SEND

At Lavington School we believe that all students should have access to a broad and balanced curriculum.

The aim of the Learning Support Department is to create an atmosphere in which student's individual needs and differences are recognised and valued. Students perceived to have a special educational need will have full access to the National Curriculum, modified to best serve their individual requirements.

At Lavington School we feel that most types of special educational need can be catered for in our small caring community. All staff within the Learning Support Department are experienced in working with students with various needs and requirements.

If your child is already on a stage within the Code of Practice, our SENCO will have been notified by the primary school and all the necessary information will have been transferred. In the majority of cases, she will have made a visit to the school concerned. Parents are also warmly encouraged to make appointments to meet with the SENCO prior to transition.

When a student at the school is felt to be a cause for concern, whether it is for literacy, numeracy, behavioural or emotional reasons, their name is raised with the SENCO. They then begin an assessment system based on a cycle of information gathering, action planning and reviewing. All necessary information is shared with teaching and support staff. The SENCO will contact parents to discuss any specialist provision.

In all our work it is the close relationship between parents and school that helps resolve difficulties and helps students to fulfil their potential.

A booklet is available explaining in more detail the provision at Lavington School for students who require support with their learning. If you have any questions concerning special educational needs, please feel free to contact our Learning Support department.

snj dfe sen support flow chart 1 1 .pdf

Special Educational Needs Policy (SEN)

Centre Assessor Policy for Examinations

Access Arrangements Guide

Our SENCO

How can a parent access external advice if they feel their child has SEN?

Please contact Sophie Watts, SENCO Lead s.watts@lavington.wilts.sch.uk if you wish to discuss the SEN needs of your child. The SEND Policy, SEND Information Report and SEND Action Plan outline the support we offer and are available in our Policies Section.

Wiltshire Parent Carer Council offers support for families - this forms part of the Local Offer from Wiltshire Council.

Wiltshire Local Offer website

Assessment of Additional Needs

Assessment of Learning Needs Year 7-8

If you have a concern, or teachers/SENCO may have identified a cognition and learning need, which requires further investigation, you will be sent a link with the following information. Most students in school thrive with quality first teaching, some students require additional support to help them in class and assessments.

There are two elements to assessment in Year 7 and 8, an online screening test called GL Exact Lucid with a TA, which takes about one lesson. It may take up to two weeks to complete this. Your SENCO will provide feedback within two weeks after the test about support in lessons, or further assessments, if needed.

If your child needs further assessment of their needs, a 1:1 assessment with Miss Thomas, Deputy SENCO/Assessment, to complete further cognition testing, will take place within 8 weeks. You will receive a short report from your SENCO regarding the outcomes. Alternatively, we may ask you to attend a meeting to make a referral to the Local Authority Specialist SEN Service for them to complete an assessment in school. The test completed are the same, sometimes we need additional advice.

Assessment of Learning Needs and Access Arrangements in Year 9 to 11

As your son / daughter will be starting their Key Stage 4 exam courses in September 2023, we will be starting to screen for exam access arrangements. Access arrangements are provided for students who would otherwise be disadvantaged when sitting exams, and include extra time, a reader, a scribe or the use of a laptop. In order to be eligible for access arrangements, students need to meet JCQ (Regulatory Body) criteria and to have evidence within school of a need over time.

Your son / daughter will have been identified by teachers, or yourself, as having a possible need for access arrangements, possibly due to their speed of working, handwriting, memory recall or because they already have interventions or support in school.  If you are seeking to have a private Dyslexia assessment undertaken, please ask them to contact Miss Thomas, before they start the assessment as without this communication between school and the assessor, any access arrangements within the report cannot be used as evidence for in school assessments. Miss Thomas will provide the assessor with information about your child and a form for them to complete.

We will be carrying out a screening test with your child online, called GL Exact, which takes about an hour to complete, to see whether their scores fall within the boundaries set by JCQ.  If your child does not meet the threshold for further assessment, you will receive a letter from me stating they are not eligible, within two weeks of the test. This information will be shared with Miss Watts, Key Stage 3 SENCO, to follow up with any support needed for Year 9 students.

If they do, Miss Thomas will complete further assessments in a 1:1 meeting with your child.  These assessments will identify whether access arrangements can be granted. Miss Thomas will write to you with the outcome and the access arrangements will be explained to your child, if awarded, within 8 weeks.

Your child will be asked to sign a one page Data Protection Form in the Summer Term 2023, as we need to share their access arrangements with the examination boards.

A meeting will be booked for October 2023, when they start Year 10, to discuss the access arrangements and complete SMART targets for Year 10, if they have been awarded.

Your child will be provided with the awarded access arrangements for the remainder of Year 9 and into Key Stage 4, once assessed, as they will become their usual way of working in assessments and examinations. The forms and assessments will be passed onto their post-16 provision, when requested by their placement.

Any additional support for Year 9, 10 and 11 will be followed up by Miss Watts and Miss Thomas.