Rugby Free Secondary School is committed to providing a positive and engaging learning experience for all students.
SEND
In the SEND department, we develop individual and tailored support to build resilience, and ensure that every child has equal access to the diverse opportunities our school offers. Teaching Assistants provide in-class support, small group and 1:1 interventions across a range of areas including literacy, numeracy and social skills where appropriate.
David Iles
SENCO
David.Iles@rugbyfreesecondary.co.uk
What is Warwickshire’s SEND local offer?
Warwickshire’s SEND local offer brings together information about the local services and support available across education, health and social care for families with children and young people aged 0 to 25, who have special educational needs and/or disabilities
You can read more about the offer at: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/send
SEND FAQs
The SEND Code of Practice 2015 states:
A pupil has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.
They have a learning difficulty or disability if they have:
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A significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
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A disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools.
Special educational provision is educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for other children or young people of the same age by mainstream schools.
Resources:
Warwickshire SEND Local Offer
https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/send
Department for Education Advice Template
Special Educational Needs And Disabilites Guide For Parents And Carers
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Regular contact with the SEND team including meetings to set and review your child’s targets
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Monitoring of your child’s progress and feeding this back to you
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Co-production with you and your child of a Pupil Centred Plan that is shared with all teachers
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A supportive, positive and collaborative relationship with you and your child
At Rugby Free Secondary School we follow the SEND Code of Practice that recommends: we assess students to determine their needs; we work together with parents and pupils to put together a plan of support, we implement (do) the plan in lessons and through interventions, and then we review the support to see whether it has had an impact and consider what the next steps are.
If your child is receiving additional support in school then they will be placed on the SEND Register. They will be monitored as part of the Plan, Do, Review Process and if they have made progress and are in-line with their peers then they may be taken off the SEND Register.
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Cognition and Learning Needs
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Communication and Interaction Needs
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Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs
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Sensory and/ or Physical Needs
We should not ‘fit’ a pupil into a category, but rather provide support based on their particular area/s of need.
Please see information below regarding these four areas, taken from the Code of Practice 2015
As stated in the Code of Practice:
“These four broad areas give an overview of the range of needs that should be planned for. The purpose of identification is to work out what action the school needs to take, not to fit a pupil into a category. In practice, individual children or young people often have needs that cut across all these areas and their needs may change over time. For instance speech, language and communication needs can also be a feature of a number of other areas of SEN, and children and young people with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may have needs across all areas, including particular sensory requirements. The support provided to an individual should always be based on a full understanding of their particular strengths and needs and seek to address them all using well-evidenced interventions targeted at their areas of difficulty and where necessary specialist equipment or software.”
6.30 Support for learning difficulties may be required when children and young people learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs, including moderate learning difficulties (MLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD), where children are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associated difficulties with mobility and communication, through to profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), where children are likely to have severe and complex learning difficulties as well as a physical disability or sensory impairment.
6.31 Specific learning difficulties (SpLD), affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.
6.31 Specific learning difficulties (SpLD), affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.
Resources:
British Dyslexia Association
http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/
The Dyslexia SpLD Trust
http://www.thedyslexia-spldtrust.org.uk/
Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity
http://www.helenarkell.org.uk/
The National Literacy Trust
6.28 Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have difficulty in communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them or they do not understand or use social rules of communication. The profile for every child with SLCN is different and their needs may change over time. They may have difficulty with one, some or all of the different aspects of speech, language or social communication at different times of their lives.
6.29 Children and young people with ASD, including Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism, are likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction. They may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination, which can impact on how they relate to others.
Resources:
National Autistic Society
Autism Education Trust
www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk
Rugby Autism Network
Autism West Midlands
How to calm a child with Autism
https://www.verywellhealth.com/how-to-calm-a-child-with-autism-4177696
The Communication Trust
https://www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/resources/resources/resources-for-parents/
6.32 Children and young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children and young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or attachment disorder.
Resources:
ADHD Foundation
https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk/
Young Minds
https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk/
Healios
Anna Freud
Coventry and Warwickshire Mind
Challenging Behaviour Information and Advice
https://www.challengingbehaviour.org.uk/about-cbf/about-challenging-behaviour.html
CAHMS drop-in sessions
6.34 Some children and young people require special educational provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. These difficulties can be age related and may fluctuate over time. Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning, or habilitation support. Children and young people with an MSI have a combination of vision and hearing difficulties.
Resources:
Tourettes Action
https://www.tourettes-action.org.uk/
Hypermobility Syndrome Association
http://hypermobility.org/about-us/
Downs Syndrome Information and Advice
https://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/
Up of Downs
Sensory Processing
https://childmind.org/article/treating-sensory-processing-issues/
The Specialist Resource Provision at Rugby Free Secondary School is a resource base that offers a bespoke programme of support to students in years 7 to 11 whose primary area of need is Communication and Interaction.
The provision is a calm, welcoming and safe space located at the heart of our beautiful school. Students enrolled in the provision are able to access a highly personalized and nurturing curriculum delivered by both our specialist and mainstream staff; including speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and Set for Life skills.
Our talented and highly qualified team work flexibly to meet each child’s individual needs. Our Specialist Resource Provision is fully integrated with the broader educational and SEND offer of our school and our goal is to nurture each student’s wellbeing, confidence, and most importantly, their independence.
We aim to develop the crucial skills and attitudes each young person needs to be successful and to ensure that our students feel they belong within our school and the wider community.
As such, students at our provision will be fully supported to access as much of the Curriculum as they are able, and where appropriate will be able to follow alternative pathways to gain functional skills and life skills qualifications including ASDAN qualifications. Students also have access to the rich and diverse range of extracurricular clubs and activities offered including sports, arts, and personal development that are on offer.
Our SENDCo is David Isles, he is a strong advocate of an inclusive and respectful culture and leads a committed team.
Contact details:
Aiding learning from home – Techability
https://www.techability.org.uk/resources/aiding-learning-from-home/