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SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS & DISABILITY (SEND)
At RWBA we believe that all students are individuals each with specific talents and needs. Some will find learning easy; others will find it hard. All students will have good and bad days. Nevertheless, RWBA is committed to providing an inclusive education for all young people, regardless of ability, gender, language, ethnic or cultural origin. Our aim is for all students to leave the Academy as independent young adults, with the skills necessary to make a successful transition to adulthood in an ever-changing and highly technological world, whether it is their intention to move on to further or higher education, training, or work.
All teachers are teachers of students with special educational needs and disability and have a responsibility to ensure each one is valued and their self-esteem promoted. Balancing an academic curriculum with emotional support is vital and we pride ourselves on putting the needs of our students first, adjusting and adapting their curriculum where and when necessary.
We ensure every student with SEND has a Student Passport outlining their needs and how to best support them. In addition, we also ask the student to say how they are going to try to support themselves in their learning. The Student Passport will evidence for example, reading age, effective seating; adjustments made to support sensory needs; use of iPad/laptop; coloured overlays; what Exam Access Arrangements are in place.
Students with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) receive support additional to and different from other students based on the Outcomes evidenced in their Plans. Interventions are implemented following SEND reviews as part of our Graduated Approach (‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ process). Students and parents are fully involved in this process and progress is monitored regularly.
All students at RWBA receive high quality teaching tailored to their individual needs. Explicitly, quality first teaching has to be at the fore. Our SEND curriculum offers a wide range of support for all within all four areas of need:
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Cognition and Learning (Specific learning difficulty [dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia],moderate learning difficulties).
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Communication and Interaction (speech, language & communication needs; Autism).
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Social, Emotional and Mental Health (ADHD; attachment disorder; anxiety; self-harm).
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Sensory and/or Physical Needs (hearing impairment, visual impairment, physical disability, medical needs).
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We believe that students with a special educational need or disability are best placed being taught within their year group and, whenever possible, within their normal classes. Withdrawal from lessons will be considered in individual cases when this is felt to be in the best interest of the student concerned and where resources allow.
We also work in close partnership with parents/carers as it is important that they take an active and valued role in their child’s education.
Personalised Learning Team - SEND Leads
Mrs McMullin
Assistant Headteacher & SENCO
Mrs Wilson
Lead TA for Cognition & Learning
Mrs Marriott
Deputy SENCO
Mrs Hughes
Lead TA for Communication & Interaction
Mrs Sturla
Lead TA for Physical and/or Sensory Needs & Exam Access Arrangements
Mrs Ashworth
Lead TA for Social, Emotional & Mental Health
Dyslexia
In 2009, Sir Jim Rose’s Report on ‘Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with Dyslexia and Literacy Difficulties’ gave the following description of dyslexia:
‘Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory, and verbal processing speed. Dyslexia occurs across the range of intellectual abilities. It is best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and there are no clear cut-off points. Co-occurring difficulties may be seen in aspects of language, motor co-ordination, mental calculation, concentration, and personal organisation, but these are not, by themselves, markers of dyslexia.
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Dyslexic learners may also have accompanying weaknesses in short term memory, sequencing, and the speed at which they process information. These are skills that everyone needs if they are to learn effectively in a busy classroom. They are also key skills for life.”
Learning problems arise if dyslexia is not recognised and the teaching is inappropriate. Our policy at RWBA is to view dyslexia as a learning difference, one which conveys a range of strengths and weaknesses in common with all learning styles and preferences. Not all students will have a diagnosed of dyslexia, but many will show dyslexic traits. There is no reason any child should not achieve their potential through determined hard work and support both from school and home.
The British Dyslexia Association has excellent support materials available on its website. www.bdadyslexia.org.uk. RWBA is a member of the Wiltshire Dyslexic Association and has recently achieve Dyslexia Friendly Schools status.
If a concern is raised, a student will be supported as appropriate for their needs with teachers using dyslexia friendly methods in their teaching to support the students’ differing learning styles. We are unable to give a diagnosis of dyslexia and would recommend that parents seek a private diagnosis if that is what they wish. To enable us to effectively use a private diagnosis for any Exam Access Arrangements the professional should be known to the school and the school should be informed in advance.
Helpful Links
Click here to view ‘A Handy Guide to Dyslexia’
Click here to view ‘Dyslexia in Wiltshire’
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Exam Access Arrangements
Access arrangements are pre-examination adjustments for candidates based on evidence of need and normal way of working.
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Access Arrangements allow candidates/students with special educational needs, disabilities, or temporary injuries to access the assessment without changing the demands of the assessment. For example, readers, scribes, extra time. In this way Awarding Bodies will comply with the duty of the Equality Act 2010 to make ‘reasonable adjustments’.
A reasonable adjustment for a particular person may be unique to that individual. How reasonable the adjustment is will depend on a number of factors including the needs of the candidate/student. An adjustment may not be considered reasonable if it involves unreasonable costs, timeframes or affects the security or integrity of the assessment.
There is no duty on the Awarding Bodies to make any adjustment to the assessment objectives being tested in an assessment. The teachers of each student will make a recommendation if they feel exam access arrangements are appropriate. Any such arrangements must be clearly evidenced as the student‘s ‘normal way of working.’ Tests will then be carried out by the Qualified Assessor. All requests for Access Arrangements must be approved by the Awarding Bodies.
English as an Additional Language (EAL)
Teachers will ensure that we do all we can to support students with English as an Additional Language (EAL) so that they can feel safe and secure and make timely progress. An EAL student’ English may range from fluent, particularly when English is the primary language used in the home, to extremely limited.
If students request to take GCSE and GCE examinations in their native language then we encourage this and can arrange this for them
We have an experienced Lead Teaching Assistant committed to working with our EAL students. In addition, Wiltshire Council have a team dedicated to supporting children with EAL and we are able to contact them if we need further support.
