The Ark

At St James, for all children to thrive and reach their full potential in mind, body and spirit, we know that sometimes we need to provide a bespoke learning environment to support particular children. In September 2023, the Ark was opened in response to an increasing number of children who needed this bespoke envrionment. In September 2024, our purpose built classroom, funded by PDET, was opened.

The Ark is an on-site Inclusion Base (support). It is an internal provision funded by the school for children already on roll at St James. It provides a highly differentiated and specifically adapted curriculum to meet the learning needs of our youngest children (EY/KS1) who have Communication and Interaction needs and/or have a diagnosis of ASD. Most children in the Ark have an EHCP already in place and have been identified by both parents and school as needing an alternative, specialised placement as they get older. The Ark supports these children while the necessary paperwork and assessments are completed and appropriate places found, including considering a transition back to mainstream. It provides the best possible education in a mainstream setting so that our children flourish, parents are supported and the best possible outcomes for the individual child are achieved.  

Ark