Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Every teacher at Sale High School is regarded as a teacher of special educational needs and is responsible and accountable for the students in their class. The SENCo advises teachers and manages intervention to support students with special educational needs. We have a team of experienced and dedicated Learning Support Assistants and a Learning Hub to meet the varying needs of our students.

What is Special Educational Need?

Children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. Children have a learning difficulty if they:

– Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age;

– Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in schools within   the area of the local education authority

– Are under compulsory school age and fall within the definitions above or would so do if special educational provision was not made for them.

How are Special Educational Needs identified?

On transition to Sale High School, students with SEN will have been identified by their primary school and relevant information passed to Mrs Walter, SENCo at Sale High School.

Sometimes Special Educational Needs are identified during secondary school.  Rigorous assessment in the classroom, cognitive ability testing and reading tests are all used to identify students who may be struggling to access the curriculum.  If a student fails to make the expected progress over a period of two terms, school will carry out some further educational tests in order to identify the area of difficulty.

How are Special Educational Needs supported?

If a pupil is identified as having a Special Educational Need, the first action is to make all subject teachers aware of this need.  Subject teachers are then required to support students’ learning through a variety of classroom based strategies. They provide opportunity for over learning, provide specific work to help the student, move the student closer to the front of the classroom, provide a reading ruler or access to a computer.

If a student continues to have difficulties, Mrs Walter will coordinate a Pupil Passport for them which provides more detail on what interventions would be helpful to them in the classroom. This may involve the student accessing a computer during a lesson or joining a small group to work on a particular set of skills.  Learning Support Assistants are also present in lessons to work with students needing additional support in a particular subject.  Homework club is available to all students but can be particularly helpful to those students who may need adult support to complete their homework.

Students with an Education, Health & Care Plan

If a pupil has an EHCP they will be allocated a named keyworker, who will oversee their support in school and provide a link between home and school.  A student with a EHCP will receive support in lessons and tuition for specific areas of difficulty.  Regular education planning meetings are held as well as a formal reviews, to ensure that the student is making expected progress.

Further information

For further information, please contact a member of staff via info@salehighschool.org.uk or view our full SEND policy and SEN Information Report.