We are a mainstream school and the majority of our students are expected to reach the education standards for their age. A small number of our students do have special educational needs. Students are identified as having SEND when their progress has slowed or stopped and the interventions or resources etc. we normally put in place do not enable improvement. We have specific plans and student profiles which help support their development and speed up progress.

Students with SEND in our school may have difficulties with:

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and learning
• Social, emotional and mental health

Sensory difficulties with sight or hearing, or physical difficulties.

Our teachers closely monitor the progress made by all students and ask advice from the SENDCO as soon as they have concerns about any student. The SENDCO might suggest other programmes or temporary additional support. Where planned intervention fails to help close the gap, specialist external support, advice or assessment may be sought. In this case the SENDCO and mentor or subject teacher will meet with parents/carers and the student and together agree that additional SEND support will be put in place. At all times, close liaison with parents will be a priority. The SENDCO liaises with Primary School SENDCO’s and parents of students who transition to Finham Park with identified SEND and Support Plans are prepared before these students enter Year 7.

As soon as your child’s SEND has been identified we will contact you to discuss plans to help him or her make better progress.

You can find our SEND policy on the school website. This will give you information about how we strive to ensure students with SEND make progress in line with their peers.

We have robust tracking and assessment processes. For every child there are face to face parent consultation evenings, termly progress checks and one full written report each year. In addition, in year 7 there is a meet the mentor evening early in the autumn term. These are the formal opportunities to hear about your child’s progress both socially and academically. For children on the School Support Register there will be additional opportunities to meet or liaise with key staff throughout the year at timely intervals, dependent on need.

All teachers constantly check and review progress made by all students (See Q6). As a parent of a child with SEND and who is receiving specific intervention, you will be invited into school or contacted by telephone or email to update you on your child’s progress. This will happen at least termly. Parents of a child with an EHC plan will be invited to discuss the progress of their child on a termly basis. Progress, attendance, behaviour, readiness for learning, self-esteem, and any other relevant area could be agenda items. At face-to -face meetings, parents, SENDCO and outside agency specialists may be present. We will always try to inform parents in advance of the meeting who will be present. Parents/carers can ask for any trusted adult, such as a grandparent, to accompany them to the review meeting.

• All students with SEND will have their progress reviewed at least three times a year
• PLC staff will arrange to meet the parent/carer and the student to discuss their progress
• Where an external agency has been working with the student, this specialist may be invited to contribute to the meeting
• A student who holds an Education Health and Care Plan will have an Annual Review meeting involving the SENDCO, parent/carer and student, as well as any other relevant parties. Parents may invite someone to accompany them if they wish

• All teachers have the highest possible expectations for all students in their classes and deliver high quality specialist teaching in the classroom. All teaching is based on building upon what your child already knows, can do and can understand. Teachers are aware of the targets for all students including those with SEND and adapt their teaching to ensure that all students make progress to achieve their individual target. The teacher/s will put in place different ways of teaching so that your child is fully involved in learning in class. This may involve things like using more practical learning or providing different resources adapted for your child, including ICT. The teacher will also put in place specific strategies, which may be suggested by the SENDCO or specialists from outside school, to enable your child to access the learning tasks.
• Throughout the school year there are opportunities to meet with the school staff about aspects of the curriculum, for example parents' consultation evening. You can also contact subject staff directly.

There is information about the school curriculum on our website.

The school is comprised a number of blocks most of which are 2 storey. There are no lifts so upstairs areas are not accessible to wheelchair users. The ground floor is wheelchair accessible and disabled access toilets are available in several locations around the school. Ground floor classrooms are available for teaching in all subjects and when required a fully ground floor timetable can be implemented. To improve access for visually impaired students, potential hazards have been identified and painted yellow. Some students require a supervised quiet area for social times and this is provided, by invitation, in the PLC.

Is there any extra support available to help students with SEND with their learning

Where there is a lack of progress, additional support may be needed. Any support provided will always be considered in the light of the type of need, the purpose of the support and expected outcomes. Students with SEND might be supported in any of the following ways:

• Individual or small group work which may take place before or after school or during the school day
• In-class support from a Teaching Assistant or High Level Teaching Assistant
• Additional resources
• Access arrangements for examinations, based on need, history of need, and whether it is the student’s usual way of working
• Intervention from external agencies
• Where completion of homework is an issue, the student homework club in The Gateway

Parents will receive notification that their child is receiving additional support.

All students are invited to join in all social and sporting activities and visits. There is a wide range of extra curriculum opportunities across the school ranging from representing the school in sports to inter-college activities. There is a staffed breakfast club which is open and accessible to all students every morning from 8.15am. For some students with SEND there is also provision at social times in The Gateway.

Finham Park has a strong pastoral team in place starting with the Mentor and vertical mentor group, College Leaders and Well-being Officers. In the PLC, there is a team of non-teaching staff who may provide mentoring or put in place specific interventions for individuals of groups where need is identified. The School Counsellor is based in the PLC. When appropriate, the advice and support of outside agencies is sought. The school works with Coventry Educational Psychology Service, Coventry Complex Communication Team Service (CCT), Coventry Sensory Team. In addition, we support, or may suggest referrals where appropriate, to sevices such as the School Nursing Service, the Primary Mental Health Team and RISE/CAMHS.

All classroom teachers receive information about the special educational needs and disabilities in their classes. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in regards to SEND is accessible to all teaching staff, supporting them to build on their previous experience and keep abreast of new developments. Support staff are provided with a training programme which covers a variety of SEND. The expertise of outside agencies is sought when appropriate to deliver training to specific groups of staff with regard to specific students or types of SEND. Training and advice is available from agencies such as Coventry Complex Communication Team, Speech and Language Education Service, Sensory Team, Educational Psychology Service, School Nursing Service and The Adoption Service. A number of teachers and support staff have specialist skills and qualifications.

Where a student requires additional technology or equipment and it is a reasonable adjustment to do so, the school will provide this. In the case of a student with a Hearing or Visual Impairment, the school will seek support through the Sensory Service. Additional equipment previously or currently secured by the school includes:

• Laptops/tablets
• Writing slopes
• Coloured overlays and reading rulers
• Accessible toilet

There are opportunities for you to be involved in planning for and supporting your child’s learning through the year. These include transition evening for students in year 6 transferring to Finham Park School, parents’ evenings for all students in the year group, targeted parents evening for particular subjects, review and planning meetings. Please be assured that parents/carers will be informed as soon as the school has identified that their child has SEND and that the school will work in partnership with the parents/carers to plan and review any SEND support.

Staff will be able to discuss with you what you can do at home to support your child. External support is also available through outside agencies.. Please contact The Gateway for contact details.

Students are involved in shaping their own learning though dialogue with their teacher on a daily basis. They are also involved in planning and review meetings, including the Annual Review of the Education Health and Care Plan. Regular learning walks make good use of student voice and the staff in the PLC also undertake planned student voice activities to ascertain the views of students about their education.

Your first step should be to make contact with your child’s mentor. Alternatively, you could go directly to your child’s subject teacher. You might also contact the SENDCO. If your concern isn’t resolved by the teacher or SENDCO you can then ask for a meeting with the College Leader. If this still doesn’t resolve your concern the school has a policy on dealing with unresolved issues - Complaints Policy.

The school seeks to ensure that all students make required or better progress and makes provision within the staffing to do this as far as is possible. It may be necessary to secure support from outside agencies. The governing body procures services from particular agencies. Other services are universally available, in particular those provided by the NHS.

Coventry's Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Local Offer.

The school’s Service Level Agreements and contracts cover the following agencies:

• Complex Communication Team (CCT)
  https://www.coventry.gov.uk/complexcommunicationteam
• Educational Psychology Service
  https://www.coventry.gov.uk/eps
• Sensory Team
  https://www.coventry.gov.uk/sensoryteam

The following are universal services routinely used by the school:

• Speech and Language Therapy
  http://www.coventrychildrensslt.co.uk/

• RISE (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service/Primary Mental Health Service)
  https://cwrise.com
• Occupational Therapy
  http://www.covkidsot.co.uk/

Further information about support for parents can be sought from PLC staff. Specialist advice is available from:

SEND Information, Advice and Support Services (IASS) (formally Parent Partnership Service)

Limbrick Wood Centre/Thomas Naul Croft Coventry CV4 9QX Tel: 024 7669 4307 http://www.coventry.gov.uk/iass

We work with Primary School colleagues to ensure we know about your child’s needs and are able to make arrangements before they start at Finham Park. All students take part in the transition day during Year 6 and, where appropriate, we also organise additional transition work.

When moving between year groups in school, teachers liaise to pass on information and knowledge about students. Enhanced transition opportunities can be put in place where appropriate to ensure that students feel comfortable and prepared for their transitions.

Careers Fairs, transition interviews and option evenings form part of the school calendar each year. Options booklets are produced for year 8 to enable students and parents to make informed choices for next steps.

Finham Park has a careers officer who works with students, alongside the PSHRE team, to prepare them for further education or training post 16. All students are encouraged to investigate, decide on and apply for suitable placements many of which will be Finham Park School 6^th form. Where appropriate, staff work closely with key identified students to support the transition, for example by visiting placements with the student and/or their family.

Local Authorities publish information in their Local Offer. The Local Offer is available from Coventry City Council website.