Parent Update - SEND
The SEND team now consists of Miss Fitzgerald (Assistant Principal and SENDCo); Mrs Kane (Intervention Lead and Dyslexia Co-ordinator); and 11 Learning Support Assistants.
The SEND provision is progressing well and the Sir Richard Branson Centre is always engaging students in learning and overcoming their barriers. We continue to offer a range of interventions such as Fresh Start which is a phonics reading programme for Year 7 and Year 8; a booster reading intervention for Year 8 and Year 9; a handwriting intervention for Year 7 – 11; maths booster intervention and a touch-typing intervention for Year 7 – 11 to make our students more independent and ready for Post-16 education.
Further to this, we also offer a range of social and emotional communication skills such as Lego therapy, art therapy, and understanding abstract concepts using real life experiences such as growing plants. Additionally, many of our students are now accessing the tinted paper/exercise books which are having a real impact on their progress. Students feel that it has been a positive move and helps them to focus in lessons. Further to this, we thrive on ensuring all students are in class accessing learning through Quality First Teaching and ensuring they become independent learners.
Years 11s are just about to start their GCSEs and we would like to wish them the best of luck. The SEND students have been having extra English and maths interventions focusing on key areas and have also had the opportunity to have 1:1 mentoring to discuss exam techniques. They are the first Year 11s to have their exams on tinted paper.
We are currently in the process of planning the Year 6 transition, ensuring that all feeder primary schools have been contacted and 1:1 meetings are currently being arranged. We will be organising extra transition sessions for the SEND students to boost their confidence and to familiarise them with the new school setting and to ensure any worries have been addressed before September. We would like to wish the Year 6 students good luck for their KS2 SATs and look forward to meeting them soon.