SEND

Special Educational Needs & Disability

Our vision at The Arnewood School is to unlock potential by encompassing the school’s model of “Aspirations, Togetherness & Success” for all pupils, regardless of ability, race or need, ensuring they make the greatest possible progress in their learning, whilst experiencing a broad and balanced curriculum alongside their peers. We want all students to be ready to learn, in a safe atmosphere of mutual respect.

At our school, all teachers are teachers of students with SEND and recognise that what is good for SEND students is good for all. Teachers scaffold work so that all students have access to a broad and balanced curriculum and maintain high expectations with high support, thus ensuring all children make progress.

All children are special, all children have needs and many children experience barriers to their learning or the way they behave at some time during their school life. It is recognised that many students will, perhaps for only a short time, have some for of Special Educational Needs (SEND) and that some support may be required. At The Arnewood School, we offer excellent teaching and learning to all students including those with SEND.

We are ambitious for all our students and aim to ensure that a quality educational opportunity is provided for all.

A child has a learning difficulty if he or she:

• has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age
• has a disability which either prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind provided for children of the same age in schools within the area of the local education authority
• is not making progress in line with their ability, is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline, fails to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress, fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers

Special provision is educational provision which is additional to, or otherwise different from, provision made generally for children of the child’s age in maintained schools, other than special schools, in the area.

We believe that our good practice can make a difference and we endeavour to “personalise” our learning support which may include some of the following:

• Clear identification of needs, liaising with outside professionals and in house assessments e.g. Dyslexia Screening
• Classroom observations to support and advise teaching staff around supporting needs, including seating plan considerations and student specific strategies
• Mixed ability and ability grouping according to subject
• Regular monitoring of progress and students’ attitude to learning
• Student Passports are individual learning plans created in discussion with parents, students, heads of year, SENDCo, teachers and Learning Support Assistants
• Additional intervention to improve literacy or specific teaching to address a particular need at Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4, individually or in small groups
• Personalised courses that may include reduce GCSE options, study skills, work placements, vocational courses and college taster sessions
• Close liaison with pupils and their parents to create a partnership for making shared decisions about educational provision
• The valuable and unique resource of the Learning Centre and Student Services which cater for a number of social, emotional and mental health and medical needs

The co-ordination of Learning Support and Special Needs is undertaken by our SENDCo, Mrs Gemma Battrick-Mantell, who is responsible for the strategic development and day to day operation of the school’s SEND policy, co-ordination of provision for students and liaison with parents, staff and external agencies. Mrs Battrick-Mantell is supported by our Deputy SENDCo, Mrs Chloe Anderson, who is also our Literacy Lead and promotes progress and achievement for SEND students.

In addition, there is a strong team of specialist teachers and Learning Support Assistants who provide mentoring and support during lessons.

To learn more about how we include students with Special Educational Needs, please see our SEND policy which can be found on the Policies page of the school website.