SEN Information Report

What is the name and contact details of SENCO for the mainstream school and Area resource base? 

SENDCo for mainstream school and the ARB - Mrs Helen Hodson  HHodson@saltashcloud.net   

As mainstream SENDCo I am passionate about ensuring my staff work together as a Team to achieve more.  

 

TEAM SEND MISSION STATEMENT 

Tenacity – We don’t give up on students, there will be a way, we just have not found it yet. 

Empathy – As hard as it might be to support a child, it must be harder to be that child, open mind and open heart.    

Aspiration – Deliberately ambitious targets and expectations, always looking to be better, never settling for less.    

Motivation – Keeping ‘better life chances’ as the driver for everything we do. 

 

What kind of SEN do we provide for in the mainstream school? 

As an inclusive mainstream school we are able to provide education for children and young people who are identified as having needs within the following four areas (outlined by the DfE): 

• Communication and interaction 
• Cognition and learning 
• Social, emotional and mental health
• Sensory or physical 

If a student has SEND, then their needs will fit into one or more of these categories. We provide support for all students on the record of need within a mainstream setting and in line with the SEND Code of Practice 2015.  

 

Area Resource Base (ARB) 

In addition, the school has a resourced provision for children with more complex learning difficulties funded directly from the local authority (who has control over its admissions processes) but delivered and managed by Saltash Community School staff. Led by a specialist Teacher/ SENDCo, support and learning are tailored to meet the individual needs of each student, which may include specialised curricula, small group teaching/support, specialist teaching and increased home/school contact. The students in the ARB still attend some mainstream classes and are very much fully included members of our school community, being wholly involved with school life. 

• The ARB comprises of a suite of rooms including four teaching rooms, and a kitchen area for life skills lessons. It is a purpose-built facility which was specially designed to allow children who may struggle with the normal hustle and bustle of a mainstream school environment to have an area within school in which they could feel a little less anxious and could learn at their own pace if required. 

• Admission to the ARB resourced provision is determined by Cornwall County Council. 

 

How do we assess and identify need? 

Saltash Community School is a mainstream school.  We want all our students to maximise their achievement within a caring and supportive environment. We work hard to ensure that: 

• Students with SEND are able to access their entitlement to a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum as part of the whole school community. 

• Students with SEND are educated, wherever possible, in an inclusive environment alongside their peers to enable each student to reach his or her full potential. 
• We match levels of additional support for learning to the wide variety of individual learning difficulties, always ensuring that we take care to protect our students’ self-esteem. 
• We identify and assess students with SEND as early and as thoroughly as possible using the revised Code of Practice (2014). We have a graduated response process which begins at classroom level through contact between teachers and SEND team. This is done via reviews of the tracking data as well as teacher monitoring of in-class engagement. 
• Parents/carers and students are fully involved in the identification and assessment of SEND, and that we always aim for close co-operation between all agencies concerned. We have considerable success with this approach building strong and useful relationships with all stakeholders and our partner professionals. 
• We aim to meet the needs of all students with SEND by offering appropriate, and at times, flexible forms of educational provision by the most efficient use of all available resources. 

• We maintain up to date knowledge of current SEND good practice and methodology in order to offer support and training in these areas to all staff in the school. 

There are four types of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), decided by the department for education: 

1. Communication and interaction 
2. Cognition and learning 
3. Social, mental and emotional health. 
4. Sensory or physical 

If a student has SEND, then their needs will fit into one or more of these categories. 

A school’s provision for SEND is defined as support which is additional to or different from that which is available to all students. 

At Saltash Community School, we recognise that students make progress at different rates and not always in a steady linear pattern.  Therefore, students are identified as having SEND in a variety of ways, including the following non-exhaustive list: 

• Liaison with primary school/previous school 
• The student performing below expected levels in a range of subjects and highlighted through our progress tracker system 
• Concerns raised by parent/carer 
• Concerns raised by teacher either informally or through the achievement trackers. 
• Concerns raised by Heads of Year 
• Concerns/Observations by Learning Support Assistants 
• Concerns/Observations by intervention group leaders 
• Observations during lesson observations 
• Observations on specially arranged learning walks carried out by SENDCO (Helen Hodson) and Headteacher (Kate Littledyke) 
• Liaison with external agencies, e.g. school nurse, occupational therapists. 

We also encourage our students to have their own input and we act rapidly if a child raises their own concerns. This can be extremely important in identifying early needs within the Wellbeing category. 

If a student is identified as having SEND that is affecting their progress, then their name will be added to the SEND record of need, but any student listed at any point on our graduated response mechanism will have their progress and provision monitored by our SENDCO, Jen Childs. 

At Saltash Community School we recognise that students’ needs often change over time and the provision must reflect this.  The aim of any additional provision is for the student to make progress towards their age-related expectations and target levels, so once they reach this threshold, they may be removed from the SEND lists. It is very much an organic piece of work however and if a student falls behind again or experiences further difficulties and barriers to learning, then they will be added to the register once more. 

 

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child will receive? 

Our provision is arranged to meet our students’ needs, within the resources available.  This approach reflects the fact that different students require different levels of support in order to achieve age expected attainment. 

The SENDCO consults with subject teachers, academic leaders, and pastoral leaders, as well as with support staff, to discuss the student’s needs and what support would be appropriate. 

There are always on-going discussions with parents/carers for any student who requires additional support for their learning. 

 

What should I do if I think my child has special educational needs? 

Your main point of contact at school will usually (but not always) be your child’s tutor.  You can start by contacting the tutor, who will be able to discuss your concerns.  If you need to speak with other staff members, such as Head of Year or the SENDCo, then the tutor or reception staff will be able to help you arrange this. 

There is NEVER a problem if you wish to contact Head of Year or SENDCo in the first instance and we will be more than happy to communicate via phone, email, or face to face. 

 

How do we check the effectiveness of provision made for children and young people with SEN? 

Teachers, as part of their professional standards, monitor and review all students’ progress throughout the year.  The whole school system at Saltash Community School includes: 

• Data collection each quarter, from all teachers, showing the current level of attainment of all the students they teach.  This means that teachers and Heads of Department in each subject area can track the progress of students across the school year and intervene if students experience difficulties. 
• In the case of intervention programmes, progress is reviewed every cycle (depending on the intervention), which might include testing or screening.  These programmes are reviewed by the SENDCO, Assistant SENDCO, and Inclusion Year Team Lead, and the reviews help to plan and design the next half term’s intervention programmes. 
• In-class additional support is reviewed regularly by the SENDCO, Assistant SENDCO, and Inclusion Year Team Lead, and any changes discussed at their Monday morning briefing. Teachers and Learning support assistants work together on a day-to-day basis, planning and reviewing lessons. 
• Teachers are observed by the Leadership Group, SENDCO, and line managers as part of the school ‘Quality Assurance’ programme; the deployment of additional adults in the classroom and the progress of students with additional learning requirements are part of the Teacher Standards, against which the quality of teaching is measured. 
• Mrs S Del Gaudio (School Improvement Lead) is responsible for whole school data and tracks the school’s progress against national standards.  This provides guidance for Heads of Department when planning the curriculum and additional support for students. 
• At the start of Y7 all students complete the CATs assessment to give us a broader understanding of a young person’s potential. In addition to this we also assess for a reading age and those whose reading age is significantly below their chronological age are identified for intervention and support. This process assists with identifying students who may require further assessment of need, and varied intervention. 
• The school’s rewards and sanctions system Class Charts (which is available to parents and students as a smartphone app) provides parents/carers with information about how well a student is engaging with the learning opportunities on offer and provides pastoral and SEND staff with evidence for how well a student is engaging at school. 

 

How do we know if it has had an impact? 

• We see evidence that the student is making progress academically against national/age expected levels and that the gap is narrowing – they are catching up to their peers or expected age levels – through constant data analysis 
• Formal assessment of the provision where this is possible 
• The student is achieving or exceeding their expected levels of progress 
• Verbal feedback from the teacher, parent and student 
• Formal or informal observations of the student at school 
• Students may move off the SEND register when they have ‘caught up’ or made sufficient progress 

 

How will school support my child? 

Subject teachers are responsible for the progress of students in their lessons.  They are trained to teach children with all types of additional learning requirements and are responsible for making the curriculum accessible to all students. 

The SENDCO is responsible for ensuring that: 

• Teachers understand a student’s needs 
• Teachers are trained in meeting those needs 
• Teachers have support in planning to meet a student’s needs if required 
• There is high quality of teaching for students with SEND across the school 
• Teaching Assistants are deployed, managed and used effectively 
• That SEND provision across the school is efficiently managed 
• Progress and attainment for students with SEND is tracked and monitored 
• There is effective home/school communication for children with SEND 
• There is value for money in the provision that we offer 

Sometimes, some students require additional support to make progress across the curriculum, because they are significantly below the expectations for their age and/or their target levels.  Then, the SENDCo is responsible for organising interventions for an individual or small group of students, which might include one of these provisions, for example: 

• Additional adult support in the classroom – We have a well-trained and dedicated team of curriculum Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) who support the teacher in helping the learning of whole classes or individuals. The SENDCO will direct a limited amount of ‘hours’ of additional adult support in the classroom in cases where there is evidence that students are significantly below the expectations for their age or there is a demonstrable need for this precision support. 
• Intervention sessions – when students come out of some lessons for pre-arranged sessions with qualified teachers, counsellors or LSAs on, for example, handwriting, reading, numeracy, study skills, organisation skills, social skills, etc. These tend to focus on Key Stage 3 students. 
• Disapplication – if long-term intervention is needed, a student can, occasionally, be dis-applied from a subject on the national curriculum, in order to allow time for intensive support with learning. Disapplication from homework is also an option in rare circumstances authorised at the SENDCO’s discretion. 
• STAR CENTRE – this is a fully staffed and resourced area designed to help students who are struggling with mainstream education (generally) for a short period of time. Many of the children who go through the STAR centre have emotional difficulties caused by external factors, but equally some students spend time there to ‘catch up’ after a period of absence or as a booster for a certain subject they are finding particularly difficult. Students on reduced timetables also spend time in the STAR Centre for their remaining subjects. 

 

How will I, as a parent, be consulted and involved in my Child’s SEND provision? 

We offer an open door policy where parents/carers are welcome, any time, to make an appointment to meet with a subject teacher, tutor or any other teacher, and discuss how their child is progressing. Jen Childs (SENDCO) is also happy to meet and discuss your child’s specific progress if they have a SEND. In practice, it can be difficult making appointments due to the complex timetable in school; email is often a great way of making contact and sharing information. Parents/carers can contact staff members directly by email. 

Emails are all initial + surname + @saltashcloud.net e.g. HHodson@saltashcloud.net  

Planned arrangements for communicating between school and home include: 

• Every student has an ‘Attainment Profile’ which is sent home each term showing a student’s current level of attainment and giving an effort grade as an indication of their attitude and engagement with their learning. 
• Each year group has at least one parents’ surgery evening each year, when all subject teachers are available to meet with parents/carers and discuss progress and learning. 
• If your child is on the Record of Need a review (Assess Plan Do Review) meeting will generally be held after each progress tracker to review their last cycle, assess their current provision and plan the future provision. You will be invited to these meetings which are arranged and chaired by the SENDCO or Assistant SENDCO. 
• If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or Statement of SEN, then there are legal requirements for at least one formal meeting each year (the Annual Review) organised by the SENDCO and attended by parents/carers, teachers, and outside agencies involved in the student’s education. 

 

Who will explain provision to me? 

• Information about the provision in individual subjects can be discussed with subject teachers or heads of department.  There is an annual opportunity for this at the year specific parents’ surgery evenings, but teachers can meet with parents/carers at many points in the school year to discuss students’ progress. Parent surgeries will be held through an online platform and support is available for parents who are unfamiliar with this. 
• If your child is on the formal ‘record of need’ you will be invited to regular review meetings where you and the member of staff responsible will review and then plan the differentiation/intervention required for your child to make good progress in their learning. 
• In the case of individual or small group interventions, the teacher, intervention leader, or learning support assistant involved will write to parents/carers explaining the aims of the intervention.  Letters, phone-calls, or emails will be used to keep parents/carers updated on their child’s progress and discuss support in more detail, if required. 

 

What is the expectation around homework for students with SEN? 

Homework is set by teachers as an integral part of students’ learning and can contribute directly to how well a student makes progress.  Homework consolidates and builds on the learning in lessons, ensuring that students fully understand concepts and apply skills they have learnt.  The school hopes that parents engage with their child’s homework, so that students can see the high value their parents place on working as part of a home-school partnership.  This provides essential support for teachers and means no opportunity is lost for supporting every student’s learning. The Class Charts app is a very effective tool for setting, tracking and reminding students about their homework and has become an invaluable tool for students with a range of needs. It is particularly important for developing coping strategies for those students who struggle with personal organisation. 

Additionally, the school runs a staffed and IT resourced ‘Homework Club’, funded via Pupil Premium, which operates in the school canteen between 3pm and 4pm daily where all students are welcome to enjoy a snack and an opportunity to extend their school based learning time. 

Where students struggle to complete the homework in the allocated time on Class Charts up to 25% extra time should be taken to complete this before the deadline. Once this maximum time has been reached it may be appropriate to take a break or inform the teacher how far you got in the allocated time. 

There will be an opportunity in your child’s review meeting to discuss homework with the Assistant SENDCo, SENDCo or Inclusion Year Team Lead. Individual concerns can also be discussed with your child’s tutor or directly with teachers. 

 

How does pupil premium get spent on students with SEND? 

The pupil premium report available on our website outlines where pupil premium money has been allocated and spent for all student groups. 

 

How will you empower my child/young person to contribute to their SEND provision? 

Students’ views are highly valued at the school and their opinions are sought on many areas of school life, as well as their own learning.  We use a variety of methods for seeking student views: 

• The school has an active student council, where students are elected each year to represent their peers in their teams.  The student council is consulted on whole school plans, charity activities at school and is able to express student views to senior leaders throughout the school year. 
• Student panels usually form a part of the school’s interview process for new members of senior staff. 
• Each student on the Record of Need will be able to have their views recorded in the ‘student views’ section of their teaching and learning profile, which can be updated in each Review meeting. This can take the form of ‘I wish my teachers knew…’ or any format the student feels is most helpful. This teaching and learning profile is a live document to which all teachers have access on the Classcharts system. 
• There is a regular pupil/parent/teacher questionnaire where we actively seek the viewpoints of students on a range of topics.  The results of this questionnaire are used by the Senior Leadership Team to develop the whole school improvement plan. 
• Students on the Record of Need have access to an Inclusion Year Team lead who will remain working with them throughout their key stage, with whom they can share their views through both structured and unstructured conversations. 
• Aspiration is one of our Saltash Values and from as early as year 7 each student on the Record of Need will be encouraged to think about ‘next steps’. Their aspirations for the future are recorded on their teaching and learning profile, this is updated in each Review meeting and forms a key part in the discussions for post 16 in Key Stage 4. 
• If a student takes part in an intervention programme, then they will contribute their views to the 6 weekly review of progress through a ‘feelings and views’ measure. 
• If your child has Educational, Health & Care Plan (EHCP) or Statement of SEND or is at ‘SEND Support’ level, their views will be sought before any review meetings. 

 

How is work experience arranged for students with SEND? 

All year 10 students arrange work experience through their PD lessons but many of our students with SEND are assisted further with their applications and preparation by their tutor, the work-related learning coordinator and senior learning support assistant (where appropriate). All relevant information, to assist with ensuring that the provision is correct, is given to employers through direct liaison between them and a member of school staff. Site visits can be made by SEND staff if required and on rare occasions, a student can be accompanied on their placement or work experience by a support worker from the SEND team where required. 

 

How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips? 

All students are entitled to be included in all parts of the school curriculum and we aim for all students to be included on school trips. We will provide the necessary support to ensure that this is successful. 

A risk assessment is carried out prior to any off-site activity to ensure everyone’s health and safety will not be compromised.  This may include specialist advice where relevant.  In the unlikely event that it is considered unsafe for a student to take part in an activity, then we strive to provide alternative activities that will cover the same curriculum areas at an alternate venue (or within school) for that child. 

Students within the local authority resourced provision are encouraged and facilitated to participate in the full range of activities that the school offers to its mainstream students. 

 

How accessible is the school environment? 

• The school site is positioned on a fairly level site, largely over two floors. We do however have a passenger lift and wheelchair ramps and lifts to ensure the vast majority of school rooms/areas are readily accessible. 
• The site has disabled toilets large enough to accommodate changing in the Area Resource Base and in other areas of the school. 
• There are two car parks on site – one to the front and one to the rear of the school. Both car parks have parking bays for disabled badge holders, marked clearly. 
• We liaise with the local authority specialist teams who assist us in supporting families with English as an additional language or with a Traveller background. 

 

How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs? What are the school’s approaches to inclusion and how will that help my child? 

Every young person on the Record of Need will have a unique Teaching and Learning profile created in partnership with the previous school, parent and child. Each teacher will have access to this teaching and learning profile as a guide to help them adapt their teaching to ensure the best outcomes for the young person. As each subject area differs there are some strategies which will be more useful than others, but our staff can use these as a guide to help them understand the young person’s needs. 

Subject teachers are responsible for planning lessons that are accessible to, and adapted for, every student.  In some curriculum areas and in different year groups (English, Maths, Science, and MFL) students are grouped by levels of attainment, whilst other curriculum areas are taught in mixed attainment or tutor groups.  Students are entitled to participate in a broad and balanced curriculum and it is the subject teacher’s role to adapt their teaching and activities to ensure the student can access the learning.  The following is not an exhaustive list but it indicates the types of differentiation teachers might use: 

• Multi-sensory activities 
• Small group or 1-1 learning with a Learning Support Assistant  
• Pre-teaching content or vocabulary 
• Pre-teaching topics 
• Setting of alternative activities for homework 
• Providing specially targeted texts and resources appropriate for students’ reading ages 
• Providing adapted texts (fonts, sizes, etc.) for students due to a specific need/diagnosis 
• Providing additional apparatus or materials 
• Adapting and adjusting resources and materials to make them accessible for students with specific learning difficulties 
• Utilising STAR Centre for extra support for students in lessons 
• Provision of extra ‘technology’ and recording devices to assist students 

At Key Stage 4 (year 10 onwards) students choose from a range of GCSE, BTEC and vocational courses, which help to prepare them for the next steps in their education, be that continuing at Saltash Community School, college, apprenticeships or work.  Students and parents/carers are offered advice and careers guidance at the appropriate time to help make these important decisions through our partners at Careers South West. Mrs Gue can assist with organising this service. 

 

What support will there be for my child’s overall well being? What is the pastoral, medical and social support available in school? 

One of the Saltash core values is Empathy and we take student mental health and overall wellbeing really seriously. This is evident in our pastoral and SEND support offers within the school. The Pastoral Year teams (Heads of Year, tutors, PSAs) and SEND Inclusion year teams work very closely to ensure that we are keeping the wellbeing of the students at the heart of everything we do. This really helps in identifying those whose social, emotional and mental health needs mean they should be identified on the Record of Need. Early identification and intervention here can make a big difference to the overall outcomes for the young person. 

As already identified, Saltash Community School operates a rewards system through the Class Charts online system. Occasionally students’ behaviour falls short of the mark and then warnings or RESETS are recorded on Class Charts and dealt with via the year team pastoral HUBS. 

Saltash Community School operates a year-based tutor structure. In normal circumstances they will have the same tutor for their entire time at school allowing a real bond to develop between students and the adult. The fact that students are tutored in one class throughout their time at the school also encourages community cohesion and opportunities for peer mentoring and social skills development. This system means that students are able to share their experiences and transitions with children of the same age. Your child’s tutor is the main point of contact about your child’s pastoral and social well-being. 

Within each year group we have an allocated Inclusion Year Team Lead (Senior LSA) along with additional LSAs who may regularly meet with students and discuss their needs, concerns and successes with them as individuals. This is often referred to as ‘talk-time’ and can be weekly, fortnightly or termly depending on the child’s needs. 

We have wellbeing practitioners and counsellors together with a fully qualified clinical psychologist (contracted to us through Psychology Associates) who can undertake more detailed unpacking and problem solving with children undergoing anxieties with a range of root causes. These interventions are arranged by the ‘Allocations Panel’ which consists of senior staff who can identify and direct the appropriate support for individual students. 

Students who struggle with social situations are provided with a choice of quiet spaces to go during lunchtimes, break times and before school, where they are supported by LSAs to manage unstructured social time. 

If a student is unwell during the school day, they should first report to their Hub. If needed, they will be referred to Student Services, which is run by Mrs Booth.  If the student is too ill to stay at school, their parent/carer will be contacted and asked to make arrangements for collecting them as soon as possible. Mrs Booth (in consultation with parents/carers and Heads of Year) will decide if the student is well enough to stay at school or not. 

In a medical emergency, Mrs Booth (a trained first aider) will attend urgently, or may call for an ambulance if the student requires hospitalisation.  We have staff who are trained on administering Epi-Pens for anaphylactic shock, and students who have severe allergies or other significant health/medical needs are flagged-up to all staff throughout the school year. 

 

How does the school manage the administration of medicines? 

Medicines for students are managed by Mrs Booth, from the Student Services room.  If a student requires medicine during the school day, the following procedures must be followed: 

• All medicines must be given in person to Mrs Booth by a parent/carer 
• The student’s name and date of birth are recorded alongside the date, time, name of medicine, and dosage 
• Depending on how the medicine needs to be stored, it will be kept in either a locked cupboard or a fridge in the Student Services Room 
• To take their medicine, the student must go the Student Services room, where the dose will be administered by Mrs Booth (or a designated deputy) 
• Each time the medicine is administered, the time, date and dosage is recorded. 

 

What support is there for behaviour, avoiding exclusion and increasing attendance? 

The school has a clear Relationships and Behaviour for Learning Policy which utilises the Class Charts system. 

Positive points are clearly shown on the app available for parents and students and additional rewards are organised by Heads of Year. Warnings and RESETS are also documented in this data to allow staff, students and parents to see individual concerns. This enables the pastoral team to identify students who are falling behind their peers, to investigate and to address the reasons for this. 

There are consequences for poor behaviour, which are outlined in the policy.  As well as losing rewards, students can receive sanctions such as RESET, internal exclusion or fixed term exclusions. 

However, if a student is falling significantly behind their peers, and their behaviour is affecting their learning or the learning of others, then additional support may be provided. 

• The Pastoral Support Advisors for each year team help students, parents/carers manage their child’s pastoral needs at school and can support with outside agencies coming into school. 
• The Attendance Manager (Mrs Moss) works with our Educational Welfare Officer to monitor attendance; oversee legal action against parents/carers whose children do not attend school; and, to help liaise with outside agencies who can support families in difficult situations. 
• Our Inclusion year team leads oversee a team of LSAs who may work with students whose behaviour (social, emotional and mental health) is affecting the learning of other students (and their own), to help them develop skills for understanding and managing their emotional, social and mental health for supporting learning at school; by providing plans, helping with time. 
• Our RESTART provision is also a resource for those students who need support to break away from the cycle of fixed term exclusions. 

 

How will the school prepare and support my child when joining the school and transferring to a new school? 

Our goal is to make sure our new students feel like they belong at Saltash Community School before they officially arrive.  Learning is most effective when students feel they belong and are comfortable in the school environment. 

Key Stage 2-3 (year 5/6 to year 7) 

• Transition is carefully planned and arranged by the Head of Year 7.  The SENDCO, Assistant SENDCO, ARB Lead Teacher, Advanced Skills Teachers and Lead LSA’s work closely with primary schools to organise activities, visits and experience of secondary life for those students who are especially vulnerable at transition. 
• All students in year 6 who have accepted a place at Saltash Community School for year 7 are invited to an induction day in June.  This provides a taste of secondary school life, involving experience of lessons, information about how the school runs and providing an opportunity for students to meet their new classmates and significant adults.  Some students are invited to further days at the school during the Summer Term, as determined by the students’ needs in consultation with their primary school teachers. 
• Parents/carers are invited to an ‘Induction Evening’ at the end of July, to learn about the activities their children have undertaken, to meet key members of the pastoral team and to receive information about the organisation of the school. 
• The SENDCO, or one of the SEND team, visits feeder primary schools to meet students, gather information from year 6 teachers and support staff and to offer informal ‘question and answer’ sessions for parents/carers if required. (Please do contact your child’s primary school to find out about the arrangements made with Saltash Community School for the current academic year). 
• The Lead ARB teacher (Helen Hodson) will visit individual students within their primary school, to obtain further information from teachers/support staff and to see students in more familiar surroundings. There will be extensive liaison with the students’ current special provision providers. 
• Saltash Community School teachers are provided with information about all new students’ needs, strengths and backgrounds during our staff inset days at the beginning of September. 
• Saltash Community School operates a year tutor system where students stay in the same tutor group throughout their school career (under normal circumstances). They will usually have the same tutor from years 7 – 11 and have the same Head of Year between years 8-11. This encourages community cohesion, and effective communication and a chance to build strong, long-term relationships. When tutor groups are initially put together care is taken to ensure there is a healthy mix of current friends and new students for the vast majority of children. We are also careful to try and avoid mixes that have in the past been shown to be less ‘healthy’ and conducive to effective learning. 
• The first day of the new school year in September is for year 7 students only.  On this day, students learn about each other, school rules, their tutor, safeguarding arrangements, use of their planners, understanding their timetables and site orientation. 
• Every student’s school file is passed on to the Head of Year, (or, in the case of students with SEND, the SENDCO) at the end of year 6/start of year 7. 
• Early in the autumn term parents/carers of new year 7 students are invited to meet with the child’s tutor, to introduce themselves, share information and establish contact with the school. 

Key Stage (KS) 3-4 (year 8 to year 11) 

• Extraction sessions focussing on literacy are used for students in KS3 whose literacy skills are still presenting a significant barrier to their learning. 
• For Key Stage 4, students choose from a range of GCSE, BTEC and vocational courses, which help to prepare them for the next steps in their education, be that a continuation at Saltash Community School through our 6th form provision, college, apprenticeships or work. 
• Students and parents/carers are offered advice and careers guidance at the appropriate time to help make these important decisions often through their Personal Development (PD) lessons.  

Key Stage 5 (year 12 to year 13) 

• The school arranges visits to open days and further education fairs for all students.  Support with finding and applying for apprenticeships is also available. 
• Students are encouraged to consider attending university in the future and the school works with higher education establishments to provide experiences for students to inspire the ambition to pursue this route. 
• All students in year 12 and 13 are provided with careers advice through timetabled careers lessons to help them plan possible routes for training or education. 

SEND specific 

• Students with a Statement of SEND or an EHCP who are moving on to further education are supported by Careers South West (CSW), the county’s Youth Support Services.  A CSW worker will attend annual reviews in Year 11 to help plan and organise support for the move to college or vocational training. 
• All information relating to a student’s exam concessions and required differentiation is passed on to college or training provider during the summer term of year 11, when college places have been confirmed. 

Joining mid-year 

• Many students admitted to the school after the start of the academic year are screened on entry to identify any areas of need and to provide information to staff about the student’s learning. All mid-year transfer students have their previous data scrutinised to assist with setting, groupings and targets. 
• A student ‘buddy’ is often chosen to support the new student for the first few days at Saltash Community School. The ‘buddy’ takes the new student to lessons, introduces them to other students, answers questions and generally helps them to feel less alone. 
• Contact is always made with the previous school to ensure the transfer of key information along with the child’s school file and any safeguarding/welfare concerns. 

Moving to another school 

• Contact is always made with the new school to ensure the transfer of information and the child’s school file. 

We ensure that all students with SEND have their needs met to the best of the school’s ability, within the funds available. 

The budget is allocated on a needs basis. The students who have the most complex needs are given the most support. 

The school has a specially resourced base for students with complex needs (The Area Resource Base), which is funded by the local authority and admits students on specific admission criteria set and managed by them.  For more information, contact the Lead Teacher and SENCo, Helen Hodson, at HHodson@saltashcloud.net 

 

What specialist services and expertise are available at, or accessed by, Saltash Community School? 

The SENDCO (Helen Hodson) is a fully qualified and accredited SENDCO, and liaises with many specialist services and outside experts, to ensure provision for our students is appropriate and meets all needs. The school works closely with any external agencies that are relevant to individual students’ needs, including: 

• Health – GPs, school nurse, clinical psychologists and psychiatrists (CAMHS), paediatricians, speech & language therapists, and occupational therapists 
• Social services – locality teams, social workers, child protection teams, family intervention programmes 
• Cornwall Cognition and learning Team 
• Cornwall Autism  Spectrum Team  
• Cornwall Educational Psychology Service  
• Cornwall Hearing Impairment Team  
• Cornwall Visual Impairment Team  
• Cornwall SEND Team  
• External SEN Consultants  
• Psychology Associates (Educational psychology, wellbeing practitioners, speech and language, Occupational therapy, Ply therapy and Counselling) 
• School Improvement Partner  

The Lead Teacher (Helen Hodson) of the Area Resource Base (ARB) is a qualified specialist. 

 

What training do SEND staff receive? 

As a department we keep our school values and SEND mission statement at the heart of our practice and ongoing development. As a team we come from a wide range of backgrounds and bring a wealth of expertise and knowledge to our individual teams and our wider SEND department.  

Tenacity - We don’t give up on students, there will be a way, we just have not found it yet.    

Empathy - As hard as it might be to support a child, it must be harder to be that child, open mind and open heart.    

Aspiration - Deliberately ambitious targets and expectations, always looking to be better, never settling for less.    

Motivation - Keeping ‘better life chances’ as the driver for everything we do.    

Staff within the SEND team follow a pathway through induction to their specialism and in some cases leadership within their team.  

SEND training is an on-going rolling programme of professional development for our staff, throughout the school year. At Saltash training and development follows  

• Five Inclusion Year Team Leads (Senior LSAs) have extensive experience and training in planning, delivering and assessing intervention programmes. 
• All staff are notified each year on the needs of new students joining the school, through the Teaching and Learning profiles – this can include training from specialist agencies or consultants, as well as from the SENDCO or other staff with relevant expertise. 
• SEND training forms part of the continuing professional development of all teachers and LSAs and is organised in accordance with the needs of the students by the SENDCo and Assistant Head. 
• The school works closely with other local schools, especially our feeder primary schools, sharing training opportunities including in service training (INSET) days and outside experts.  Opportunities to develop this aspect of local expertise are actively sought throughout the school year. 
• We are part of a Multi-academy trust in partnership with Landulph Primary School, Trewidland CP School, Dobwalls CP School, Liskeard School and Community College, and Looe Community Academy.  We are also part of the Saltash area SENDCO cluster and the East Cornwall SEND group.  These networks provide opportunity for sharing expertise and best practice for SEND. 

 

How are the school governors involved and what are their responsibilities? 

• The SENDCO reports to the governors annually to inform them about the progress of students with SEND via a written report; this report does not refer to individual students and confidentiality is maintained at all times. 
• A named governor is responsible for SEND and regularly meets with the SENDCO. This ‘SEND link governor’ also reports to the governing committees, to keep all the governors informed. 

 

Who can I contact if I have a complaint? 

At Saltash Community School we undertake to provide a friendly and safe environment in which students will be helped to achieve their potential, both academically and socially. We recognise, however, that sometimes things can go wrong and parents, carers or members of the public may need to make a complaint or raise concerns they have with the school. Our SMART Trust Complaints Policy (please see our website) explains what should be done, should such a situation arise. As with all our policies and procedures this is reviewed regularly including to ensure that no groups or individuals with protected characteristics are unintentionally disadvantaged by the policy or practice. 

 

Who can I contact for further information 

• A parent/carer’s first point of contact should be the child’s tutor to share concerns, and they can be contacted via enquiries@saltashcloud.net or 01752 843715 
• The child’s overall pastoral care is coordinated by their Head of Year and they can be contacted via enquiries@saltashcloud.net or 01752 843715 
• Parents/carers can also arrange to meet the SENDCO Helen Hodson HHodson@saltashcloud.net  01752 843715 

Additionally, the school liaises with and can refer parents/carers to the following agencies for information and support: 

• IPSEA (Independent Parental Special Education Advice): www.ipsea.org.uk 
• The National Autistic Society 
• The Dyslexia Association 
• Speech and Language Therapy service 
• School nurse team 
• Young Carers Association 
• Police Community Support Officers 
• Jeremiah’s Journey, a Cornish charity supporting families that have been bereaved 
• NDCS, National Deaf Children’s Society: http://www.ndcs.org.uk/ 
• CAMHS, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service 
• Careers South West 
• Paediatricians 
• Occupational Therapists 
• Physiotherapists 
• Local Authority SEN Team 
• Family Information Service 

 

Who should I contact if I am considering whether my child with SEND should join Saltash Community School? 

Contact the school to arrange to meet a member of the SEND team, enquiries@saltashcloud.net or 01752 843715 

All admissions are managed by the local authority in Truro.  

www.cornwall.gov.uk/schools-and-education/schools-and-colleges/school-admissions  

 

Local Offer information 

You can also find information on Cornwall’s SEND Local Offer at the following link – Support In Cornwall, Local Offer