Kensington Queensmill accommodates students with moderate to complex autism from 3-19. Purpose-built for children and young people on the autism spectrum, the site is designed to deliver a spacious, low-arousal learning environment with excellent autism-specific facilities and resources.
The early years setting is situated on the first floor and comprises three classrooms and dedicated early years play area. Children are taught in class sizes of up to nine children and typically supported by a teacher and four or five teaching assistants. Children are admitted to the school after a diagnosis of autism as early as three years old and most make excellent progress as a result of highly committed, experienced staff, well-versed in core interventions such as TEACCH, PECS and Sensory Integration approaches.
The primary and secondary departments are based on the ground floor. The primary phase comprises three classrooms, organised according to TEACCH principles and accommodating sensory integration areas within each room. Each classroom has immediate access to outside play areas. Primary classes are typically organised into groups of up to nine children and a team of five teaching staff. In addition to opportunities for a sensory circuit within the classroom, children have access to a multi-sensory suite: wet play, soft play, audio-visual and sensory integration rooms on the second floor. High staff ratios enable individual children or small groups to access these therapeutic and stimulating resources to undertake specifically designed sensory or communication programmes overseen by qualified occupational and speech and language therapists.
The secondary phase consists of five classrooms and is also based on the ground floor. The majority of rooms have immediate access to outside spaces and a short distance to the multi-sensory suite.
On the top floor of the building training area and staff offices are located alongside the multi-sensory suite comprising of an audio-visual room, wet-play room and soft-play room. The multi-sensory suite is joined by a music and art room to ensure a rich and varied curriculum offer.
Sharing the first floor with the early years provision are the PE hall, dining halls and school kitchen. meals are freshly-prepared each day by our award-winning chef and students have access to two low-arousal dining areas in which to have their meals. Kensington Queensmill has on site-therapy provision, both Occupational and Speech and Language Therapy With this level of expertise, we are committed to and take pleasure in hosting, a number of training workshops and events for staff, professionals and parent/carers.