Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

It is the responsibility of all staff to help identify students with SEND (Special Education Needs and Disabilities). Students are identified as having SEND in a variety of ways, for example, information is gathered from:

• Primary schools
• Reading assessment
• End of Key Stage 2 assessments
• School assessments and procedures for monitoring and tracking progress
• Families
• Students
• Teacher observation/assessment
• Previous targets/strategies
• Education and Healthcare Plans
• External agencies
• On-going assessment and review procedures in line with the guidelines within the Revised Code of Practice 2014

Contact your child’s Head of Year by emailing year__@ladymanners.derbyshire.sch.uk, who will listen carefully to your concerns and plan an approach together regarding how we might assess your child’s additional needs and then plan for the provisions that will address those needs.

You can also access information about local services through the Derbyshire Local Offer.

We aim to work collaboratively with students and their families — any provision will be in discussion with students and their families; new interventions identified by school as being of use will be done through invitation and therefore families will know of any and all support being offered.

As a comprehensive, mainstream school, it is our intention to provide all students with outstanding classroom practice in the first instance through quality first teaching. Further action is discussed with key staff and families.

There are many different provisions and interventions the school and linked outside agencies can offer. Decisions about how to provide for a student’s additional needs are made on an individual basis.

All students at Lady Manners School have regular tracking and report data collected and shared with students and their families. At each tracking point, the Pastoral, Curriculum and Learning Support Leaders look at the data to see how students with additional needs are doing. This allows school to identify particular strengths and any areas for development in a student’s progress. Measures are then taken accordingly.

Students and families have access to the school’s Virtual Learning Environment, Moodle, and this may provide opportunities for you and your child to revisit work set in lessons.

For students with additional needs, we will look at a range of services and strategies that can be used at home to support learning. The Derbyshire Local Offer is also a useful tool for finding out what support can be provided to support learning.

The happiness and well-being of students is at the heart of the school’s ethos and especially pertinent to those students with additional needs.

• Concerns that are raised within school will be considered and shared with home.
• The form tutor is the first pastoral link person.
• Heads of Year and Heads of School also provide support and guidance.
• Medical staff are also based in our school.
• The school has a policy for administering medication (please refer to the school’s drugs policy available on the school website).
• The need for assistance for a student’s personal care will be discussed on an individual basis.
• The school has a Behaviour for Learning Policy (available to download on the ‘Policies and Procedures’ page) which promotes our intention to reduce exclusions and increase attendance.
• All students at Lady Manners School receive a comprehensive PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) education, through specific PSHE lessons and via form tutors during form time.
• Issues of well-being are also addressed through assemblies and other planned school community activities.
• Students with additional needs may need further support with their own physical, emotional or mental well-being.

We have staff in school with experience of providing small group and one-to-one support when a need is identified.

Between teachers and teaching assistants within the school, and our close collaborations with the Derbyshire Local Offer, we have a great deal of different services and expertise available.

Decisions about how to provide for a student’s additional needs are made on an individual basis.

The school can access support from a range of external agencies such as:

• Autism Outreach Team
• Physical Impairment Team
• Occupational Therapist
• Physiotherapist
• Hearing Impairment Team
• Visual Impairment Team
• Family Support
• Educational Psychologist
• Multi Agency Team Staff
• Social Services
• Child and Mental Health Services
• Behaviour Support Services
• School Nurse
• Local Inclusion Officer

Many external services can provide training to school staff and families on a range of Special Educational Needs issues. When we are aware that a student is coming to the school with Special Education Needs, we would seek advice and training where necessary. Within school, we have a Learning Support Department base, and a Student Behaviour Support base.

All staff working at Lady Manners School regularly receive Child Protection and Safeguarding training. Additionally, within the department, training is an ongoing priority and includes areas such as:

• Core Curriculum Intervention
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Dyslexia
• Speech and Language Support
• Access Arrangements
• Manual Handling of students with Disabilities
• Irlen Syndrome
• Anti-Bullying
• Behaviour for Learning
• SEMH (social, emotional and mental health disorders)
• Building Self-Resilience

We annually review our training needs in terms of students joining us in the next two years who have additional needs and for whom staff training will be identified as a priority in the department’s planning.

A range of extra-curricular activities are available for students during lunchtime and after the close of the school day. The school aims for all children to be included and will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments, where necessary.

Where parents, students or staff members have any concerns about an activity or trip, these can be discussed with the activity leader and the SENDCo where necessary.

The Learning Support Department is open for students before school and at break and lunchtimes. Lunchtime supervision is also available depending on the needs of the student. The student support department also supervise students at break and lunchtime.

We have made many improvements and modifications to the school site over the last few years. We have installed more ramps around the school site and raised corridor floors to ensure ease of access for those with physical needs to be able to use crutches, walking frames and wheel chairs. We have disabled toilets, and a lift is provided in the Sports Block to ensure students with physical disabilities can access the dance studio and fitness suite. Students with physical disabilities have timetables which ensure that teaching is delivered on the ground floor.

Students who have an Education and Health Care Plan are supported from Year 5 in primary school, or from when a statutory assessment is completed with their transition from primary provision to Lady Manners School. We will work closely with staff and agencies that have been working with your child to ensure that the transition goes smoothly and that adjustments are made to accommodate additional needs.

Where a student is known to have additional needs and is joining us from outside the catchment area, or is joining from private education or a non-partner primary school, we will work with the student and family directly to arrange visits to Lady Manners School and discuss needs and plan provision.

Planning to move on from Lady Manners School, either as part of a key transition phase (end of Key Stage 4 – Year 11; end of Key Stage 5 – Years 12/13) will be provided with additional careers advice and guidance support from the school’s Careers team. The Learning Support Department will work closely with the provisions that are being considered to ensure that choices are made and supported by all agencies involved in the student’s care. At Annual Review Meetings, the next phases of education, training or employment will be considered and outcomes decided to support each individual.

Curriculum Leaders ensure that resources and schemes of work are differentiated and ensure all needs of our students are being met.

We work with the Local Authority to ensure that the physical environment of the school meets the needs of all our students and make modifications to the school building or the timetabling of lessons to ensure that all students can access all areas of the curriculum.

Where additional teaching interventions and resources are sought, options are carefully considered and can be used in a way that can be quality assured.

For students with EHCP a review meeting is held annually.

If after a period of sustained educational support a pupil is not making sufficient progress there will be further consultation with families and support from external agencies will be sought.

When additional support is put in place, specific targets will be set and regularly reviewed.

Families of students with SEND will be invited to contribute to target setting and review meetings.

We welcome parents’ involvement in supporting their child’s learning. Individual contact arrangements can be made where necessary