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Castle Newnham

Castle Newnham is a mixed all-through school across two sites.  Our school’s vision is one of ‘Traditional Values, Bright Futures, One Journey’.

Who to contact

Contact Name
Claire Kerridge
Contact Position
Assistant Headteacher – SEND
Telephone
E-mail
office@castlenewnham.school
Website
castlenewnham.school/
Notes

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Other Details

Age Bands
11-14 years old
Parents and carers
15-17 years old
0-4 years old
5-10 years old

Schools Extended Local Offer Response

How does the setting/school/college know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs?

At Castle Newnham School, members of staff use a variety of sources to gain information about a child, for example, parent conversations, information from their teachers, feedback from colleagues from other agencies who may be involved with the child and previous settings if appropriate. These conversations, along with data and personalised assessments of the child, helps the Assistant Headteacher for SEND (AHT SEND), Primary SENDCo and class teachers to determine the needs of pupils.

 

Professionals in school use the guidance in the Code of Practice (2015) to assist them in determining whether a pupil may have a Special Educational Needs or a Disability (SEND). In addition to this, the attainment of every pupil in the school is monitored regularly. If the school is concerned the pupil is not making enough progress and we think it may be due to a Special Educational Need, relevant assessments will be carried out and families will be involved in decision making about any support that is provided.

 

If you have any concerns about your child, we would encourage you to speak to your child’s teacher or form tutor in the first instance.  They will listen and try to help and direct you to other colleagues if appropriate. 

 

If you would like to contact a member of the SEND team directly, you should contact Mrs Kerridge (AHT SEND) or Mrs Magee (SENDCo) for secondary pupils on 01234 303403 or secoffice@castlenewnham.school or Mr Robinson-Welsh & Mrs Hannah Brown (Acting Primary SENDCo) for Primary aged pupils on 01234 300800 or sendpri@castlenewnham.school

How will early years setting/school/college staff support my child/young person?

All teachers at Castle Newnham are teachers of children with SEND and get to know the pupils they teach very well. They will support pupils in their classes by personalising their lessons in response to a child’s need.

 

Where appropriate, pupils may receive extra support from Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) or the Pupil and Family Support Workers. The frequency and intensity of this work will depend on the needs of the pupil. LSAs are based in the classroom primarily and will support pupils with their learning on a daily basis. LSAs are deployed on a personalised, flexible basis to ensure a pupil has the necessary support to achieve but enough freedom to become an independent, resilient learner.

 

We can offer additional support in school for behaviour, social skills, learning needs, attendance and exams.  Additional support is provided on a flexible, individual basis and pupils may be supported by a variety of different colleagues in school depending on their needs.

How will the curriculum be matched to my child's/young person's needs?

Adaptations to the curriculum and learning environment are considered on a personalised basis every year. In the primary phase, the curriculum will be personalised and adapted on a continual basis by the class teacher in response to a child’s needs and progress they are making.

 

In the secondary phase, subject leaders will regularly meet with individual subject teachers and analyse the pupil attainment data to identify pupils who may need adaptations to the curriculum. They will then co-ordinate this provision in conjunction with members of subject staff in their department.

 

We will always try to adapt the curriculum to meet a pupil’s needs where reasonably possible. We work closely with advisory services such as the visually and hearing impaired team and liaise with these agencies if adaptations to the school environment is required. Support is given on an individualised basis to pupils to ensure their needs are met.

We also have two SEND teachers within the Federation who work with individuals and groups of pupils who need more significant support to access the curriculum because of their learning difficulties.  They are able to tailor the support they provide to ensure pupils are developing key skills to enable them to be successful learners.

When pupils choose their GCSE options, personalised pathways are available depending on the need of the pupil but may include more vocational options which prepare them for the world of work.

How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support my child's/young person's learning?

We are very proud of the progress our pupils make in their time with us. The attainment of every pupil in the school is monitored regularly with more formal assessment points each term. As part of this cycle, the achievement and attainment of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are analysed and any pupils who are not making the progress we expect are identified and additional support or intervention work is put in place. The impact of any additional support or intervention is reviewed termly by the AHT SEND and Primary SENDCo to ensure the pupil is receiving the correct level of support to enable them to make progress but still have the freedom to become an independent, resilient learner.

Regular meetings take place between the AHT SEND, Primary SENDCo, learning support team and class, subject and form teachers to ensure any issues are identified as quickly as possible. In addition, open lines of communication with families mean that successes or problems with provision can be highlighted to school by family members. Castle Newnham also uses a variety of methods to assess, evaluate and monitor other skills related to social and emotional aspects of learning and mental health. Personalised provision is monitored carefully with standardised assessments, where appropriate, and regular reviews by the members of staff involved with supporting the child.

Reports are sent home to parents regularly and Parents’ Evenings are held throughout the year.  In addition, for pupils with SEND, 

What support will there be for my child's/young person's overall well being?

All pupils receive pastoral support from their class or form teacher. If a pupil needs a higher level of support they may work with our Pupil and Family Support Workers. The Pupil and Family Support Workers work with pupils on an individual or small group basis with a focus on productive activities such as cooking, outdoor education and sports.

During their time at Castle Newnham pupils follow a PSHCE curriculum. This curriculum is designed to enable pupils to develop personal resilience, accept differences, deal with the challenges of adolescence, prepare for adult life and participate in sex and relationship education.

In the primary phase this also includes a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing that we run in conjunction with a charity, The Mind Map.  The programme develops resilience, emotional literacy and provides pupils with the opportunity to talk to key adults in school.

In the secondary phase, we work with outside agencies to provide workshops relevant to pupils at their particular age and stage.

What specialist services and expertise are avaliable at or accessed by the setting/school/college?

Castle Newnham is committed to inclusion and the AHT SEND, Secondary SENDCo, Primary SENDCo and members of staff have experience in supporting pupils with a variety of needs that may present themselves in a normal, mainstream school. We do not have a ‘specialism’ in supporting pupils with a particular type of need; we support all pupils’ additional needs on an individual basis.

The AHT SEND, Secondary SENDCo and Primary SENDCo holds the National Award in Special Educational Needs Co-Ordination and has experience in working with pupils with a variety of needs that may present themselves in an inclusive school.  In addition, the AHT SEND is a qualified Access Arrangement Assessor.

 

As well as having colleagues who provide additional support in school, Castle Newnham regularly works with a variety of outside agencies from health, therapy and social care including:

o Educational Psychologists

o Autism Spectrum Disorder Team

o Speech & Language Therapy Team

o Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service

o Hearing Impaired Team

o Visual Impaired Team

This list is not exhaustive and Castle Newnham is committed to communicating and working with professionals involved with a child or family to ensure a joined up approach to support.

What training have the staff supporting children and young people with SEND had? Are any being trained currently?

All members of staff are committed to continuing professional development and regularly participate in formal and informal training opportunities where they are able to share good practice and learn new strategies and techniques to support pupils with SEND. In addition to the five staff training days across the academic year, members of staff are part of weekly briefings, department meetings and staff meetings which serve as a way to share information about pupils and discuss and plan ways to support pupils’ needs. In addition to this, training can be given in response to more specific needs of pupils where appropriate and this can be delivered by outside agencies or by the AHT SEND or Primary SENDCo. 

How will my child/young person be included in activities outside this classroom including school trips?

Castle Newnham is committed to ensuring pupils are given as many different opportunities as possible in their time with us. This includes the opportunity to go on trips and be involved in extracurricular activities and school events.

 

Involvement of pupils with SEND in extra-curricular visits are monitored through event requests to ensure they are provided with equal opportunities. Castle Newnham is an inclusive school and wherever possible will ensure pupils with SEND are able to access activities outside of the classroom including school trips. Any specific need pupils may have will be considered when planning trips and appropriate risk assessments and conversations with parents will take place where necessary. Support for trips is deployed on an individual basis in response to a child’s needs.

 

A variety of extra-curricular activities take place during break, lunch and after school throughout the week at Castle Newnham. Attendance at these clubs is open to all pupils and we welcome pupils with SEND. If necessary, support can be arranged to enable participation in these activities.

How will the setting/school/college prepare and support my child/young person to join the setting/school/college or the next stage of education and life?

Castle Newnham has a whole school approach to careers education and guidance which SEND pupils are fully involved in, with support if necessary.  In addition, pupils with EHCPs are further supported through preparing for adulthood outcomes in their EHCPs.

 In addition, we offer ASDAN’s CoPE programme for suitable candidates as a GSCE option which looks at key employability skills and supports pupils to develop these through a series of assignments.

We also have links with Post-16 institutions including Bedford College.

How are the setting's/school's/college's resources allocated and matched to children's/young people's special educational needs?

The school’s resources are allocated on a personalised basis.  If your child has an EHCP, resources are allocated according to provision in their plan.  If your child does not have an EHCP, resources are allocated in consultation with teaching staff, parents and other professionals (where relevant) to ensure that a pupil’s needs are met.

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child/young person will receive?

Castle Newnham uses the guidance in The Code of Practice (2015) to determine what support is best for a pupil who may need additional support.  This includes using the assess-plan-do-review cycle. 

The first step of this cycle is to assess a pupil’s need using a variety of information, including assessment data, conversations with teachers and parents, observations and information from other professionals (where appropriate).  The provision and support is then planned carefully with school staff and families and then carried out for a period of no less than six weeks.  At the end of the ‘do’ period, the support is reviewed and evaluated and support that is working is kept in place and any support that may need adapting is discussed and considered further.

If a child has an EHCP, the support they receive is informed by the provision in their plan.

How are parents involved in the setting/school/college? How can I be involved?

The school website contains important information including calendar information and school policies. We also have a twitter feed which can be accessed from the school website via the news and events page which is updated regularly. A report with information about pupil achievement is issued to parents annually and parents’ evenings take place at least once a year. These evenings provide an opportunity for a detailed discussion about the progress your child should be and is making with a class or subject teacher.

Other information evenings take place over the course of the year and have included topics like SATs preparation, GCSE Options and reading with children.

In addition to more formal opportunities to consult with parents, the school encourages a close relationship with parents and members of staff including the AHT SEND and Primary SENDCo, class and form teachers will always take the time to discuss your child’s needs with you. We encourage parents to get in touch with us if they have any concerns or want to discuss their child’s progress and we are always happy to respond to queries.