West Berkshire Council plans to develop an existing space at Victoria Park Nursery School into a resource base to support nursery-aged children in the district who present with additional needs.
The base will focus on communication, social interaction, emotional regulation and early developmental delay.
A resource base is a small, specialist space within a mainstream school. It provides targeted support for children who need more structure, specialist input or a quieter environment, while still being part of the nursery community.
The council said it picked the site as the nursery already provides “a strong and nurturing early years education”. Staff have experience supporting children with different needs and inclusion is a core part of the nursery’s ethos. At the last Ofsted inspection in 2022 the school was rated 'Outstanding'.
The site has indoor and outdoor areas that can be adapted for quieter, structured sessions, and its layout would allow children to move easily between the resource base and main nursery rooms.
West Berkshire is seeing more young children with communication, interaction, sensory and developmental needs. There is currently no resource base for early years settings, so some children must travel further or wait for specialist support.
The site is easy for families to reach and this supports equitable access to early SEND support. The matter will be decided at the council’s executive committee next Thursday (March 19).
Niki Hinman, Local Democracy Reporter
