KIRKBY STEPHEN GRAMMAR SCHOOL

LOCAL OFFER

School/Academy Name and Address / Kirkby Stephen Grammar School
Christian Head, Kirkby Stephen
CA17 4HA / Telephone
Number / 017683 71693
Website
Address /
What age range of pupils does the school cater for? / 11- 6th Form
Name and contact details of your school’s SENCO / Mrs Sue Bennett – 017683 71693 Ext 243

Name of governors / Barbara Dowson – SEND Governor
Sarah Harrison – Safeguarding Governor
Nicola Brown – Safeguarding Governor
Contact / 01768371693 / Email /
Teaching and Learning
  • What is your approach to SEN support?
  • How do you identify children/ a young person with SEND?
  • How can I raise concerns if I have any?
  • What are the School’s approaches to differentiation in the Curriculum? How will this help my child?
  • Are there specialist staff working at the school and what are their qualifications?
  • What if my child has visual or auditory problems, what will the school offer?

  • School uses a graduated approach to SEN support which involves the revisiting, refinement and revision of earlier decisions and actions. Throughout this approach a greater understanding of a pupils needs and of what supports the pupil in making progress and securing good outcomes is developed.
  • Pupils with SEND are identified as part of the early assessment arrangements and special access arrangements are applied. Visits to primary schools are used to gain additional information as part of the transition programme. All pupils are assessed using CATs and Reading and Comprehension tests, in the first half term. Any mid-year admissions are tested. All information gathered from within school about a pupil’s progress, alongside national data and expectations of progress are considered when identifying a student with SEND. Teaching staff do regular assessments which together with their experience of the pupil, the pupils previous progress and attainment and information from the school’s core approach to pupil progress, attainment and behaviour enables the teacher towork with the school SENCO to carry out a clear analysis of the pupil’s needs. The whole process considers the desired outcomes, expected progress and attainment and the concerns, views and wishes of pupils and their parents. This enables school to determine the support that is needed and whether it can be provided by adapting the school’s core offer or whether something different or additional is required. The school will refer to a specialist teacher for assessment or diagnosis as appropriate following consultation with parents/ carers. School will consult staff from a variety of external agencies to advise and support across the range of SEND. Our SENCO and her team are trained to assess children and work closely to quickly recognise children who have SEND and make appropriate access arrangements. We use EHA and EHC plans to support our pupils. School works within the examination board guidelines to put into place Access Arrangements that are appropriate and meet the needs of the individual student and the JCQ guidelines.
  • You can contact school directly via email, phone or letter, as well as arranging meetings with form teachers, subject teachers or our SENCO. You can discuss your child at Parents’ Evenings and Open Evenings. School provides an annual report on your child’s progress and a termly progress report which summarises current and target attainment.
  • The subject teachers will set out in their lesson plans individuals who need differentiated work and are also responsible for setting targets for each child. We are able to offer support for our HLTAs who will work closely with children, either individually or in small groups. Each teaching and non-teaching member of staff has access to relevant training for SEND children. Your child then gets a more focused learning plan and this will encourage them to work to their full potential. School regularly reviews and where necessary improves teachers’ understanding of strategies to identify and support vulnerable pupils and their knowledge the knowledge of the SEN most frequently encountered.
  • All our teachers are involved in the progress and development of the pupils in their class, including where pupils access support from TA’s or specialist staff. We have a SENCO and HLTAs who are trained in areas of disabilities and learning difficulties and can provide strategies to deal with these. Staff members are First Aid trained and some staff have specialisms in numeracy and literacy intervention programmes, behaviour management and a Specialist Teacher for Exam Access Arrangement Assessment. We have use of Special Advisory Teachers and other External Agencies who can attend school and offer support, as required. E.g. NHS Children’s Services, Speech and Language SAT, Educational Psychologist, Autistic Spectrum conditions SAT and Deaf, Hearing Impaired SAT, CAMH’s and MIND.
  • There are laptops and reading pens available in school to enhance the learning process, and to assist identified students with handwriting and recording difficulties. We use coloured overlays for children with certain visual problems.
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Who are the people supporting my child/young person?
  • Who will oversee and plan the education programme.
  • Who will be working with my child/young person, how often and what are their roles?
  • How are the Governors involved and what are their responsibilities?
  • Do you use any other services closely?
  • Who decides what type and how much support my child will receive?

  • The class teacher and SENCO will work together closely with teaching assistants and specialist staff to set specific targets for the child/young person in planning the education programme. Although you will have been involved in forming the assessment of needs you and your child/young person will be formally notified and consulted with regard to planned interventions and support to be put in place, as well as the expected impact on progress, development or behaviour, along with a clear date for review.
  • The subject teacher has the responsibility for working with your child on a daily or several times a week basis. Where interventions involve group or one-to-one work teaching away from the main class or subject teacher will be delivered by fully trained support staff. On these occasions the teacher will work closely with the support staff to plan and assess the impact of support and interventions and how they can be linked to classroom teaching, the teacher retains the responsibility for the pupil.The SENCO supports the class or subject teacher in the further assessment of the child’s particular strengths and weaknesses, in problem solving and advising on the effective implementation of support.
  • Information will be shared with the relevant people who will work directly with your child/young person. These people will generally be fully trained TA/HLTA support staff. Your child may also be involved in small intervention group work for numeracy or literacy and these programmes are delivered by an HLTA.
  • We have a safeguarding governor, SEND governor and several parent governors who assist in making the school’s policies and procedures. You can contact them with feedback about this process and if you have any concerns you can do this through school to a parent governor or to staff members. Their details are listed on the first page.
  • Some of the services we work closely with include: Inclusion Support Officer (Behaviour); Educational Psychologist, Special Advisory Teacher or support services(Techniques and Strategies); Medical Services, CAMHS’s and South Lakes Federation. They offer school training in many areas and are available for all staff members to access. Barnardo’salso help work with families. We have someaccess to Appleby Heritage Centre to run courses for children who cannot always access the National Curriculum here, and we share some provision with Appleby Grammar School. Cumbria’s Local Offer provides full details of available services and how they can be accessed via the following web address:

  • In the first instance you are able to choose a school that you wish for your child/young person and meet to discuss needs and concerns. To decide on the support, we gather information from teachers as well as the child/young person themselves and from parents. We have test and assessment results as well as CAT results to highlight any concerns. Other outside agencies may already be involved, or we may decide together with you that they should be involved.

Reviewing and Evaluation
  • How do I discuss my child’s/young person’s progress? What opportunities will there be for regular contact about things that have happened at school?
  • How does school know how well my child/young person is doing?
  • How will you explain to me how his/her learning is planned and how I can help?
  • How will I be involved?
  • Do you offer parent training?

  • You can arrange a meeting with your child’s/young person’s form tutor or Head of Year as well as the SENCO. We send home reports, and there are Parents’ Evenings so you can meet all the subject teachers. There are also Open Evenings and we also hold ‘Team Around the Family’ meetings when needed. If there are urgent matters we will contact the parent directly by phone, email, schoolcomms or by letter. EHC plans and statements are reviewed annually. Reviews are carried out in line with statutory guidance for reviews. We have a parent section on our website that also contains many details about the school and its environment.
  • We use information systems to regularly record and track progress through classwork, tests, assessments, CATs, SATs and close monitoring. We will have set targets, and these are worked on regularly with the child/young person, so we can help move the child/young person forward to get the most out of their education. The effectiveness of our provision is measured in the progress that individuals and groups of students make over time. The school is required to measure progress using nationally agreed standards and criteria, as well as progress in individual social, emotional or behavioural targets.
  • At a review you will agree the targets that are set on IEPs/PEP/EHA/EHC plans and you will always be given a copy of theseand they include those that could be done at home. We also have homework which is set by the class teacher and can use planners to record information that the parents can read. We also use Show My Homework which is an easy online homework management system that enables teachers, students and parents to manage homework requirements and submission. You will receive clear information about the impact of the support and interventions provided, enabling you to be involved in planning next steps.
  • At every stage in the process you will be involved. You are invited to attend Transition Days, review meetings, Open Evenings and can also make appointments to see staff.
  • We have held events for parents/carers, e.g. Careers Evenings, and will be offering some again in the future. We have people who come into school and deliver talks on certain areas, from transition to universities to managing the teenage years, e.g. How to achieve Exam Success, Surviving the Teenage Years etc.

Support for my child’s wellbeing
  • What pastoral, medical and social support are available?
  • How does the school manage medicines and providing personal care?
  • What support is there for behaviour, avoiding exclusions, and increasing attendance?
  • How will my child/young person contribute their views?

  • We offer a good staff ratio at lunchtimes as well as having prefects and lunchtime clubs for children to attend. We have policies for medical procedures, staff trained in the administration of certain medications and a list of First Aiders within school. We can hold medicines within school, and they are safe and secure. We encourage our pupils in year 11 to interact with younger people and help with reading during form time as well as hold groups at lunchtime to try and cater for all areas to help children socialise with their peers. There are also trips that will involve a certain year group to give pupils the opportunity to gain self-esteem and confidence.
  • Medicines are labelled and kept safely, and all staff are aware of the procedures for these for trips etc. All staff are made aware of children they teach who have specific needs and the strategies to deal with them. We have a safeguarding policy to follow when providing personal care.
  • Teaching staff often have Teaching Assistants to help within the classroom, so matters can then be dealt with quickly. We have a system of Rewards and Sanctions a copy of which is available to all parents and students. We have access to an Inclusion Support officer (Behaviour) and Special Advisory Teacher to help with strategies to avoid exclusions. We do speak to parents if a child/young person is late to school, or not attending at all, to try to encourage them to attend and help if we can with any issues to get them to full attendance as quickly as possible.
  • Children are encouraged to speak to members of staff about any issues or concerns, and we also have a school council. Students are asked to attend review meetings and are also asked to help fill out documentation about their views on their education and future pathways. We are a small Academy and pride ourselves on getting to know our children/young people very quickly and being able to recognise a need that they may have, or when they seem to be having issues.

How will school prepare and support my child to join school or to transfer to a new school or next stage?
  • We hold Transition Days, Open Evenings and any child can come and look around the school on their own and have extra taster days if necessary. We have meetings with Primary Schools and meet with their current teachers.
  • We help students with their choices for work experience, provide careers advice, and assist with filling in forms.
  • If your child is joining a new school, the school will have access to the information they need as well as being able to speak to the teachers and SENCo at this school and have trial days if required.
  • An EHA/EHC plan allows for planning and getting support at a new school i.e. from primary to secondary in February, and from secondary to college by the end of March.
  • The new school will get information about health, behaviour issues and techniques as well as targets and IEP/PEP/\EHA/EHC plans.

How accessible is the school environment?
  • Is it fully wheelchair accessible?
  • Are there disabled changing and toilet facilities?
  • How does the school communicate with parents/carers whose first language is not English?

  • All the ground floor is accessible by wheelchair as well as the Sports Hall which has a lift to the upper floor.
  • There are disabled changing rooms and toilets at the school.
  • We would be able to contact the Local Authority for the services of an interpreter.

Final March 2018/ Sue Bennett /SENCo