Autism hub to move from Amherst to Forest School

The communication, interaction and autism base supporting primary school-age students will move to Forest School from September.

Children who choose to stay at Amherst will still get support.

Pupil numbers have increased at Amherst Primary in recent years, meaning additional classroom space is required and this, combined with the poor condition of the temporary building where the base is situated, led to educationalists looking for better options.

The move to Forest will give children attending the CIAS base access to the dedicated staff and to the facilities at Le Rondin.

The base will be located centrally within the school and this will increase the flexibility for pupils to attend it throughout the day.

Amherst headteacher Tracey Moore and Jenny Jura, Head of the Communication, Interaction and Autism Service, spoke with the parents of the pupils directly about the move and the choices for their child.

There are currently nine pupils at Amherst using CIAS base. Four of these pupils will transition to secondary school in September, leaving five needing additional support.

One of them is eight-year-old Robin Ferbrache.

His mother Julie Lunk faced the difficult decision of whether to keep Robin at the school he has attended since pre-school or move him to a different primary school on the other side of the island.

She was only told about the plan 12 days ago and said parents were not consulted at all ahead of the decision.

‘I feel upset, annoyed and angry,’ she said.

‘It’s going to cause disruption. Any child [moving school] would have to adjust, but for children with autism, it is not that straight forward and it can cause upset.’

The family were offered the choice of keeping Robin at Amherst, where he has two siblings, and he would get some support, or having him transfer to Forest School to keep getting full base support. The family currently live near the performing arts centre.

Miss Lunk said they decided to move him to the Forest in September, as one of his friends was also transferring.

They were also worried that Amherst would not be able to offer the same support at the base.

But she was concerned about the upheaval.

Head of Education Inclusion Services Nick Hynes was delighted about the move.

‘Accommodation at Amherst has become challenging in recent years due to increased pupil numbers at the school and the move provides children and young people with the very best opportunities to be successful,’ he said.

‘I am very grateful to all the dedicated and skilled staff at Amherst for providing a place for the base over the last number of years, but equally excited about the chance to set up a new provision at Forest School with the overwhelming support of staff at the school and our existing CIAS team.’

Amherst headteacher Tracey Moore said it had been a privilege to host the primary base at the school.

‘We have learned so much over the years and have benefitted greatly from the knowledge, commitment and support of the Base staff,’ she said.

Forest Primary and Le Rondin headteacher Paula Sullivan said she was proud to have an inclusive school community.

‘We view this as a fantastic opportunity to work together with pupils, parents, staff and specialist colleagues to continue to achieve our school aims of “Innovative, Inclusive, Inspirational Learning” which enable us to “be the best we can be”,’ she said.