Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND)
At Pate’s, all students are nurtured to reach their full academic potential and our rounded curriculum enables them to achieve their aspirations. We want our students to experience success in safe learning environments, where they feel individually seen and where their needs are met.
All teachers at Pate’s are expected to deliver Quality First Teaching, and to develop and deliver adaptive teaching strategies that meet the needs of all students; everyone is a teacher of students with SEND.
We also have a dedicated SEND Team, which acts as a bridge between academic and pastoral care by supporting the early-identification of and appropriate support for special educational needs. Based in the Student Support Centre, at the heart of the school, the Team co-ordinates individual support tailored to student needs.
What are Special Educational Needs?
A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.
A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:
• has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age
or
• has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.SEND Code of Practice, 2015
A Special Educational Need falls into one of four categories:
- Communication and Interaction
- Cognition and Learning
- Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Physical and Sensory
Some children may have needs in multiple categories.
Supporting SEND Students at Pate’s
Students identified as having a special educational need or disability will be supported on to the appropriate level of the Gloucestershire SEND Graduated Pathway. Following a child-centred approach, students on the Graduated Pathway will have a Student Support Passport to ensure that they are supported in accessing a full and rounded school curriculum. Students may require a My Plan, My Plan Plus or Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) in addition to their Student Support Passport.
All Student Support Passports, My Plans and My Plan Plus are reviewed regularly. EHCPs are reviewed annually. The SENDCo may also organise assessments and arrange Access Arrangements for exams, if appropriate.
Where a student’s learning requires a specific programme of support, the SENCO will consult with parents/carers and work in collaboration with external agencies and the Local Authority, where appropriate.
SEND is a consideration across all areas of school life and the performance of all students is closely monitored on a regular basis by Pastoral, Academic and Senior Leadership colleagues. We adopt a Pastoral Support Plan to develop and implement early interventions for students from a pastoral and safeguarding perspective, who may need to be supported onto the SEND Graduated Pathway in the future.
Further information
We will make reasonable adjustments to accommodate any student’s SEND needs.
We welcome enquiries from parents/carers of students with identified SEND requirements to discuss how these might be met, whilst being mindful of the school’s admissions criteria.
Our SENDCo can be contacted by email or by telephone to the School Office.
View our SEND Policy here.
Helpful links
The Gloucestershire Local Offer is available here.
Gloucestershire can provide you with impartial advice here.
