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Support to keep more pupils in mainstream schools

Clare WordenBBC News, Reepham
News imageNorse Consulting/Norfolk County Council Computer generated design of the new Reepham High School specialist resource base. There is a row of cars and behind it a one storey yellow brick building with a grey roof. Behind it is a larger grey building which is the main school. The buildings are surrounded by grass and bordered by tall trees.Norse Consulting/Norfolk County Council
The new base at Reepham High will be built on the existing school site

Plans to build 16 new support hubs in Norfolk high schools will ensure more pupils can remain in mainstream education, a council says.

Andy Tovell, head of alternative provision at Norfolk County Council (NCC), said the majority of children could be successful in mainstream schools if they were supported well.

Specialist resource bases (SRBs) offer smaller groups and specialist teachers for children with behavioural and emotional difficulties.

The county council said the bases would cover the whole of the county, with the latest sites confirmed at Reepham, Acle and Hellesdon.

The authority has already opened one SRB in King's Lynn in January 2025.

News imageClare Worden/BBC Head of alternative provision at NCC Andy Tovell stands in front of a white board with a series of complicated maths formula written on it. He is wearing a dark grey suit and a lilac shirt with matching patterned tie. He has short white hair and glasses. Clare Worden/BBC
Head of alternative provision Andy Tovell said the 16 sites will cover the whole of the county

Tovell said pupils would have "specially trained teachers, specific learning environments and typically much smaller classes".

SRB students would be able to dip in and out of mainstream classes and focus on specific GCSE subjects, using the wider schools sports and technology facilities.

Tovell denies that the approach was designed to reduce the number of students at special SEND schools, which can be more expensive.

He said: "We always acknowledge that there are a very small number of children who require very specialist provision and those pathways will still be open for those children."

News imageClare Worden/BBC Headteacher at Reepham High Jon Croucher is wearing a black suit, pink shirt and pink tie. He is a bald man. He is smiling at the camera. He is standing in a grass field which is lined by tall trees in full leaf. This is where the new specialist resource base will be built. Clare Worden/BBC
Headteacher at Reepham High School Jon Croucher pictured on the site of the new SRB building

Jon Croucher, headteacher at Reepham High School, which is part of Synergy Multi Academy Trust (SMAT), said that post-Covid more children needed extra emotional and behavioural support.

"Having that bespoke centre that caters for that group of children and having specialists who are really expert in dealing with and supporting children is really exciting," he said.

"That expertise can be shared with our wider school community and they can only grow stronger from that."

The roll out of SRBs across the county has been welcomed by the Norfolk SEN Network, which supports families with children who have special needs and disabilities.

Founder Pat Brickley said: "SRBs can be ideal for some children with autism who find the pressures of mainstream school too much.

"They can come out of the mainstream classroom, often without permission and go to the SRB to unwind and relax with an experienced teacher who understands them."

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