Chiswick School – Proposal for a Resourced Provision

To all Stakeholders and Parents/Carer of students in Years 7-13,

Re: Proposal for a Resourced Provision for pupils with cognition and learning needs

We are writing to invite your views about our plans to seek approval to set up a new specialist provision for young people with cognition and learning needs identified within an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) at Chiswick School.

Background

At Chiswick School, we currently cater for around 1600 children aged between 11 and 19. Our vision is simple - we provide pupils an excellent education, characterised by a safe and inclusive learning climate that encourages academic achievement, a sense of belonging, personal development and virtuous citizenship.

Hounslow already has several Resourced Provisions in both primary and secondary schools. These provisions offer support to children who have difficulty accessing mainstream education on a full-time basis and who require additional support.

Evidence of Need

The new provision is needed as there has been an increase in the number of children with needs across Hounslow. It is also needed to support the Hounslow wide strategy of offering support for pupils to access mainstream education close to their local community but with additional support tailored to their individual needs. At Chiswick School, we already support a number of children with complex needs associated with cognition and learning and having this provision will enhance the in-house support available across the school.

Chiswick School Proposal

The proposed new provision will cater in year 1 for up to 40 pupils in total, opening in phases from September 2026. It is anticipated that in September the school will offer 8 places in Year 7 and 8 places in Year 8. These pupils require specialist support meaning that they find it difficult to manage full-time within a mainstream school, however, have the ability to attend some lessons and work towards examinations. When places in the Resourced Provision are agreed by the Special Educational Needs (SEN) service, the children would go on roll at Chiswick School and the school will receive additional funding to ensure that the children’s needs are well supported so that they can successfully access the mainstream environment and curriculum.

If approved by The Department for Education and Hounslow Local Authority, pupils will first be welcomed from September 2026 with the number of admissions reviewed at the end of each academic year, leading to an additional 8 pupils offered places over the next 3 years with year 7 as the point of entry.

Where an academy proposes to establish Special Education Needs provision at a mainstream school, it must consult on the proposal following a set procedure. The school is seeking approval from Hounslow Local Authority in parallel with this consultation.

Costs and Expenditure

Appropriate classroom spaces are required as a base for the Resourced Provision. If our proposal is successful, the local authority will provide us with funding to make any necessary physical modifications to the building. These works would be carried out in the summer term and over the summer holidays. Appropriate IT, furniture and equipment will also be provided.

The Consultation

This consultation will run from Monday 26th January to Monday 2nd March. Chiswick School and Hounslow Local Authority will then take into consideration all the consultation responses before deciding whether to submit a Tier 1 application to the Department for Education Regional Director for formal approval.

Further Information

We have compiled a Frequently Asked Questions document which can be found HERE.

Responding to the consultation

A public drop-in event will be held at the school on Thursday 5th February between 4.30pm and 5.30pm at Chiswick School.

If you are unable to make this, please send in your views and queries in one of the following ways:

• Complete the response form which can be found HERE.
• Email to Jo Duddy - jdu@chiswickschool.org
• Letter addressed to Jo Duddy, Chiswick School, Burlington Lane, W4 3UN