SEND - Special Educational Needs & Disabilities
This area of our website contains information for students, parents and carers on our provision and additional support for students with special educational needs and disabilities at Hayes School.
Please click on the expanders below to access additional content and resources.
The 2015 Code of Practice states that children with a special educational need and/or disability require provision that is ‘additional or different from’ their peers. There are four broadly defined areas of need:
- Communication and Interaction (ASD; Speech & Language)
- Cognition and Learning (Dyslexia; students working significantly below peers due to cognitive needs)
- Social, Emotional and Mental Health (ADHD, anxiety etc)
- Physical / Medical (Hearing; Vision; other)
The following is taken from pages 97-98 from the SEN Code of Practice:
Communication and Interaction
6.28 Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have difficulty in communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them or they do not understand or use social rules of communication. The profile for every child with SLCN is different and their needs may change over time. They may have difficulty with one, some or all of the different aspects of speech, language or social communication at different times of their lives.
6.29 Children and young people with ASD, including Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism, are likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction. They may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination, which can impact on how they relate to others.
Cognition and Learning
6.30 Support for learning difficulties may be required when children and young people learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs, including moderate learning difficulties (MLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD), where children are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associated difficulties with mobility and communication, through to profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), where children are likely to have severe and complex learning difficulties as well as a physical disability or sensory impairment.
6.31 Specific learning difficulties affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.
Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties
6.32 Children and young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children and young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or attachment disorder.
6.33 Schools and colleges should have clear processes to support children and young people, including how they will manage the effect of any disruptive behaviour so it does not adversely affect other pupils. The Department for Education publishes guidance on managing pupils’ mental health and behaviour difficulties in schools.
Sensory and/or Physical Needs
6.34 Some children and young people require special educational provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. These difficulties can be age related and may fluctuate over time. Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning, or support. Children and young people with an MSI have a combination of vision and hearing difficulties. Information on how to provide services for deafblind children and young people is available through the Social Care for Deafblind Children and Adults guidance published by the Department of Health (see the References section under Chapter 6 for a link).
6.35 Some children and young people with a physical disability (PD) require additional ongoing support and equipment to access all the opportunities available to their peers.
What are exam access arrangements?
Exam Access Arrangements are the reasonable adjustments that can be made for an exam candidate, and might include things like extra time to complete an exam paper, permission to use assistive technology, or provision of rest breaks.
These procedures are designed to help students with genuine needs to access exams. The awarding of Access Arrangements is governed by strict regulations as set out by the JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications, see http://www.jcq.org.uk/examination-system/access-arrangements-and-special-consideration for more information)
There are a number of arrangements we can apply for in order to help students with exams if they have a need, if it is their normal way of working in the classroom and if we can provide evidence of such need.
Is my child eligible for exam access arrangements?
Exam arrangements can only be granted if they are a candidate’s ‘normal way of working’ and the candidate has a history of need. Any arrangements made must reflect the support that the candidate has had in the past few years, alongside their assessment test results.
An assessor’s report must show that the candidate has a significant and long-term impairment. For example a candidate who is eligible for extra time would need to have scores that are below average in speed of writing, reading, reading comprehension or cognitive process, demonstrating they work much more slowly than others. This must then be backed up by teachers, and evidence must be provided that this is the candidate’s normal way of working.
What sort of exam access arrangements are there?
The most common exam arrangements are:
Extra time: Students may be awarded extra time if they need longer to process information and/or longer to read and write. A request for extra time will start with subject teachers highlighting this as a need. We have to provide evidence that the student has needed extra time to complete written work and exams and that it is their normal way of working. Additionally, students will be tested by our Assessor in line with JCQ regulations, and must meet the strict criteria specified by them.
Extra time is usually 25%. In exceptional circumstances, where students have severe difficulties or disability, we can apply for extra time of up to and over 50%; this is considered on an individual basis.
A reader: Readers can be used for candidates who have visual impairments or a disability or specific learning difficulty that affects their ability to read accurately themselves. Students awarded a Reader will take their exams in a separate room where invigilators will be advised to read questions to students as needed in the exam. Students who are granted a Reader can put up their hand in an exam and ask invigilators to read single words, sentences, labels on diagrams etc. Readers may not re-word or explain questions in any way.
In an exam that assesses reading ability a reader is not allowed e.g. in the English Language GCSE a reader may read the questions but not the unseen extracts of text.
A scribe: Scribes can be allocated to candidates who have a special education need, disability or injury that affects their ability to write legibly. A scribe is only used where a student is not sufficiently competent or confident to use a word processor.
Modified papers: These are papers which must be ordered well in advance of the exam in different sizes, fonts, colours, braille, or modified language.
The Speech and Language Department (SpALD) is an additionally resourced specialist provision (ARP) within Hayes School. The department can accommodate 25 Students across Year 7-11 (typically 5 in each year). 50% of the curriculum is delivered by the three specialist teachers within the provision (Maths, English, RE, Geography, History, Asdan, Learning Support) while the other 50% takes place in mainstream. The aim of the provision is to specifically support students with speech, language and communication needs who may struggle in an entirely mainstream environment. The children accessing the provision will have:
- Access to a full, rich and relevant curriculum
- Specialist support in a language enriched environment through small group teaching and therapy
- Opportunities to develop socially
The approach is one that is flexible and responsive to the individual needs of each child. The aim of the resource base is to support and increase:
- Independent learning
- Access to an inclusive mainstream education
Admission is through application to Bromley LA; all students must have an EHCP with a primary need of Speech and Language Disorder.
Bea Gardner and Loren Thom are Joint Heads of the Speech and Language Department and also deliver the Maths and English curriculum respectively. Each SpALD student has one or other of them as their pastoral lead. Susannah Philpot is also a teacher in SpALD delivering Humanities. Students in Hayes benefit from the expertise of a multi-disciplinary team. Speech and Language Therapists (SaLTs) come into the school for 3 days a week to monitor, assess and provide interventions for the SpALD students.
