Welcome to the Rainbow Centre a purpose built resource base, here at the Dedworth Campus. 

What does a day look like in the Rainbow Centre?

All of our students have EHCPs and a formal diagnosis of Autism.  We aim for our children who are part of the Rainbow Centre to be fully included in a mainstream class, spending around 50% of the time in the Centre and 50% of the time with their mainstream peers.  Whilst in the Rainbow Centre, the children receive tailored interventions to meet their individual needs.  Places at our Rainbow Centre are allocated and funded by RBWM council.  Pupils in our mainstream do not get a priority to the resource base, all applications must go through to the SEND team at RBWM.

The number of additional staff in the classroom depends on the level of need and the number of children with EHC plans as these can vary. All staff have training and experience in working with pupils with autism and work flexibly across a range of children supporting their individual needs in order to achieve the outcomes set in their EHC plans. Our main aim is to develop independence in children and to avoid the highly dependent relationships that can occur when a child spends all of their time at school being supported by the same TA.

For most children within the resource base, they will spend the majority of time in the mainstream class learning alongside their peers. The Early Years and National Curriculum is differentiated and adapted to meet the children’s needs and ensure they can make progress in all areas. In class, teachers and teaching assistants use visual, auditory and kinaesthetic resources to enhance learning. Turn-taking, social interaction and other social skills are embedded in mainstream teaching, as well as being a focus for small groups, as this is often an area of difficulty for a lot of children.

For more information about the Rainbow Centre or to arrange a visit, please contact the SENDCo at Dedworth Green First School.