At Paget High School, we are committed to meeting the needs of all students to ensure that they make the best possible progress. We understand that every student is different and therefore the educational needs of every student are different.
In our school, students will be provided with high quality teaching that is adapted to suit the needs of all learners. All our staff are trained to recognise individual needs and can adapt teaching and learning approaches so that every student is able to learn at their level.
We place a lot of emphasis upon quality first teaching that is inclusive of all students. We differentiate work to match different student’s abilities. We believe in inclusivity. Therefore we ensure students are included in all aspects of all elements of teaching and learning at Paget. This includes assessment
We also offer a range of provisions to support students with additional needs to help them to achieve, this may include:
- 1-2-1 or group intervention
- A mentor
- Additional support within lesson
- A safe space for SEND students during break and lunchtimes
- Subject specific support
- Alternative provision such as the farm
- Access to chromebooks in lessons
- Exam access arrangements
- External agencies such as Autism Outreach, Speech and Language Therapists
These interventions can help students to develop key skills that will support their learning in the classroom.
If you are a parent of a child with special educational needs you may be entitled to regular contact with school this may include the following:
- Informing you that your child is being placed on the SEND register
- Making you aware of any intervention that your child will take part in
- Making you aware of any concerns that we may have about your child
- Making you aware of any referrals we need to make to support your child
- Assessment and report information in the same format as all other students
- Access to the SEND team at parents evenings
- EHCP reviews/progress
- Invitations to meetings with appropriate staff members
- Letters and phone calls from the Wellbeing Team
The progress of every child with Special Educational Needs is monitored by our SENDCO. We liaise closely with parents, tutors, teachers and other external agencies, in order to support the most vulnerable pupils.
What are special needs?
“A learning difficulty or disability is a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age.”
We provide SEN support for students with significant needs in the following areas:
- Communication and Interaction
- Cognition and Learning
- Social, mental and emotional health
- Sensory and /or Physical.
How do we decide whether a child has a special educational need?
As teachers we are not qualified to formally diagnose any conditions. Any formal diagnosis would need to be made by an appropriately qualified professional. We can signpost you towards the relevant services.
All students are assessed throughout the year by their class teacher.
Some students may make lesson progress than we would expect and therefore additional help will be given to them to enable them to catch up. This may be in the form of different work or equipment during lessons.
A few students may struggle to progress even with the extra help in place. When this happens we might suggest that the student has an Special Educational Need.(SEN)
The SENDCO would then carry out assessments and observations to find what SEN the student has. This may require advice and support from other professionals such as an educational psychologist. Once we have decided that a student has a Special Educational Need they will be added to our SEND register. This is a list of names that the SENDCO uses to check on how well the SEND students are doing at Paget High School. The SENDCO will monitor the progress of the students and help the teachers to decide how best to support them.
What should I do if I think my child needs extra support?
- Speak to your child’s form teacher/subject teacher
- Refer to the SENCO if there are still concerns.
- Points which you may want to consider before meeting with the SENCO:
- why you think your child has SEN/disability
- whether your child learns at the same rate as other children their age
- what the school can do to help
- what you can do to help
- Speak to your doctor if you have concerns about your child’s learning/behaviour/well-being
- If you have any medical paperwork which may be appropriate, please bring it with you to the meeting.
How will we know if my child needs extra help?
- The Head of Year 7 and SENDCO visit primary schools to gather information
- The SENDCO may be invited to Year 6 Annual reviews or CAF meetings
- External agencies contact the school at transition, regarding students who receive their support
- KS2 Results/Teacher Assessments
- Tests of reading, spelling and writing are given during Key Stage 3, to identify students who might need differentiation, intervention or support.
- Y9 tests and staff assessments will help to identify students who may need Exam Access Arrangements
- Referral will be made to the SENDCO from subject teachers after differentiation and intervention within the classroom.
How will I know about the support my child is being given?
- Communication via one or more of the following:
- Contact from teaching staff via letter/telephone
- Parents evenings
- Invitations to meetings with appropriate staff members
- Letter/telephone call from staff from our Wellbeing Hub
- Planning meetings
- Sharing Student Support Plans and Reviews
- We will write to you about Exam Access Arrangements for your child.
How can I help to support my child’s learning?
- Visit the school website and the links to relevant information
- Encourage your child to attend homework/revision clubs
- Know your child’s targets and actively encourage your child to work towards them
- Encourage your child to engage in extra-curricular activities
- Follow advice given by staff/external agencies
- Attend planning and review meeting
- Attend parents evenings
- Communicate regularly with the form tutor and Head of Year
How will my child be involved in planning his or her education?
- Take responsibility for their learning
- Keep up to date with their homework
- Talk to form tutors/subject teachers/TAs when they have a problem.
- Select their options carefully at the end of Year 9
- Undertake relevant assessments to qualify for intervention
- Be involved in the writing of their Student Support Plan
- Discussions with teachers/TAs about how their learning could be improved,
- i.e. what is needed to help them to achieve their targets
- Identified children (at SEN support level or with a statement or an
- Education and Health Care Plan ) will take part in the plan/do/review
- Process
How will we support your child in starting school and moving on?
- General/SEN information requested from primary schools
- Primary transition meetings with Y6 teachers and/or SENDCO
- Transition sessions in primary schools run by secondary subject teachers
- Extra transition visits for nominated students from primary schools
- Year 6 Induction Day
- Review meetings e.g. Annual Reviews/CAFs
- Y7 Settling-in Evening
Post-16 Transition
- Liaison with Careers and Participation Services in Y9
- Careers education Y9-11, including information about post-16 options
- Further meetings with Careers and Participation Services in Y11/Y13
- Information about sixth forms, colleges and training providers
- Transition meetings are arranged and relevant information is shared with support staff at the college or training provider
How will you match the curriculum to my child’s needs?
- Quality first teaching
- Differentiated planning
- Additional in-class support in appropriate lessons
- Subject-specific intervention sessions
- Use of Student Support Plans
- Specialist equipment provided for students, where appropriate
- Exam Access Arrangements
- Alternative curriculum, where appropriate
How will you make a decision about how much support my child will receive?
- Tracking student progress
- For students with SEND but without an Education Health and Care Plan (ECHP), the decision regarding the support required will be taken by the SENDCO in consultation with staff and the Senior Leadership Team (SLT)
- Change in a student’s circumstances which has an effect on their wellbeing may lead to certain interventions being arranged
- Recommendations resulting from assessments by outside agencies
- For students with a Statement or EHCP, the decision will be reached when needs have been identified.
What training or expertise do your staff have?
- In house and specialist training is available for all staff
- Continuing professional development as per performance management reviews
- TAs with specialisms
- The SENDCO is a qualified teacher with graduate qualifications
- The SENDCO attends the termly SENDCO update ran be Staffordshire County Council
What specialist services could be available to my child?
In School
- SENDCO
- Experienced TAs
Independent Advice
- Parent Partnership – provide support for parents in student meetings
Local Authority Support Services
- Special Educational Needs Support Service (SENSS)
- Educational Psychology Service
- Key Learning Centres
- Hearing Impairment Team (HI)
- Visual Impairment Team (VI)
- Physical Disability Support Service (PDSS)
- Occupational Therapist Autism Outreach Team (AOT)
- Local Support Team (LST) & Family Support Worker
- Social Services
- Education Welfare Officer (EWO)
Health Services
- School Nurse/GP
- Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
- Speech and Language
How will the school know that its SEND provision is effective?
- Your child is happy in school and showing expected progress
- School will gather information about the progress of your child through regular assessment of individual subjects which will indicate if your child is making expected progress and this will be shared with you
- Interventions will be assessed to indicate progress or not and this will be used to plan for your child’s needs within school
- OFSTED report
How accessible is the school?
Paget High School is an accessible school.
- Dropped curbs and two accessible parking spaces
- All buildings are wheelchair accessible
- Lifts in the Main Building and Trent Building make all teaching areas accessible
- Three accessible toilets
- Accessible cubicles in the upper school toilets
- High visibility strips on all staircases
- Handrails in contrasting colours on all staircases
How will you include my child in the activities outside of the classroom?
- Your child is invited to take part in extra-curricular activities at lunchtimes and after school
- Form tutors will inform their class about extra-curricular activities
- Completing relevant risk assessments for out of school activities
- Planning for appropriate transport and reasonable adjustments to make sure that all students are able to take part.
How will you support my child’s overall wellbeing?
- Personal, Social and Health Education
- Behaviour for learning policy. Achievement points will be awarded for effort and achievement
- Emotional wellbeing through the Anti Bullying policy, nurture and counselling
- Pastoral support through form tutors, Head of Year, the Wellbeing hUb and pastoral support staff
- Extra curricular activities
- Student council