1.How will the school /college know if I need extra help?
The school will know if you need extra a help if: We see that you are finding it difficult to learn in some or all of your lessons; you are making limited progress in some subjects or we see a change in your behaviour, progress or attitude to learning.
2. What should I do if I think I need extra help?
If you think you need extra help you can approach and tell any member of staff, they will do all they can to ensure that you are given the help that you need to succeed. Your form tutor, tutor teaching assistant and keyworker are always good people to ask and are always there to help you. They can inform the SENCO and ways can be looked at to help you learn and achieve better.
3. If I have difficulty taking part in school/college activities what different arrangements can be made for me?
We always make sure that we do all we can to ensure that you take part in all school activities. We make sure that all work is matched by the class teacher to your level of understanding. We may allocate a teaching assistant to work you in some lessons with you to assist you. If you need any special equipment to help you learn we will always make sure that this is available for you.
4. How will I participate in planning my targets?
You will plan your targets at half termly academic reviews, where you will discuss what has gone well and how you could do better. At these meetings you will meet with your form tutor and teaching staff and set targets for yourself. Every day you will be a part of setting an individual target for yourself on your behaviour card.
5. How does the school/college know how well I’m doing?
We closely look at and monitor your learning and progress in all lessons. You have your own points card that helps you measure your engagement, learning, conduct and attendance at all lessons. We know that you are doing well if you are scoring well in all areas and that the work that you produce is of a good standard and you can be proud of it and you are making progress.
6. Who will help me to be more independent in school?
All school staff help you to become more independent. Your form tutor, teachers and teaching assistant in all your lessons will help you to become more independent. We promote and develop independence through challenging you to do your best in lessons. We have a ‘can do’ attitude to all activities and encourage you to have a go in all tasks. We assist you to overcome fears and anxieties. We do work on teambuilding, leadership skills and promote public speaking skills in assemblies.
7. Who will help me to be more independent in my community?
All the school staff will help you to become more independent in the community. We do a lot of work in the community supporting local charities through doing these activities you will develop your independence. We support a wide range of work experience and college placements promoting independence in the community. Again the staff at school will support you to have the confidence to do things by yourself and work in the community and make a positive contribution.
8. How will my parents/carers be supported to encourage me to be more independent?
Your parents/carers are contacted regularly, daily if needed by your keyworker. In these conversations your keyworker will celebrate your achievements with your parents/carers and will look at areas for development. Key workers will promote to your parents/carers that your attendance in school is important and ensure that your parents/carers encourage your engagement in activities in both school and the community, work experience and college placements.
9. Who should I speak to if I’m worried about something?
You can always talk to your form tutor, teachers, teaching assistants, key worker or pastoral staff. They will listen to any worries that you may have and help you in overcoming any difficulties or worries you may have. They will tell others to keep you safe if the worry you have is of a concern. They may advise you that you talking to the school counsellor may help.
10. How do school/college staff get extra help from other experts?
We quickly get help from other experts to help you a soon as we identify a need. We have a team that includes therapists, counsellors, educational psychologists and clinical psychologists who can assist you in identifying any extra support you might need. We work closely with a range of experts such as CAMHS to help you in all areas of your life and assist you in any difficulties you may be having.
11. What help is there to get me ready to start college?
You will get all the help that you need to ensure that you are ready to start college. The staff at school and Connexions will support and guide you to make choices about courses and colleges that you may want to attend. They will support you in visiting colleges, writing applications and make sure that you get all the help you need. You may want to start attending college part time from Year 10 and we support you in as this really helps you when you are making choices in the future. If required we can also support you in years 12 and 13 to gain higher level qualifications.
12.What help is there to get me ready to start work?
All pupils have the opportunity of doing work experience in Year 10. We do not see this as something you do once. All our courses will promote you doing work experience , for example in Hospitality you may work in a hotel once a week as part of the course or in Sport work in a local gym or sports centre. Connexions will help you look at your career options and as a school we will assist you in writing CVs, producing Records of Achievement, develop your independence and help you get the best qualifications that you can to support you in the future.
The following questions have been developed by and may be of particular interest to parents and carers
1.How will I be involved in discussions about and planning for my child’s education?
Initially when you visit our school you will have the opportunity of talking to the Principal, SENCO, and key staff about your child’s specific needs and expectations.
You will be invited to attend all Annual Reviews and you will be kept updated by your child’s keyworker and form tutor as to the progress that your child is making and areas of improvement. If you have specific concerns about progress and conduct we will arrange meetings with you to look at strategies and plans to make progress. You can always telephone the school to ask questions and we will remain in contact by telephone to keep you informed at all times.
2.How will school/college staff support my child?
Your child will be supported by having a personalised curriculum and learning matched to their specific needs. The work in class will be carefully planned according to your child’s needs; this may include additional support by the teacher or teaching assistant.
Your child will have a named form tutor, teaching assistant and pastoral keyworker that will support your child both in their education and in the emotional wellbeing and development. If your child needs it then support may be provided by a range of therapists including Person Centred Counsellors and Speech and Language Therapists. Your child may be supported through a range of interventions. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the school. We may refer to outside agencies such as Educational Psychologists to support your child. We will always keep you informed.
Your child will be supported and kept safe through staff support. Safeguarding and Child Protection policies are embedded in our practice.
3.How will school work be changed to match my child’s needs?
Your child’s needs will be identified and their work differentiated to match their level of learning and understanding. Tasks set will be challenging and enable your child to make progress and learn. Your child’s specific needs will be central to how we differentiate work, teach and adapt the curriculum. Your child will have an Individual Plan and targets set to help them show what progress they are making. We identify your child’s particular talents and celebrate them. If your child needs additional Teaching Assistant support or specialists equipment then this will be provided.
4.What support will there be for my child’s emotional health and well-being?
The school can offer your child a range of support to promote their emotional health and well being.
Your child will have an allocated form tutor, tutor teaching and pastoral keyworker who are able to recognise changes and will get to know your child well as an individual.
Your child can approach them at any time to discuss any concerns or issues. Emotional health and well being are promoted in school assemblies, PSHE lessons, and trips and outside agencies visiting the school. There is an opportunity for PE every day and activities are promoted during school breaks and lunchtime.
The school provides a healthy range of canteen food and healthy eating is promoted.
Your child’s wellbeing and emotional health are very important. All pupils have access to the school counsellor and where necessary outside agencies such as CAMHS can be engaged.
5.What specialist services and expertise are available to the school/college?
These include: Educational Psychologists, Child Psychologists, Psychiatrists, CAMHS, Person Centred Counsellors, Social Services, Therapy Team – Body work, massage, Reiki,Speech and Language Therapy, Play Therapists, School Nurse
We will engage professionals as we see necessary to meet your child’s needs.
6.What training do staff have who support children with special educational needs and disabilities?
As part of our core principle to the education of pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and pupils on the autistic spectrum we ensure that all our teachers, teaching assistants and pastoral staff have qualifications that are relevant to their role. In addition to this we make sure that our training and continued professional development is linked to the special needs of all our pupils and how what we are doing may needs to be modified to meet their specific needs.
Examples of courses include:
Autism Awareness
Nurture Training
De-escalation Techniques - Price Training
Therapeutic Approaches to Education and Learning
Child Protection and Safeguarding Training-
Understanding Unacceptable Behaviour –
Learning and Teaching Actively Good and Outstanding Lessons.-
Effective Communication in the Classroom
7.How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips?
Your child will have the opportunity of going on a wide range of trips and activities outside of the classroom including educational, recreational, sporting, work experience, teambuilding, house trips, outdoor adventure and community based learning. Your child will be included in all these risk assessed activities and supported in their engagement and learning through these activities.
8. How physically accessible is the school/college?
The school has disabled access to the ground floor for all visitors – ramps make this accessible. The school has disabled access to the theatre and sports hall – ramps make this accessible. A toilet is adapted for disabled use.
9. When my child starts school/college what kinds of support will there be?
Prior to starting our school your child will have the opportunity of visiting the school, having a tour and meet the Principal and key staff. At this meeting we can discuss any specific support that your child may need. Your child will have a form tutor, tutor teaching assistant and keyworker allocated who will help your child to settle in. When your child first starts they will initially be assessed and this will enable staff to allocate support effectively. Our staff are caring, nurturing and approachable. You child be guided carefully as the start our school and given whatever support they need to succeed. Your child’s keyworker will contact you and keep you informed.
10. When my child leaves school/college what kinds of support will there be to prepare them for their next school/college placement?
Your child will get all the help that they need to ensure that they are ready to start college. The staff at school and Connexions will support and guide your child to make choices about courses and colleges that they may want to attend. They will support your child in visiting colleges, writing applications and make sure that your child will get all the help that they need. Your child may want to start attending college part time from Year 10 and we will support your child in this as we have seen that this really helps your child when they are making choices in the future. If your child requires further support in years 12 and 13 to gain higher level qualifications or needs additional support to develop the skills they need for independent living then this is an option that is available to them.
11.How are the school’s resources allocated and matched to my child’s special educational needs?
Funding is used to provide additional support or resources dependent on your child’s specific needs. The SENCO will ensure that your child is allocated the resources and any specialist equipment that they may require. The additional provision may be allocated after discussion with teachers, pastoral staff, pupils or if you highlight an area of need. If your child receives Pupil Premium we will use this effectively.
At regular pupil progress meetings, Annual Reviews or transition meetings we will identify areas of need and allocate appropriately. Resources may include deployment of staff depending on individual circumstances, this can include a 1:1 teaching assistant if your child’s requires this level of support and this is agreed jointly with the funding authority. If we feel that your child needs additional support in certain areas such as Speech and Language Therapy, Person Centred Counselling, Anger Management or an Educational Psychology Assessment these will be used to assist your child.
12.How is the decision made about how much support my child receives?
Decisions are needs-led and we look at each child and see what level of support they need to achieve their full potential. Decisions are made in consultation with parents, the school SENCO, teaching staff, senior leadership team and the local authority.
Decisions are made based on pupil progress which is tracked throughout the year and also as a result of assessments by Educational Psychologists and other outside agencies.
We will always strive to ensure that your child gets all the support that they need to succeed in school and the community and engage in discussion with the local authority over this if required.
13.In what ways are parents involved in the school?
We involve parents in the school in many ways. We actively encourage and support your involvement in the life of the school and the positive impact your contribution makes to the development and progress of our pupils.
Examples of how parents may be involved:
Daily telephone contact if desired with your child’s keyworker to share information on progress and areas for development
Regular discussion with your child’s form tutor about progress, areas for development and contribution to the life of the school
You will be involved in target setting and helping your child to achieve
Positive telephone calls homes to celebrate your child’s achievements
Invited to all relevant progress, Annual Review and transition meetings
Invited to attend whole school events such as summer fairs, school plays and sports days.
We use parents skills and talents to support our pupils
You may wish to be involved as a parent governor
14. Who can I contact for further information?
If you want further information please do not hesitate to the school using the contact details below. You can ask to speak to the Principal – Paul Boulton, Assistant Headteacher (SENCO) –Tony Kobus or the Principal’s PA – Jane Brown.
Clarence High School 31 West Lane Formby Merseyside L37 7A Telephone: 01704 872151
Visit our website:
We enjoy showing people around our school and celebrating the achievements of our pupils. If you want to visit our school, meet our dedicated staff, see what our pupils can achieve and have a look at our extensive facilities, we would welcome this opportunity to meet with you. We believe that this gives you the opportunity to raise questions and see what we do first hand to make a difference to our pupils lives.
We look forward to hearing from you. Please use the contact details above so that we can arrange a convenient time for your visit and tour of our school.
I hope the answers to these questions have helped you to understand what Clarence High School can offer your child. Do not hesitate to contact the school if you need any further information or have any other questions you may want answering.