SEND & Provision
Introduction
The Appleton School is an 11-18 comprehensive secondary school which admits students to the school in line with the school’s admission procedure. The school believes that all children and young people are entitled to an education that enables them to:
- Develop lively, enquiring minds, encouraging the ability to question and argue rationally. Confronting them with challenging mental and physical tasks in order to ensure the highest possible level of achievement.
- Instil respect for each other, for religious and moral values and tolerance of other races, religions and ways of life.
- Acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes relevant to adult life in a rapidly changing world.
The Appleton School takes a whole school inclusive approach to students with special educational needs, recognising that the aims of the school (‘achieving excellence’) are the same for all students, whatever their abilities.
The school recognises that a child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them and, as defined in the SEN Code of Practice (2015). A young person has a learning difficulty or disability 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 him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.
The school makes provision in accordance with the SEN Code of Practice (2015), the SEND and Disability Act (amended 2015); Index for Inclusion (updated 2016); the Discrimination and Disability Act (2010); the Children & Families Act (2014), and the Equality Act (2010). Our SEN policy and our practice aim to reflect these principles.
Special Educational Needs are identified in terms of learning, communication, interaction, and emotional health, physical and sensory needs. The Appleton School believes that young people have a right to have their views listened to when making decisions and exercising choices that affect their future. They have a right to receive and impart information, to express an opinion, and to have that opinion taken into account in any matters affecting them. Consequently, the school is committed to working in partnership with the child, parents, carers and outside agencies to identify needs, provide support for them and monitor the progress of all students.
How do we work in partnership with families?
On application for a place, their child joining and throughout their child’s time at the school parents are given regular opportunities to discuss their child’s needs, progress and concerns. Opportunities for this to occur may include:
- Meetings to agree transition arrangements and support;
- Meetings to discuss progress with the Director of Curriculum Support or other appropriate member of staff;
- Statutory meetings and reviews.
The young person is central to the planning for, and the review and evaluation of the support they have been given to support their progress. The school is committed to hearing their voice and to ensuring their needs are met. The school seeks to ensure that the young person is empowered to bring to the attention of staff their needs and the best ways in which they can be supported. This could be through:
- Use of student passports
- Student centred CPD for staff
- SEN student representation on the School Council
- Age appropriate conversations about targets and progress
- Participation in statutory meetings or annual reviews
- Discussions about changes to the physical environment which would support the young person
Working with the school
Our Curriculum Support Team are:
SENDCO: Ms N Cox
Inclusion Lead: Mr D Clout
SEND Manager: Mrs Emily Fox
Assistant Headteacher: Mr J Gill
As a school, we work hard to be in effective communication with children and parents, and to listen and respond positively to any concerns brought to our attention. We are committed to taking all concerns seriously and would like to think that, through being open and accessible, concerns can be both raised and dealt with easily.
If the situation arises where parents have a concern about the provision being made for their child then they should initially contact the SENDCo. If a parent feels that the SENDCo has been unable to reassure them that their child’s needs are being met effectively, then the school’s Complaint Procedure – which is available on our website or by request – sets out clearly what the steps are to draw these concerns to the school’s attention.
How do we find out what wider help is available?
The Appleton School is committed to offering the best appropriate support where required as an intervention for all pupils identified SEN. Where necessary the use of outside agencies may be required. Some of the outside agencies used by The Appleton School include the following:
- Educational Psychology Service
- Specialist Teaching Team
- Parent Support Network
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service
- Children’s Support Services
- Educational Welfare Service
- Lighthouse Children’s Development Centre
How will the school work to support my child?
Parents will know that special educational needs and provision can be considered when their child is not reaching their age expected levels within the following four broad areas:
- Communication and interaction
- Cognition and learning
- Social, mental and emotional health
- Sensory and/or physical
The school will work closely with the young person and their parents to identify what support is needed, what the specific barriers to learning are and to understand why a student may not be making progress. We will then seek to put in place appropriate interventions such as:
- 1:1 targeted small group work
- Paired reading (older/younger students)
- Literacy and Numeracy Intervention.
- Input from specialist teacher
- Specific Equipment requirements
All interventions are monitored and evaluated for the effectiveness of their impact.
In order to fulfil its commitment to fully support every child into “achieving excellence”, the school already has in place a range of specialist interventions and continues to seek new ways of providing support. Examples of the kind of support we can provide are:
- School Homework clubs (Pre and post school and lunchtimes).
- Literacy and Numeracy support groups
- Paired reading support
- Small group skills sessions
- Friendship groups
- Peer Mentors
- Counselling and mentoring
- Classroom and examination access arrangements
The school is committed to ensuring that all teaching is at least good and that much is outstanding. High quality teaching is differentiated and personalised to meet the needs of all children and young people. The Appleton School aims to ensure that:
- All staff provide high quality teaching which allows students to learn effectively. A range of teaching and learning strategies may be required to ensure that all students can access the curriculum.
- Members of staff understand that they are all teachers of students with special educational needs.
- All students, regardless of ability, have full access to a wide range of suitably challenging educational opportunities which are appropriate to their needs.
- Every student at the school is provided with opportunities to make progress in every aspect of their development, enabling them to be the best they can be.
What happens if my child needs specialist equipment or facilities?
The school works hard to ensure that no student is disadvantaged in terms of facilities and equipment dependent upon need. To ensure that we achieve this goal we work with outside professionals such as specialist teachers, occupational therapy and specialist nursing team. Our broad approach here is captured in our equality and disability policies which are available on our website or open request. The kinds of support offered could include:
- Accessible Toilets
- Ramps
- Access to specialist teacher input i.e. PNI, HI, VI
- Access to laptop
- Implementation of care programs for students with PNI
- Specialist PE Equipment
How does the school support my child at the various Key Stages and in preparing for life as an adult?
Through our inclusive approach the school seeks to support students at all stages of transition and in preparation for life as an adult. This could include:
- Close liaison with Primary Feeders to ensure successful transition into secondary school
- Working with the Transition Pathways Service (Yr9-KS4/KS5)
- Schools PHSE Programme & Careers Guidance/Education
- Organising travel or mobility training
- Facilitating transfer onto appropriate Post 16 College Courses
Additional Links
SEND Overview
Essex Local Offer
Southend Local Offer
SENDIASS