Learners who are ready to benefit from a programme that has a simultaneous focus on individual skills and group functioning skills attend one of the Centre’s small classes. The small classes at the Centre follow a more typical classroom routine, however the low adult to learner ratio of 1:2 to 1:3 allows learners’ individual needs to continue to be addressed with the adequate practice and repetition required for progress to take place.

The class setting is structured around a weekly-themed programme catering developmentally to the needs of the learners who attend, while prioritising the pre-requisite foundation and social skills required for successful learning in a group setting. Communication and language skills continue to receive a high level of input. Self-help skills, independence, as well as fine and gross motor skills are formally targeted on a daily basis. The morning routine includes exposure to and development of academic learning areas, with emphasis placed on establishing the learners’ conceptual understanding. The learners’ individual sensory requirements are also accommodated, as necessitated by individual need, to optimise their ability to engage in and focus on class activities, for example providing movement breaks at regular intervals, or regulatory input following activities that involve intense sensory stimulation, prior to presenting a learning activity.