SEN (Special Educational Needs)

Special Educational Needs Coordinator:
Mrs L. Clements

Learning Support Assistants:
Mrs A. M. Smith
Mrs. V. M. Pank
Mrs H. Wells
Mr G. Clements
Mrs J. Best
Mrs S. Winterford
Mrs D. Duffield
Miss R. Speck

Aims & Philosophy
We aim to facilitate full participation of students with special educational needs in all areas of school activity and maximise their achievements. It is now established in law that "all children should receive a broad and balanced curriculum, relevant to their individual needs". The Student Directors will work with colleagues to secure the identification of and provision for those individual needs within their Year Group.

The legal arrangements for Special Needs apply to all students with a Statement of Educational Needs. Other students are helped in accordance with the guidance in the National Code of Practice. Students with exceptional abilities are not covered by these arrangements but the School does have a policy and various strategies to help talented students. However, any student in the school may need extra help at some time to assist with specific difficulties in handwriting, spelling, behavioral or emotional problems.

When students enter the school in Year 7 we have full information from the primary schools about their abilities and difficulties as well as the National SATs results (Standardised Assessment Tests in English, Mathematics and Science). If students enter the school from a different area we make strenuous efforts to obtain information from their previous schools. All students complete a general reading test in Year 7, and those with reading difficulties are given a more detailed 1:1 diagnostic test. They also complete a numeric test and a MIDYIS (Middle Years Information System) test, which gives us information about their abilities in verbal, non-verbal and quantitative areas. In Year 9 the National SATs are taken and there is another reading, numeric and YELLIS (Year 11 Information System) test for everyone in Year 10.

Most students’ needs are met by the teacher in the lesson. All staff have received some training in Special Needs provision and many have attended courses related to teaching their own subject to special needs students. In addition some staff are trained to administer diagnostic tests and reading, spelling and handwriting programmes.

For most lessons, students with learning difficulties are in small classes and often have in-class support. This support is not usually targeted at one student only, but enables extra help to be given to all students in the class by the class teacher as well as the support assistant. Students are encouraged and helped to access as much of the normal curriculum as possible and to become increasingly independent in their learning. Some students will be withdrawn from lessons on a regular basis for 1:1 or small group sessions. Many students have made excellent progress using the Toe by Toe reading programme. Some computerised learning programmes are also available.

We are assisted in supporting students by the following people:-

Mr Neil Miller - Area Statementing Officer
Mrs Lindsay Towns - School Psychologist
Mrs Bronwen Richmond - Learning Support Teacher
Mrs Meg Powell - Behavior Support Teacher
Mrs Lois Saunders - Education Social Worker
Mrs June Sidell - School Nurse
Ms Lesley Winterbottom - Careers Adviser
Sensory Support Team for sight and hearing

We can also obtain help from the school doctor, speech and occupational therapists and the Bethel Hospital in Norwich.

Thus we aim to create the conditions which provide for and celebrate success, and enable all students to develop as fully as possible their abilities and interests through access to the full range of the curriculum and life of the School.