Special Educational Needs

The Deanes takes a whole school, inclusive approach to students with SEND, and recognises that our promises are the same for all students, whatever their needs.

The Deanes is committed to anti-discriminatory practice to promote equality of opportunity and valuing diversity for all children and families. 

We aim to:

• Provide a secure and accessible environment in which all our students can flourish and all contributions are considered and valued. (Promise#1)
• Include and value the contribution of all families to our understanding of equality and diversity. (Promise#5)
• Proactively challenge stereotypes and provide positive, informative messages about SEND. (Promise#1, Promise#2)
• Improve our knowledge and understanding of issues of anti-discriminatory practice, promoting equality and valuing diversity. (Promise#1)
• Make inclusion a thread that runs through all of the activities of the school. (Promise#1, Promise#2)

The Deanes recognises that a child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them, as defined in the Code of Practice (2015), if they:

• Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
• Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools.

The school makes provision in accordance with the SEND Code of Practice (2015), the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001), Index for Inclusion (updated 2001), the Discrimination and Disability Act (Dec. 2006) and the Equality Act (2010). Our SEND policy and our practice aim to reflect these principles.

This webpage details all the information specified in Schedule 1 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.

SEND CODE OF PRACTICE

The SEND Code of Practice, updated in January 2015, made some significant changes to how we manage, identify and support students with Special Educational Needs. It identified four areas of need:

1. Communication and interaction.

2. Cognition and learning.

3. Social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

4. Sensory and/or physical needs.

However, the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) encourages us to go “beyond simple classification” (2021).  Considering these primary needs is a useful first step, but a more detailed understanding of an individual child is required for action to be beneficial. Teachers should understand the individual characteristics of students’ needs, and how these relate to their classroom environment and the content that they are teaching. There is variation within each of the four categories in the Code of Practice.

For example, two students who both have needs related to communication and interaction could have quite different individual needs; one might have difficulty producing or understanding the sounds of spoken language while the other might struggle to understand conventions of social interaction, such as turn-taking in conversations. In some cases, difficulties in one area will lead to difficulties in another. For example, a child with Speech, Language, and Communications Needs (SLCN) may also present with literacy learning difficulties as a result of the SLCN. In other cases, it may be that needs co-occur. A child with a physical disability may also have a learning disability, but of course this will not necessarily be caused by the physical disability.

The model of SEND described above shifts our focus from a condition or diagnosis that a student might have to their individual learning needs. The key question is not, ‘What is most effective for students with dyslexia?’ The key question becomes, ‘What does this individual student need in order to thrive?’

Supporting students with special educational needs should be part of a proactive approach to supporting all students—it is not an ‘add on’. It means understanding the specific barriers students face to learning and what they need in order to thrive so that they can be included in all that the school has to offer.

Children with specific circumstances

Looked after children (LAC)

Children at the school who are being accommodated, or who have been taken into care, by the LA are legally defined as being ‘looked after’ by the LA. The school recognises that children that are ‘Looked After’ are more likely to have some form of SEN and it is likely that a significant proportion of them will have an EHC plan.

The Deanes has a designated member of staff for looked after children (LAC) - Miss Douglass.

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

The school gives particular care to the identification and assessment of the SEN of children whose first language is not English using the Bell Foundation EAL Assessment Framework. It is necessary to consider the student within the context of their home, culture and community. Where there is uncertainty about an individual student, the school will make full use of any local sources of advice relevant to the ethnic group concerned, drawing on community liaison arrangements wherever they exist.

The Deanes appreciates that a lack of competence in English is not equated with learning difficulties. At the same time, when children who have EAL make slow progress, it should not be assumed that their language status is the only reason; they may have learning difficulties. The school will look carefully at all aspects of a student’s performance in different subjects to establish whether the problems they have in the classroom are due to limitations in their command of the language that is used there or arise from SEN.

SEND Processes and Procedures

SEN Support

When a student is accessing special educational provision in school, they are placed on a school’s SEND Register as SEN Support. For students with a special educational need or disability, schools need to take action to remove barriers to learning and provide effective provision that supports their access to and progress in the curriculum. The role of the SENCo is to plan and oversee this provision, working alongside class and subject teachers to determine appropriate provision through the graduated approach. All teachers remain responsible and accountable for students receiving SEN Support; the SENCo will support teachers by providing advice on teaching strategies and resource adaptations to meet the needs of the learner. At times, this guidance may include strategies and approaches to effectively deploy Learning Support Assistants.

A school’s SEND register is not fixed. There will be times when some students may no longer need additional support because their needs are being effectively met through quality first teaching. There will also be times when a student on SEN Support will need provision in addition to what the school ordinarily has on offer.

The SENCo, together with the family may determine additional specialist support is needed, and/or the need for an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment to take place (EHCNA).

Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)

These students have learning needs that require provision in addition to that which is available through SEN Support. EHCPs are legally binding documents that specify the educational, health and social provision that must be in place to meet a student’s needs. At least once every twelve months, a student’s EHCP is reviewed in an Annual Review meeting. The Teacher’s voice is integral to this process. In the lead up to the Annual Review, the SENCo will contact all staff directly for input on how the student is progressing, both academically and socially in relation to their outcomes in their EHCP. As teaching staff, you will have unique insights into the student, which are important to be documented and considered when reviewing and updating outcomes and changes to provision. It is important that the progress of students with an EHCP is reviewed continually, in addition to the Annual Review process.

EXAM ACCESS ARRANGEMENTS

 “Access Arrangements” are pre-examination adjustments for students based on evidence of need and normal way of working. Access Arrangements fall into two distinct categories: some arrangements are delegated to centres, others require prior JCQ/CIC awarding body approval.

Access Arrangements allow students with special educational needs, disabilities or temporary injuries to access the assessment without changing the demands of the assessment. For example, readers, scribes and Braille question papers. In this way Awarding Bodies will comply with the duty of the Equality Act 2010 to make 'reasonable adjustments'. Special Consideration Special Consideration is a post examination adjustment to a candidate's mark or grade to reflect temporary injury, illness or other indisposition at the time of the examination/assessment.” www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/access-arrangements-and-special-consideration

Access Arrangements include:

• Scribe / word processor
• Reader / reading ‘pen’ / reading software (please encourage students to try these enabling technologies)
• Up to 25% Extra Time
• Smaller room
• Supervised rest breaks
• Accessibility aids for those with eyesight/ hearing difficulties
• Prompt Teachers and LSAs must bring any concerns they may have about any student in their class to the SEND department in order for those students to be assessed for intervention and/or monitoring with a view to a possible access arrangement.

Teachers may notice that a student works to their best ability when the questions are read aloud, or that they need longer to process their answers. Others perform significantly better when word processing rather than handwriting their work.

During the final term of Year 9 and the first term in Year 10 we are able to request access arrangement testing for those students for whom we have evidence of regular use/need of arrangements. It is vital that students awarded GCSE access arrangements practise using their arrangement throughout their GCSE course as it must be their normal way of working.

Key Information

How do we identify if a child needs additional support?

To Identify students who may have additional needs or SEND, we use a range of data;

• Information from feeder Primary Schools
• KS2 Assessment information
• Reading and Spelling Tests
• GL Assessments
• Progress data (Monitoring Grades/reports)
• Standardised Assessment Tests carried out by SENCo/Assistant SENCo
• Additional Information from Students, Parents/carers, Teachers and Outside Agencies.

Partnership Working

Parents / carers have a significant role to play in their child's education. As a school we are keen to work in partnership with Parents/Carers (Promise 5).

All parents/carers receive the following:

• Year 7 Induction Meeting
• Review Day with Form Tutor
• Parents and Stakeholder Surveys
• Invite to Termly Parent Forum

In addition Students with SEND receive the following:

• Additional Induction to school with a member of the SEND Team
• Statutory Meetings and Reviews
• SENCo available at Parent Evenings
• Pupil Passport (provides information for teachers)

Parents / carers are able to telephone or email the school to make an appointment with a member of the SEND Team. 

The young person is central to the planning for, and the review and evaluation of the support they have been given. Engaging in on going dialogue with the student is essential to ensure their needs are met.

Our approach to teaching children with SEND and how we adapt the curriculum and learning environment for pupils with SEND

All students have access to a fully inclusive and broad curriculum at The Deanes. We ensure that all students are able to access the curriculum through differentiated learning tasks or adapted environments.

The vast majority of provision for students with SEND takes place in the classroom, alongside their peers. We aim to provide a broad, dynamic curriculum that provides challenge for all students regardless of prior attainment, special needs or vulnerability. In order to do this:

• Teaching staff prepare lessons carefully, using differentiated teaching approaches and resources.
• Learning Support Assistants are deployed to support directly in the classroom or prepare resources that enable fuller access to the learning.
• Additional Interventions may also include; catch up Literacy, Reading and Spelling, Accelerated Reader, Social Stories, GCSE Booster Groups, LEXIA
• Bespoke Individual Interventions
• EHCP students are assigned a Keyworker

Adaptations to the Learning Environment have been made to the school, to ensure that all specialist curriculum areas are accessible by students and ramps and automatic doors have been installed to ensure easy access to all areas.

There is a lift to access all upper stories and classes may be re-roomed to enable access.

Lesson resources are adapted by enlargement or modification to ensure that all students can access them

Accessibility Plan

How do we assess and review progress towards Outcomes of our SEND Students?

High Quality Teaching is differentiated and personalised to meet the needs of the majority of children and young people.

• SENCo Tracks all students on the SEN register after each assessment cycle, and raises any initial concerns with Subject teachers and Programme leaders.
• Progress regularly discussed at Parents evenings.
• Impact of Interventions is assessed after each termly cycle, and correlated against levels of progress.
• Teacher raises initial concern with SEN Team,
• SENCo observes pupil in lesson/Book Look/Consults progress data.
• Suggested Strategies are put in place by Subject Teacher and review date agreed.
• Further training may be provided
• Programme Leader/Heads of Year track student progress after each assessment cycle, identifying appropriate interventions if necessary.
• If no improvement, SENCo contacts parents/carers regarding next steps.

Some students may be escalated through these stages depending on the nature of their identified need. 

How do we encourage students with SEND to engage with extra-curricular activities?

The Deanes makes reasonable adjustments and takes considerable effort to enable the participation of all students in all areas of school life. Additional arrangements are made to support the attendance at extra-curricular activities such as trips and clubs. Lessons are accessed by all students, by making appropriate adjustments and taking advice from professionals.