SEN & Disabilities

SEN Support Offer

  • All teachers at the school have a responsibility for teaching students with learning barriers, SEN and those at risk of underachieving.
  • The primary support for students with SEN lies with the teacher, supported and guided by the expertise within our highly trained Inclusion team led by the SENCO.
  • The Urswick School does not run a SEN support programme that employs or is reliant on 1 to 1 Teaching Assistant Support. This decision is based on numerous sources of academic research that highlight the lack of impact of such a support methodology for SEN students and instead highlight the success of highly trained teachers with the skills to cater for all abilities within the classroom.
  • Thus, at The Urswick School we have a shared understanding that the best practice for students with SEN relies on quality first teaching and support at the direction of classroom teachers.
  • Through training for teachers, sharing strategies and recommendations, we establish teachers to be the lead practitioners supporting identified SEN/vulnerable learners.
  • We facilitate support put in place by teachers by ensuring we provide them with up to date and regular diagnosis of student needs, and up to date information of Learning and teaching strategies recommended for SEN students they teach.
  • We have high expectations that SEN pupils will make good progress. Whole school training via insets provides high quality training in this regard.
  • We provide specific SEN focused training for groups of teachers of students with specific needs in order to achieve a pupil centred/ individualised support approach.
  • There is experience within the school of providing for students with physical disabilities, literacy and numeracy difficulties, speech, language and communication difficulties, as well as students with emotional social and behavioural difficulties.
  • We support students with identified literacy needs with targeted – timetabled classes from Key stage 3 through to Key stage 4.
  • At KS3 Language and Literacy classes are introduced for small groups of students, with low reading ages, and delivered by English staff. There are 2 classes in Y7, Y8 and Y9 which run twice a week. Progress in these lessons is reviewed termly.
  • The KS3 provision focuses on building reading comprehension skills, grammar and vocabulary, enhancing student abilities to access the curriculum in English and Literacy across all other subjects.
  • Please note that we do not currently run a nurture group provision at KS3 due to lack of space in our building.
  • In Year 10 and 11 there are Study Plus groups that run for three lessons a week and provide a small group environment for study support.
  • At KS4 the provision is led by mainstream and inclusion staff – it focuses on tagging the support to core content in GCSE classes; providing extra support for building core exam skills.
  • Regular meetings and sessions are set for teachers of students with visual and hearing impairment to plan and review our support for these students. The use of assistive technology is effectively implemented such as the use of hearing aids and IPADs for students with visual and hearing impairment.
  • EP, SALT and outside agencies involvement is mapped to maximise SEN support and is reviewed annually in order to adjust to current levels of need.
  • We employ our own privately sourced Educational Psychology provider. Our students receive specialist assessments and tailored support as directed by this precise process of identification of needs.
  • Review of the support and progress of SEN and vulnerable students, is a central factor in the school cycle of quality assurance – including Annual reviews of EHCP students, provision maps, appraisals, lesson observations and learning walks, carried out by the Senior Leadership and SENCO.
  • All teaching and support staff receive SEN individual student profiles, a summary of Needs and Teaching Strategies document for every student with an EHCP, and one-page profiles for vulnerable learners.
  • Updated strategies of support for students on the SEN register, with specific interventions being undertaken, are circulated to all relevant teachers and support staff, following review meetings, progress days and EP/SALT involvement.
  • The inclusion team run a well-attended HW support club and after school sessions 3 times a week. The sessions are staffed by specialist support teachers, and there is access to I.T because the club is held in one of our computer rooms.
  • We engage positively with parents through regular conversations with them, to keep them informed about progress and interventions we have put in place.
  • Interventions are pupil centred and parental consent is sought to work in collaboration on agreed outcomes.
  • Senior leadership and the Inclusion team ensures teachers know who the SEN/ vulnerable pupils are, their individual profiles are shared and the provision they require. This programme of support is led by our Heads of Learning.
  • Access arrangements are completed for students with an EHCP and those who are identified as requiring exam Access Arrangements.
  • Staff providing Access Arrangements complete annual training to ensure a high quality of support.
  • Targeted support in literacy and numeracy sessions is delivered by skilled staff – and in most cases by teaching staff from the relevant subject area.
  • Educational support, along with social mental wellbeing is encouraged through Extra-curricular provision and a range of lunchtime and after school activities.

 

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