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The Wavell School

Learning Support Prefects

2024-25

Grace Allan
Ben Court
Finely West
Henry Holcroft

 

Students with Special Educational Needs


"Students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those with English as an additional language make good and often excellent progress because of the well-targeted support and guidance they receive." (Ofsted)


The Wavell School is a mainstream secondary school, with resourced provision for specific learning difficulties, for students aged 11-16 years. At The Wavell School every child matters. We are committed to enabling all students to reach their full potential, regardless of ability. Our Mission Statement is “We care to challenge”. To this end we employ a variety of teaching techniques and learning approaches in all curriculum areas.

How does the school know if a child/young person needs extra help and what will I do if I think my child has special educational needs?

At The Wavell, students needing support for learning are identified in a number of ways.  These include:

  • liaison with staff from primary schools
  • information provided and concerns raised by parents/carers
  • review of latest specialist reports
  • previous assessment data
  • literacy and numeracy testing in the Autumn term of Year 7
  • cognitive ability testing (CATs) in the Autumn term of Year 7
  • concerns raised by your child’s class teachers
  • on-going monitoring of your child’s progress across all subjects

 

If your child is joining the school at a later stage, similar assessments will be completed during your child’s first week at the school.

If you have concerns about your child’s learning, telephone the school reception and ask to speak to the Director of Learning Support.  We can discuss your child’s needs and agree what our next steps will be.

How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support my child’s/young person’s learning?

The progress of all students is monitored using the school’s reporting systems: 

  • Progress Review reporting
  • Records of Achievement reports
  • Parents, Welfare and Partnership evenings
  • national performance data and The Wavell’s comparison data
  • sampling and reviewing student’s work against targets
  • review meetings and liaison with Learning Support and the Pastoral Team
  • the school’s mentoring and student voice programmes
  • monitoring students individually across all subjects

 

As a parent/carer of a child with special educational needs, you will regularly receive reports on your child’s progress across all subjects being studied. Additionally, your child will be assessed at the beginning and end of each intervention.  This is done to measure the impact of individually targeted work on your child’s skills for learning. 

The progress of students withdrawn from classes for specific skills tuition is reviewed by the Director of Learning Support. Your child will be involved in decision-making and will contribute their ideas and comments on their individual intervention planning. Your child will keep a learning diary to record the impact of each intervention lesson.  This record will be used to track whether your child’s learning is being successfully transferred into the mainstream classroom.

The reports and information listed earlier in this section are also used to inform future   planning, to close learning gaps and meet learning needs. Your child’s specific needs will be met using targeted programmes and strategies taken from a broad range of identified interventions which support:

  • communication and interaction difficulties
  • cognition and learning difficulties
  • social, emotional and mental health needs
  • physical and sensory needs.

In addition, the Director of Learning Support frequently reviews the impact and effectiveness of in-class support through discussion, observation and monitoring.

How will the school staff support my child/young person?

There are many support systems in place at school; information will be shared with staff supporting the progress of your child.  This information is gathered via:

  • good home/school communication
  • previous schools
  • recommendations from specialists
  • input from the school’s teaching and pastoral teams

 

and will be shared through your child’s Personal Learning Plan, which will provide insight into how your child learns. This information will be used by your child’s teachers and Learning Support Assistants when they are planning resources and when your child is learning in the classroom.  For some students, a Pastoral Support Plan is developed and reviewed under the guidance of the child’s Director of Students, this process maintains a vital consistency in the way a student is guided and supported across the school.

The school is committed to ensuring your child’s involvement in their learning and the celebration of their achievements.  The Director of Learning Support frequently reviews the impact and effectiveness of in-class support through discussion with staff, observation and repeated monitoring of your child’s progress.

How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?

Teachers will use the information provided to them about your child to appropriately match and differentiate their teaching and resources when planning their lessons.  Careful consideration will be given to target setting to ensure that your child will make good progress and respond well to aspirational targets. The expectation is that class teachers across each subject area ensure that the programme of study delivered is accessible to all students, as set out in the national Teachers’ Standards document.

Strategies and skills taught during one-to-one and small group lessons (if that intervention is appropriate) will be supported within the whole class setting.  This is to ensure that the impact of interventions result in generalised and improved outcomes for your child.

You will have the opportunity to discuss the learning pathway your child will take at Key Stage 4.  Students follow different pathways depending upon their ability. This allows them to study an individualised curriculum, which ranges from a set of full GCSE courses, to a pathway that includes some vocational courses, some of which are studied either partly or offsite. Some students will do fewer GCSEs to allow time for additional Maths and English lessons or for 1:1 tuition. A few students may also be offered a work placement as part of their curriculum offer.

How is the decision made about what type of and how much support my child/young person will receive?

Your child’s need for support will be assessed through the screening process and the guidance set out in the Hampshire SEN Support guidance.  Where this shows that your child needs support that is ‘additional to and different from’ the classroom curriculum, they may be withdrawn for specific intervention during Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9).

Support is accessed within the classroom and through a range of interventions:

  • one-to-one teaching
  • paired or small group work
  • reading buddy schemes
  • use of a word processor
  • curriculum/homework support
  • working with professionals from outside agencies.

The school has a Learning Support team of SEN teachers, Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) and an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) funded by the SEN and school budgets.  The use of these resources is prioritised in that the students with the most complex needs receive the most support.

What support will there be for my child’s/young person’s overall wellbeing?

Pastoral Support:

The Wavell School prides itself on being a caring community and has a highly experienced, competent and effective pastoral team.

The team, consisting of the 5 Directors of Students (with a Pastoral Assistant providing support) and their Tutors, works in conjunction with the school’s Pastoral Mentor and Student Support Officer who provide one to one individual support for all issues that students may encounter during their time at the Wavell. 

Pastoral care also includes access to:

  • the Drop-in, run by the Pastoral Mentor and Student Support Officer providing friendship, help and advice in a relaxed and informal atmosphere
  • Emotional Literacy Support (ELSA)
  • counselling services
  • Learning Support lunchtime homework club for support and small group social interaction
  • Early Help Hub (Locality Team) to help families access support services
  • Youth Inclusion & Support Panels (YISP) to give advice to families where there may be a risk of youth offending. 

When behaviour becomes a barrier to learning, the pastoral team work with the teaching staff and the Director of Learning Support to explore the needs behind the behaviour. Together they develop successful strategies and a highly personalised, consistent approach to managing the student’s behaviour and supporting the underlying needs.

Attendance & Punctuality:

Your child’s attendance will be monitored; any lateness and absence will be recorded.  Good attendance is actively encouraged throughout the school and we will take action to support students who might be liable to prolonged absence.

Medical Care:

The Pastoral Assistant is responsible for giving basic first aid and contacting parents when more serious medical conditions exist. She will, if applicable, also oversee the administration of medicines that you child needs to take in school and, should it be needed, she will liaise with the Specialist Advisory Service to write a Care Plan which will be shared with all staff involved in the day-to-day care of your child.

Extra-Curricular Activities:

A vital part of your child’s education and wellbeing includes the provision and encouragement to partake in a varied and comprehensive range of Extra-Curricular Activities; these therefore form a large part of life at The Wavell.

Student Leaders:

Your child will also be invited to participate in a number of youth leadership programmes during their time at the school. All students are encouraged to take-on responsibilities as leaders, they are very much part of the decision-making process and the ethos of the school:

What training is provided for staff supporting children and young people with SEND?

The SENCo is Jack Mallaby; he is the Director of Learning Support.  The SENCo may be contacted by email: admin@wavell.hants.sch.uk or by telephone via the school’s reception: 01252 341256. She is supported by two SEN teachers, one of whom is the Head of the Resourced Provision for Specific Learning Difficulties.

As all staff support the learning of students with special educational needs; it is expected that all teachers and Learning Support Assistants undertake professional development in this area.  Specialist teachers provide regular updates to staff on issues relevant to the student body and will regularly lead in-service training.

The Learning Support team is made up of highly experienced SEN teachers, LSAs, including a Senior LSA and an ELSA.  This team of sixteen is highly qualified and has received training to support a broad range of needs, including those linked to:

  • Specific Learning difficulties (SpLD) e.g. dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, ADD, ADHD, auditory processing disorder
  • Language and communication difficulties including those linked to Autistic Spectrum disorder (ASD)
  • Physical disabilities linked to hearing and visual impairment

The Head of the Resourced Provision for Specific Learning Difficulties has a Level 7 accreditation and will, therefore, be able to assess whether your child is likely to qualify for formal examination concessions at GCSE. The Learning Support team has also accessed a range of training courses to support specific interventions and difficulties; some of these are listed here:

  • Inclusion Development Programmes to support Dyslexia, Behaviour, Speech and Language and Autism
  • Paired Reading
  • Precision Teaching
  • Cued Spelling
  • Teaching Reading Through Spelling (TRTS)
  • Conquering Literacy
  • Numicon
  • Wave 3 Closing the Gap training in Numeracy
  • ELSA training through the Educational Psychology Service
  • Counselling Course 1 & 2
  • ‘Walk the Walk’ training to support social communication difficulties
  • Supporting children with ADHD
  • Supporting children on the autistic spectrum

Within the school, training is an on-going process. Currently, a further two LSAs are attending ELKLAN training to develop skills for supporting speech, language and communication needs and the ELSA is further developing skills linked to cognitive behavioural therapies (CBT).

The Wavell School can access a range of external services including:

  • Specialist Teacher Advisory Service
  • Educational Psychology Service
  • Child and adolescent Mental Health Service
  • Social Care
  • NHS Speech & Language Therapy
  • School Nurse
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Career Advisory Service
  • Information Technology Support Services

These services will be contacted when necessary and appropriate, according to your child’s needs.

How accessible is the school environment?

We are a growing secondary school, with an expanding roll and large campus, spread over four separate main buildings, three having either two or three floors. At present we do not have lift facilities; however, we do have ramped walkways around the site to ensure access to all ground floor classrooms. We have handrails on all steps and our stairways are one-way.

How are parent/carers currently involved in your education setting? How can I get involved and who can I contact for further information?

The Wavell School will encourage you as a parent/carer to take an active role in your child’s school life.  As a parent/carer you will be welcome to meet with Learning Support staff/Director of Students to discuss your child’s SEN and progression across the curriculum.

If you child has an Education, Health and Care Plan or an SEN Support Agreement (SENSA) for transition, you will be routinely invited into school in order to contribute to a review of progress and plan for the next phase of learning.

Additionally, you will be invited to Parents Evenings, Welfare and Partnership Evenings, Option and Examination Evenings and a range of workshops scheduled to support and inform you as a parent/carer of a child/young person in the 21st century.

Our Governing body includes Parent Governors and we have an active Parent Teacher Association.

What steps should I take if I have a concern about the school’s SEND provision?

If you have concerns about the provision available for your child which, after discussion with relevant staff (i.e. the SENCo and/or Director of Students for your child’s year group), are felt to have not fully been addressed, you are encouraged to forward your views to the Headteacher in line with the school’s Complaint Procedure policy. If the Headteacher is unable to resolve the difficulty, the parent/carer’s concerns should be put in writing to the Chair of Governors.

How will the school prepare and support my child/young person to join the  school, transfer to a new school, or transition to the next stage of life?

There are a number of additional ways that students with SEN can be supported to make a successful transition to the Wavell School. If you or your child’s current school informs us about specific transition needs for your child/young person, an enhanced transition plan may be considered appropriate. This plan could include:

  • formal transition meetings between all home, school and other professionals
  • early copies of specialist reports
  • additional visits to become familiar with the new environment and key staff
  • additional visits with other students transitioning to the school
  • observation visits by staff from the Wavell School
  • buddying with existing students.

Throughout Key Stage 4, the Learning Support and Pastoral teams will work with the school’s career service and with post-16 providers and advisers to ensure that transition is well planned and that your child’s/young person’s needs are understood.

Where can I get further information about services for my child/young person?

Since September 2014 every Local Authority has been required to publish information about services they expect to be available for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) and /or disabilities aged 0-25years. This is known as the ‘Local Offer’. This website puts all the information about education, health and care services, leisure activities and support groups in one place; making it easier for families to access and use a vast range of information and resources. The Local Offer seeks feedback from families on local provision and gaps in services to ensure that the commissioning of services is more responsive to local needs and aspirations.

Hampshire County Council’s Local Offer website has been co-produced with parents, professionals and young people. You will find up to date Information about Services and Support for Special Educational Needs and disability aged 0-25.  

Wavell School SEND Local Offer Information Information

COVID-19

EAL Parents can continue to phone the EMTAS phone numbers to speak to a member of staff.

 


 

Hampshire SENDIASS has expertise and experience in Special Educational Needs and Disability relating to Education.

 0808 164 5504
 info@hampshiresendiass.co.uk
Web icon www.hampshiresendiass.co.uk

 

Every month Hampshire Parent Carer Network holds Get Togethers throughout the county.  These are informal meetings where parent carers of children and young people with additional needs (any additional need) can drop in (no appointment or forewarning needed).

See their website for details.