SEND and Inclusion at Churston

Universal Provision - Sometimes called ‘Invisible Inclusion’ or ‘Ordinarily Available Provision’

This includes all of the approaches, systems and provisions that are in place or available for all students at all times.  The vast majority of students’ needs are met by good quality universal provision.  For example: Good quality inclusive teaching (which may include carefully ‘chunked’ information, clear presentation and communication, good use of visuals, an ambitious but safe classroom climate) benefits all students including those with a variety of additional needs. 

Our universal provision includes: 

• Sharing of information with staff / parents / students

• Inclusive curriculum design to ensure learning is accessible to all

• Whole-school training on quality inclusive teaching

• Strong & available pastoral support

• Google Suite for Education (docs / slides / Classroom)

• ‘Chance, Choice, Consequence’ - simplified, clear, consistent rules

• After school ‘Cube’ availability

• Specific self-development covered in PSHE / Tutor time / Assemblies

• Exams access assessment / adjustments 

• Huge range of co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities

• Our student body - from supportive class mates to 6th Form helpers!

Targeted Provision 

This includes approaches, systems and provisions that may need to be put in place or made available for some students at some times.  Where more targeted provision is put in place over a longer period of time for a student, the SENDCo may decide that this student needs to be formally added as a student with SEND (‘SEND Support’) on the school Record of Need. 

Examples of more targeted provisions may include: 

• Seating position in class

• Targeted use of Chromebooks (lower school) 

• Use of ‘safe spaces’

• Time Out cards / Movement breaks

• Wellbeing Ambassador support

• Regular ‘Check-ins’ with member of staff

• Use of individual / accessible toilets

• Uniform reasonable adjustments - individual

• Earbuds / Ear defenders

• Talkabout Club

• Homework support club

• Lego Club / Quiet Club - Range of clubs

• Regular sessions with our Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) 

• A key adult

• Some Teaching Assistant support in class

• Therapeutic Counselling

• Timetable adjustments

• Referral to Early Help 

• Referral to CAMHS

• SEND Passport (for students who are at SEND Support level)

Specialist Provision 

This includes approaches, systems and provisions that may need to be put in place or made available for just a few students at certain times.  Often, students who require support at this level may need to have their strengths, needs and provisions outlined in an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), which is supported through the local authority. 

Examples of more targeted provisions may include: 

• More extensive Teaching Assistant support in lessons

• Regular access to an external alternative provision

• Regular support from specialist teacher

• Regular support from specialist medical teams

• Significantly adjusted timetable

• The school has a SEND Policy

• Churston's SEND Information Report 2025-2026 - a document the school's governors are required to produce annually

• Independent information, advice and support regarding SEND is available from SENDIASS Torbay (Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities, Information, Advice and Support Service)

• Information about the Torbay's local SEND offer is available here

Please find below a collection of external sources of information and advice on Autism: 

• The Devon Graduated Response to Special Educational Needs and Disability, the Autism Education  Trust www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk and National Autistic Society www.autism.org.uk website are  helpful for planning support.
  
  

• Parent workshops are available through Devon County Council and Torbay Council and SEND  Family Voice Torbay also run face to face and online workshops. You can find out more on these  websites: https://www.devon.gov.uk/education-and-families/send-local-offer/about-send-and-the-local offer/what-is-send/communication-and-interaction/autism-and-us/ and https://www.familyvoicetorbay.org/
  
  

• The National Autistic Society (NAS) have launched a new resource called the ‘Know Yourself  Series”.
  
  

• What is autism? | Ambitious about Autism is a useful website to explore and further one’s  understanding of Autism. There are some resources to support social stories/scripting which may help to support social communication and interaction.
  
  

• Empowering Your Child: The Benefits of Sharing Their Autism or ADHD Diagnosis
  
  

• The Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) | Embrace Autism - the CAT-Q is a 25-item  self-report tool that reveals how you navigate social masking, compensation, and assimilation.
  
  

• National Autistic Society: what is demand avoidance and strategies to help: Demand avoidance  (autism.org.uk)
  
  

• Solihull Parenting Courses - supporting parenting children with additional needs: https://togetherness.co.uk/pathway-library/understanding-your-child-with-additional-needs/

Please find below a collection of external sources of information and advice on ADHD: 

• “What is ADHD?” An animation by the ‘Amazing Things Project’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t9UHQgtDfU

• Young Minds - A-Z Guide:

https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/parents-a-z-mental-health-guide/adhd

• Empowering Your Child: The Benefits of Sharing Their Autism or ADHD Diagnosis

• ADHD UK - https://adhduk.co.uk/
  
  

• BBC website - ADHD: children tell their stories
  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/health-19923568?tblang=english
  
  

• Solihull Parenting Courses - supporting parenting children with additional needs: https://togetherness.co.uk/pathway-library/understanding-your-child-with-additional-needs/

Please find below a collection of external sources of information and advice on Dyslexia:

• British Dyslexia Association: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexia/about-dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia
  
  

• https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dyslexia-in-children/
  
  

• Effective Spelling Approaches for Dyslexic Students

The best place to start is probably with a conversation with the school SENDCo.  

They will be able to help you explore what is happening at home and in school and what various next steps might be to supporting your child. 

With or without a diagnosis or a label, the first step needs to be to start trying to understand and support the child’s ne

eds, as they are presenting.   

There are a variety of possible provisions to explore (see the section “How we support students' needs”) and it is sensible to adopt a graduated approach to find the right level of support required.  

Please also look through ‘Links to SEND Resources’

If you are considering an assessment for diagnosis route, there are different pathways to explore:

Autism: 

Currently, the standard NHS Neurodiversity assessment pathway is accessed through Child and Family Health Devon (CFHD) and starts with a detailed form filled out by parents, the young person, and the school.  You can find more information about this assessment process here.  You can also speak to your GP about this route. 

There are also a variety of private clinics that offer assessment pathways at a fee.  Search the internet to see what is available in this area. 

ADHD:

Currently, the ADHD assessment pathway begins with a discussion with the GP who can support a referral.  A detailed form will need to be completed by the GP, parents/carers and the school.   

There are also a variety of private clinics that offer assessment pathways at a fee. 

Search the internet to see what is available in this area. 

The Right to Choose pathway:

It is worth asking your GP about the Right to Choose pathway, which has been providing parents with an alternative and often faster route for both ADHD and Autism assessment pathways.   

The school does not assess for dyslexia itself; this is something that would need to be arranged privately.  There are a variety of different qualified assessors in the area that can provide this level of assessment.  The school is happy to receive reports from external assessors and consider appropriate support according to their advice. 

However, the school does have a robust graduated approach to supporting and identifying students with a range of literacy challenges, including difficulties in certain areas of processing or speed of working. 

All of our students at Churston are clearly highly intelligent and academically very able.  In our long experience of supporting students through their time at Churston, some of our students show that they manage to develop brilliant strategies to overcome genuine difficulties in the way that they learn and process information in school.  Sometimes, these hidden difficulties only start to come to light as the academic load begins to grow, as GCSEs approach.   With the right support and sometimes the appropriate adjustments in place for exams and assessments, all students should be able to achieve their full potential. 

Inclusive Teaching

In order to help support any hidden difficulties, and ensure that none of our students are struggling unnecessarily, we ensure that teaching is as inclusive as possible and promote key inclusive strategies such as: 

• Keeping visual presentations as clean and clear as possible

• Avoiding unnecessary copying from the board

• Visual aids to support written ideas

• Highlighting key points in longer sections of writing

• Allowing Chromebook support - both with typing notes and with re-reading / pre-reading teaching slides.

These strategies can help ‘level the playing field’ for students who might be struggling to process lesson content in a variety of ways. 

Whole Year-Group Screening

Beyond this, we also give all students in Year 9 the opportunity to take a screening test in early January.  We use the GL EXACT Screener, which  we have used for many years with individuals to assess any possible hidden difficulties that may have been flagged by staff.  It is a computer-based short test (30-40 minutes) that assesses students’ speed of learning or processing of information across a range of areas. 

Some students can be offered this screener in Year 8, if they are over 13 and if they have been flagged by teachers as showing some possible areas of difficulty in class.  

The initial results of this screener help determine whether further, more detailed assessments by our specialist assessor may be necessary in the future, which could result in exam access arrangements (such as extra time or an electronic reader) being put into place for future examinations.

The results can also provide valuable insight into specific areas where we might offer targeted support, additional resources, or personalised interventions well in advance of their formal exams.