Resource Base Opening

In September, we opened the doors of a new provision in Wiltshire for students who need extra support to achieve their academic potential, The Clarendon Resource Base. Resource Bases are nothing new in the Primary Sector, but they have now been introduced at Secondary level and if the first few months is anything to go by, the future is bright.

A Resource Base sits alongside a mainstream school, but lessons are conducted with smaller groups and with more adult support. Lessons in our RB follow the main school curriculum plan but are focused on the students’ level of cognition and need. This symmetry with the school curriculum means that as students improve, they can confidently slot into lessons on the main site.

This year we welcomed five students to Clarendon from across the county and the way they have settled in has far exceeded all our hopes for them. All of the students are attending lessons in PE, Drama, Dance and Music and two of the five are now also enjoying Art lessons.

As well as the main curriculum we also find time to build self esteem and resilience by setting a lot of challenges and learning new skills, such as erecting tents, DIY and being confident with money.

Recently, we’ve been making Christmas decorations out of clay, Christmas cards, using our knowledge of colour theory and bath bombs. These are all to sell at our Christmas Market Stall, to raise money for Crisis at Christmas, an idea which sprang from reading Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Academic progress is so important to a child’s  confidence and self-esteem, and we are thrilled to see some fantastic results emerging in their spelling, reading and numeracy, which assures us that the Clarendon Resource Base has made a very, very, good start.