SEN Information
Information Report
Contents
1. General Description of SEN Ethos and provision
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What is the school’s ethos in its approach to SEN provision?
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Who are the best people to talk to in Christ the King about my child’s difficulties with learning?
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How can I let the school know that I am concerned about my child’s progress in school?
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How does Christ the King identify young people with SEN and assess their needs?
What the school provides:
At Christ the King School we support and value the abilities of all our pupils. It is our duty to provide equal opportunities for every person in our care and a safe and fully equipped learning environment which caters to the needs of every child as an individual. We are committed to inclusion within the school curriculum and participation in all aspects of school life.
Christ the King School adopts a 'whole school approach' to special educational needs. All staff work to ensure inclusion of all pupils. The school is committed to ensuring that pupils with special educational needs can fulfil their potential and achieve optimal educational outcomes. All pupils have access to a broad and balanced curriculum and high expectations are set for all pupils relevant to their prior attainment. Lesson planning and delivery will address pupils identified difficulties to ensure barriers to achievement can be overcome where possible through good inclusive teaching.
The SEN Code of Practice (DfES, 2014) identifies four broad areas of special need, under which SEN can be classified:
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Communication and interaction
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Social, emotional and mental health difficulties
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Sensory and / or physical needs
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Cognition and learning
These categories will be used in school in order to plan SEN provision. However it is important to note that identification of a specific type of need does not automatically mean that the pupil requires a support plan. Approaches used in our Quality First Teaching provision may enable the pupil to make progress without additional support. Frequently pupils have learning needs across categories and our priority will be to overcome barriers in order that the pupil achieves targeted outcomes; rather than the identification of a specific type of need.
All teachers in Christ the King are responsible for the progress of pupils in their classes, including those with SEN who access additional support. The person responsible for overseeing the provision for children with SEN in Christ the King is Mr James Lancaster Head teacher
The person responsible for co-ordinating the day to day provision of education for pupils with SEN is Mrs Laura Stridgeon, Inclusion Manager and SENCo. Miss Emma Gilbert, Deputy Inclusion Manager and SENCo also has responsibilities in supporting this co-ordination. Both Mrs Stridgeon and Miss Gilbert hold the SENCo National Award Post Graduate qualification. If a parent/carer has any concerns about their child’s learning needs relating to progress then they should contact the SENCo.
The Inclusion Team in Christ the King also consists of 14 full and part-time Teaching Assistants and 2 full-time Learning Mentors. These members of staff will be deployed to support pupils with SEN where necessary and/or appropriate in line with a pupil’s action plan and agreed support outcomes.
According to the SEN Code of Practice, a pupil has SEN when in order for them to make progress they require additional to or different from support from our Quality First Teaching provision.
The identification of pupils with SEN is built into whole school monitoring of the progress and development of all pupils. When a pupil is identified as requiring SEN support, parents/carers will be informed and asked to meet with the SENCo. This will ensure that the views of both parents/carers and the pupil can be incorporated into the SEN support plan.
2. Quality first teaching provided to all pupils
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What adaptations are made to the curriculum and learning environment to ensure all pupils can access learning?
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How can ancillary aids and technology be used to support pupils learning?
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How will the teaching be adapted for my child with learning needs?
What the school provides:
All pupils will have access to good quality inclusive teaching that provides reasonable adjustments to accommodate learning differences.
The curriculum model at Christ the King provides the opportunity for pupils to be set in the majority of subject areas based on their attainment. In year 7 this will be based on their attainment at Key Stage 2. Setting pupils in subjects including Maths and English, ensures that the class teacher can set work to the ability levels of the pupils in the class. The setting arrangements for each year group are reviewed regularly at assessment points throughout the year and pupils can either move up or down sets depending on their attainment in relation to other pupils’.
All teachers have received recent professional development regarding the principles of inclusive Quality First Teaching. This embraces the requirement for differentiation both in terms of the lesson content and the learning environment to ensure that it is inclusive and can ensure all pupils learning needs are met. In addition to staff training, all teaching staff have been provided with generic SEN teaching strategy information support packs to use as an aid to providing inclusive, good Quality First Teaching.
Pupils who have an identified SEN and are currently making progress through our Quality First Teaching provision will be placed on our internal Inclusion Register. This will be accessible by all teaching staff and will provide information to teachers as to their learning requirements. Pupils on the Inclusion Register may also have a learner profile where required which will detailed more specific Quality First Teaching strategies to be used in each class, with the expectation that these will be employed on a regular basis.
The Inclusion Department at Christ the King has a range of resources, ancillary aids and technology that can be access by pupils and teachers to support learning needs in the classroom. These include reading rulers and overlays, tactile sensory objects that can be used to calm pupils and Alpha Smart word processors.
The Quality First Teaching provision will be monitored in line with whole school teaching and learning monitoring through lesson observations and work scrutiny exercises. It will also be monitored by the Intervention and Inclusion managers as pupils progress is reviewed at the end of each reporting cycle and will form a crucial part of determining a pupils’ SEN support requirements. This will be considered through the implementation of the Code of Practices’ graduated response (see later section).
3. SEN support at Christ the King
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How will a pupil who has been identified as requiring additional SEN support receive help in school?
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How is extra support allocated to pupils and how do they move between the different levels available?
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Who are the other people and/or agencies providing services to pupils with SEN in Christ the King?
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What separate intervention programmes are available to support pupils with SEN?
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How are exam access arrangements identified and organised in Christ the King?
What the school provides:
A pupil who is identified as requiring support additional to or different from our Quality First Teaching provision will have appropriate support put in place to achieve agreed outcomes. This process is outlined in the Code of Practice as the Graduated Approach and has the following four stages:
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Assess
Once a pupil has been identified as needing additional SEN support, the SENCo will gather relevant information from a variety of sources. This will include class teachers, the pupil, parents and the expertise of outside agencies such as Sefton’s Special Educational Needs Advisory Service or the Educational Psychologist. This information will be used to develop an accurate outline of the pupil’s learning needs, current attainment, how they respond to teaching approaches as well as considering projected target requirements.
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Plan
Once this information has been gathered, the SENCo, in conjunction with parents/carers and the pupil will put together an SEN support plan which will outline the methods that need to be used in order to achieve specific, agreed outcomes. The plan may include any or all of the following:
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Quality First inclusive teaching approaches identified to enhance pupil’s learning and progress.
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In class support from a Teaching Assistant that might be required to enable curriculum access and facilitate progress. This support would be directed by the teacher to ultimately encourage pupil independence.
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Specific intervention programmes that have been identified to achieve specific targets, including how they will be delivered and monitored to assess impact.
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Resources required to ensure pupil’s access to the curriculum or environment.
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The role of the parent/carer and the pupil in the implementation of the plan.
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Do
Once the SEN support plan has been completed, this will become a working document that will be used to support the pupil’s learning across school. It will be annotated to record progress towards outcomes and/or have adjustments made as necessary to determine success.
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Review
The SEN plan will include a timescale for implementation and review to ensure all parties involved are aware of the time allocated to achieve targeted outcomes. Regular reviews will take place throughout the academic year with parents and pupils to evaluate the content of the plan and include the views of those involved. If required, the plan will then be amended to ensure that the pupil can achieve the next steps in their learning. Alternatively it may be decided that the pupil has made enough progress to cease the SEN support plan at this review stage.
At all stages of SEN support requirements, the SENCo will seek advice from the Local Authority to determine access to and options for alternative, additional support as required. A range of external specialists provide additional support to pupils identified as SEN including Sefton’s Advisory and Inclusion Service, Sefton’s Educational Psychologists Services and Outreach Services (OSSME).
Part of a pupil’s SEN support plan may be to have additional intervention support. Various intervention support programmes are currently used in school including Lexia (to support literacy), Symphony (to support numeracy) as well as other specific reading, spelling and communication programmes. The intervention programme implemented will depend on the specific nature of the pupils needs. This will be regularly monitored and base line assessment will be taken to enable progress to be measured at the end of the programme. Intervention support can also be provided for students with social and emotional difficulties through referral to the Learning Mentors in the Learning Hub.
The school has a range of specialist SEN facilities in place. These include:
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Ramp access to all buildings where required
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Hygiene room with access toilet hoist and changing bed
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Access arrangements for students with SEN to complete exams
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Designated support bases to provide learning support
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Safe supervised area to support vulnerable pupils during none lesson times
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Specialist resources and assessment materials to identify and support the needs of pupils with special educational needs or disabilities
As outlined above, some pupils will have an entitlement to exam access arrangements in Key Stage 4. These will be determined by reviewing learner profiles in year 9 and assessments conducted by the Inclusion Consultant from the Local Authority. The regulations for exam access arrangements change annually and so any arrangements will be put in place in line with current exam board rules.
4. Tracking pupil progress
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How will the school let me know if they have any concerns about my child’s learning in school?
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How will the school measure the progress of my child in school?
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How will the progress of pupils identified with SEN be monitored?
What the school provides:
Pupils will have their subject targets set based on their prior Key Stage 2 attainment data. Each year group will then have 2 to 3 separate reporting cycles at which point current attainment data will be collected and sent home to parents. The Intervention and Progress Manager will then analyse this data to identify students who are not making expected progress in lessons. Discussions will then be held with various members of staff including class teachers and the SENCo to determine the nature of this lack of progress. The student may then be referred to a Learning Coach to discuss and target the areas required and/or have subject specific intervention. If it is felt that the pupils lack of progress is due to a specific learning need then the SENCo will conduct assessments in line with the above graduated response.
Pupils identified as having SEN will be monitored alongside this holistic tracking process, however the SENCo will also be looking specifically at the targets in their support plan to determine their success in line with expected subject progress. The Code of Practice recognises that for some pupils it is necessary to track a pupils’ progress outside his/her academic attainment. Any such areas identified will be outlined in pupil’s SEN support plan and reviewed accordingly.
5. transition arrangement and support
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What arrangements are in place to support pupils coming into school in year 7?
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How are pupils supported when they are moving within school, i.e. Key Stages?
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What arrangements are in place to support pupils leaving school?
What the school provides:
In the summer term, the SENCo and Admissions Officer will visit feeder primary schools who have students in transition to Christ the King on their SEN Register. In addition to meetings with primary SENCo’s, any SEN paperwork will be requested to be passed to the SENCo at Christ the King vas soon as possible. Where face to face meetings are not possible, contact will be made via telephone to ensure that there is a good understanding of what type of provision is required for individual pupils.
The school will do its best to ensure that the necessary provisions and preparations are made prior (where possible) to the start of the child’s school year. The child will be closely monitored from the start of the new school year to ensure that all the appropriate provisions are in place.
Any SEN pupil who is in transition between Key Stages will have additional enhanced transition support from the Inclusion Team. This will involve separate review meetings at the Year 9 Options Evening as well as the option to consider alternative curriculum provision arrangements.
Any SEN pupil when leaving Christ the King will have the support of our Inclusion Team as well as our school Careers Advisor. This will involve specific meetings to discuss post-16 options and liaison with external education providers where required. Connexions may also be involved in some pupils support where available.
6. Building capacity to support SEN - continuing professional development (CPD)
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How does the school ensure that staff has the appropriate knowledge and expertise to support my child’s learning needs?
What the school provides:
Both the SENCo and the Deputy SENCo hold the National SENCo Award qualification and work closely with many specialists from various agencies to ensure that they have access to specialist knowledge and expertise to support pupils with SEN. Both the SENCo and Deputy SENCo have also access considerable CPD to supplement and update knowledge of all areas of SEN as outlined in the Code of Practice.
Formal briefings to all staff at the start of the Autumn term by the SENCo on the needs of individual pupils, advice on strategies to meet their needs and changes in SEN policies. Where appropriate briefings are arranged to be presented by specialist support services and or heath care professionals. Fortnightly briefings with the SENCo and teaching staff are then held to provide updates on pupil needs. This is supported by an electronic update which is continuously accessible to all staff.
All teaching staff have had the opportunity to engage in recent CPD regarding supporting students with SEN. This is an on-going area of review and development and areas requiring additional CPD will be identified and addressed where appropriate. The provision of SEN support information to teaching staff will continue to be updated in line with external specialist advice.
Deployment of Teaching Assistant support is the responsibility of the SENCo and will be managed in accordance with the learning needs of all SEN pupils. Once the TA has been deployed, their support in the lesson becomes the responsibility of the class teacher and the additional adult support will form part of their Quality First provision. The SENCo will monitor the deployment of TAs within the classroom setting to measure the impact of their support on pupil progress.
7. Quality of provision
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How will SEN provision be monitored and evaluated?
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How will pupils and their parents take part in any assessment and evaluation of SEN provision?
What the school provides:
The monitoring of Quality First Teaching provision will be conducted in line with whole school activities of teaching and learning. This is to ensure that the agreed minimum Quality First Offer is maintained for all pupils. A key part of the monitoring process will be to have feedback from and discussions with class teachers who feel that students are not making expected progress with QFT alone.
A pupil who receives additional SEN support will have their progress regularly monitored by the SENCo to determine the success of current strategies and allow for amendments to be made where required. Any pupil that has access to a separate intervention programme will also have the quality of this provision regularly monitored
Several review meetings with be organised with parents/carers of pupils who have an SEN support plan to allow for the views of parents and pupils on quality of provision to be collected, including at relevant year group parents evenings.
8. Equal opportunities
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How has Christ the King ensured that all opportunities in the school are accessible to children with SEN?
What the school provides:
The Inclusion Manager/SENCo oversees the school’s policy for inclusion and is responsible for ensuring that it is implemented effectively throughout the school. This is outlined in accordance with the statutory duties under the Equality Act 2010.
The school curriculum is regularly reviewed to ensure that it promotes the inclusion of all pupils. As well as the commitment to Quality First provision, this also includes learning outside the classroom.
Christ the King aims to optimise opportunities for participation and achievement across all areas of school activity (social, curricular, physical) in the following ways:
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Providing a balanced curriculum for all pupils both in and outside of the classroom, including play and interaction at mealtimes and breaks, and extending to extracurricular activities and school day trips and residential visits.
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Practicing inclusive teaching methods as part of the Quality First offer that suit the needs of individual pupils.
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Promoting an inclusive ethos throughout our school and encouraging social responsibility and understanding amongst all our pupils.
Christ the King will make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services to ensure that disabled children are not at a substantial disadvantage compared to their peers.
Access arrangements in examinations will be considered and implemented for students who have specific needs to ensure that they are not at a disadvantage compared to their peers.
9. Support for pupils with emotional and social needs
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How are the emotional and social needs of pupils supported in school?
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What measures are in place to prevent bullying?
What the school provides:
It is recognised that young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These can include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as possibly displaying disruptive, challenging or even disturbing behaviour.
Christ the King have a range of measures in place to support pupils emotional and social needs including:
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Pupils can at any time access the school chapel and speak to the school chaplain if they have any emotional concerns. The chapel is also available for pupils to access as a quieter space during unstructured times (breaks/lunch).
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All pupils have a dedicated pastoral team who will provide support with any emotional and social issues. This includes the Head of Year, Assistant Head of Year as well as a designated member of Senior Leadership and a Teaching Assistant. If a pupil has specific needs identified, then they can be assigned daily monitoring sessions with the Teaching Assistant in charge of their year group to ensure that they are able to engage in the normal school day.
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The pastoral team works closely with the Inclusion team in ensuring support is provided for pupils with emotional and social needs. This may results in a referral to a Learning Mentor in the Learning Hub. A pupil will typically have a weekly appointment with their mentor to discuss their concerns, however this can be increased if felt necessary.
All teaching staff will be made aware of pupils who are currently experiencing social and emotional difficulties so they can adapt their lesson approach accordingly.
Christ the King has an anti-bullying policy which is shared with all staff and pupils and is regularly reviewed and updated.
Contact
Visit
Stamford Road, Southport, Merseyside, PR8 4EX
Call
T: 01704-565121 F: 01704-550447