Interested in joining Goodwin Academy's Sixth Form in September 2025? Visit our Admissions page for more details or email us at admin@goodwinacademy.org.uk if you have any questions. 

Specialist Resource Based Provision

What do we offer?

Goodwin Academy SRP provides support for students who have an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) with Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) as their primary need.

Our students follow the mainstream curriculum and take their full part in school life. SRP staff liaise with teaching staff to ensure that they are aware of the students’ individual difficulties and, also, of their talents, interests and preferred methods of learning. We advocate for our students when they have difficulty communicating their needs and we aim to build their confidence to enable them to become increasingly independent learners.

Most SRP students achieve some academic success and go on to college courses or apprenticeships post 16. Some have achieved higher grades at GCSE and have returned to sixth form to study vocational or A Level courses.

The provision includes regular small group interventions targeting SLCN skills according to students’ individual needs as stated in their EHCPs. Each student also benefits from a weekly session with our NHS Speech and Language Therapist. Additionally, a member of SRP staff provides support in core subject lessons (English, Mathematics and Science).

Many of our students like to socialise with groups of friends outside or in the dining area at break and lunch time. Some, however, prefer to be in a quieter space with closer adult supervision, so our students are welcome to come to the SRP area (and to bring friends) to chat or play games during the less structured times of the day.

We keep in regular communication with the parents and carers of our students, by phone, email and/or letter. Parents are welcome to make an appointment to visit the SRP at any time, to discuss their child’s needs and progress informally.

Who will benefit from a placement in the SRP?

We liaise closely with Kent County Council Special Educational Needs Department, primary schools and other specialist service providers such as speech & language therapists and educational psychologists to try to ensure that the provision that we offer is appropriate for every child who is placed in our SRP.

The profile of a student who would benefit from a placement at Goodwin Academy SRP will include:

  • an EHCP stating SLCN as the student’s primary need
  • a diagnosis of Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) or of SLCN co-occurring with another condition, for example, high functioning autism spectrum disorder
  • a non-verbal reading ability within the normal range
  • the ability to read a short age-appropriate text unaided, by the end of Key Stage 2
  • the ability to write in sentences at the end of Key Stage 2
  • readiness to access the mainstream school curriculum

There are some children with SLCN for whom an SRP in a mainstream secondary school would not be an appropriate placement. Those who require individual adult support most of the time may need a different kind of specialist educational setting, separate from the mainstream. This may apply, for example, to young people with cognitive impairment or those with challenging behaviour or severe social, emotional, mental health (SEMH) needs.