Learning Support (SEND)
Oswestry School and Bellan House are accredited CReSTed schools (Council for the Registration of Schools Teaching Dyslexic Pupils), and are able to give excellent help to pupils with specific learning difficulties.
- Who can I talk to about my child's difficulties?
- What do I do if I have concerns about my child's learning and progress?
- Keeping parents informed
- How is extra support allocated to children?
- High quality in-class support for children with difficulties
- Support and resources available for pupils with SEND at Oswestry School
- Experts and outside providers currently supporting our pupils
- Supporting transition between classes, schools, higher education and the workplace
- Developing literacy strategies with Read&Write at Oswestry School
Who can I talk to about my child's difficulties?
The Head of Learning Support is Mrs Victoria Bradley-Barnard (vic.bradley-barnard@oswestryschool.com) who is supported by Kallista Skelton (kallista.skelton@oswestryschool.com) as Head of Learning Support at Oswestry School Prep.
Both Mrs Bradley-Barnard and Dr Willis are available to discuss your child’s difficulties should you wish to do so. The overall outline of the responsibilities of the Head of Learning Support is laid out as follows.
The Head of Learning Support in Oswestry School is responsible for:
- Coordinating all the variety and range of support for children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).
- Developing and reviewing the school’s SEND Policy to make sure all children access high quality provision to meet their needs in school.
- Liaising with external providers and specialists who work with us to help support your child’s learning e.g. Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapists, Educational Psychologists etc..
- Updating the school’s SEND register - a live, active file providing all current information that teachers need to access in order to ensure they plan effectively to support your child in their lessons.
- Maintaining records of your child’s progress.
- Providing specialist support, advice and training for teachers and support staff in the school to ensure an understanding of the best practice in supporting your child and their individual, specific needs.
- Liaising with you to ensure you are kept well informed about your child’s progress and creating an effective working partnership with you in order for your child to receive the best all round support.
What do I do if I have concerns about my child's learning and progress?
If you are concerned about your child’s progress you should speak to your child’s class teacher in Bellan House or Form Tutor in the Senior School. They will be happy to discuss your concerns and refer these concerns on to the Head of Learning Support for further advice or action.
If you are not happy that the concerns are being managed and feel that your child is still not making progress, you should speak to the Head of Learning Support (Mrs Victoria Bradley-Barnard (vic.bradley-barnard@oswestryschool.com) in the Senior School or Kallista Skelton (kallista.skelton@oswestryschool.com) Head of Learning Support at Oswestry School Prep.
If you are still not happy, you can speak to the school’s SEND Governor, Mrs Rachel Warner, Mrs Claire Belk (Head of Oswestry School Prep) or Mr Peter Middleton, Headmaster.
Keeping parents informed
If your child is then identified as not making progress or having any difficulties, we will contact you and set up a meeting to discuss this with you in more detail.
The meeting will be useful for listening to any other concerns you may have; planning any additional support and determining if any outside advice should be sought.
If your child already has an identified need and is receiving support, we will maintain regular contact with you to review their progress and discuss new targets as identified on their individual learning plan (ILP) or their intervention log.
The progress of children with a Statement/Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) of SEND is formally reviewed at an Annual Review with all the adults involved with the child’s education.
Members of the Learning Support team will be available at all parents’ evenings (appointments may be required).
Information evenings for parents are held in order to keep parents up to date with new resources, initiatives and to provide an understanding of how we best meet the needs of our SEND pupils within the school. These events also provide an opportunity for parents to share experiences with each other and meet with some of our specialist providers. Please see information for parents throughout the year for details.
The Head of Learning Support is available to discuss any concerns at any point through the year should you wish to. It is our belief that by working closely together, we provide the best opportunity to support your child.
Please contact the Head of Learning Support (Mrs Victoria Bradley-Barnard (vic.bradley-barnard@oswestryschool.com) in the Senior School or Kallista Skelton (kallista.skelton@oswestryschool.com) Head of Learning Support at Oswestry School Prep.
How is extra support allocated to children?
All children are monitored for difficulties when they enter school. This information, along with any additional information from previous schools, class teachers and parents is used to determine if the child is in need of extra support.
Children with Statements or EHCPs are allocated the required level of support in accordance with the details of the documentation and are effectively supported to develop the skills and knowledge needed in order for them to achieve their highest potential.
Bellan
At Oswestry School Prep, children needing extra support receive small group work or individual support according to the nature of their difficulties. Withdrawal sessions are timetabled to ensure the curriculum is not adversely affected.
Much of the support for these children, however, is effectively implemented within the mainstream classroom ensuring positive inclusion within normal lessons. Where children would benefit from specialist interventions for needs such as speech and language, occupational therapy or dyslexia, such specialists are welcomed in school.
1st Form
All children receive high quality teaching in classes with class teachers catering to support the different needs within their normal lessons. If the need is deemed to require a higher level of support.
Children identified with difficulties may receive 1 hour per week of small group support plus access to the weekly study skills club.
2nd & 3rd Form
Children identified with difficulties may receive Learning Support lessons in place of a Modern Foreign Language (MFL). The decision to access these is made in relation to the need and in conjunction with parents, the Head of MFL and the Head of Learning Support. In addition, they have access to the weekly study skills club.
4th & 5th Form
Children with identified difficulties are able to choose Study Skills as one of their options on the GCSE choice list. The lessons are timetabled in the same way as other GCSE choices and support is tailored to meet the individual needs with a small group. These pupils have access to the weekly Study Skills Club.
Sixth Form
There is NO CHARGE for any of the support or lessons.
In line with our school policy, parents have the option to request extra 1:1 support from a specialist provider at an additional cost. Please refer to the school policy for details or contact Mrs Bradley-Barnard for further information (vic.bradley-barnard@oswestryschool.com).
All resources/training and support are reviewed regularly and changes made as needed.
High quality in-class support for children with difficulties
All our staff receive regular training and updates on meeting the needs of pupils with a variety of needs. Training includes keeping teachers aware of the best strategies to support pupils with difficulties such as :
ASD
Dyslexia
SpLDs
Dyspraxia
Processing and Working Memory issues
Class Teachers and subject specialists plan lessons according to the specific needs of all groups of children in their class, and will ensure that your child’s needs are met.
Specially trained support staff can adapt the teachers’ planning to support the needs of your child where necessary.
Specific resources and strategies will be used to support your child individually and in groups.
Planning and teaching will be adapted on a daily basis if needed to meet your child’s learning needs.
Support and resources available for pupils with SEND at Oswestry School
Read and Write Gold
Improve reading and writing confidence
Read&Write literacy software makes the web, documents and files more accessible - any time, any place, and on any platform or device. It's great for people with dyslexia and other learning difficulties, or anyone whose first language isn't English.
From reading on-screen text aloud to researching and checking written work, Read&Write makes lots of everyday tasks easier. It’s a big confidence booster for anyone who needs a little extra help with their reading and writing, at school or in the workplace.
Nessy – Online Reading and Spelling programme
A highly effective multisensory intervention proven to be successful in raising attainment and accelerating progress with many pupils struggling with Dyslexia.
Catch Up Literacy
Catch Up® Literacy is a structured one-to-one intervention for learners who find reading difficult. It enables struggling readers to achieve more than double the progress of typically developing readers.
Catch Up® Literacy uses a book-based approach to support learners in their reading of a book so they activate both dimensions of reading – word recognition processes (including phonics) and language comprehension processes.
It is suitable for all struggling readers whose Reading Age is significantly below their Chronological Age and is designed for use with struggling readers aged 6-14, rather than beginner readers.
Specialist dyslexia teaching 1:1
Qualified ATS or APS (Approved Teacher Status or Approved Practitioner Status) dyslexia specialist teachers accredited by the British Dyslexia Association, or specialist teachers with equivalent qualifications work to support pupils with Dyslexia and diagnosed SpLDs.
BBC Dance Mat
How the game works:
There are four levels to play, each divided into three stages.
You start by learning the home row keys. Each stage builds on previous lessons, introducing new letters as you progress. You’ll soon be touch typing like an expert! At the end of each level you can test your typing speed and get a fun reward.
BBC Dance Mat is an IT programme to support the development of touch typing skills. This programme is used to support pupils with slow writing speeds and difficulties in producing writing that is easy to read.
Cogmed
An online programme aimed at pupils with working memory difficulties. This highly structured and intensive programme has proven to be highly effective in raising attainment and accelerating progress in core subjects
RNIB Bookshare
RNIB Bookshare makes textbooks and course texts accessible for children with visual impairments and severe difficulties with reading by allowing access to digital copies that can then be read aloud using a range of devices.
Small group and individual teaching
High quality teaching support in small groups or 1:1 for mathematicss, reading, spelling, writing structure, exam techniques and revision. Tailor made to support individuals and their individual learning plans.
Experts and outside providers currently supporting our pupils
Supporting transition between classes, schools, higher education and the workplace
As transitions to new establishments can be difficult for some pupils with SEND, we put in place the following procedures in order to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Prep School
To ensure that any transitions when moving classes in the Prep School are well supported, information will be passed on to the new class teacher in advance and a planning meeting will take place with the new teacher. All individual education plans and pupils centred plans will be shared with the new teacher.
Senior School
As pupils move into the senior school, transition meetings will take place between the class teacher and Headteacher in Oswestry School Prep and the Heads of Faculty and Section Head for Lower School in the senior school. The Heads of Learning support will also be present at these meetings to ensure that any pupil with SEND is identified and appropriately provided for with regards to a smooth transition in relation to their needs.
Further education or the workplace
To ensure the transition to another establishment for further education or into the workplace is as successful as possible, the Head of Learning Support will coordinate support for Careers Advice in advance of leaving school and make contact with the receiving establishment to pass on all relevant information and special arrangements needed. All records about your child will be passed on to any further education establishment as soon as possible.
Moving to another school
Again to ensure the smooth transition to another school should your child have to leave Oswestry School, we will contact the receiving school’s SENCO and ensure he/she knows about any special arrangements or support that need to be made for your child. We will make sure that all appropriate records about your child are passed on as soon as possible.