"Light at the end of the tunnel" - special needs unit re-opens in Leeds to help struggling parents

Families struggling to cope with home-schooling pressures during lockdown have said they can see “light at the end of the tunnel” after a facility supporting children with complex needs reopened.
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There was concern about the “unbelievable pressure” that families were being put under by having to home-school children with conditions such as autism and complex communication issues.

So the principal at the Richmond Hill Academy in Leeds and colleagues spent two weeks writing a plan to re-open the Rainbow Base special needs unit which is part of the school provision.

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Usually there are 30 children, aged between four and 11, taught in the unit every day but under the temporary plans, there are four pupils per session, being held between 9am and 12noon, and each child will get a session a week.

The Rainbow Unit is part of the provision at Richmond Hill Primary School.The Rainbow Unit is part of the provision at Richmond Hill Primary School.
The Rainbow Unit is part of the provision at Richmond Hill Primary School.

The first pupils went back to school on Tuesday and desperate families said it “was light at the end of the tunnel”.

Principal Anna Mackenzie said: “Tuesday was a resounding success. Children and staff were equally happy to be back in the building and the only issue was when children did not want to leave at the end of the session.

“The response from families was fantastic - they were really keen to access the provision.”

Concern

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Mrs Mackenzie and Rachel Law, who is the head of the Rainbow Base, have been in daily contact with the families of children that attend the unit since the government forced the closure of schools as part of the coronavirus response.

They said they were becoming “really concerned” about the pressure on parents and other children in the family.

Mrs Mackenzie said: “We have been in daily communication with families. We were really concerned about the unbelievable pressure that these families were being put under and children were frustrated on a daily basis.

“For example, we had a single mum with an autistic boy living in a flat with no access to the outdoors.

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“Children will be exhibiting more challenging behaviour. Their entire world has changed and the level of understanding about what is going on and the reason for it, will be very limited. That will have an impact on behaviour and for some families will be really difficult to manage day in, day out.

“We wanted to do something and the decision we came to was to provide respite care.”

Plan

Prior to lockdown it had not been safe to open the unit due to the numbers of staff in self-isolation but now they have full PPE which in itself has created challenges.

The children that use the Rainbow Base need familiarity and routine and are usually taught by the same staff.

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So a rota was worked out to match staff with pupils and pictures of the staff were posted to each child at home so they could get used to how different teachers looked in the PPE. The teachers also have a photograph of themselves in normal clothing attached to their aprons.

Mrs Mackenzie added: “Staffing is really important for children with needs. Familiarity and structure is really important so there was a process of two and a half weeks of rigorous planning and assessment.

“Hopefully the respite will support the whole family into having a bit of time and a release from the situation.

“One family described it as a light at the end of the tunnel.”

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Chair of Governors Peter Gruen added:” We are proud to be a school at the heart of its community and reopening Rainbow Base now gives respite to parents when they need it. My thanks to everyone who has made this happen”.

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