SEND Information Report

Last reviewed: March 2024

SENDCO: Mrs S Lord
E: slord@clrchs.co.uk
SEND Governor/s: Mrs P Greenall

Contact: 0161 643 4009

Local Offer Contribution: ourrochdale.org.uk/localoffer 

Whole School Approach:

As a Catholic school we are proud of our inclusive nature and are committed to providing the best possible learning opportunities for students of all abilities. We have a dedicated and highly-experienced team working in our Additional Needs department to ensure all students receive the support they require to be successful.

Quality first teaching (QFT) and additional interventions are defined through our annual dialogue across the school, contributing to our provision management approach. This helps us to regularly review and record what we offer EVERY child or young person in our care and what we offer additionally. These discussions also serve to embed our high expectations among staff about quality first teaching and the application of a differentiated and personalised approach to teaching and learning. We make it a point to discuss aspirations with all our learners.

At Cardinal Langley RC High School, we are extremely proud of our inclusivity at all levels.  We strive to ensure that all students can engage in the school’s activities.  We work with children and families to aim to remove all barriers to learning.  If a child or young person has additional needs, we will endeavour to make the necessary provisions and adaptations so that they can be involved in all activities that the school offers.

Underpinning ALL our provision in school is the graduated approach cycle of:

At Cardinal Langley RC High School, we believe that all students, regardless of background and circumstance, should have the opportunity to succeed and be empowered to have high expectations
(Reference: Teaching & Learning Policy)

Assess: The class teacher will use assessments, classwork, homework etc. to look for progress which:

• is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
• fails to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress
• fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers
• widens the attainment gap

The teacher will then make a referral if they are concerned that the student may have SEND. Further specialised assessments will be undertaken by a member of the Additional Needs department to further inform planning.

Plan: The relevant members of staff will meet and decide the best course of action to take. This is child centred, and parents/carers and students are fully involved. A plan will be decided on and the intervention agreed.

Do: Dependent on the decided intervention, the student will be referred to the correct staff/agencies.

Review: Each intervention has its own review cycle, as detailed on the provision map. The student will be reviewed and the appropriate action will be determined.

Having consulted with children, young people and their parents, all our additional provision (internal or external) is based on an agreed outcomes approach.

This cycle forms the basis of our evaluation to determine whether a provision is successful.  Once a provision has been applied, the student will be set specific success criteria that are personalised to their need.  These criteria will be revisited and assessed in the review cycle by the key person in the Additional Needs team.  The team will utilise specific information related to the child and their need to evaluate the success of the provision.  This can be from academic data to social skills, as we believe in the holistic approach and education of the whole child.  We adapt a child-centred approach and if a provision has been successful, the key worker, SENDCo or Additional Needs Coordinator will meet with the child and/or parents or carers to discuss the next steps in provision.

SENd Needs:

1. Communication and interaction

Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have difficulty in communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them or they do not understand or use social rules of communication. The profile for every child with SLCN is different and their needs may change over time. They may have difficulty with one, some or all of the different aspects of speech, language or social communication at different times of their lives. Children and young people with Autism are likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction. They may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination, which can impact on how they relate to others.

2. Cognition and learning

Support for learning difficulties may be required when children and young people learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs, including moderate learning difficulties (MLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD), where children are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associated difficulties with mobility and communication, through to profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), where children are likely to have severe and complex learning difficulties as well as a physical disability or sensory impairment. Specific learning difficulties (SpLD), affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.

3. Social, emotional and mental health

Children and young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children and young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or attachment disorder. Schools and colleges should have clear processes to support children and young people, including how they will manage the effect of any disruptive behaviour so it does not adversely affect other pupils.

4. Sensory and/or physical needs

Some children and young people require special educational provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. These difficulties can be age-related and may fluctuate over time. Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning, or habilitation support. Children and young people with an MSI have a combination of vision and hearing difficulties. Some children and young people with a physical disability (PD) require additional on-going support and equipment to access all the opportunities available to their peers.

School Offer

At Cardinal Langley RC High School, we pride ourselves on making the learning environment positive and engaging to ensure that all students are catered for.  We understand that some children and young people may require adaptations to their learning environment and we can accommodate these on a highly-personalised level.  It is vital that we understand the child’s needs from the start of their school journey so our transition programme can begin early so that the child’s needs are understood.  Therefore, we can make necessary adjustments to the curriculum and school day for individuals.

Transition

• Additional Needs Coordinator attends Annual Reviews and Transition Reviews for students with an EHC Plan
• Additional Needs Coordinator will meet with parents and students who have a diagnosis to personalise a transition package
• Open Evening for Year 4, 5 and 6
• Additional Needs Coordinator visits primary schools
• Individual parental visits when requested
• Transition visits for pupils with an EHC Plan, coordinated with the primary schools
• Student transition/induction day (July)
• Induction evening for parents (July)
• Transition Summer School (August)
• Year 7 induction/registration day (September)

Year 7

• Dedicated Year 7 base (De La Salle building)
• Specialist classroom supported by a specialist teacher
• Settling-in evening for parents
• All students with an EHC Plan are allocated a Key Worker
• In-class support provided by LPAs for EHC Plans
• Personalised timetables as identified/needed from EHC Plan
• Assessment for identifying literacy difficulties
• Mixed-ability and nurture classes in Maths and English
• Numeracy and literacy programme/support
• IDL programme intervention
• Sensory intervention
• Specialist equipment as required
• Key Worker drop-in
• Support from Educational Psychologist, RANS, Early Break and other agencies as necessary
• Homework Club

Year 8

• In-class support provided by LPAs
• Key Worker support
• Assessment for identifying literacy difficulties
• Mixed-ability and nurture classes in Maths and English
• Numeracy and literacy programme/support
• IDL programme intervention
• Sensory intervention
• Specialist equipment as required
• Key Worker drop-in
• Support from Educational Psychologist, RANS, Early Break and other agencies as necessary
• Homework Club

Year 9

• In-class support provided by LPAs
• Key Worker support
• Assessment for identifying literacy difficulties; literacy programme/support
• Ability sets in Maths; numeracy support
• Sensory intervention
• Specialist equipment as required
• Key Worker drop-in
• Support from Educational Psychologist, RANS, Early Break and other agencies as necessary
• Options Evening
• Homework Club

Year 10

• In-class support provided by LPAs
• Bespoke pathway, including Functional Skills and ASDAN qualifications
• Key Worker support
• Assessment for identifying literacy difficulties; literacy programme/support
• Ability sets in Maths; numeracy support
• Sensory intervention
• Specialist equipment as required
• Key Worker drop-in
• Support from Educational Psychologist, RANS, Early Break and other agencies as necessary
• Testing for access arrangements for exams
• Homework Club

Year 11

• In-class support provided by LPAs
• Bespoke pathway, including Functional Skills and ASDAN qualifications
• Key worker support
• Assessment for identifying literacy difficulties; literacy programme/support
• Ability sets in Maths; numeracy support
• Sensory intervention
• Specialist equipment as required
• Key Worker drop-in
• Support from Educational Psychologist, RANS, Early Break and other agencies as necessary
• Testing for access arrangements for exams
• Homework Club
• Mental Health Ambassadors
• RE Diocesan qualification
• Entry level qualifications

Sixth Form

• Sixth Form Ambassador support
• Assessment for identifying literacy difficulties; literacy programme/support
• Testing for access arrangements for exams

We have a large number of children with EHC Plans and others requiring SEND support, significantly above the national average.

We have internal processes for monitoring quality of provision and assessment of need.

Consulting with children, young people and their parents

Involving parents/carers and learners in the dialogue is central to our approach and we do this through keeping everyone involved in the process. Communication takes place through email, telephone consultation and regular meetings between a key adult and the parent. Parents/carers are informed when their child is on the SEN register and when they are exited, if appropriate.

Staff development/Training

We are committed to developing the ongoing expertise of our staff.  This year we have put in additional training into understanding data, the appraisal process and developing staff areas of expertise. Current expertise in our school:

Staff deployment

Considerable thought, planning and preparation go into utilising our support staff to ensure children achieve the best outcomes, gain independence and are prepared for adulthood from the earliest possible age.

The timetable for the LPAs is a careful and well-thought process where the needs of the students are put first. We aim to deploy our LPAs according to their strengths and areas of expertise, to meet the objectives in EHC Plans, rather than working solely with a particular student. This helps students to develop independence and confidence in their learning.

Our key workers play an essential role in improving the emotional and social development of our children and young people. All students with an EHC Plan are allocated a key worker during the transition period so that they have a nominated person with whom who they can work to improve their social and emotional skills. We have a number of identified ‘safe havens’ within the school and the Additional Needs area is one of them. There will always be a member of staff if they are needed and it is staffed at break and lunchtime. It is made clear to students that it is an area where their views are listened to. We also have Guardian Angels within our Sixth Form team who are clearly identified by a lanyard. These students are available to all students who need someone to speak to.

School Admissions

Children with EHC Plans

Where pupils have a special educational need supported by an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) that names a specific school, the Governing Body has a statutory duty to admit those pupils. This means that children with such an EHCP will be allocated a place before any other places are allocated.

Children who are Looked After (CLA) – also known as Cared-for Children (C4C)

A child who is looked after is a child who is (a) in the care of a Local Authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a Local Authority in the exercise of their Social Services functions under section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989.

Or, a child who immediately moved on from that status after becoming subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order.

Included in this definition are those children who appear (to the governing board) to have been in state care outside of England and who cease to be in state care as a result of being adopted.

(Reference: Admissions Policy)

School Partnerships and Transitions

Our academic assessment for children and young people with special educational needs is moderated through our cluster of schools and neighbouring partners. We closely monitor destination data of children and young persons.

Complaints

Our Complaints Policy & Procedure  can be found on the following page of the school website https://www.clrchs.co.uk/school-information/policies/.

Relevant school policies underpinning this SEND Information Report include:

Admissions Policy
Anti-Bullying Policy
Complaints Policy & Procedure
Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy & Procedures
School Safety Policy
SEND Policy
Teaching and Learning Policy
Behaviour for Learning Policy
Equality Diversity & Community Cohesion Policy
Supporting Pupils with Medical Conditions Policy

The school’s policies can be found here

Legislative Acts taken into account when compiling this report include:

• Children & Families Act 2014
• Equality Act 2010
• Mental Capacity Act 2005