SEND Information

If you have any questions about SEND that are not answered below,
please contact our SEND Coordinator directly:
Juanita.Bibe@s wale.at

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

At The Holmesdale School, we are fully committed to an inclusive approach to education. All students are treated as individuals and guided and supported to reach their personal best.

To support with learning all staff are fully aware of the individual needs of students ensuring that during lessons the work is made accessible for all and objectives are achievable but challenging.

For students where additional support may be required, we have a clear assessment process to identify any specific needs and a team of support staff who can deliver short term intervention programmes. Information is received from previous schools during transition and we use this to consider a suitable support pathway for each student relating to identified special educational needs and disabilities.

Key Information

A new SEND Code of Practice came into effect on the 1st of September 2015. Following consultation with parents, students and staff and the governing body, we have updated our policies and procedures in line with the new code and consultation feedback.

The SEND team at The Holmesdale School is led by Mrs Juanita Bibe SENCO and Teacher in charge of the Specialist Resource Provision for Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC).
Mrs J Bibe has responsibility for ensuring those students with Additional Educational Needs (AEN) at The Holmesdale School get the support and guidance they need in order to access the curriculum and that their needs are reviewed regularly. Our SENCO is working towards Special Educational Needs Accreditation and Specialist Assessor Qualification for testing and identifying students who require Access Arrangements (AA).

Aims

To enable all students to reach their potential.
To allow access to the curriculum for all students.
To work in a manner that supports and enables inclusion.
To provide individual educational programmes with resources appropriate to the needs of the child.
To facilitate independent learning.
To ensure early identification of needs.
To monitor and assess regularly the progress of each child.
To carry out an annual review of policy and practice to ensure continuing development of teaching and learning.
To ensure that the Governing Body, staff and parents are aware of and endorse the school’s policy.
To encourage shared responsibility and partnership between school, parents, pupils and external agencies.
To encourage and develop staff awareness of types of individual need at all levels.

The SENCO undertakes the following duties:

Responsibility for the day-to-day operation of Special Educational Needs in the school.
Maintain an up-to-date profile of individual needs.
Liaise with and advise other staff members to enable early identification of individual needs.
Liaise with external support services.
Maintain the school’s SEND register and policy.
Liaise with parents / carers.
Facilitate and implement in-service training.
Review equipment and resources.
To plan and chair review meetings.
Supervision of Teaching Assistant support.
Advising colleagues of strategies/ materials/ resources to facilitate learning for individual children.
Applying a graduated response to the assessment of children within SEND.
Apply for Higher Needs Funding to support SEND students.

Within the SEND team, there is a range of expertise and specialisms:

Mrs Juanita Bibe is also responsible for the organisation of the Access Arrangements for all public examinations alongside Mrs Michala Neaves, Examinations officer.
Mrs Juanita Bibe has oversight of the 12 support staff, including Assistant SENCo. The department has 2 Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTAs) who plan and deliver interventions. Teaching Assistants (TAs) are managed within the SEN provision. Their responsibility is to ensure that students with SEND make good progress. Teaching Assistants have been appointed to support specific students with Educational Health Care Plans and students within the Specialist Resource Provision.
The school also has access to an Educational Psychologist and Specialist Teachers.
The school has a counsellor who comes in weekly.
The SEND team are able to carry out a wide range of interventions to support students with SEND.
Teachers are responsible for quality first teaching, the core provision within the classroom, ensuring lessons are designed and delivered to meet the requirements of the new SEND Code of Practice. Teachers are encouraged to refer students who they identify may require further support. As students’ needs change and new students join the school provision can be identified, and additional specialist intervention can be secured through additional funding.

Specialist Resource Provision (SRP)

This provision opened in September 2015 and provides a blend of mainstream and specialist provision for students with Autism. Students will have a personalised learning timetable which ensures the provision is supportive of their needs but is also as inclusive as possible. The SRP aims to provide a well-managed provision and integration opportunities into mainstream schooling.

Admissions are managed by the Local Authority but parents and carers are very welcome to ring the school office for a visit or to attend one of our Open Days.

Children must have a statement of Special Educational Needs or Educational Health Care plan for the following:

A diagnosis of ASC. There should be no underlying behavioural need.

Identifying SEND

A student will be identified through baseline and ongoing assessments by the teachers and brought to the attention of the SENCO. This is particularly if progress is less than expected, in spite of high quality differentiated classroom teaching targeted at the student’s area of weakness. The SENCO will work with staff and parents to investigate this further and may engage the help of external agencies. Students may be presented at Local Inclusion Forum Team (LIFT) and professionals such as the Educational Psychologist or Speech and Language Therapist can become involved to identify the student’s area of need.

We strongly believe that high quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils, is the first step in responding to students who have or may have SEND. We follow the Mainstream Core Standards advice developed by our Local Education Authority (KCC) to ensure that our teaching conforms to best practice.

The Code of Practice 2015 outlines the four broad areas of need as:

Communication and interaction
Cognition and learning
Social, emotional and mental health difficulties
Sensory and/or physical needs

Special Educational Provision:

Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the students in their class. This is through high quality teaching, differentiated for all students including those who may have SEND.

The Holmesdale School provides interventions targeted to meet individual needs and abilities. These interventions are reviewed regularly to ensure the student is making progress and the best academic and emotional needs are met.

If a child or young person continues to make less than expected progress, in spite of special education provision and the involvement of outside agencies, the SENCO will follow the statutory guidance on requesting an assessment for an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) should this be appropriate. The Local Authority (LEA) will then decide if extra resources and funds will be required outside the school’s normal provision.

All EHCP’s are reviewed annually with all relevant bodies being invited to attend and make recommendations with regard to the student’s progress and future provision. The continuation of the EHCP will be considered and new targets set, if appropriate.

At any time if the teacher, support staff, SENCO, parents and Headteacher agree that the student’s needs can now be met within the scope of usual class differentiation the child’s name will be removed from the SEN register. Their progress will continue to be closely monitored.

Parental Involvement

The Holmesdale School believe that parents should be fully involved in the decision-making process, understand the purpose of any intervention or programme of action and be informed when individual student needs are identified. This triangulated support is crucial in meeting the needs of, and unlocking the potential of our students.

Exams

For some students it may be necessary for the school to apply to the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) in order to gain Access Arrangements (special arrangements) for external and controlled assessments using the strict criteria set down by the board. Access Arrangements exist to ensure that a student is not disadvantaged by their difficulties. For more information regarding exams arrangements, please contact Mrs Juanita Bibe or Michala Neaves.

Resources and Key links:

Resources are provided to enable curriculum access for all children either through the school or outside agencies. This may also be through additional adult support, ICT and curriculum resources.

SEND and other school policies

Targeted Support/Sen and disabilities

The Local Offer will make it easier for you to find information about services for 0-25 year olds with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). These services are provided by many local organisations, which include education, health and social care services. The Local Offer serves to increase access to services for parents & carers of children with SEND. Details regarding the Local Offer can be accessed via the following link: Local Offer

About Holmesdale

SEND Information