SEND
At The Compton School the Curriculum Support Department oversees support for students with SEND (Special Educational Needs & Disabilities).
The primary role of the Curriculum Support Department is to ensure all students with SEND have support in place that will enable them to access the curriculum, feel included and part of the school community, and thrive, both emotionally and academically, at The Compton School.
We know (experience, practice and relevant up to date research tells us) high quality teaching is the most important factor in improving outcomes for students with SEND. The Curriculum Support Department works in partnership with all teachers to ensure all students with SEND have meaningful access to a broad and balanced curriculum.
The department staff consists of:
SENDCo – Charlotte Maginnis
Deputy SENDCos – Niamh Hickey & Fabienne Pulizzi-Brown
SEND Administrator – Paula Powder
Senior TAs (each overseeing a specific area) – Sharon Robinson (Access Arrangements & Exams) Sue Tierney (Physical Needs and Support & Intervention) Taylor Richter (Teaching & Learning interventions – including Assistive Technology)
Other TAs - With a wide range of experience around specific learning difficulties and other areas of SEND.
The Curriculum Support Department work closely with Year Managers, Key Stage Leaders, and external specialists to ensure they work collaboratively to provide interventions that best support our students.
Link to policies related to SEND (MLT SEND policy, SEND Information Report 2022-23, TCS Accessibility Plan)
Local offer (The Local Offer gives children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities, and their families, information about what support services the local authority have available in their local area).
Barnet: Barnet Local Offer :: Home
Enfield: Enfield's local offer for SEND | Enfield Council
Haringey: Haringey's Local Offer | Haringey Council
Brent: SEND Local Offer | Brent Council
Harrow: Harrow Council Local Offer (harrowlocaloffer.co.uk)
Camden: The Local Offer - Camden Council
FAQs:
How is my child supported in school?
Support in a mainstream secondary school for students with SEND will depend on the need of a particular student at a particular time. For secondary aged students a sense of belonging and fitting in is of upmost importance, therefore it is essential support is delivered sensitively and subtly.
TAs: In some lessons, a TA will support the whole class, and adopt a ‘butterfly’ approach, which means moving from student to student and allowing time to develop independence. Generally, we do not have 1:1 TA support for students in lessons, this is not conducive to developing independence and preparing for adulthood.
TAs will vary from lesson to lesson, and students will not have the same TA across numerous lessons – again, this is to develop independence, but also to avoid students becoming overly dependent on adults (some of whom may leave to pursue teaching careers.)
Our TAs are experienced and skilled. They receive regular training and updates on the latest information and research around supporting students with SEND.
High quality teaching: Research tells us that high quality teaching is the most vital factor in ensuring outcomes for students with SEND are good or better. In the planning and delivery of our curriculum, inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. Teachers are trained to support students with SEND and employ a wide range of strategies that support students, including explicit instruction, cognitive and metacognitive strategies, variations in scaffolding and flexible grouping. Teachers are asked to not only consider the content of their lesson material, but adapt the environment, seating, and questioning techniques to ensure students with SEND can engage fully in all aspects of the lessons.
Interventions: The Curriculum Support Department deliver a range of daily intervention to support students learning, social interactions and SEMH, including:
- Speech and Language small group teaching
- Numeracy intervention
- Organisation support
- Social skills
- Fine motor skills support
- Literacy intervention
- Lexia
- Emotional Coaching
- Zones of regulation
- Confidence building
- 1:1 mentoring
Interventions are evidence based, they will be time-limited and evaluated and adjusted as appropriate.
Key person: If your child has SEND, they may benefit from having a key person or people who knows them best, and who they can see if they have any concerns. There are a variety of people who may fulfil this role for your child, this may be the school SENDCO or one of the Deputies, a TA, their Year Manager or Form Tutor, or another member of the pastoral team.
Homework club: The Curriculum Support Department run a ‘Home-work club’ 4 days a week – this is a quiet space where your child can complete homework and access TA support and guidance, we strongly encourage students who are finding home-work difficult to avail of this support.
How are teachers made aware of any SEND or difficulties my child experiences?
The transition process from primary to secondary school is key in collecting information around our students with SEND. Our transition process at The Compton School is thorough and robust. Curriculum Support staff will visit primary schools of all students with EHCPs to discuss how to support transition to secondary. Key information from primary schools, or any other previous setting will be shared with all relevant staff. Most students with SEND will have an IEP (Individual Educational Plan) that will be shared with all teachers of that student. All students on our SEND register will have information around their needs and key strategies to support which is shared with teachers and TAs.
We share updates with teaching staff about students with SEND and the best strategies to support, we regularly have TAC (Talk Around the Child) meetings with teachers of specific students to share information and share best practice for individual students. During parents evening we encourage open and positive dialogue from parents to share what strategies work well for their children at home and seek to embed these in school where we can.
What adjustment are made for children with SEND?
This will depend on the individual needs and circumstances of the student. But adjustments may include; seating arrangements in a lesson, resources (printed off or on larger print/ coloured paper), supportive peers, flexible grouping or exam access arrangements.
Who can I speak to about my child’s special educational needs, or concerns I have around my child’s learning or well-being?
The first point of contact should be a student’s Year Manager. The Curriculum Support staff work closely with all Year Managers and other Pastoral staff.