, the provision serves students in Years 7 and 8.

As a fully integrated provision, the Hub expects all students to be capable of managing the demands of a large mainstream school environment, with additional support and tailored nurturing. Students are anticipated to engage effectively in classes of 25 to 30 peers and to access a mainstream curriculum. The Hub’s model enables students to participate in mainstream lessons for at least 70% of their timetable, with up to 30% of their learning delivered through personalised support within the resource base.

Lambeth Autism Advisory Service Parent Workshops

Enquiries and Admissions

Families who are interested in finding out more about the Autism Resource Base provision, please contact Andrew Bloss, SENDCo at abloss@laretraite.co.uk or Andrea During, Deputy SENDCo and Base Manager, at aduring@laretraite.co.uk

Applications for a young person to attend the Base are made via your Local Authority EHCP Team, with priority given to Lambeth families.

For full details, guidance, and advice on the admissions process, please visit the Lambeth Council website: Lambeth Council SEND Local Offer and Lambeth EHCP Admissions.

The Hub

The hub will be a fantastic new building and located within the school site. Although the building is an integral part of the school, it’s still allows its intake to have their own space.

Within the new resource space, it has:

· Large classroom

· Two intervention spaces

· A cozy hub area which enables students to be able to socialise

· An inclusion office

· Lockers

· Student toilets

· Direct access to the main playground

· Cooking facilities

Our Offer

All students are closely monitored by the Base Manager and Deputy SENDCo, Ms. During. Ms During will be in close contact with parent/guardians to give updates of progress and any concerns which arise.

Students are expected to attend approximately 70% of mainstream lessons and are integrated within mainstream tutor groups. Priority is given to providing in-class support from a Teaching Assistant (TA) attached to the Hub for core subjects, with additional TA support available for selected foundation subjects.

Base staff maintain regular communication with teaching staff across the school to ensure that mainstream teachers are fully informed of the specific needs of Hub students and are equipped with effective teaching strategies to support them in the classroom.

Additionally, the Hub offers a safe and supportive space for students whenever they require it.

Current interventions and personalised learning programmes include:

In addition to the mainstream curriculum, we offer a tailored curriculum designed to meet individual student needs. This includes speech and language groups, social skills sessions, buddy systems, anxiety management groups, and ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) sessions.

Staff also deliver targeted small-group interventions within the Hub to further support student development.

Autism Awareness Project with Lambeth Council

We are proud to share that La Retraite was one of three schools in Lambeth selected to take part in a special film project supported by Lambeth Council and Chocolate Films Workshops.

As part of the initiative, 27 young people from across the borough worked together to create a short documentary exploring their lived experiences of autism. Our students produced one of the three film segments, which together form the full documentary.

The project was funded by the Universal Access Fund and supports two key priorities of Lambeth’s All Age Autism Strategy:

Improving understanding and awareness of autism, the central aim of the film.
Supporting autistic individuals into employment, achieved by upskilling participants in filmmaking and awarding accredited AQA UAS certificates in recognition of the skills they developed.

We are delighted that our students had the opportunity to take part in such an important project, using their creativity to raise awareness and help build a more inclusive future.

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