SEN Information Report
SEN Information Report
Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs (SEND)
We are committed to keeping parents informed if we have any concerns that a student may have special educational needs (SEND).
A student is considered to have a SEND when there is a significant gap in their educational progress or when emotional needs directly impact their learning and well-being. Some students may experience educational development gaps, and we address these needs through a Graduated Approach. This approach is delivered through Quality First Teaching within the classroom and, when necessary, through short-term interventions.
Our teaching provision is designed to benefit all students, and we take pride in developing and sharing best practices across our school community.
We understand the importance of routine and consistency in delivering high-quality lessons every day.
We also recognise that some students may need additional support to achieve these goals. Therefore, all our teachers participate in professional development and use guided principles from the Education Endowment Fund and other research led material to ensure our practices are up-to-date and effective. For further information about the EEF Review please visit their website:
If you have any questions or need further information, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are here to support your child’s educational journey every step of the way.
Adapting the Curriculum:
A student is considered to have SEND when there is a significant gap between educational progress or where emotional need impacts directly on their learning and well-being. Some students may have educational development gaps in their progress. The needs of these students are met by the Graduated Approach (This is called Quality First Teaching) within the classroom and, where considered necessary, by short-term intervention.
We offer a broad and balanced curriculum for all students including those with SEND. Details are published on the school’s website. The range of support deployed may be tailored to individual needs following thorough assessment by internal or external agencies.
Our curriculum is designed to promote students working towards becoming independent and resilient learners and should not be seen in isolation.
Strategies to support/develop literacy:
- Specialist teacher advice disseminated to and followed by teaching staff
- Focused reading recovery lessons
- Small group intervention programmes
- One to one intervention
- Teaching Assistant Lead Practitioners
- Online reading programmes to support reading at home
Strategies to support/develop numeracy:
- Specialist teacher advice disseminated to and followed by teaching staff
- Small group intervention programmes
- Additional maths groups
- Provision to facilitate/support access to the curriculum.
- Some small group/individual intervention depending on need.
ICT resources Strategies/support to develop independent learning:
- Mentoring by peers, support staff or teaching staff
- Small group programmes working on study skills
- Access to areas where homework can be completed in designated spaces in school: supervised classrooms and the Learning Resource Centre
- Visual timetables for class/and or individual students
Personal and medical care:
- Staff (Medical) available for students throughout the day
- Care plans for students with medical needs
Outreach services Access to strategies/programmes to support occupational/physiotherapy needs:
- Advice of professionals disseminated and followed
- Use of any recommended equipment
Access to modified equipment and IT:
- iPad access for all students to use in the classroom to support learning
How do we work with parents and students?
Here’s how we work together to support your child:
Communication: If we have concerns, we will always contact you to discuss them.
Collaboration: We work closely with students with SEND and their parents to agree on goals and how we will achieve them. We regularly review progress together.
Awareness: Our SENDCO and the team ensure that all necessary school staff are aware of your child’s needs and the strategies to support them. This information is shared through Passports and Learning plans, review updates, Learning Support information sharing, and SEND staff briefings.
Clarity: We make sure all information we share with you is clear and easy to understand. If your child needs extra support, we will always discuss it with you first.
Regular Reviews: Your child’s progress will be reviewed regularly. You will be invited to school to discuss outcomes and share your views, typically during the week of your child’s Parents’ Evening. Your child can also share their thoughts.
Open Communication: The SEN and Inclusion Team will stay in regular contact with you through progress meetings, email, and phone calls.
Parent Events: We host events for parents and carers to connect with our team and professional services, share information, and participate in coffee mornings.
We are here to support your child’s educational journey every step of the way. If you have any questions or need further information, please get in touch.
What expertise can we offer?
We will work in partnership with you to identify the needs of your child and put in place the correct support including family support if required.
- Sometimes we may need to ask for your permission to involve other qualified professionals to support your child.
- The school will involve you in all decisions and listen to your views.
- The school will involve your child in decisions about their learning.
- We will be happy to give you contact details for organisations that can give advice and support to you and your child.
As a school, we ensure:
- All staff have training in safeguarding
- Accreditation of Thrive Practitioners who deliver training and support in school
- Teaching Assistants are trained to support the needs of the students they work with
- We use our notional budget to buy Professional services from our external agents to enhance our provision in school and purchase specialist resources, training and expertise
- All staff receive training in the adoption of the SEND Code of Practice
The school works with several external agencies to seek advice and support to ensure that the needs of all children are fully understood and met. These include:
- Behaviour Support Service and City of Birmingham School (COBs)
- Communication and Autism Team (CAT)
- Physical Disability Service (PDS)
- Student and School Support (PSS)
- Sensory Support Service (SSS)
- West Midlands Speech and Language Therapist (SALT)
- Compass North Birmingham Mental Health Support Team
- Occupational Therapy (OT)
- Birmingham School Health Support Service: Northeast School Nurse Team
- Forward Thinking Birmingham
Information about what the specialist services offer can be found on the Birmingham Council web page: https://accesstoeducation.birmingham.gov.uk/
Please note: We always discuss the involvement of specialist SEND services with parents first and we work with other services and organisations that are involved with a family, with the family’s permission.
How do we know if SEND provision is effective?
The progress of all students is tracked throughout with regular data reports, updated profiles and provision mapping.
In addition, for students with SEND we regularly review progress towards agreed outcomes assessing whether the support that’s been in place has made a difference and what we need to do next. We evaluate this progress against age related expectations.
When we run special intervention programmes for groups of students, we assess how successful they have been and use that information to decide on how best to run them in the future.
How are students with SEND helped to access activities outside of the classroom?
All students are included in activities and trips following risk assessments where needed and in accordance with duties under the Equalities Act 2010. We talk to parents and young people, as appropriate, when planning trips so that everyone is clear about what will happen.
What do we do to support the well-being of students with SEND?
We listen to the views of students with SEND by providing a robust pastoral support system which includes form tutors and Head of Year who liaise with the Learning Support team, class teachers and Heads of Faculty.
Strategies to support the development of students’ social skills and enhance self-esteem:
- Small group programmes
- A Hub pass to support with reasonable adjustments during the school day. The pass may provide supervised break and lunch, movement breaks, access to therapeutic support to self-regulate in one of our designated spaces.
- A specialist Teaching Assistant and/or mentor in our designated rooms available throughout the day to support with emerging issues or challenges.
- Mentoring
- Targeted provision from a bespoke menu delivered by the SEN and Inclusion Team.
Mentoring activities:
- Pastoral support mentoring
- Reward system
- Intervention groups
Strategies to reduce anxiety/promote emotional wellbeing:
- Transition support, visits and events
- Reduced modified visual timetables
- Regular contact and liaison with parents as necessary
- A designated safe space
- Access to designated SEN and Inclusion spaces
- Thrive informed approaches
Strategies to support/modify behaviour:
- School sanctions and reward system as set out in School Behaviour Policy, including ‘reasonable adjustments’ where necessary and appropriate.
- Behaviour Support Services COBS, Educational Psychology, Outreach services.
- Trained Thrive practitioners work with targeted students
Mentoring Support/supervision at unstructured times of the day including personal care:
- Drop-in clinics during break and lunch
- Trained staff supervising during break periods
- Learning support/mentoring
How are students with Special Educational Needs involved in their education?
We aim to involve all children in our school in the evaluations and implementation of their education. For children and young people with Special Educational Needs, we use a variety of strategies to support this including:
- SEND Progress Reviews
- Child or young person’s target review meetings (short-term and long-term target setting)
- Involve child or young person in setting their own targets
- Self-assessment at the beginning and end of learning
Joining the school and moving on:
We recognise that ‘moving on’ can be difficult for a child with SEN/and or disabilities and take steps to make sure any transition is as smooth as possible. We encourage all new students to visit the school before starting. We offer open mornings and open evenings and all primary schools are visited by John Willmott School staff as part of the transition process. There is a city-wide transition day for students moving sites / and from primary schools. For students with SEND, we offer extra bespoke visits and 1:1 support and liaison. We also host a ‘SENDCo lunch’ for partner primary schools, this serves as an additional opportunity to exchange information and best practice.
Other Transitions
At the start of each academic year, we are available to parents to make appointments to discuss the year ahead.
When moving year group in school:
- Information will be passed on to the new class teachers in advance.
- Necessary individual support will be put in place.
The SEN and Inclusion Postholders also attend all Parents’ Evenings and events such as Options Evening to support transitions each school year.
We also work closely with our Independent Careers Advisor to prepare all students with SEND for adulthood. This includes setting career action plans, advising with post-16 choices and career guidance.
If your child is moving to another educational environment:
We will contact the new school’s SENCO and ensure he/she knows about any special arrangements or support that need to be made for your child. Support the child and parent through the transition.
