SEND

“Thank You to your SEN team who have offered such amazing support to me and my children. They are kind and understanding, offering time and advice whenever I have needed it.”

The SEND Department is a provision at the centre of inclusive teaching and learning for the entire school community. We firmly believe that every student:

• Has the right to a broad and balanced curriculum
• Can achieve well regardless of their academic abilities or interests
• Should know about and embrace what makes them unique
• Should never be alone in facing and overcoming their barriers
• Has a superpower to contribute to their community

‘The clear thinking about the curriculum particularly supports pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) – Ofsted September 2022

Our SEND team has an extensive knowledge of many types of SEND and regularly contribute to staff training.  Our experienced and caring team of Learning Support Assistants strike the correct balance between support and independent learning for our students with SEND. The support is flexible, tailored and regularly reviewed to meet an individual student’s needs.

How will the school know how to help my child?

The school works closely with parents and carers to put in place strategies to allow all of our students to access the curriculum and develop their social skills. We value outside professional input and use any reports that are received to help to frame discussions around strategies and have an understanding of the barriers that a student may face. 

The SEND Team works closely with primary schools during transition to flag any concerns or highlight strengths. Parents and carers are also invited to contact the SENDCo or relevant Head of Year to give any important info they feel should be known. Teachers will be asked for regular input on your child’s progress. Your child will also be listened to about their concerns or preferences – they are at the heart of their own educational experience!

How will the school know if my child needs additional help and how will the school share information with me?

Sometimes, children need additional support to bridge the transition between key stages, especially important ones, like Year 6 to Year 7 or Year 11 to Year 12. Knowing what’s needed and when is based on a mixture of assessment data and experiential input from parents, students and staff.

The school uses end-of-KS2 results from primary schools, as well as a wide range of other assessments to identify any student who may require additional support in literacy or numeracy. Other observed needs, like for example, developing social communication skills, learning to use dyslexia-friendly strategies, coping with large amounts of new vocabulary per subject or developing gross or fine motor skills, can be supported through a further array of specialised assessments. Support, activities or extra help can then be put in place. The content, outcomes and reviews of these provisions will always be agreed with parents and students.

Appropriate differentiation is also built into each scheme of work, embedded within the school’s ACED Teaching and Learning Framework, and SEND contributes to the regular review of this seminal Teaching and Learning policy. Teachers utilise a range of teaching strategies that enable all students to have the opportunity to access the National Curriculum. These strategies are used to support the needs of individual students to ensure that they are fully included in the classroom, with appropriate stretch, challenge and support at all levels. Please refer to our ACED Teaching and Learning Policy for additional information.

The School’s SEND Register

The school’s SEND Register contains information about your child that is used by teaching, and support staff, to adapt learning so that they are able to access the curriculum.  It gives staff information about their needs, any barriers to learning that they face and enables staff to know the students that they teach and to ensure that they have evidence-based strategies to enable them to be able to access lesson content and the curriculum.  The SEND Register also contains the Sacrosanct Strategies; these are between one and three evidence informed and bespoke strategies that staff must use in the classroom to enable your child to be able to access the curriculum and make progress.  These are discussed with parents at the SEND Parental Consultation Meetings.

When a student requires support, or intervention, that is additional to the majority of their peers, this is discussed with staff members and parents as part of the Graduated Approach – also known as the Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle.  Intervention and support is tracked through our Provision Mapping Tool that states the intervention, the outcome that we are working towards and a review of the effectiveness of this intervention.  When the intervention is completed, the impact is RAG rated and a note made of the progress.  This review enables staff to plan forward if any further intervention is required.

This system ensures that teachers are aware of any needs, offering advice and strategies which will enable the students to have full access to the curriculum. Where it is thought that further training will help, the SENDCo organises staff training for in-depth information sharing and discussion.  This is completed through a weekly “Teach Meet” each week where required, SEND Briefings and CPD sessions.

Staff also have the chance to flag concerns through several forums, including curriculum meetings on progress, pastoral meetings or by directly contacting the SENDCo with queries.

What if my child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)?

Your child’s specific needs and outcomes will be clearly laid out in the EHCP. There will be detailed information on a range of ways that your child could be supported to make progress towards these. The SENDCo will work closely with you, your child, other professionals involved and your child’s teachers to craft a support and intervention that may be required. This is based around the SEND Register and the Provision Mapping Tool to ensure that intervention is impactful and outcomes led.

There is an opportunity to meet with a member of the Learning Support Team each term through the SEND Parental Consultation Meetings that happen each term; one of these will be the Annual Review where a review takes place with the parent to discuss outcomes and plan provision for the following year.

To help your child’s transition, the primary school will usually invite the SENDco to the last Annual Review. If not, then transition meetings will take place where parents and staff can talk through any concerns or queries.

SEND Parental Consultations Meetings

You will have the opportunity to meet with a member of the Learning Support Team each term if your child has SEND.  These are called SEND Parental Consultation Meetings.  

These meetings take 25 minutes and are booked through Edulink.  The meeting is held virtually through Edulink and you can raise any concerns that you may have, plan any provision that is needed and review the Sacrosanct Strategies that are in place for your child.

Can I raise anything at any time to the SENDCo?

Yes, you are welcome to contact the SENDCo at any point to have your concerns heard. Students, parents and staff can all raise any concerns or ask any questions they have about a student with SEND or suspected SEND.

All concerns will be noted, assessed if needed, and the correct course of action taken. Our job is to ensure appropriate provision for your child is put in place so that they can access the curriculum, make expected levels of progress, be happy and, above all, enjoy their school experience at Roding Valley.

Contacts at the school | Who should I contact at the school?

For any SEND queries please click the link below and someone from the SEND Team will contact you.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeJilaVxj_a_wYMA4DeBGY0kSIz0MA8QTGfxDioRhNo4DdGCQ/viewform?usp=dialog

SEN Policy and Information Report

Please click on the documents below to view:

• RVHS SEND Policy – 2024-25
• SEN-Information-Report 2024-25

Parent/Carer Help Based on SEND Need

• Autistic Spectrum Disorder
• SPLD- specific learning difficulty
• Speech & Language needs
• ADHD- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Useful Strategies for Support Within the Classroom

This video explains the process for a referral for an ADHD or Autism diagnosis.