Special Educational Needs & Disabilities
Meet the SEND Team
SEND General Information
Tiers of Need
As per the SEND Code of Practice, there are four recognised areas of need. These are:
-
Communication and Interaction
-
Cognition and Learning
-
Social, Emotional and Mental Health
-
Physical and Sensory Health
At PGS, our students identified with SEND are categorised into one of three tiers. Identification and support in place is described below.
Students with an Education Health and Care Plan have the support and provision outlined for them in a legally binding document published by the local authority of where they live. Many students with an EHCP can have their needs met within a mainstream environment, and we have a number who do so at Penistone Grammar School.
Our EHCP students will:
-
Have a termly cycle of APDR
-
Be allocated a key worker – this person will be the main contact between home and school for the student, as well as updated plans and ensuring that guidance to staff is up to date and relevant.
-
Have weekly contact via phone call or email.
-
Have a Pupil Passport outlining relevant information to support teaching and learning and a video descriptor shared with staff to inform their practice.
We also are lucky enough to have our HeartSpace provision which gives a greater degree of support. Please note – access to the HeartSpace is commissioned by the Local Authority and a place within the provision is not at the discretion of the school.
K1
Our K1 students have a recognised need as per the 4 areas of need and a requirement for further intervention. This could include academic or social and emotional. Relevant provision will be identified following assessment review points in line with school data and the APDR process.
Our K1 students will:
-
Have a termly cycle of APDR.
-
Be allocated a key worker.
-
Undertake relevant intervention
-
Half termly contact via telephone or email.
-
Have a Pupil Passport outlining relevant information to support teaching and learning and any reasonable adjustments identified.
K2
Our K2 students are those that may have a recognised need which can be met within the classroom with High Quality Teaching.
Our K2 students will:
-
Be allocated a key worker.
-
Have termly contact via telephone or email.
-
Have a Pupil Passport outlining relevant information to support teaching and learning and any reasonable adjustments identified.
Referrals & Diagnosis
If you feel your child may have SEND please email sen@penistone-gs.uk. You will be asked for any information you can give us to help with the observation and referral process.
A member of the SEN team will then observe the student in lessons to see how they present in school as well as collating information from key staff around school such as their teachers and student support officer.
If we feel that your child may have an SEN need and could be referred for a diagnosis, then we will start this process. Please be aware that this may take up to two months to complete.
Once referral has begun by school, waitlists vary in the teams that process this paperwork. In Barnsley, this is currently taking up to two years so please do not be disheartened. We unfortunately do not have any influence over this.
If we feel that there is an SEN need, but this cannot be referred or if the referral is refused, then we will look into what support can be put into place in school to ensure the student is progressing to the best of their ability.
If we feel there in no SEN need, then we will look into ways to support your child in school if they need it.
For some students, staff could feel like there is an SEN presenting in the classroom. If this is the case, then the student will be observed by a member of the SEN team to determine this. If a need is detected, then the SEN team will be in contact with you to explore this possibility.
Paediatric Autism Assessment Service | Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Applying for an EHCP
Occasionally, students with SEND may be eligible to apply for an EHCP (Education Health Care Plan). An EHCP is a legal document issued by a child’s local education authority. Most children with SEND manage well in school and do not require an EHCP.
A thorough, evidence-based needs assessment will call on a range of professionals to provide a detailed description of your child’s needs. This will then outline a range of provision designed to support your child in school and encourage progress across the curriculum. Your LEA will then consider the level of funding and type of educational setting to better support your child.
The SEND team will support an application if:
-
Your child requires academic intervention above quality first teaching and is not making sufficient progress.
-
Has a considerable SEMH need that is impacting on their ability to access the curriculum to the point that it is having a significant impact on their learning.
-
We have completed 3 cycles of Assess, Plan, Do, Review and we feel further support may be required that we cannot already fund.
Please note, if funding projections come in below £6000, an application will not be considered by the local authority. In order for us to be able to successfully implement APDR and prove that funding is required, a child needs to be in school.
Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) (barnsley.gov.uk)
What are Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans? | Sheffield (sheffielddirectory.org.uk)
SEND Transition
Transition from Year 6
All students will be offered 3 transition days at Penistone Grammar School. Any student with SEN should be flagged up to us in information from primary school. Students with an EHCP will be offered an additional 2 transition half-days before the whole school ones should they want to attend.
Starting Year 7 - Year 9
Students who start in year 7 with SEN will be given a ‘key worker’ who will contact home throughout the year. If parents have any concerns, then this should be first addressed with your key worker.
If you are ever unsure what support your child is receiving, please ask.
Year 10 & 11
Assisting students to make the best option choices for them is important to us. We want every student to achieve the best that they can and support their life chances, so these GSCE years are pivotal. To support students through these years we will look to encourage independence in preparation for adulthood, driven with the students views and opinions at the centre.
Support for Specific Learning Needs
Dyslexia
We are proud to be a Dyslexia friendly school.
Dyslexia is a common and varying learning difficulty experienced by many. Generally associated with literacy, reading and spelling, Dyslexia can also impact on an individual’s co-ordination, organisation and memory. How Dyslexia presents is individual to the person experiencing it and will as such present differently in terms of strengths and difficulties.
Signs of Dyslexia can include:
-
Problems with learning letter names and phonics.
-
Problems with spelling.
-
Confusing the order of words.
-
Disorganisation.
-
Difficulty following instructions, especially when the include more than one or two steps.
-
Problems with rhyming skills.
-
Difficulties with planning longer pieces of text.
-
Memory retention.
-
Difficulties with taking notes.
If you suspect that your child has Dyslexia, please let a member of the SEND team know. We can now offer a screener to give us an indication as to whether traits of Dyslexia might be apparent.
Please note, this is just a screener and we cannot offer a full assessment in school.
For this we recommend:
Yorkshire Dyslexia Assessments|Dyslexia Assessments|Yorkshire
Dyslexia Specialist | White Rose Dyslexia | Sheffield
Our students with a diagnosis of Dyslexia will be supported through high quality teaching in the classroom:
-
Lessons are paced appropriately for students with Dyslexia
-
PowerPoints are created to be Dyslexia friendly ensuring appropriate font style and sizes and on a pastel coloured background.
-
Staff employ a range of literacy strategies to support students.
Support offered to students will be made on an individual basis and may include:
-
Use of a reader pen or assistive technology.
-
Use of a laptop.
-
Recommendations for extra processing time if required
-
Scaffolding in terms of word banks, sentence starters, modelling etc.
-
Reminders when work is due and support with organisation
If Dyslexia is proving more of a barrier to learning, we can offer further intervention in terms of:
-
Reading intervention
-
Access to Lexia at home and school
-
Phonics intervention if necessary.
-
In some cases, we can also offer pre-teach/over-teach sessions in place of a non-core subject,
Access arrangements will also be considered. Please go over to the AA criteria to see if your child qualifies.
For further information on Dyslexia, this site is particularly useful: British Dyslexia Association (bdadyslexia.org.uk)
ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a condition where people can seem restless, may act on impulse or have trouble concentrating. This may make it difficult for children in school who have ADHD to engage fully in their learning, organise themselves or control their behaviour.
Signs of ADHD can include:
-
Having a short attention span
-
Appearing forgetful or losing things
-
Unable to sit still, especially in calm or quiet surroundings
-
Excessive physical movement
-
Interrupting conversations
Our students with a diagnosis of ADHD will be supported through high quality teaching in the classroom:
-
Check ins with the class teacher
-
Queue ins to check they are on task
-
Opportunities to talk to others
-
Support organising tasks
-
Reminders of behaviour expectations
Support offered to students will be made on an individual basis and may include:
-
Behaviour reports
-
Rewards
If ADHD is proving more of a barrier to learning, we can offer further intervention in terms of:
-
Support with organising belongings
-
Emotional support
ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)
ASD or autism is a spectrum and each person with autism will experience it differently. Autism can mean that you see the world differently to others and people who have autism can have any level of academic ability. Some people who have autism really struggle to access the world around them or may need more specialist care, others may seem to function like any other person so it is difficult to see who may of may not have autism.
Signs of ASD can include, but are not limited to:
-
Having difficulties in social situations: this can include not knowing what to say or not making eye contact
-
Intense interests in one or a few things for a sustained amount of time
-
Having over or under sensitivities to sensory items such as sounds, smells, textures or tastes
-
Difficulties accepting change
-
Straight forward thinking
Our students with a diagnosis of ASD will be supported through high quality teaching in the classroom:
-
Single step instructions
-
Reasonable adjustments such as being given gloves in art when touching different textures
-
Prompts from teachers to better understand the task
-
Given processing time
Support offered to students will be made on an individual basis.
If ASD is proving more of a barrier to learning, we can offer further intervention in terms of:
-
Pastoral support
-
Short bursts of intervention
-
Support with home learning
Social, Emotional & Mental Health
Through no fault of their own, our students often encounter things which make life seem a little tough where they need a little bit of support. We work closely with SSOs and the pastoral team to ensure that we support our students as best we can.
In school we can offer:
-
Support from our school counsellor
-
Trauma informed approach from one of out trained practitioners
-
Mentoring sessions with SSOs
We can also make referrals to:
-
Branching Minds
-
SCI team
-
CAMHS