Contact information
If you have any questions about the information contained within this report or about your child’s individual needs please contact the school on 01670 515415 and ask for one of the following people:
Angela Davies – Assistant Headteacher & SENCo
Alan Bullock – Access Admin
Connie Farthing – Access Room Manager
Alternatively please email on the above addresses.
We are all based in the ‘Access’ department which encompasses all SEND support.
The Local Offer
Northumberland County Council (the Local Authority) is duty bound to publish a ‘Local Offer’. This is an online page on which they will publish information about the support and opportunities for children, young people and their families with SEND within Northumberland. It also shows how the Local Authority is responding to local need by involving children, young people, parents and carers in the development and review of the Local Offer.
The Northumberland Local Offer can be found here
Ethos – What are we about?
We aim to treat each student as an individual – we do not use a one size fits all approach to meeting needs. Therefore we do our best to cater for all of the broad areas of need by:
- working hard to get to know each student really well and building a relationship of trust and respect with them
- preparing our students for life beyond KEVI. We try to find out what their aspirations are and plan for how we can help them to reach their own potential
- working closely with parents/carers and students to make sure that every student has a voice and can have their voice heard
- promoting the view that an inclusive school builds an inclusive community
Individual needs
Each student on our SEND register is added due to them having additional needs. As a mainstream school we do our best to:
- meet the needs of mainstream students whose needs fall within all of the 4 broad areas
- work with students and parents to best understand individual needs, whether there is a formal diagnosis or not, we work proactively to meet presenting needs and provide tailored support where it is required
The 4 broad areas of SEN
Working with students, parents/carers
We understand the importance of the student and parent/carer voice in order to carefully and appropriately meet individual needs. In order to do this:
- all students on SEND register have a Student Profile which is co-produced with the students and their parent/carer
- it is written in the student voice and actively promotes them building skills in advocating for themselves
- it also promotes open and thoughtful dialogue between students and their teachers
- where there are more complex needs, students, parents and carers are consulted and involved in planning SEN Support plans or where a student has an Education, Health and Care plans (EHCPs), short term plans that sit alongside this
- we aim to use a person centred approach to working with students so they feel that their voice is genuinely heard and valued
- we will support a variety of methods of communication with parents – face-to-face, online meetings and telephone conversations, looking at what works best for each family
Reviewing and assessing progress
It is vital that we continually monitor how our students are doing and what progress they are making. To do this we:
- consistently use an Assess, Plan, Do, Review approach which allows us to regularly review progress with students, parents/carers and professionals (where appropriate), This is an integral part of the process
- use regular reviews to assess the impact of support, intervention and provision to ensure it is purposeful and beneficial
Reasonable adjustments
Both in and out of the classroom, adjustments are made to help students access learning and feel as though they are an equal member of the school community. We make adjustments that will benefit all students as well as those more tailored to specific individual needs. To do this we:
- can adapt the curriculum offer where necessary and consider the most appropriate pathways for individuals
- we will make adjustments to the learning environment where it is required to enable a student to participate fully, within the bounds of our school building and the resources we have available
- if there is a requirement for specialist equipment, we work with any professionals involved as well as parents and students to source it prior to the student joining KEVI or as soon as it becomes apparent that it is necessary
- encourage and support teaching and support staff to use the information held within the student profile to adapt their teaching and use approaches that work for the individuals within their lessons
- have curriculum support assistants(CSAs) who can support both students and teachers to adapt resources and approaches allowing access for all
- use high quality teaching techniques which meet the vast majority of needs within the classroom
- offer bespoke and tailored intervention where more complex needs require it
- provide a social club at break and lunch time for those students who find it difficult to manage the busyness of the halls and outdoor spaces
- provide a homework club within our SEND department to support those who struggle with this at home
Access staff
We have a range of very well trained and experienced staff who work within our Access Department. The staff have had training in many different areas of need and we continue to provide training and development to ensure that the support and intervention we provide is up-to-date and relevant.
We have four Lead CSAs (Curriculum Support Assistants) one for each of the four broad areas of need as well as one member of the team who coordinates all of the Exam Concession for those students who qualify.
Our Access Manager is highly skilled in dealing with students who require individual support and attention, she is a trained counsellor and uses these skills to work with students in a careful and supportive way.
The Admin and Data Officer can provide first call support to parents who contact the department as well as work closely with students who come into the Access Room.
External Support
We have a range of external services and agencies that we can refer into when we have exhausted our expertise and feel we would benefit from another viewpoint. These include:
- Social care and Early Help
- Health Services
- School Health
- Primary Mental Health
- Children and Young People’s Service (CYPS)
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Local Authority SEND Services
- HINT – Speech, Language and Communication, Literacy, Autism Support, Emotional Well-Being and Behaviour
- LINT – Sensory Support, EAL
We always seek the consent of parents and explain how we think the service can help before making the referral.
These services also provide expert advice and training for staff in school.
Transitions
As all of our feeder middle schools are part of the Cheviot Learning Trust and Angela Davies is the SEND Lead for the Trust, close working and liaison is integral to the support provided for transition. In preparation for students joining us we:
- have detailed conversations between SENCos in the Spring term to prepare a plan for those who will require additional support
- send CSAs to the Middle schools to meet with small groups of students who require additional preparation and information before beginning visits to KEVI
- organise additional visits for those who need them as well as invite parents to come for a meeting with the SENCo and a look around school where required
- hold 1:1 meetings with parents of students who are on the SEND register to discuss their needs and how we can make transition as smooth as possible
- spend time talking to Middle school staff to learn about what has worked for the students there
If a student is joining us mid year from a school out of catchment, we work closely with parents and their current school to provide as much of a transition as possible.
Pastoral Links
We work very closely with the Pastoral teams here at KEVI to make sure that we are working hard to provide for any social and emotional development needs. All of our students on the SEND register have an assigned mentor from within the Access department who will check in with them as well as be a point of contact for concerns or worries. Where needed the mentor will facilitate communication with the pastoral teams as well as help to advocate for the student if they are struggling to do so themselves.
Policies
On our school website you will find a policies page which holds our SEND, Equalities, Accessibility and Complaints policies and plans.
If you have any concerns regarding provision for students with special educational needs please contact Mrs Angela Davies, as above, in the first instance. Please provide details of your concerns and who you have discussed these concerns with and what the outcomes were.
If you feel that the issue has not been addressed appropriately please contact the Headteacher – Ms Clare Savage, email: [email protected] (telephone 01670 515415)
Further Support for Parents/Carers
The Northumberland Information, Advice and Support Service (IASS) offer impartial information, advice and support to families of children and young people with SEND up to the age of 25.
Further information about this service can be found here
There is also a Parent Carer Forum in Northumberland who work with the Local Authority, health and social care to improve services for children and young people with SEND and their families.