Marden High School Information Report for Students with Special Educational Needs and / or Disabilities
This information lets you understand how we support students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and how we contribute to North Tyneside’s Local Offer.
“Our child came into Year 7 at Marden in September 2016. We were really concerned about how he would adjust to high school, and whether he would manage in the very different environment when compared to his primary school. We need not have worried. From the start, the SEND Team at Marden did their utmost to ensure that everything was thought about. They made a lot of effort to ensure that our child’s needs, interests and passions were understood. The meetings that took place in the year leading up to his transition to Marden were an opportunity for the Team to get to know our son and to think about how they could support him. The taster and transition days also helped hugely in the ‘getting to know’ process.
Our child now has support from a team who have got to know him well and understand how to support him. He has now been at Marden for over six months and we could not be happier with the support and care he receives, both for his learning and for his personal development. He continues to have difficulties with managing his emotions, but the wonderful partnership that the school fosters with us as parents ensures that any stumbles are addressed quickly. He is very happy at school and bounds in enthusiastically every day. He is learning so much, because he is happy and settled”
What is the Local Offer?
All North Tyneside Local Authority (LA) maintained schools have a similar approach to meeting the needs of students with Special Educational Needs and /or Disabilities and are supported by the LA to ensure that all students, regardless of their specific needs, make the best possible progress in school.
All schools are supported to be as inclusive as possible, with the needs of students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) being met in a mainstream setting wherever possible.
The LA Local Offer
Local Authorities (LA) and schools are required to publish and keep under review information about services they expect to be available for children and young people with SEND aged 0-25. The LA refer to this as the ‘Local Offer’.The intention of the Local Offer is to improve choice and transparency for families. It is an important resource for parents in understanding the range of services and provision in the local area.
Marden High is a fully inclusive school which ensures that all students achieve their potential personally, socially, emotionally, physically and educationally.
The Latin motto of the Marden High School community is:
Carpe Diem!
Which means “Rejoice…seize the day; live life to the fullest; make the most of what you have.”
So we will:
This applies to all members of our community equally. We are keen for students who join us with SEND to achieve to their potential in a respectful environment where we celebrate and embrace diversity.
Our Local Offer details how we support students with SEND and that we are committed to equality of opportunity and provide full access to the National Curriculum for all students.
The SEN Department
Bronia Reece is our qualified SENDCO (National Award for Special Education Co-ordinators, Northumbria University) at Marden High and leader of the department. She is involved in daily decision making to support progress when barriers to learning occur. She is supported in her role by 13 SEND Support Assistants. Our SEND Support Assistants have a diversity of qualifications and extensive experience in supporting students both in lessons and in small groups or 1:1. Within our team a range of experience, training and qualifications are held, including ASD,Visual Impairment, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia,Thrive, Social and Emotional Mental Health and for Language and Communication Learning Difficulties.
The diversity of knowledge and experience within our team allows for personalised provision and ensures that students are well supported in lessons.
Within our department we also have members of staff trained in administering medication and supporting Diabetic Care.
We also work in collaboration with Mr Shields, our Behaviour For Learning Co-ordinator,who is also a trained Mental Health First Aider, and Mrs Atkinson, our Year 6/7 Transition Mentor.
The SEND Department – “Base”
“The Base” is our Inclusion Centre. It is located on the middle floor of the building and can be accessed by lift. The Base consists of four rooms; SEND Teaching Room, “Access”( our nurture rom) , a Counselling Room and a Medicines Room. The SEND Teaching Room is fully equipped with ICT and other differentiated resources for learning. It can be used for small group or support teaching, extra curricular activities, exam arrangements and training for staff.
“Access” is used as a sanctuary for students who are experiencing difficulties in main school lessons.
The Counselling Room is used by our Student Counsellor. The room is also used by a team of external professionals.This might include professionals from the Language and Communication Team, our Educational Psychologist, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, The Dyslexia Team and Speech and Language Therapists. It is also used by Mentors in school to provide help and advice to students.
The Counselling Room
Adjacent to our Counselling Room is our Medicines Room, staffed by our Medicines Officers, to support students who take medication or who need Diabetic Care.
Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs/Disabilities and their Families
Students are identified as having SEND when their progress has slowed or stopped and the interventions put in place have not resulted in improvements. We compare progress with peers and use the national average as a means of identifying gaps in progress.From there, we take action to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place.
The SEND support takes the form of a four-part cycle through which earlier decisions and actions are revisited as a result of a growing understanding of the student’s needs and of what supports the student in achieving good outcomes.This four part cycle enables us to assess the student, plan how we will support, put the support in place and then review what has been done.
This approach is at the heart of whole-school practice as we continually assess, plan, implement and review our teaching of all students. Where a potential SEN is identified, however,this process becomes increasingly personalised, as we respond over time to a growing understanding of the student’s barriers to learning. This cyclical approach enables us to reflect upon the approaches to meeting students’ needs and in doing so, enables us to develop a growing understanding and awareness of needs and approaches that enable good progress and good outcomes.
We will let families know about any concerns about a student’s learning by contacting the parent via the SENDCO (Mrs Reece) or the Year Co-ordinator. This will be in the form of a phone call, which would be to invite parents / carers in for a meeting to discuss the progress of the student and the measures that could be taken to support the child.
Definitions and areas of need
The SEND Code of Practice 2014 sets out guidance on policies and procedures aimed at enabling pupils with SEND to reach their full potential, to be included fully in their school communities and to enable a successful transition to adulthood.The SEND Code of Practice identifies four distinct areas of special educational needs:
Communication and interaction
Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have difficulty in communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them or they do not understand or use social rules of communication. They may have difficulty with one, some or all of the different aspects of speech, language or social communication at different times of their lives.
Children and young people with ASD, including Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism, are likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction. They may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination, which can impact on how they relate to others.
Cognition and learning
Support for learning difficulties may be required when children and young people learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs, including moderate learning difficulties (MLD). Specific learning difficulties (SpLD), affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.
Social, emotional and mental health difficulties
Children and young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children and young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or attachment disorder.
Sensory and/or physical needs
Some children and young people require special educational provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. These difficulties can be age related and may fluctuate over time. Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning, or habilitation support. Some children and young people with a physical disability (PD) require additional ongoing support and equipment to access all the opportunities available to their peers.
Care Guidance and Support other than SEND
Students for whom English is an additional language (EAL)
Being in receipt of a Pupil Premium grant
Being a Looked After Child
Attendance and Punctuality
Health and Welfare
For the vast majority of students their mainstream setting will meet all their Special Educational Needs. Some students will require additional help from professionals external to the school. A very small minority of students will have SEND of a severity or complexity that requires the Local Authority to determine and arrange the Special Educational provision required to support their learning. This may involve the provision of an Education Health and Care Plan (an EHCP). These plans have replaced Statements of Special Educational Needs.
Definition of Special Educational Needs in the SEND Code of Practice 2014
A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:
Disabled children and young people
Many children and young people who have special educational needs may have a disability under the Equality Act 2010 – that is ‘…a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’. ‘Long-term’ is defined as ‘a year or more’ and ‘substantial’ is defined as ‘more than minor or trivial’. This definition includes sensory impairments such as those affecting sight or hearing, and long-term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, and cancer. Children and young people with such conditions do not necessarily have SEN, but there is a significant overlap between disabled children and young people and those with SEN. Where a disabled child or young person requires special educational provision they will also be covered by the SEND definition ( SEND Code of Practice 2014)
Identification of Students With Special Educational Needs
Students with Special Educational Needs and/or disabilities are listed on the school’s SEND Register, along with an identification of their primary Special Educational Need. All staff are made aware of relevant information regarding a student’s needs and how they can be best supported to make progress.
Students on Primary School SEND Registers at the end of year 6 will transfer onto the SEND Register of Marden High School from the beginning of year 7.
Information on students transferring into year 7 will be collected by the Transition Coordinator and Mentor and by the SENDCO who will attend SEND transition meetings during year 6. This information will be used to determine appropriate provision for these students when they start at Marden. A Transition Passport will be created with the Marden Transition Mentor with year 6 students who will be included on the Marden SEND List in year 7.
The Passport is written in conjunction with the student and the Transition Mentor. The passport is written in the student’s own words, and it enables him or her to tell us, as staff, what barriers to learning he/she may have, and how he/she prefers to be supported.
Students transferring to Marden from other high schools will, where required or requested by staff or parents, be assessed by the SENDCO and/or specialist external professionals in order to identify needs and any special provision requirements.
Teachers may, at any time, refer a student for assessment by the SEND Department if they feel that a student’s needs have not been identified or met, in line with whole-school practice as we continually assess, plan, implement and review our teaching of all students.
Year Coordinators are requested to make new referrals as necessary and to comment on the progress of students on the SEND Register at the time of SEND Reviews.
The SENDCO attends all year group progress conferences and a weekly review meeting with pastoral support staff in order to track the progress of SEND students and identify where further support/interventions or a new assessment or provision may be necessary.
Parents/carers may provide information which identifies a student’s special educational needs and students may self-refer for assessment or support.
Student Support Plans
The Student Support Plan is created for students with SEND as part of our four part cycle which enables us to assess the student, plan how we will support, put the support in place and then review what has been done.
The Student Support Plan is an individual education plan developed by teachers, through consultation with students, parents and any external professionals involved with the child and their parents. It outlines how support will be given to the child in school and the expected outcomes of the support.
This student centred plan puts the young person at the centre of their own learning and future needs by being involved in decisions made at review meetings and during the creation of the Student Support Plan. The plan reflects what is important to the young person, their capacities and what support is required.
Family members or carers are involved also in the creation of the plan, as they know the student best.
The plan results in actions that are about learning and goals for life,and reflect what is possible, not just what is available.Students with SEND are enabled to engage in activities available with children and young people in the school who do not have SEND.
Assessing Students with Special Educational Needs
Further assessment of students may be conducted in the following ways:-
An Access Reading Test is administered at the start of Y7 to all students and to any new student who joins the school. Students identified as having significant difficulties may have further diagnostic tests to inform support planning.
SEN Support staff working with students on a withdrawal basis will commence their work with each student by carrying out a series of assessments. These assessments will be updated each term in order to measure progress and inform future target-setting.
Some students will present with learning difficulties which will require assessment by one of the services provided by the LA (e.g. the Educational Psychology Service, the Dyslexia Team, Student Support Services, the Language and Communication Team, the Sensory Support Service). In each case, evidence of the student’s difficulties and permission from parents of carers is required, along with details of the provision which has already been made to support the student, before a referral can be made by the SENDCO.
Special educational provision in schools is:
Educational or training provision that is additional to or different from that made generally for other children or young people of the same age.
When a student is identified as having special educational needs, we support their development and progress as below:-
The support of the subject teacher
All teachers contribute to the teaching, assessment, monitoring, recording and reporting of progress of students with special educational needs.
All teachers will recognise that there is a wide range of student ability and provide appropriately differentiated work. This involves ensuring access to the curriculum through the delivery of suitable courses, programmes of study and modifications to the National Curriculum.
Student Support Plans and Student Passports provide information, targets and strategies; they should be used by teachers to inform their planning and teaching.
Teachers are requested to provide a detailed report of student progress prior to SEND reviews. This evidence is collated and summarised and forms an important part of the review process and future target setting. Students with an identified SEND have the opportunity to review progress with parents termly.
Teachers are expected to update their knowledge and understanding of SEND by attendance at appropriate CPD training.
The support of Curriculum Leaders
Curriculum Leaders recognise the wide range of student abilities and departmental schemes of work reflect awareness of the need to provide appropriate work. Each department will provide differentiated work for the full range of ability.
It is the responsibility of each Curriculum Leader to ensure that all students have access to the National Curriculum and that, when necessary, this is delivered in a modified form as required to meet the needs of individual students.
Curriculum Leaders are aware of the importance of identifying students who have significant difficulties and referring them to the SENDCO when classroom differentiation fails to ensure appropriate progress.
Time should be allocated during departmental meetings so that SEND/Inclusion is a regular item.
The support of SEND Support Staff (SENDCO and SEND Support Assistants)
The primary role of the SENDCO and SEND Support Assistants (SSAs) is to enable access to the curriculum, facilitate independentlearning, and promote inclusion in order to ensure that students with Special Educational Needs make appropriate progress.
Support staff are attached to classes designed to meet the needs of students whose attainment is significantly below average in the core subjects of English, Maths and Science.
Marden High School also recognises specific need and therefore support staff frequently work in classes with students of all abilities to help individuals overcome a wide range of difficulties including: social interaction, fine and gross motor skills, dyslexia, ADHD, hearing impairment and medical conditions.
Support staff may also work 1:1 or with small groups of students outside the classroom to deliver specific programmes of work or to support learning.
SEND Support Assistants also staff a safe haven in “Access” during unstructured times.
Staff Training
All staff have completed, and will continue to receive, ongoing training in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
This year, staff have received training on Dyscalculia, Dyslexia, Attachment, Visual Impairment, Supporting Students with Language and Communication difficulties and supporting students with Autism.
This differs year on year as we respond to student need.
Our SENDCO provides advice and guidance to staff in supporting students with SEND.
The SENDCO shares with staff updates regarding policy change, student progress and need, training opportunities and information from parents and carers.She also meets weekly with Year Co-ordinators and The Inclusion Manager to share information and good practice and invitees external agencies into school to provide training for staff.
Progress Tracking
The progress of all students, including those with SEND, is continually monitored by their subject teacher, Curriculum Leader and Year Co-ordinator by analysis of the four data collections.
The student is given Target Grades in all subjects areas which are shared with parents and carers through the school reporting system. Data is collected and progress is measured against these targets.
This progress is discussed at parents evenings.In addition to parents evenings, students with SEND are involved with regular review meetings to discuss progress towards targets and setting outcomes for the futures.Students are at the centre of these reviews and are encouraged to share their aspirations and views.
As well as Target Grades, other tests may be used to monitor progress; eg tests which give a reading and spelling age or a standardised score. When a student has been assessed and is not making progress against their targets,we can refer students to a number of different services or agencies for more specialist assessment and advice.Referrals can be made to The Dyslexia Service, Educational Psychology Service or health services such as Speech and Language Team, School Nurse Service, Occupational Therapist or Social Care Teams.
We might suggest completing an Early Help Assessment ( EHA) in order to get a team of professionals ( Team around the Family (TAF)) together to work with the student and their family in achieving positive outcomes .This will only be done with the parent or carer’s agreement.
If a student does not make progress with support that has been suggested by specialist staff or external professionals, we can make a referral to the Local Authority for an assessment for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This is a legal process, carried out by the Local Authority and sets out the amount of support that will be provided for the student.
Supporting Students With Special Educational Needs / Disabilities and Their Families
When a student is identified as having special educational needs, we support their development and progress by:
The other people / agencies and teams providing services to children with a special educational need / disability in school include:
Further information and contact details may be found in North Tyneside’s Children’s Services Directory : Children’s Services Directory
Transition
We work in partnership with other education providers to ensure that students make a successful transition to the next stages of their learning, through careful and coordinated planning of the transition.
When a student joins us in Year 7 from a Primary School, our Transition Mentor ( Mrs Atkinson) will visit new students in Year 6 at their Primary School and work with them to create a “Student Passport” to support a smooth transition to us. A student passport allows the student to share with us his/her preferred learning styles and invites the student to let us know how he/she prefers to be supported.
The SENDCO will also attend Year 6 reviews so that information about students can be shared with staff prior to their admission so that all staff can provide personalised support upon students’ arrival.
We also run transition days for Year 6, and students with additional needs are supported during these events by Student Support Assistants from Marden.
We invite all parents to an open evening once their secondary placement has been allocated. We will also speak to parent/carers of children with an EHC Plan before their child begins at the school as they know their child better than we ever can. If a student is moving to another school, we will liaise with the SENDCO at the new school to make sure arrangements can be put in place to support.
If a student joins us, we contact the SENDCO at the previous school to ensure that all information is given to us.
During SEND reviews from Year 9 upwards, our Connexions Officer, Helen Bishop, attends review meetings and is able to provide strong advice for the student and their family around choosing a future career.
As young people prepare for adulthood, review outcomes will reflect their ambitions. To support this, the SENDCO and the Connexions Officer will attend Year 10 and 11 Consultation Evenings and support will be offered to students in Year 10 to find suitable work experience placements.
When a student leaves us at the end of Year 11 we will assist their transition by supporting visits and taster days to sixth forms and colleges. We will liaise closely with further education providers and parents to ensure that transition documentation is completed to support a smooth transition to the next education provider.
Supporting Families
The school works in partnership with families to help them support their children’s learning outside of school.
Families are also signposted to services / organisations through the Local Offer (such as Special Educational Needs and Disability, Information and Support Service (SENDIASS), formerly knowns as Parent Partnership Service)
Looked After Children and SEND
Children who are being accommodated, or who have been taken into care by a Local Authority are legally defined as being “looked after”.Marden High School has a Designated Safeguarding Lead for Looked after Children and works closely with the SENDCO to ensure that the implications of a child being looked after and having SEND are fully understood by relevant staff.We work closely with the Virtual School Head within the Local Authority (who is responsible for promoting the educational achievement of all the children looked after by the Local Authority they work for) to track the progress of children looked after by the Local Authority and alongside social workers to ensure that there are effective joined-up processes for meeting the SEND of Looked After Children. Looked After Children will also have a Personal Education Plan (PEP) which assesses and sets out the student’s educational needs.
Further Information
Please consult our website for the following information:-
Behaviour and anti-bullying policies are regularly reviewed with a focus on how they affect pupils’ with special educational needs or disabilities.
Evaluation
The school’s self-evaluation process will look at teaching and learning for all students including those with special educational needs and disabilities.
All school-related activities are evaluated in terms of their benefit to the learning and inclusion of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
If you would like further information about what we offer here at Marden High School, then please contact the SENDCO, Mrs Bronia Reece on: 0191 296 2771.
SEND Provision
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations (2014) sets out information about the kinds of SEND that are provided for and the adaptations which can be made to the curriculum and learning environment for students with SEND. These are outlined below:-
| School entitlement offer to pupils with special educational needs or disabilities | |
|---|---|
| Support Available Within School | |
|
Communication and Interaction Needs: e.g. Autistic Spectrum Disorders Speech, Language and Communication Needs |
|
|
Cognition and Learning Needs: e.g. |
|
|
Social, Mental and Emotional health e.g. |
|
|
Sensory and Physical Needs: e.g. |
|
If you have any concerns about your child’s special educational needs or disability, their progress or the support you receive, we would ask that you to come into school and discuss matters further with the SENDCO.
Although school complaints procedures are in place and can be accessed through our website we would always hope to resolve any issues or concerns informally by working in partnership with parents.
Note
Parents can contact SENDIASS for impartial information, advice and support in relation to their child’s special educational need and / or disability on tel. 0191 6438317 or by e-mail [email protected]. North Tyneside Local Authority Local Offer:
http://www.northtyneside.gov.uk/browse-sub-cat.shtml?p_subjectCategory=1618
This information has been written with due regard to information defined in Regulation 5 and Schedule 1 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.
Information Report Updated : 14/10/21
To be reviewed:14/10/22
Glossary of Terms
SEND- Special Educational Needs and Disability
SENDCO- Special Educational Needs and Disability Co-ordinator
SSAs- SEND Support Assistants
LA- Local Authority
EP- Educational Psychologist
CAMHS- Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service
TAF- Team around the Family
EHA- Early Help Assessment
LAC- Looked after Child
YOT- Youth Offending Team
OT- Occupational Therapist
