Derwent Autism Provision

The Derwent Autism Provision based at East Durham College's Houghall campus, in Durham, works to provide an all-round education for learners with Autism.

Our Derwent Autism Provision was established in July 2011 to support young people with autism who are not ready to access mainstream education.

We have close links with supporting agencies working with the young people and their families to offer a holistic approach.

We offer individualised, holistic destination-led programmes that support learners to achieve their personal, social and academic targets.

We support the learners to access all of the curriculum areas within East Durham College across our three sites: the Houghall Campus in Durham, the Peterlee Campus and The Technical Academy which is also based in Peterlee.

The different campus sites curriculum offer includes:

The Houghall Campus - incorporating land-based courses including Animal Care, Agriculture and more.
The Peterlee Campus - incorporating courses such as art, ICT, media, sport and more.
The Technical Academy - incorporating courses such as engineering, gas/plumbing, electrical and more.

The Personalised Programme

With our personalised programme, we work closely with each learner to find the right course area to ensure their growth during their time at the college.

Individuals complete thorough baseline assessments to identify the most appropriate non-accredited and accredited programmes.

Our individual accredited and non-accredited programmes fall into one of the following categories:

Full time programme within the Derwent Autism Provision
Mainstream programmes with Autism support
Supported internships

All of which incorporate individualised Personal and Social Development, Maths, English and Independence Skills.

The programme that is best for the learner will be determined by the individual's needs and goals. The Derwent provision will work with learners, and their support team to ensure the personalised programme is the perfect fit for them.

The courses are designed to build the learner's skills; with the correct programme in place, we can help learners to gain or improve their social, life and work-related skills.

The Derwent Autism Provision also provides close support for the learners' transition into and out of the provision.

Student Development

We believe that communication is key to ensuring that learners experience consistency on their programme, so we work closely with external professionals linked to the young person, as well as with parents and carers. This includes during their transition into and out of the provision.

We provide a curriculum that supports the ‘Preparing For Adulthood’ agenda which involves preparing individuals for paid/voluntary employment and promoting community inclusion by accessing leisure facilities, all of which support individuals to live a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle. This allows learners to explore their personal and social
development through travel training, budgeting, cookery and employment skills where there is a strong emphasis on enabling learners to become as independent as possible.

We offer individual maths and English support to help the learner engage and progress.

To support an appropriate transition, we also offer various vocational taster sessions at the College to meet the young person’s interests and discover possible future employment opportunities.

Ofsted Report 2021

East Durham College was delighted to been graded as ‘GOOD’ following a rigorous four-day, full inspection by Ofsted in September 2021; with an outstanding rating for behaviour and attitudes.

The Ofsted report highlighted the positive work that goes on in the Derwent provision at the college, saying:

"Leaders and managers ensure that the funding they receive for learners with high needs is used effectively in order to support and meet the needs of individual learners. As a result, learners who have high needs are provided with the specialist support and assistive technologies that they need to engage in learning and to make progress. The sequencing of the curriculum within the specialist provision for learners who have autism helps these learners to improve their communication skills, gain in confidence and prepare for adult life."

Contact the Derwent Autism Provision

Would you like more information about the work we do at the Derwent Autism Provision, or would you like to arrange a visit? You can contact the Derwent Autism team:

Michelle Forrest
Curriculum Manager for Inclusive Learning
t. 0191 823 7630
e. michelle.forrest@eastdurham.ac.uk

Laura Walker
Programme Area Leader for Inclusive Learning
t. 0191 375 4744 / 0191 823 7625
e. laura.walker@eastdurham.ac.uk