Doors open to students at Chiltern Primary School’s new SEND unit
Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)19 October 2023
Chiltern Primary School located in Northampton, opened its doors to its new 30 place SEND unit called The Nest on 2 October, celebrated by a ribbon cutting ceremony that took place with students this week.
The Nest caters for children in Key Stage 2, Years 3 to 6 and is a designated specialist provision for children with an Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) diagnosis. Within the Nest, staff use Autism specific approaches such as Teacch, Attention Autism and Intensive interaction to deliver a bespoke curriculum based on students needs. The curriculum offered to children across the provision is broad and is based on drivers such as; communication, safety, independence and responsibility to help all students thrive.
After extensive works have taken place at the school, The Nest is now open with the SEND students enjoying the specialist learning facilities with new classrooms offering an amazing view of the outdoor area, breakout spaces, new signage to offer privacy to the playground as well as the new, engaging play area that is available for use by all pupils at Chiltern Primary School.
It was so wonderful to see the students enjoying the new, much-needed facilities at Chiltern Primary School and to see the teaching techniques that clearly had the students so engaged and wanting to learn. A really important part for me, was for the children to be settled as part of their transition into The Nest and to enjoy the space – to see them using the play equipment and engaging with the classroom activities was incredibly moving and I extend my thanks for the staff at Chiltern who have been so brilliant in supporting the students transition as well as to the parents for their patience and support.Cllr Fiona Baker, Cabinet Member at West Northamptonshire Council for Children, Families, Education and Skills
The Nest at Chiltern, is operated by Hunsbury Park Primary School and their specialist SEND staff. The new provision at Chiltern will see a further 15 Key Stage 2 places created from September 2024, taking the total number of places at this site to 45.
We are thrilled to open our new Nest provision at Chiltern Primary School and offer provision for 30 more children. It has been fantastic to see students in class, accessing Autism specific approaches and making friends with their peers. Staff have worked hard to ensure that the new provision follows a consistent approach across both sites.Hayley Rootes, Assistant Headteacher and Unit Lead at Chiltern Primary School