Borrow Wood Primary School in Spondon is celebrating the opening of its new Enhanced Resource Facility (ERF) to provide specialist education for children with communication and interaction needs, such as autism.
The centre opened following the Easter break at the school on Arundel Drive and will cater for up to 20 children.
Zoe Fletcher, Head Teacher at Borrow Wood Primary School, part of the Odyssey Collaborative Trust, said:
“We are delighted to share with our school community and the wider Derby City community that our Enhanced Resource Facility is now officially open!
We welcomed our first child after the Easter holidays and are looking forward to welcoming more to our amazing new facility over the coming weeks and months.
“The new provision at Borrow Wood is for children with complex communication and interaction needs, who will come to us from across the city. We are still waiting for a bespoke sensory room to be installed and for a second classroom to be set up. By the autumn term, we hope to have 16 to 20 children in our ERF across two classes – one for younger children who, if they were in mainstream provision, would be in Reception or Key Stage 1, and the other for older children in Key Stage 2.
“As the children settle, the aim is to support their learning in the ERF with opportunities to integrate into our mainstream classrooms when appropriate.
“We are currently in the process of recruiting staff for this new addition to our school and see this as a fantastic opportunity for Borrow Wood moving forward.”
Placements in ERFs are allocated by Derby City Council, not Odyssey Collaborative Trust.
Around £385,000 was spent creating the centre at Borrow Wood Primary. Odyssey Collaborative Trust has also received £1.85 million to build a new facility at Springfield Primary School on West Road, Spondon. This will expand the existing ERF there, providing places for an additional 30 children on top of the 41 already supported.
Ian Dewes, Chief Executive of Odyssey Collaborative Trust, said:
“We are committed to supporting children to thrive, which is why we are delighted that our ERF at Borrow Wood Primary School is now open and work is progressing on our expanded provision at Springfield Primary School. We are currently recruiting for several roles at both sites.”
For more information on available roles, visit: https://www.odysseyct.org.uk/vacancies/
This story was written by Kirsty Green of Penguin PR on behalf of Odyssey Collaborative Trust. If you would like support with your PR, get in touch!
