High Well School Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Information Report.   

We hope you will enjoy reading about the variety of ways in which we are able to support your child to reach their full potential in order to prepare them for positive futures.

What sort of children are given a place at High Well School? 

Children and young people who attend High Well School may experience profound or severe difficulties regulating their emotions leading to extreme behaviours.  Their abilities to respond to educational opportunities and learn effectively are often impaired. Pupils are placed at the School through Wakefield MBC Education, Health and Care Plan process if parents and the local authority agree this is in the child’s best interest.

My child hasn’t got an EHC plan but is like the children at High Well School – what do I do?

If you think your child is like the children who come to High Well School, but they do not have an EHC plan, then talk with your child’s teacher or a health professional such as your GP or Health Visitor.

Your child may need an assessment to find out what specialist support they need so they can make good progress in school.

My child attends High Well School

Who are the best people to talk to about my child’s difficulties? Who can I contact?

Class Teachers and other class based staff contact parents regularly and informally to try and make sure parents and carers are aware of the progress or any difficulties which may have arisen throughout the school day or week. If there are any concerns or worries regarding your child please contact the school on 01924 572100. If it is not possible for the class teacher to speak to you straight away, they will return your call as soon as they can. If it is an urgent matter, please ask to speak with another member of the team. Their roles are briefly described below.

Headteacher 

Acting Headteacher - Mr Coates

Acting Deputy Headteacher – Mrs T McKinnon

Acting Assistant Headteacher & SENCo - Mrs N Jackson

SENCo - Miss N Bell

 

Who are the other people providing services for pupils at High Well School?

Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) – Mrs N Jackson

Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) – Miss N Bell

Emotional Literacy Support Assistant - Ms J Addy and Mrs M Fernandez

Parent Support Advisor (PSA) and Safeguarding Officer – Ms S Shaw

Education Welfare Officer (EWO) - Mrs S Stepney

 

Wakefield Local Authority

• Educational Psychology Team
• Learning Support Service
• CIAT
• Education Welfare Officer
• YOT
• Children First Hubs

Health Service

• Speech and Language Therapy
• Occupational Therapy
• Physiotherapy
• School Nurse
• CAMHs

How does High Well School ensure that all staff are fully equipped to meet the wide ranging needs of individual pupils?

Step 1

Class teacher and TAs are supported in providing Quality First Teaching using pre and post assessment testing to identify gaps in learning to allow personalised planning.  Pupil progress is tracked using Learning Ladders and is analysed half-termly.  Pupils, parents/carers and all staff are involved in the co-creation of a child’s All About Me Profile to ensure that all adults in the school have up to date information on every pupil and that pupils’/parents/carers understand their responsibilities in relation to their child’s learning and social, emotional & behavioural skills.  Pupils’ social and emotional development is assessed using the Emotional Literacy Questionnaire on entry to the school and re-assessed termly to identify areas for development and demonstrate progress.  Risk assessments are maintained for all pupils and updated termly or more frequently if required. 

The school has a CPD calendar for the academic year which is linked to the school’s priority areas for development as well as ensuring staff are fully trained to meet the varying and complex needs of the pupils at High Well. 

Step 2                                                                                                                   

Informal support for staff from SENCO/Intervention Team on meeting individual pupil needs

Step 3

Request for further assessment and advice by other agencies to inform practice within school

How will High Well School measure the progress of individuals and how will I know what progress my child is making

Progress for all pupils is tracked using Learning Ladders and analysed on a half-termly basis.  Progress in pupils’ academic and social and emotional development is discussed with parents/carers on a termly basis through pupil progress days and annually through the EHCP review meeting.

Progress and targets for all pupils will be shared and amended with individuals and parents/carers on Pupil Progress day each term

SENCOs and Assistant Headteacher review attainment and progress data half-termly to identify pupils who may need intervention to address a particular or specific area of need.

 

What support does the School have for me as a parent of a child with SEN?

Our school is committed to supporting our pupils and their families. A member of the Senior Leadership Team is usually available to talk to parents /carers throughout the working day during term time. If this is not possible, a return call before the end of the working day will be made by the Class Teacher or Senior Leader.

We have a full time Parental Support Advisor (PSA) who is available to help parents access the help they may need from other agencies. This sometimes takes the form of developing or reviewing a CAF (Common Assessment Framework) in order for parents to evaluate and involve other professionals if appropriate.

 

What is a Pupil Progress Day?

Pupil Progress Day is held once a term.  Parents/carers and pupils are invited into the School for a personal appointment with their class teacher to discuss their child’s progress, next steps and to see their child’s work.  There are also other agencies available on these days to provide further information, support and guidance for parents/carers on a range of issues. 

Meeting the needs of all pupils.

‘Quality First Teaching’ is an entitlement for all pupils. High Well School constantly strives to ensure that this is of a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ quality at all times. This is about teachers meeting the needs of all our learners in the classroom. Lessons are planned to meet the needs of individual pupils through the use of pre and post assessment in all subject areas.  On entry to the school pupils undertake Reading, Maths and Science assessments in order to establish a robust baseline from the school’s assessment as well as using previous school or Key Stage data.  There is an ethos of continued professional development embedded in school to ensure that all staff members are trained and informed of new developments in education and in particular developments in the teaching of pupils with a broad spectrum of Special Educational Needs.

A wide variety of strategies are used to provide support for pupils across the curriculum. The following interventions and methods currently exist:

• Personalised planning including differentiation of tasks, resources and outcomes
• In-class support (HLTA and TAs)
• Small group / individualised support sessions for English, Maths and social skills/behaviour for identified individuals
• Academic mentoring for individuals as necessary
• Use of ICT equipment including software packages to support pupils access the curriculum, one to one literacy support for reading, comprehension and writing skills
• One to one numeracy support
• One to one social, emotional and behavioural skills support including interventions as delivered by the school's ELSA and EEBP
• Access Arrangements for pupils with specific needs for exams and controlled assessments

How are pupils supported to help them make progress in their learning?

Personalisation – Teaching and Learning carefully planned and targeted to meet the needs of the individual

For many pupils, changes to the way that the curriculum is delivered can make a significant impact on removing the barriers to their learning and make the expected progress. This done in the following ways:

•  simplifying the language used to explain ideas and work
• developing an engaging, active and interesting scheme of work
• tailoring activities to try and take into account specific interests
• in some cases it may be necessary to develop very personalised schemes of work or timetables which can include tuition away from the school site
• if appropriate, the School will include vocational courses if it is felt this will benefit individual pupils, particularly in terms of progression post 16. The School currently works in collaboration with Wakefield College, Reverse the Cycle, Forest School and Riding for the Disabled.  We have our own construction provision at Featherstone Rovers and can work with others to provide opportunities for pupils with require a greater amount of personalisation in their timetable

Teachers plan to meet individual needs on a daily basis in order to ensure that all the pupils in the class can make the most of their learning experiences and make at least expected progress.

Some pupils may require interventions which are ‘additional to and different from’ that which is normally provided for all pupils in the classroom. This will be discussed with you during the EHCP review process or at Pupil Progress Days. Typically the intervention will be to support an identified need such as developing reading, writing, maths, managing behaviour or communication skills.  The work carried out is monitored by the SENCO and delivered by additional staff involvement both individually and in whole class lessons.

For some children these interventions may not be enough to help your child make progress. In consultation with parents, the school may decide to involve some external professionals or agencies to provide them with more specialist advice and guidance in order to support them to remove the barriers to your child’s learning. This external support might be from an Educational Psychologist; Speech and Language Therapist; Occupational / Physiotherapist; Specialist Advisory Teacher for HI & VI or a medical professional.

 

 

Pupil Voice

Pupils’ views are very important and feed directly into all policies, procedures and daily teaching.  Pupils are given regular opportunities to:

• Self- assess and peer-assess in class
• Attend review meetings, and where possible working with support to lead on a pupil centred review
• Co-construct academic and social/emotional targets
• Suggest how school can better provide for their needs
• Suggest rewards
• Be part of the school council

How will my child’s learning needs be assessed and their progress monitored?

Assessment of pupil progress takes place on a regular and daily basis which may include teacher, peer and self-review assessments. Assessments also take place prior to and at the end of specific pieces of work. All assessments aim to inform teacher’s planning of the pupil’s next steps in learning.

In addition to academic assessments, other assessments will be completed including the Emotional Literacy Checklist.

All About Me profiles are evaluated termly on the Pupil Progress Days and pupils’ Social/Emotional and academic targets are reviewed with their class teacher on a monthly basis.

 

Transition between KS2 & KS3

We have close links between the school and primary schools/settings where pupils transition to us from in Year 7.  Pupils, parents/carers and other professionals involved are encouraged to visit the school and have a tour.  There is an established transition plan in place which offers pupils a graduated approach to school. Pupils are offered a number of visits to the school culminating with the pupils spending three full days in school.  Key members of staff liaise with the schools, parents/ carers and pupils so that everyone is aware of key staff. Pupils meet their new teacher and the other pupils in their class.

Transition between KS4 and Post 16 Provision including College/ Apprenticeships

All our pupils in KS4 have external visits to post-16 providers, places of work and/or opportunities on a regular basis. Transition visits to colleges are an integral part of the curriculum throughout Years 10 and 11.  In 2019/20 Year 11 pupils have had the opportunity weekly participate in taster courses in conjunction with Wakefield College.

Contact information for WESAIL

WESAIL offers support and guidance to parents/carers.

If you feel you need support WESAIL can be contacted by phone on 01924 304152

Or email wesail@barnardos.org.uk

 

Accessibility Plan

• Increasing the extent to which pupils with disabilities can participate in your curriculum
• Improving our school’s physical environment to increase the extent to which pupils with disabilities can take advantage of the education, benefits, facilities and services we provide or offer
• Improving the delivery to pupils with disabilities of information which is readily accessible to pupils without disabilities

Please see High Well School's Accessibility Plan under the Policies section here

Initial complaints can be given to school staff.  This can then be escalated to the Head Teacher or the Governing Board. If you have followed this procedure without success then complaints can be made to the Local Authority.

You can read the complaints policy here

 

Further information

For further information on support and services available locally please click on the link below for Wakefield's Local Offer

 http://wakefield.mylocaloffer.org/Home

You can also read the school’s SEND Policy here: