Special Education Needs

‘Every teacher is a teacher of special educational needs.’

(The SEND Code of Practice)

At Walney School, we are proud that our school provides a fully inclusive learning environment for all of our students.

We celebrate and accept all of our differences and we are always looking to find the unique skills and talents that neurodivergence brings to our young people. Alongside this, we offer personalised support to ensure that all students have the same learning opportunities as others and that every single student has every chance of success throughout their school lives.

Through the work of the SENDCO and team of dedicated Teaching Assistants, we offer a range of support for our young people:

• We have a designated Pupil Support Unit, which offers a safe, nurturing environment for students with Special Educational Needs. This includes a ‘Quiet Room’, a ‘Work Room’ and a sensory area.
• We have a sensory garden, exclusively for our SEND students, offering a safe place during unstructured times.
• All students with SEND, including those with EHCPs, have Individualised learning plans (passports). These are developed with student and parent input and are reviewed termly. Teachers use these documents to inform their planning, so they can support students in the classroom.
• Students have their own designated Key Worker, a point of contact and a friendly face in school. The Key Workers are always available for your children and have a formal meeting at least once a week. They also make regular contact home to keep parents / carers fully informed about school life and your child’s progress and wellbeing.
• For pupils with SEND, short term achievable targets are set and progress against these targets and expected outcomes are monitored termly through their SEND passports. Key workers and TAs monitor progress and the evaluation informs adjustments to passports. All reviewed information is shared with staff and parents (in red). Parents are asked to comment.
• For pupils with an EHCP, progress against end of KS outcomes is continually monitored by TAs and key workers.
• EHCP students have an annual review of the provision made for the child, which will enable an evaluation of the effectiveness of the special provision made to date, and identify future provision.
• Dyslexia screening tests are used, where need is identified, and strategies are suggested through the test and disseminated to staff.

 How we identify students with SEND needs

When students arrive in Year 7, we run a series of screening tests, designed to provide us with robust data about each child’s current ability in reading, writing and numeracy. We also liaise closely with primaries, so that this information builds on the data we receive from previous settings and key stage results. Throughout your child’s time at Walney School, their class teachers will also assess progress regularly and this information enables us to identify those whose progress: 

• is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline 
• does not match or better the child’s previous rate of progress 
• does not close the attainment gap between the child and their peers 

Where we see slower than expected progress, students will undergo further diagnostic testing to ascertain precisely what support is needed. It is important to know that children who are below the expected level in English and mathematics are not automatically identified as having SEND needs, but are provided with the quality first teaching they need to make the progress required. Your child may only be identified as having a SEND need when their problems with making progress are ongoing and require additional support beyond the classroom.

Quality First Teaching 

As a school, we also offer lots of training to our staff about working with students with SEND. Many needs can be met through Quality First Teaching and we strive to create a staff body with the skills and understanding to support all of our students, getting the very best out of them, regardless of their needs.

Additional Support

The Pupil Support Unit’s Model Of Support means that we run a range of targeted support programmes, which are timebound and evidence based, to support students in their learning. These include:

• Lexonik Leap (literacy programme)
• Lexonik Advance (literacy programme)
• IDL Literacy
• IDL Numeracy
• Social skills
• Autism awareness
• Social, emotional and mental health
• Wellbeing
• Community engagement

The Local Offer is a directory of all of the services available within Cumbria. The Local Authority’s local offer website can be found at the following link: 

https://fid.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk/kb5/westmorlandandfurness/directory/localoffer.page?localofferchannel=0

The website for the Cumbria SEND Improvement website is available at the following link:

https://fid.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk/kb5/westmorlandandfurness/directory/localoffer.page?localofferchannel=5-10

Walney School’s local offer information can be found at the following link: 

https://www.walney-school.co.uk/about-us/policies-financial-reports/

Alternatively, please contact the school office on 01229 471528 for a paper copy.