Pupils with additional needs returned to school after the half-term break to find a new space dedicated to providing them with the support they require.

Up to eight children from Years 3 to 6 at Firside Junior School and Kinsale Junior School will be able to access the Roots to Rise Enhanced Support Provision (ESP), which will feature a range of indoor and outdoor facilities, and be staffed by specialist teachers, teaching assistants, and educational provision assistants.

Jacqueline Harris is Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCO) at both schools, and is overseeing the new scheme at Kinsale, where the provision is based.

“Roots to Rise is a nurture-based, highly structured specialist provision supporting pupils who require additional help with emotional regulation, social communication, and readiness to learn,” she explained.

“I wanted a name that would show growth in the children. Roots represent safety, connection, self-awareness, and emotional grounding; rise represents confidence, independence, self-regulation, and reintegration into the mainstream.

“The provision offers a calm, inclusive, and adaptable environment in which children can develop confidence, coping strategies, and independence, enabling them to access the curriculum in line with their year-group expectations.”

As well as a classroom and sensory room, Roots to Rise comprises a breakout/soft play area, craft and messy play room, office, meeting room, and an accessible toilet, along with a safe, enclosed outdoor place for regulation, movement, and therapeutic play.

Mrs Harris continued: “We have been planning this for a year and a half, with building work completed to make the specific required rooms.

“It was evident that there are increasing numbers of children coming into our mainstream rooms that really struggle to cope with the demands of a mainstream classroom and mainstream education approach.

“It is so important that we are able to provide a provision like Roots to Rise whilst they are in Key Stage 2 to hopefully enable them to be successful moving into Key Stage 3, and to have the strategies and life skills to cope independently.”

Both Firside and Kinsale are members of the Wensum Trust, and are working together on the new initiative.

Mrs Harris added: “The provision operates flexibly, enabling pupils to move between Roots to Rise and their home classrooms as appropriate. Staff work closely with class teachers to ensure consistency, continuity, and effective reintegration. Regular reviews will track progress in academic learning, emotional wellbeing, and readiness for increased mainstream engagement.

“We are really excited to be able to offer this bespoke provision – to be able to give the children this opportunity that could potentially set them up to be able to have success back within a mainstream classroom, and have the self-tools to be able to manage their emotions and communicate their needs effectively, and restore their love of learning.”