SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability)
At Verulam School it is our aim that all our students fulfil their potential, regardless of any barriers they may encounter to their learning.
Verulam’s SEND provision is managed by Miss Polly Hart who the school’s Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENDCo). Miss Hart may be contacted at sendco@verulam.aetrust.uk. If you think your child may have undiagnosed SEND needs or you wish to raise a concern/complaint about your child’s SEND provision/support, please contact Miss Hart.
Verulam’s SEND provision seeks to:
- put individual students – and their specific needs – at the heart of our learning support programme
- work closely with parents and carers to create a personally-tailored approach
- promote independence and self-confidence among our SEND students, by equipping them with strategies to overcome barriers to success
- offer appropriate additional resources, so all SEND students achieve their full potential
- ensure effective and high-quality teaching from all of our teaching staff
Below is a series of FAQs around our SEND provision at Verulam School.
How does Verulam know if a student needs extra help and what should I do if I think my child may have special educational needs?
- Verulam School recognises the definition of SEND as described in the SEND Code of Practice 0- 25, June 2014. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25
- Clear criteria are in place to identify pupils who require additional or different provision.
- A rigorous transition process is in place to enable all relevant information to be shared.
- The point of contact for all SEND matters is the SENDCo.
How will school staff support my child?
- The School has a graduated response to pupils who require additional support. This presents in as a cycle known as Assess, Plan, Do, Review.
How will I know how my child is doing?
- In addition to regular assessment reports, annual full reports and annual parent consultation meetings, parents are able to make appointments to meet with the staff involved with their child.
- Parents are able to access their child’s behaviour record and assessment outcomes electronically.
How will the learning and development provision be matched to my child’s needs?
- All faculties have specific guidance and strategic responses to enable SEN pupils within their lessons.
- The SENDCo advises teaching and support staff with regard to individual pupil’s specific needs.
What support will there be for my child’s overall wellbeing?
- Access to trained counsellor
- Support programme form LINKS Academy Outreach Team
- Increased parental contact
- Liaison with identified key member of staff
- Year based Nurture group where appropriate.
What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the school?
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Educational Psychology
- Social Communication Disorders Team
- LINKS Academy Outreach Team
- Autism Advisory Service
- Children and Adolescent Mental Health Team
- Connexions
- Herts SEND Team
- NHS Health Teams where appropriate
- Social Care where appropriate
What training have Verulam staff had/ or are having to support students with SEND?
- All staff have received training on the revised SEND Code of Practice
- Some staff have received training specific area of SEND such as ASD.
How will Verulam help me to support my child’s learning?
- Parents are informed of interventions put in place to support their child’s learning.
- For most intervention, additional materials and guidance is available to facilitate parental support.
- The SENDCo is available at Parent Consultation Evenings.
- Separate SENDCo Surgeries are held regularly throughout the year.
How will I be involved in discussions about and planning for my child’s education?
- Parents are invited to attend yearly consultations with teachers.
- Where necessary, further appointments can be initiated either by parents or staff to plan for support individual pupils.
- Parents are invited to attend regular ‘SENDCo Surgeries’
How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips?
- At Verulam School all pupils are actively encouraged to participate in extracurricular activity.
- The SENDCo, Pastoral Team and Senior Leadership Team liaise to ensure opportunities are available for SEND pupils.
How accessible is the school environment at Verulam?
- The School is fully accessible to disabled pupils apart from the upper storeys.
Who can I contact for further information?
- The School SENDCo is Miss Polly Hart. Miss Hart can be contacted via email or telephone.
- Other useful points of contact are the child’s form tutor and Head of Year or Head of School
- Mr Anthony Flack is the School DSP and Head of Pastoral Care
How will the school prepare and support my child to join Verulam, transfer to a new school or the next stage of education and life?
- Verulam liaises with local colleges and places of Higher and Further Education for pupils who have Education Health and Care Plans of Exams Arrangements.
- The School offers a full transition programme to support parents and pupils transferring from KS2 to 3.
- A clear framework is in place for supporting pupils and parents in transferring from KS3 to 4.
How are the Verulam’s resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?
- The School has a SEND budget that is to provide appropriate allocated support.
- Resources are allocated in response to outcomes identified by EHC plan and pupils holding Exceptional Needs Funding.
- Learning Support Assistants are allocated to Core Faculties and some other non-core lessons where there is an identified need.
How is the decision made about how much support my child will receive?
- For pupils who have an EHC Plan support is allocated as directed.
- For other pupils, key areas of need are identified by the SENDCo and class teacher in partnership with parents and pupils. Where appropriate, support strategies will be implemented.
How can I find information about the local authority’s Local Offer of services and provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disability?
The Local Offer can be accessed via www.hertsdirect.org/localoffer
Intervention
Verulam offers Social Skills programme of support, including strategies designed to enhance self-esteem. These include:
- A support group for ASD /Autistic pupils
- Pastoral support via Form Tutors
- Nurture Groups
- Self-monitoring daily report with staff
- Pastoral Sixth Form mentors
- Support from LINKS Academy to support individual pupils or small groups.
- Implementation of Social Communication strategies as advised by SLC specialist.
Access to a supportive environment: specialist ICT facilities, equipment and resources
- Visual timetables
- Supportive transition from KS2 including Extended Transition programme meeting with parents and pupils.
- Access to Learning support classroom and staff during unstructured times
- Access to ICT facilities during unstructured times.
- Dedicated use of laptops and tablets for some students according to identified need.
Speech and Language strategies and support
- Liaison with SALT and Social Communications Disorders Teams
- Departmental training for support staff to support needs of pupils with SLCD
Mentoring Activities
- Pastoral Sixth Form mentors
- Sixth Form reading mentors
- Mentored support for some residential trips
- Peer mentoring within some Year Groups
Access to strategies /programmes to support Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy
- Interventions and Specialist equipment as advised by relevant specialists.
Strategies to promote emotional well being
- Access to trained counsellor
- Support programme form LINKS AP Academy Outreach Team
- Increased parental contact
- Liaison with identified key member of staff
- Nurture groups including targeted support for anxiety
Strategies to support Literacy Development
- Dedicated use of laptops for some students according to identified need.
- Use of pre-teaching for Key words
- Use of Literacy Mats
- Sixth Form Reading mentors
- Access to computer software to support spelling
- Use of structured spelling programmes
- Setting of English classes in KS3 and 4
- Additional English classes in place of MFL
- KS3 use of Accelerated Reader
- Access to ‘HiLo’ books in Learning Support
- Targeted small group interventions in some Year groups
- Subject based LSA support
Strategies to support Numeracy Development
- Use of Numeracy Consolidation cards
- Sixth Form mentors
- Access to computer software to support maths
- Setting of Maths classes in KS3 and 4
- Specialist LSA support for some pupils on an individual basis
- Subject based LSA support.
Strategies to support Behaviour Modification
- Behaviour for Learning Policy and Reward system
- Students may have mentors and/or specialist teachers to support behaviour
- Pastoral support plans used where necessary
- Support from LINKS Outreach
- Nurture Groups
Provision to facilitate /support access to the curriculum
- Targeted in class support in Core subjects and other subjects as determined by need
- Teachers provide differentiated materials to support additional needs
- Use of laptops and tablets for some students
- Small group teaching in KS3 in Core subjects
Strategies to support independent learning
- Use of visual timetables
- Personalised target setting
Support/supervision during unstructured time including personal care
- Range of extracurricular clubs during lunch times
- Midday supervisors during lunchtimes
- Teaching staff on duty during break times
- Access to trained adults in regards to personal care
Planning and Assessment
- Regular review of targets with teaching staff
- Access arrangements organised for individual students according to need.
- Personalised learning feedback
Liaison with parents and professionals
- Liaison with a wide range of professionals
- Regular meeting with parents
- Telephone contact with parents
- Parents able to access pupil assessment and behaviour records electronically
- Parent consultation evening and end of year reports
Access to medical interventions
- Access to specialist advice/equipment’s as required
- Individual protocols for children with medical needs or allergies
- Individual support for children with short term medical needs
- Liaison with ESTMA
- Access to first aid trained staff
