Joining SJB with SEND

These, invite-only, sessions are open to a small number of students who, after discussions with primary schools, we feel would benefit from additional support.

The sessions will take place at SJB before the main Year 6 into 7 Induction Day (see below). After a few introductions we will unpick the school's expectations on them as students. The students will then be split into a few groups and then, supported by our team of LSAs, embark on a tour of the school, sample a lesson and enjoy lunch together.

This is an excellent opportunity for the children to get to know key members of the Learning Support Department and some of the other students joining SJB in September. Students are invited to either the morning or afternoon session dependant upon their need.

Open to all new starters to the school; their first whole day at SJB. The opportunity to start making lifelong friends and getting to know many of their new teachers and support staff who will be working with them for the next few years. This is a fun-packed day anchored around time spent getting to know each other in form groups.

Learning Support offers a safe calm and supported environment for students who find the canteen overwhelming.

This is based in the school well-being room. At lunchtime, they can eat their lunch in the Well-being room if they wish. As we want students to engage with each other during this time, we ask them not to use their iPad over lunchtime. Staff are on hand to offer support socially to help set up games and activities as well as having a good chat with anyone who needs it.

 Homework club runs Tuesday - Friday in The Hub.: 3.25pm – 4:30pm

Supported by a large group of LSAs, it is an environment where students can feel supported in making a good start with their Homework and ensuring they ae meeting the deamnds of their classes.

This club is open to all students not only those with special educational needs, and can be signed up to via Avalon.

Every student with an EHCP (E) or on the Learning Support register as SEN Support (K) will have a Learning Mentor or Key LSA.

The Learning Mentor / Key LSA is the students “go-to person”, who will also hold the administrative and communication responsibilities to gather and pass on feedback to relevant people. Effective mentoring can really be the glue that holds all the support together. Overseeing the students’ progress for a minimum of a year, some mentors could oversee a student for up to three years.

The mentor will create the ‘Student Passport’ and ‘SEND Learning Plan’ and check in regularly with the student to see how the4y are getting on.

Each age phase (KS3,4&5) is also overseen by an Age Phase Lead who oversees the SEND provisions in their assigned year groups.

Transition is available to all Year 7 students, not just those with special educational needs. It operates a much smaller class size of around 15 – 18 students. These are students who are most in need of support.

We understand that the transition to secondary school is more challenging for some children than for others and the Transition Programme is available to all Year 7 learners who we deem appropriate, not just those with special educational needs. Students are selected based on KS2 data and discussions with primary schools.

In Transition, the students study exactly the same curriculum as the rest of Year 7, just in a more calm, consistent and nurturing environment. Core subjects (Maths, English, RE, Geography and History) are taught by one teacher in the same classroom, with the rest of their school timetable (including pastoral events such as form time and clubs) mirroring the rest of Year 7.

Now in our fourth year of running the programme, we have consistently seen that the programme significantly reduces the initial stresses of multiple teachers and environments, whilst also setting students up for sustained success throughout year 7 and beyond. We provide an environment where the ultimate goal is to help less-confident students develop the skills and attitudes necessary, to become resilient, independent learners who, confidently take ownership of and access their learning to the best of their ability.

Carried out by trained and skilled Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs). These sessions are considered early intervention for emotional thinking and understanding.

There is a variety of reasons why a student is referred to this support such as family issues, sickness or separation as well as school-related anxieties and concerns, however it is not always obvious.

We run a variety of different programmes to suit the varying needs of our students. The sessions all run once a week for 4-6 weeks and are either small group or one-to-one depending on the programme and the needs of the individuals.

These include:

• Social Skills – The sessions focus on age-appropriate aspects of social skills regarding the thinking and understanding of how we communicate and interact with each other, both verbally and non-verbally, through gestures, body language and our personal appearance. For many students especially those on the Autistic Spectrum, it is not automatic, and we need to provide a long-term understanding of our ability to understand why effective communication is so important.
• Friendships and Relationships Skills – In this small group programme the students gain a better understanding of healthy friendships and relationships and explore different challenges that they may face. It also provides opportunity to for the students to build friendships within the group.
• Building Self-esteem – These sessions will deliver an opportunity to reflect and build on the students’ self-esteem with a variety of practical activities.
• Dealing with Low Level Anxiety – These sessions teach the students what anxiety is and provide them with the tools to work through it.

The impact of these programmes is reviewed by the ELSAs at 4-6 weeks and may be extended.

Overseen by our mental health leads, and created by an Educational Psychologist, this 6-week workshop is delivered by an ELSA to a small group of Year 11, 12 and 13 students who might become anxious about exams. Students who access the group will have greater understanding and will be able to use strategies to help reduce anxieties with exams.

Our team of LSAs run functional skills programmes over the course of 6-8 weeks.

This programme allows students to develop their skills in areas such as:

• Working Memory
• Emotional Control
• Sustained Attention
• Task Initiation
• Planning And Prioritising
• Organization
• Time Management
• Revision Planning (Yr 10-13)

We are fortunate to have two full time specialist teachers, who are vastly experienced in working with ASD and ADHD, as part of our team.

Mrs Mitchell - ASD & ADHD Specialist

Mrs Haynes - ADHD & Behaviour Specialist

Both teachers have many years of experience working in both mainstream and specialist settings (including PRUs), and can support students, staff and families in a variety of ways:

• 1:1 student sessions
• Lesson observations and teaching strategy support
• Small group sessions for students
• Parents groups
• Regular CPD sessions for staff

Pathway 2 is an invite-only alternative curriculum at KS4. Considerable time and care is invested into identifying those students who might benefit from this pathway prior to the Year 9 options process. Identified students and their parents are invited into school for a Pathway 2 meeting before the Year 9 options process begins and are given the choice as to which pathway model they would prefer to follow.

This provision provides greater flexibility in the school week by reducing the total number of GCSEs/BTECs taken by the student from ten to nine or eight. This allows us to create additional support lessons on their timetable. These lessons, run by specialist teachers, will focus on Maths/numeracy, English/literacy and Science.

This combination of additional support lessons and study outside the classroom compared to the main pathway, allows students greater time to focus on those subjects that they are following GCSE/BTEC examination courses in. The end result of this is that Pathway 2 typically leads to better academic outcomes at the end of KS4 and to a wider range of options and courses Post-16 for those students following it.

In addition, a small number of students in Year 10 are invited to undertake their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award as one of their option subjects.

Each year a very small number of students work towards the Functional Skills English Level 1 and Level 2 qualifications. Those who achieve a pass at Level 1 in Year 10 go on to study for Level 2 and GCSE English Language in Year 11.

Preparing for Post-16 options can be a daunting progress, particularly for those with additional needs, and our careers support (KS4 & KS5) provides clear guidance on the options available to an individual.

As part of our extensive careers work throughout the school, students will be given the opportunity to have some lessons from the SJB Career Advisor, then follow a plan to ensure they are prepared for life after education giving them the opportunity to complete tasks on CV writing, work related life skills, communications and finance.

Our in-house specialist literacy teacher provides support and care for children who have difficulties with literacy skills communication.

Provision is in small groups or one-to-one depending on need, and tailored to the student(s) to ensure that the work is purposeful and bespoke. These can include:

• Comprehension 
• Phonics & basic language skills
• Handwriting
• Writing content & SPaG
• Speech and Language Targets (where appropriate).

Please note: Speech and Language Therapy is provided by the LA when needed.