SEND
Staff
| Mr N McCarthy | SENDCO | n.mccarthy@highworth.kent.sch.uk |
| Miss V Murphy | Assistant to the SENDCO | v.murphy@highworth.kent.sch.uk |
| Mrs J Brooks | Learning Support Assistant |
| Mrs E Oram | Learning Support Assistant |
| Beth | SEND Prefect |
About the Team
The SEND Team work closely with parents, teachers, Directors of Learning, Student Support Managers and outside agencies.
The SEND Department can offer a whole range of support and guidance to help students access the curriculum and reach their full potential. Support provided is dependant of the type of need. Support is not necessarily provided by the learning support assistant, but other support structures within the school. The department also provides support for students with an Educational Healthcare Plan. The focus is one of inclusion and the majority of support will be delivered within the classroom with additional 1:1 support if applicable and appropriate.
Examples of Areas of Support
- Learning disabilities such as dyslexia
- Medical and physical problems
- Social, emotional & mental health
- Referrals to external agencies and/or specialist support services
- School Counselling Services
Multi-agency Interventions and Support
We work with a range of external agencies: Child & Young People’s Mental Health Service; Early Intervention in Psychosis service; Speech, Language and Communication Needs Service; Specialist Teaching Service; Young Healthy Minds; LIFT; Health Needs Education Service and Home Tuition; medical practitioners e.g. physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dyslexia assessments, hospital consultants and medical teams; Young Carers; Transition visits for SEN pupils; and School Liaison Officers.
We provide in-house counselling in school. We have a qualified counsellor who offers two days of counselling per week.
Staff Training to Improve SEND Student Outcomes
SEND staff have attended training in the following areas this year:
- CiC updates
- Child Protection
- Additional Educational Needs Update Meetings
- SEND Strategy Training
- Speech, Language and Communication Needs
- Supporting Vulnerable Girls
- Understanding Eating Disorders
- Attachment, Trauma & Anxiety
SEND Developments, Projects and Initiatives
- Circle of Friends Groups have been set up for autistic students, helping them improve social skills and develop and maintain friendships
- Extra tuition has been provided to students with specific needs, who meet government criteria, via Pupil Premium funding
- Additional one to one support can be provided to students with English as an Additional Language when specific difficulties are identified.
The Local Authority Local Offer
You can find the SEND Local Offer for Kent County Council (KCC) at https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educational-needs
SEND Policy
The SEND Policy can be found under Policies on the website.