Special Educational Needs and Disability

The Royal Docks Community SEND School Information Report July 2016

Special Educational Needs and Disability

Our aim is to ensure that all students, whatever their need or disability, make good progress throughout their school life. We work closely with parents and other partner agencies in order to ensure that the needs of each child are met. In this section of our website you will find a key document, which sets out how we work to achieve our aim. This is called our School Information Report and it outlines the provision we make for our students with special needs and disabilities.

The Local Authority offer will be available on their website. We work very closely with our Local Authority in order to best meet the needs of each student. You will find a number of other links that provide further information on our special educational needs and disability provision as well as that from our Local Authority. https://www.newham.gov.uk/

Contents

How does the school know when a pupil has learning difficulties or special educational needs?

Before your child arrives at The Royal Docks Community School

As your child arrives at The Royal Docks Community School

On-going support at The Royal Docks Community School On-going support at The Royal Docks Community School

How will staff at The Royal Docks Community School support my child?

Interventions at The Royal Docks Community School

How will I know how well my child is performing and what support I can offer as a parent?

What specialist services are available at The Royal Docks Community School?

What training have the staff supporting SEND had?

How accessible is the learning environment at The Royal Docks Community School?

How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips?

How are The Royal Docks Community School resources allocated and matched to the pupil’s particular needs?

How is the decision made on what support my child receives?

How will I be involved in discussions about and the planning of my child’s education?

How will the school staff support my child and how will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?

Transition to KS5 and other schools

Who can I contact for further Information?

School Offer

How does the school know when a pupil has learning difficulties or special educational needs?

Relevant information about your child is gathered by the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO). At The Royal Docks Community School (TRDCS) our SENCO is Mr Ray Coe. He has a team of academic and support staff that support students with special or additional learning needs and disabilities. (Contents)

Before your child arrives at The Royal Docks Community School

· Students are visited at their primary schools by the Head of Year 7 or the SENCO.

A transition day is held where primary school teachers/SENCOs meet with the SENCO of TRDCS to inform him of any needs your child may have.

· Files and information received at TRDCS from your child’s primary school are collated.

· All students in Year 6 who are allocated a place at TRDCS are invited to attend a transition day in July.

· Additional transition days may be organised for more vulnerable students if needed.

· Some students will have a bespoke Transition Plan in place.

· The TRDCS SENCO will attend any external agency meetings at the primary school once it is known that your child has secured a place at TRDCS. (Contents)

As your child arrives at The Royal Docks Community School

· Year 7 along with year 10 students and staff start on the first day before all the other year groups return to school. This gives them a quieter and more personal supported start to their time at TRDCS.

· The SEND Team are all involved in the Year 7 induction process and observe where students may be struggling so that support can be put in place.

· In their first week students will undertake literacy tests focusing on reading and spelling. (Contents)

On-going support at The Royal Docks Community School On-going support at The Royal Docks Community School

· We promote teaching strategies to enable all students to access the curriculum via

differentiation of classroom materials.

· We operate a referral system for staff, students and parents who have concerns about learning needs of pupils at TRDCS.

· We closely liaise with the TRDCS Pastoral Care and Guidance Team so that a joined up approach is taken to supporting the learning and pastoral needs of your child.

· A range of in-school provisions are available: literacy support, a counselling service and alternative curriculum provision where necessary.

· We also use services such as the Educational Psychologist, Hearing Service, Dyslexia Service, School Nurse, Physiotherapy team, and support from the local special school provision. (Contents) Royal Docks

How will staff at The Royal Docks Community School support my child?

Once needs have been identified through the Learning Support Team, our SEND team take responsibility for the management of the provision. They will work closely with class teachers and support staff to ensure that your child is supported in their learning. At TRDCS we currently offer provision for a wide range of SEND needs:

· Specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia

· Global learning difficulties and moderate learning difficulties

· Social, emotional and mental health needs which affect the education of students, including the impact this has on attendance

· Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

· Visual impairment

· Hearing impairment

· Physical disability

· Medical conditions which affect learning such as diabetes, epilepsy and asthma

· Pupils on the Autistic Spectrum (ASD)

· Speech and language difficulties (Contents)irls School

Interventions at The Royal Docks Community School

· Subject teachers have access to the SEND register and pupil profile which details the support strategies they use when working with students.

· Teaching staff use appropriate teaching strategies to ensure that resources and activities are differentiated sufficiently for all students to access the curriculum.

· Students’ progress is monitored rigorously, enabling support to be adapted as required.

· Students identified with reading /dyslexic tendencies use the RML programme to support their literacy progress.

· Year 7 students have a non-teaching Head of Year who is available to support pupils throughout the day.

· Applications for Exam Access Arrangements are carried out by the SENCO and Exams Officer where

appropriate.

· Alternative Provision (AP) is given to a small number of students who find accessing the curriculum extremely difficult. Access to this provision is based on individual need. (Contents)

How will the cur

How will I know how well my child is performing and what support I can offer as a parent?

· All students are provided with an academic planner which supports communication between staff and parents.

· Students’ academic progress is monitored formally on a half termly basis with outcomes shared with parents. This data enables the Learning Support team and curriculum areas to identify where support may be required.

· Any concerns regarding a student’s emotional wellbeing, behaviour, and/or school attendance is shared with parents to identify relevant strategies.

· Parents are invited to attend Annual Reviews and/or profile review meetings.

· Parents are invited to attend Parents’ Evenings and Information Evenings held at the school

· Communication with parents is essential therefore as interventions are planned, parents will be invited to discuss options and strategies’ there be for my child’s overall well-being?

· At The Royal Docks Community School we operate a holistic approach to the well-being of each of our students. We have a dedicated team of Pastoral Staff who work closely with the Learning Support team to ensure that all students’ needs are met.

· The first point of contact is your child’s form tutor. They are supported and managed by a Head of Year and are responsible for the day-to-day care of your child.

· The Education Welfare Officers are there to monitor your child’s attendance and offer support where needed.

· TRDCS have a Safeguarding Team led by an Assistant Head Teacher and a Designated Child Protection Officer. The team meets fortnightly and all members are trained in Child Protection procedures.

· TRDCS has robust procedures to manage bullying, as outlined in the bullying policy. (Contents)

What specialist services are available at The Royal Docks Community School?

· Where issues cannot be addressed using in-house resources we are able to refer to support services in CFCS, Child/Adolescent Mental Health and the Early Intervention Service. l?

· TRDCS has access to specialist services and expertise from Newham Local Authority where necessary. The Local Authority organises some services for schools and maintains services agreements with the Health Authority and Social Services in accordance with statutory requirements.

· Educational Psychologist

· Speech and Language Services

· Physical and Sensory Services -Visual, hearing and physical

· Complex Learning Team

· Dyslexia Support

· Social Services

· Behaviour Support Service

· Language Communication Interactive Team (LCIT)

· Wheelchair Services

· CAMHS – Child Adolescent Mental Health Service

· CFCS – Child and Family Consultation Service

· School Nursing Service

(Contents)

What training have the staff supporting SEND students had??

· Learning Support training is built into staff CPD sessions, twilights and staff development days.

· The Education Psychologist and other outside agencies deliver a programme of training to the Learning Support staff.

· Newly appointed members of staff have a detailed induction programme to inform them of the Learning Support structures and expectations at TRDCS.

· At TRDCS, three members of the Learning Support team have completed the training for a Higher Level Teaching Assistant.

At TRDCS we actively seek to ensure that all students are included in activities, including school visits. All activities that take place outside the classroom are individually risk assessed and where necessary the support of individual students is carried out by a member of the support staff. During the planning of trips, the SENCO is consulted where necessary. Heads of Department ensure that all visit venues are inclusive. Where necessary, care plans are provided for the trip leader with

consultation of parents. (Contents)

How accessible is the learning environment at The Royal Docks Community School? learning

The Royal Docks Community School site is spread over two floors and has access to a lift and a central ramp. When a student has a medical/emotional condition whereby they need to be very careful moving around the building, they are given consent to leave the class fractionally early and sometimes leave with either another student or a member of the Learning Support Team.

(Contents)

How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips?

· All students have an entitlement to be included in activities outside the classroom and on school trips, unless there is a risk to themselves or others. Parents will always be informed about trips outside of the school.

·  All clubs and extra-curricular activities are available for students with SEND. Should students require support to access these activities, this will be provided.

·  Students taught in the resource, students who use wheelchairs and students who have emotional needs have first access to the canteen and are supported by Learning Support staff in the dining hall.

·  Students in the resource provision and some of the vulnerable SEND students are met at the beginning of the day and escorted by Learning Support staff at the end of the school day and handed over either to parents / carers, or to local authority transport.

·  A small group of students from the resource provision and some with mainstream students with complex needs and some mainstream SEND are targeted to take part in man afterschool music/choir.

·  Students attending the Resource Provision are supervised by staff during break and lunchtime

·  There is a lunch time club available for students who prefer not to go into the school playground

(Contents)

How Girls School’s resources allocated and matched to the student’s educational needs?

How are The Royal Docks Community School resources allocated and matched to the pupil’s particular needs?

The Royal Docks Community School is funded by the Department for Education (DfE) according to a published formula. The SEND resources are identified and distributed by prior attainment and a deprivation indicator (the percentage of students in receipt of free school meals). Resources are then allocated within the school according to need.

· Students with a statement of educational need, an Education Health Care Plan or Higher Needs Funding are provided with the support as outlined by the statement or Funding level.

· When a student has a particular learning need or diagnosis, teaching staff are provided with information to enable fully differentiated lesson content.

· The Royal Docks Community School has a dedicated Pastoral and Learning Support team.

· The Royal Docks Community School provides an Alternative Provision of education where appropriate.

· HLTAs and LSAs are deployed through academic departments and work closely with subject staff to support identified underachieving students at all levels.

· For students who have a very low literacy level as determined by standardised testing, specialist support is actioned through an individualised intervention plan. This may include small group withdrawal, the RML programme, or 1:1 support.

· Students with behavioural or emotional concerns which are causing a barrier to learning support have access to the Pastoral team.

H (Contents)

How is the decision made on what support my child receives?

· Students are assessed each half term and the information is used determine the ability group they are placed in. These tests help to identify underachievement thus highlighting where intervention is necessary. Students who are not meeting their expected progress levels are identified by HOY’s/HODs and the SENCO, and an intervention plan is put in place.

· Students with poor attendance have additional resources from the EWO. Parents’

meetings are called to support the student in engaging with school.

· TRDCS has access to support from outside agencies, such as the Educational Psychologist.