SEN

Special Educational Needs

All pupils feel motivated to excel because their needs are met through a policy of inclusion.  Pupils receive support appropriate and tailored to their particular needs.  Our inclusive approach means that most support takes place in mainstream lessons using the following strategies:

• High quality differentiated teaching
• Teaching which is adapted to take account of specialist advice
• Modified resources, equipment and groupings
• Additional adults deployed to support the pupils and the teacher
• Teaching Assistants work within departments to support pupils in all year groups.  This enables them to provide specialist and subject-specific support.  They focus on ensuring that pupils become independent learners with high levels of confidence and self-esteem. Targets are recorded on Pupil Passports for children on the Special Educational Needs register and progress is monitored by a Teaching Assistant Co-Ordinator attached to each year group.

Pupils with additional needs benefit from a range of intervention programmes.  Advice is sought from external professionals such as Educational Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists and the Language and Learning Support Service.  This advice, together with internal assessment procedures, informs the provision that is made to meet the pupils’ needs.

Parents’ and carers’ views and their knowledge of their child are essential to successful inclusion.  Parents’ evenings provide an opportunity to discuss the progress of the pupils.  In addition, we offer an informal SENCO drop-in surgery and interviews to evaluate the impact of provision and plan future actions.

The caring approach of the college, along with a commitment to helping every pupil develop their full potential, ensures that all with additional needs have the opportunity to progress, thrive and flourish.

DfE Guidance

The guide for parents, from the Department of Education, explains how the system that supports children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities works.  It covers:

• the law and statutory guidance on which the system is based
• places to go for help and further information
• details about changes to the system from 1 September 2014