Special Education Needs and Disability Information

 SEND Information Report

Oakwood Park Grammar School is Committed to

  • High quality teaching that engages and challenges all students to become more independent and successful in their learning.
  • Excellent standards of behaviour from all our students to create a positive climate for learning based on respect for and tolerance of others.
  • A wide range of exceptional opportunities for all our students to extend their learning beyond the
    Classroom.
  • Personalised Information, Advice and Guidance for all our students at every stage of their school career and beyond, so they can develop their learning and contribute to the wider community.
  • Outstanding professional development opportunities for all our staff; they too are learners.

About Special Educational Needs at OPGS

A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.


A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty if he or she:
a) Has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
b) Has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.

 

SEND Code of Practice (2014, p 4)

Many children and young people who have SEN may also have a disability under the Equality Act 2010 – that is "a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities". This definition provides a relatively low threshold and includes more children than many realise: "long-term" is defined as "a year or more" and "substantial" is defined as "more than minor or trivial"


SEND Code of Practice (2014, p5)

Our Aims

  • To identify at the earliest opportunity all students who need special consideration to support their physical, sensory, social, emotional, communication or cognitive development.
  • To ensure that these students are given appropriate support to allow every child full access to the curriculum in a positive framework.
  • To ensure that these students are fully included in all activities of the school in order to promote the highest levels of achievement.
  • To involve parents, students and others in developing a partnership of support, enabling them full confidence in the strategy as adopted by the school.
  • To ensure that pupils with SEND have in accordance with Kent’s Strategy for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities 2021-2024 as set out in its Mainstream Core Standards. These standards are underpinned by (Section 66 of the Children and Families Act 2014) and The Equalities Act 2010.

1. The OPGS Student Development Team

Ms J Bevan: Deputy Headteacher
Miss C. Beeney: Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENDCo)
Ms H. Worrall: Acting SENDCo Student Development Support Lead. Academic Year 2021-22
Mrs C. Allen: SDS Assistant
Mr H Gillespie: SDS Assistant

Email: office@opgs.org – please mark emails as for the attention of the Learning Support Team, or for a named member of staff.

Phone: 01622 726683

2. What Kinds of Special Educational Needs (SEND) does the school Cater For?

  • Communication and interaction
    e.g. speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) Autistic Spectrum Continuum (ASC)
  • Cognition and learning
    e.g. Specific learning difficulties (SpLD), moderate learning difficulties (MLD), dyslexia, dyscalculia and developmental coordination disorder
  • Social, emotional and mental health difficulties (SEMH)
    e.g. attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), attention deficit disorder (ADD), depression, eating disorders, attachment disorder
  • Sensory and/or physical needs
    e.g. vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) or Cerebral Palsy (CP), epilepsy.
  • Medical needs

We will follow the statutory guidance on supporting students at school with specific medical conditions.
We will plan and deliver education provision in accordance with the student's healthcare plan, if they have
one.


We are aware that there are other factors which are not SEN but may impact on progress & attainment
including:

  • Disability (the CoP outlines "reasonable adjustment" duty under Disability Equality legislation –
    these alone are not SEN)
  • Health & Welfare
  • EAL
  • Being in receipt of PP grant
  • Being a CIC
  • Being a child of service personnel

The admission arrangements for students without a statement or EHCP do not discriminate against
or disadvantage disabled students or those with an SEN.

3. What are the school's policies for the identification and assessment of pupils with Special Educational Needs?

  • All of our staff recognise the importance of identifying SEN early and making effective provision.
  • The identification and assessment of SEN is built into the school's approach to monitoring the progress of ALL students.

How is the Provision Evaluated?

  • Feedback is regularly sought from subject teachers and used to share good practice and refine advice to staff.
  • Lesson drop-in checks are conducted by the Learning Support Team and SEND Governor.
  • Monitoring data is reviewed three times a year for all students with SEND.

How are the Students with SEN Identified

  • Consolidation of feedback and data from teachers, parents, students and the Learning Support
    Team ensures that all views are heard when considering whether a student requires additional support.
  • The school uses a range of different assessment tools and systems to help identify and assess students with SEND and specialist, external expertise is sought where necessary
  • Pastoral Support Planning Meetings take place fortnightly for all year groups – the Director of Study meets with the Learning Support Manager to discuss current issues and any concerns.
  • Oakwood Park Grammar School has established strong links with feeder primary schools. All students making the transition to OPGS are visited in their primary school. The Year 6 teacher and school SENDCo are consulted to obtain a detailed profile for each student. This is used to help to identify where support and intervention may be required.
  • Teachers of Year 7 and Year 12 students new to the school who are identified early on as being in need to additional support are referred to the Learning Support Team for further assessment.
  • There is an ongoing process of monitoring and tracking of all students to establish if any students require additional support due to a special educational need.

4. What are the School's policies for making provision for students with Special Educational Needs, whether or not students have Education Health and Care Plans?

  • Our students with SEND have the majority of their needs met, in the classroom, through high quality teaching.
  • Teachers have access to context sheets which outline specific provision requirements for students with SEND.
  • Teachers are regularly updated on the best strategies to use with individuals with specific learning needs and they adapt their approach according to the recommendations.
  • Where provision for SEND is required, we work alongside students, families and teachers to plan personalised support strategies and setting targets to facilitate progress. These are formalised in personalised Learning Plans which are reviewed with all parties on a termly basis.

There is now a single category of support for SEND students who do not have a Statement of Special Educational Needs/Education and Health Care Plan, known as SEND Support. At Oakwood Park the Context Sheet contains strategies for supporting all students on the SEND register as well as other vulnerable students staff need to be aware of in lessons.

The SEND register includes:

  • Students who have support in lessons beyond the usual differentiated strategies. (Wave 1).
  • Those who have extra support in school outside lessons, e.g small group or individual support
    (Wave 2).
  • Students who receive support from external agencies (Wave 3).

It is separated from other vulnerable students:

  • Who have differentiated support in lessons following strategies implemented by their class teachers.
  • Who are a cause for concern for other reasons.
  • Who have medical needs.

The context sheet is a live document, updated as required. Staff are informed when changes are made, and every member of staff has a personalised context sheet for each of their classes. This will contain the overarching strategies recommended for each student as well as personalised, subject specific strategies detailing how each teacher will implement the support in their classroom.

Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP): Where the school has done everything it can to identify, assess and meet the needs of the student, and they are still not making the expected progress, the school or parents may consider requesting an Education, Health and Care assessment.

The process for requesting an EHCP in Kent can be found on the Council's Local Offer website: http://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educational-needs

Education Health and Care Plans are issued by the Local Authority where necessary and are used by the school to plan SEND provision for students with more complex needs. The EHCP includes:

  • A detailed profile of the student, their strengths and aspirations for the future.
  • Any education, health and care needs they have.
  • The goals or outcomes for the student, agreed by the family and professionals for the next phase of their education.
  • Any education, health and social care provision in place to meet their needs A detailed annual support plan/action plan which sets out the goals for the student for the next year, and the strategies that everyone supporting the student will put in place to support them.

How Does the School Evaluate the Effectiveness of its provision for SEND?

  • High quality teaching is the most important factor in ensuring all students make progress.
  • The quality of teaching is regularly reviewed across the school by Middle and Senior Leaders and teachers are supported to ensure that they are able to implement the strategies suggested to support individuals.
  • There is a collaborative approach to working with SEND students; strategies and their impact are regularly reviewed by the teachers, Directors of Study and the Learning Support Team
  • In line with Kent’s Strategy for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities 2021-2024 the school has completed an audit of provision based on its Mainstream Core Standards.

A variety of methods are employed to monitor the effectiveness of provision:

  • Monitoring of classroom practice by SENDCo, Directors of Study and Subject Leaders.
  • Analysis of student tracking data and assessment results for individual students.
  • Value added data for students on the SEND register.
  • Monitoring of procedures and practice by SEND Governor.
  • Provision mapping SEND intervention to measure and evaluate outcome.

What are the school's arrangements for assessing and reviewing the progress of students with SEND?

  • Every student in the school has their progress reviewed regularly, and this information will be shared with both parents and students.
  • Three sets of monitoring grades are published during the year, timed to coincide with mentoring and key events, such as options choices. Learning Plans are reviewed and adapted where required.
  • Students with more complex needs may be monitored more frequently.

What is the school's approach to teaching students with SEND?

The school strives to be a fully inclusive. All students are welcome, including those with special educational needs, in accordance with the LEA Admissions Policy.

  • Generic advice provided to staff.
  • Specialist strategies implemented for individuals on a case-by-case basis.
  • Staff respond to the advice given by Learning Support in order to personalise strategies for the requirements of their subjects and to meet student's specific needs.
  • High quality teaching.
  • Differentiated teaching in lessons.
  • Subject specific interventions.
  • Referral to specific outside agencies for assessment and support.
  • Where appropriate, SEND support including a tailored plan with specific targets.

How does the school adapt the curriculum and learning environment for students with SEND?

  • Students with special educational needs will have access to a broad and balanced curriculum, with the opportunity to join in all the activities of the school.
  • Inclusion on the SEND register provides the student with the opportunity to be in receipt of the necessary intervention to enable them to access the curriculum fully.
  • Different teaching strategies are used depending upon the nature of the student’s needs.

We strive to be an inclusive school, fostering a sense of community and belonging through our:

  • Inclusive ethos
  • Systems for early identification of barriers to learning and participation.
  • High expectations and appropriate targets for all students.
  • Intervention via one-to-one/small group support, software programmes and specialised resources
  • Counselling and mentoring services.

What additional support for learning is available to students with SEND?

  • Inclusive teaching, which takes into account the individual learning needs of all the students in the classroom.
  • Specific, additional and time-limited interventions provided for some students with more complex needs who may need extra support.
  • Targeted provision for a minority of students where it is necessary to provide highly tailored intervention to accelerate progress or enable students to achieve their potential. This may include specialist interventions such as peer mentoring.
  • We are able to support the administration of medication if it is recommended by health professionals, in accordance with our supporting students with medical conditions. See school policy on Supporting Students with Medical Conditions.

What Extra Curricular activities are available for students with SEND?

  • Participation in extracurricular activities is encouraged at Oakwood Park as it fosters a sense of community and enables students to develop as individuals and team players.
  • Measures are taken to ensure an inclusive approach to participation in a wide range of activities.
  • More information about extracurricular opportunities can be found on the school website.
  • A full and diverse enrichment programme is at the heart of the school curriculum – every effort is made to enable full access by students with SEND.

What Support is available for improving the emotional and social development of students with SEND?

  • The culture and structures within the school aim to encourage the emotional and social development for all students, including those with SEND.
  • We work hard to create a culture within the school that values all students, allows them to feel a sense of belonging.
  • Additional provision e.g. School counselling, peer mentoring and buddying, social skills groups, board games club are put in place for students needing additional support.

5. What expertise and training does the school staff have in relation to SEND and how will specialist expertise be secured?

Ongoing training opportunities are provided throughout the year as part of the school's CPD programme, in response to the changing needs of our students e.g.

  • Whole school dyslexia training
  • Whole School ASC training
  • Whole School ASC training
  • EAL training
  • Staff given personalised training on student specific needs e.g. diabetes support
  • Annual child protection training for all staff and governors
  • Individual bespoke training for staff as required
  • NQTs, trainees and new teachers to the school access specific SEND training as part of the induction process

6. How are equipment and facilities to support children and young people with special educational needs secured?

  • Equipment and facilities for students with SEN are considered as part of whole school budget.
  • Specific individual requests are judged on a case-by-case basis, and we make every effort to provide all students with the resources required to succeed.
  • High Needs Funding provided is by application to County in exceptional circumstances.
  • Room changes are made to tailor for individual needs, where necessary e.g. to enable ground floor access.

7. How are parents of children with special educational needs consulted about, and involved in, the education of their child?

We aim to promote a culture of collaboration with parents, schools, the LEA and others through:

  • Ensuring all parents are made aware of the school's arrangements for SEND including the opportunities for meetings between parents and SENDCo.
  • Involving parents as soon as a concern has been raised. This may be done at a parent consultation or by personal appointment with the class teacher.
  • Providing access to the SENDCo to discuss the students’ needs and approaches to address them.
  • Supporting parents' understanding of external agency advice and support.
  • Adhering to the code of confidentiality by ensuring information concerning the student with SEND is shared with relevant persons on a need-to-know basis, via secure e-mail.
  • Undertaking annual, and mid-year, reviews for students with Education Health Care Plans.

8. How are young people with special educational needs consulted about their education?

  • Students are involved in target setting and identifying teaching and learning strategies that work for them as part of a review of Learning Plans.
  • Students' views listened to and taken into account with regards to every aspect of their education.
  • Encouraging self-advocacy and independence.
  • Student Voice.
  • Discussions in mentoring sessions with the Learning Support Team.

9. How does the school deal with complaints from parents of students with special educational needs concerning the provision made at the school?

Any complaints regarding the provision made for students with special educational needs should be addressed in the first instance to the subject teacher or form tutor who may refer your concerns to the SENCo or Assistant Headteacher.

The school's complaints procedure can be found on the school's website.

10. How are other bodies, including health and social services bodies, Local Authority support services and voluntary organisations, involved in meeting the needs of students with special educational needs and in supporting the families of such students?

The school has arrangements for securing access to external support services for students with special
educational needs.

This may include liaison with special schools and other specialists.

There is regular liaison and exchange of information between the SENCo and these services, particularly at LIFT & GSF.

The main agencies are listed below:

  • Educational Psychologists
  • Clinical Psychologists
  • Specialist Nurses and School Nurse Services
  • Speech and Language therapists
  • Specialist Teaching Services
  • Communication and Interaction services
  • Cognition and
    Learning services
  • Hearing impairment services
  • Visual impairment services
  • Inclusion Support Services Kent (ISSK)
  • Social Services
  • Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and Children's and Young Peoples
    Services (CHYPS)
  • Maidstone Mediation
  • Porchlight mentoring
  • Early Help

11. What local support is there for the parents of pupils with SEND?

Information about local support is located here: http://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educational-needs

12. What are the school's arrangements for supporting students with SEND when they join the school, and supporting them to move to further education, training or employment/ adulthood and independent living?

All children and young people with SEND and their families may be particularly anxious about changing
classes or "moving on" from school to school. We work closely with families and our partner organisations
to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible.

Year 7 Transition

  • Primary school visits to all feeder schools by a senior member of staff.
  • Consultation with Year 6 teacher & primary school SENDCo.
  • Head of Year 7 is also the school SENDCo - early identification of student needs.
  • Dedicated transition day in July.
  • Extra support on individual basis as required e.g. familiarisation visits to OPGS.

Year 8 and 9 to GCSE Transition

  • Dedicated careers and options lessons integrated into the KS3 curriculum.
  • IAG appointments for all year 8 students before options choices made.
  • Options information evening for parents and students.
  • Enrichment tasters for 'new' GCSE subjects.
  • Subject specific mentoring (all subjects).
  • Extra support on individual basis as required.

GCSE To A Level Transition

  • Application process for Sixth form/college fully supported.
  • Taster day for A-Level/Pre-U subjects available at Oakwood Park Grammar School.
  • Individual subject mentoring.
  • IAG appointment for all with careers specialist.
  • Form tutor support.
  • Dedicated careers and options lessons integrated into the extended learning curriculum.
  • Careers Evening.

A Level to Post Compulsory (University/College/apprenticeship etc.)

  • Careers appointments for all with Careers advisor.
  • IAG coordinator open door policy for extra support.
  • UCAS application support.
  • Individualised support/mentoring.
  • Enrichment programme (adulthood/independent living skills).

Mid-Year Transfers

  • Personalised transition arrangements as required.

Compliance

This policy is written in line with the requirements of:

  • Children and Families Act 2014
  • SEND Code of Practice 2014
    • SI 2014 1530 Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014
    • Part 3 Duties on Schools – Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators
    • Schedule 1 regulation 51– Information to be included in the SEND information report
    • Schedule 2 regulation 53 – Information to be published by a local authority in its local offer
  • Equality Act 2010
  • Schools Admissions Code, DfE 1 Feb 2012
  • SI 2012 1124 The School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012
  • SI 2013 758 The School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013
  • Kent’s Strategy for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities 2021-2024

This policy needs to be read in conjunction with the following school policies:

  • Accessibility Plan
  • Behaviour and Anti-Bullying Policy
  • Complaints Procedure
  • Education of Children in Care Policy
  • E-Safety Policy
  • Safeguarding Policy
  • Single Equalities Policy
  • Supporting Students with Medical Conditions

Last reviewed: May 2021