What are Special Educational Needs?

Special Educational Needs can be defined as: "A learning difficulty or disability is a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age."

We provide SEN support for pupils with significant needs in the following areas:

Communication and Interaction

This can include:

Understanding language.
Using language.
Understanding how to communicate socially with other people.
Conditions include: Specific Language Disorder, ASD/ASC (Autism), Asperger Syndrome, speech sound disorders/delay. The school has a designated Learning Support Assistant (LSA) trained in meeting the needs of students experiencing these difficulties. The school is supported by the NHS Speech and Language Therapy Department for Staffordshire. The Autism Outreach Team and Midlands Psychology work very closely with the school.

Cognition and Learning

This can include:

Reading and spelling
Learning new information and concepts
Working with numbers
Working memory

The school has a qualified dyslexia tutor and the school currently holds Enhanced Dyslexia Friendly Status.

Social, Emotional and Mental Health

This section includes all those young people who experience short but significant periods of high anxiety, stress, distress or anger that affect their education. It also includes young people who have a range of longer-term recognised mental health conditions.

For both groups, issues can include:

Forming and maintaining relationships
Bereavement
Attitudes to attainment
Attendance
Self-esteem
Life outside school The school has an experienced and extended pastoral system which include Heads of Year, a school nurse, a counsellor and a student support officer. The school has a MAC (Multi Agency Centre) which is used by visiting external agencies. A range of external agencies support the well-being of many of the students in school