Supporting students
SEND
Mrs S Proud
Associate Vice Principal: SEND and Inclusion
THE SEND VISION
To support the College in ensuring that all students have the skills and knowledge to be school ready, work ready and life ready. SEND processes are integrated across the college to ensure that additional needs are met but also identified in a timely manner and targeted with appropriate interventions with shared goals between teaching staff, students and parents. We aim for students to leave us as happy and successful individuals who understand their needs and have the ability to self-advocate when required.
MEET THE TEAM
Support
My child is on the register - what does this mean?
As outlined in the Code of Practice, a student will be placed on the SEN register if they require provision that is different from or additional to other students. By being placed on the SEN register, staff are made aware of the additional needs of your child and how they can meet your child’s needs in the classroom. We do not require a child to have a diagnosis to be placed on the SEN register. If your child has a diagnosis of an additional need but does not require additional intervention to meet these needs, they will be placed on the monitoring register. This means that staff will have an overview of information that will support their teaching; however, your child will not have SEN status. The progress of all students on the monitoring register is reviewed by the School Team and the SENDCo at regular intervals to ensure that any newly emerging barriers to learning are identified.
A pupil has SEN where their learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision, namely provision different from or additional to that normally available to pupils of the same age. Making higher quality teaching normally available to the whole class is likely to mean that fewer pupils will require such support.
Code of Practice, DFES (2015)
Assess, Plan, Do, Review
our child’s support plan will be reviewed 3 times per year. The process is referred to as the Assess, Plan, Do, Review process. During each review, we will evaluate your child’s support and whether it needs to change. We may seek to consult other professionals if we feel that we need further guidance. This is something that we would only do in discussion with parents and carers.
Assess: What are your child’s needs?
Plan: What support do the require?
Do: Interventions will typically take place in half termly blocks.
Review: Intervention progress will be evaluated each half term. Your child’s support plan will be reviewed 3 times throughout the year.
You will be made aware of your child’s review dates at the beginning of each academic year.
Do all Students receive the same support?
The majority of students are supported through Quality First Teaching
Quality First Teaching (QFT) emphasises high quality, inclusive teaching that supports all pupils within the class. QFT includes differentiated approaches that are informed by ongoing formative assessment to ensure that teaching meets the needs of all students.
At Horizon Community College, where additional support is required, we follow a graduated approach to intervention. As outlined above, the level of student support will be reviewed using the Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle.
Parents often ask us about whether their child needs an EHCP (an Education, Health and Care Plan). EHCPs are given to students with the most complex needs and recognize that students require additional funding to ensure that their needs are met. Before children and young people are given an Education, Health and Care Plan, they will already have been receiving SEN support from the school. The records of this will be used to support the EHCP application.
Please note that the process of applying for an EHCP is a long process and requires a high level evidence. We will support with evidence gathering using the Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycles. If you feel that your child requires an EHCP or would like to discuss this process further, please make contact with Mrs Proud (our SENDCo).
Access Arrangements
Access arrangements are reasonable adjustments that can be made to the assessment procedure if a learning difficulty or barrier would place them at an unfair disadvantage against their peers. Students will be tested for access arrangements if they meet college thresholds. However, if you have concerns that your child may require additional access arrangements – please contact our SENDCo, Mrs Proud, to discuss.
Access arrangements include:
- Modified papers
- Rest breaks
- Additional time
- Access to a reader
- The use of a word processor
- The support of a scribe
- The support of a practical assistant
- The support of a prompt
In Years 7 to 9, informal access arrangements will be implemented for all students where it is evaluated that a reasonable adjustment is required to access the assessment. Where a student is supported by access arrangements, they will also receive interventions to support their needs.
When students begin their GCSE study, it will be evaluated whether students are able to continue to access support. There is a high level of evidence which must be accepted by the exam board. If your child does not meet the threshold for support, we will adapt their intervention to support them to manage the demands of the assessment.
If your child is supported by access arrangements, they may find assistive technology useful to support their home learning. Please click on the links below to see how to access these.
My child accesses a reader
Assistive technology in Microsoft Word: https://youtu.be/10VBf95Kovc
Assistive technology to support other documents: https://youtu.be/qDAARNwGt84
My child accesses a scribe
Assistive technology in Microsoft Word: https://youtu.be/iRLVuhIHVhQ
Access arrangements allow candidates with specific needs, such as special educational needs, disabilities or temporary injuries to access the assessment and show what they know and can do without changing the demands of the assessment. The intention behind an access arrangement is to meet the needs of an individual candidate without affecting the integrity of the assessment. Access arrangements are the principal way in which awarding bodies comply with the duty under the Equality Act 2010* to make ‘reasonable adjustments’.