NAS Accreditation

New Barn School is proud to be a NAS accredited provision.

New Barn School received NAS accreditation in November 2019 following an in-depth inspection process.  We are currently working towards gaining advanced accreditation.

Autism Accreditation is UK’s only autism-specific quality assurance programme of support and development for all those providing services to autistic people.  It is a way for organisations to show they offer excellent support to autistic children and adults. 

Here are some of the strengths outline by the NAS inspectors:

• The school is environmentally friendly for academically able autistic pupils and has bespoke classrooms and outside spaces.  The design of the building indicates an understanding of autism.
• Pupils are taught in mostly exceptionally small teaching groups, this enables the staff to provide emotional support as well as learning support to take place.
• Best teaching practice was observed when staff broke down lessons clearly, provided lists and explained exactly what pupils would be learning and referred to targets at the beginning and end of the lesson.
• Lessons observed such as Science, allowed pupils to problem solve, work as a team and apply previous knowledge.
• The school has successfully set up and opened a primary unit in a building next to the main site.  Pupils are currently settling into their new setting and also have access to the main site.  Furniture and fittings have been chosen carefully to correspond with the main site. 
• All classes in both buildings have been set up using a low-arousal strategy.  Standardised systems are used through the school and uniformed approach to visual supports and class layouts.  The well-structured, orderly environment allows pupils to learn effectively.   Display boards are uniform and daily information for pupils is clearly displayed in both buildings. There are clear signs on doors to indicate the use of each room.