SEND
SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND INTERVENTION
For students who may need additional support with their learning or have specific requirements, we have a full-time Learning Support Coordinator (LSC) and Assistant LSC to support where appropriate to ensure the needs of our students are met.
BHS is fully accessible to people with physical disabilities including students who are wheelchair users. The building is wheelchair friendly throughout.
A fully fitted wet room and properly adapted toilet facilities are readily accessible.
Ongoing staff development in all areas of SEND is intrinsic to our ethos at Banbridge High School.
The Learning Support Coordinator liaises closely with feeder schools to ensure that provisions are bespoke to the needs of each individual student and in place in advance of their first day of attendance.
The Learning Support Coordinator works in partnership with students, teachers, parents and a range of additional agencies to optimise pupil experiences and learning outcomes.
At Banbridge High School we offer a nurturing and supportive learning environment in which all staff are fully competent in a comprehensive range of reasonable adjustments and supporting strategies to enable all students to access the curriculum.
Students are supported by a team of skilfully trained Additional Adult Assistants who strive to encourage social, emotional and academic development.
Curricular Provision for Pupils with SEND
All students have access to a broad and balanced curriculum, taking into account the entitlement framework. This involves all staff in utilising a range of teaching strategies and classroom management styles designed to take account of the differing abilities, interests and experiences of all students.
In order to facilitate this:
• The classroom environment is inclusive, stimulating and attractive;
• Lessons are differentiated and structured into clearly defined steps;
• Learning tasks and activities are stimulating and differentiated so that all students experience success yet challenging enough to promote progression in learning;
• Students are encouraged to take responsibility for their learning through tasks that allow them to progress at their own pace;
• All student achievements of pupils with SEN are celebrated.
Students access a wide range of learning approaches, including:
• Lessons delivered through team teaching
• Intervention through a range of specific computer packages
• Through small group withdrawal sessions providing intensive literacy and numeracy intervention.
A system of co-curricular provision enables learners to access additional support to learning in literacy, numeracy and other subject specific areas.
Learners have access to a fully fitted sensory room which can be used by pupils requiring sensory stimulation or even for a break from the demands of the classroom.
Learners also access the Cubbie sensory management hub which offers individual multisensory care. This facility is fully wheelchair friendly to prevent sensory overload in pupils with a range of needs including ASD, Anxiety and SBEW.
If your child has Statement or a specific learning difficulty and would like to know more about the school’s SEN delivery then it is strongly advisable that you make an appointment with the school's LSC.
Banbridge High School is now operating under the new Code of Practice which is one of the key elements of the new SEN Framework.
• Stage One: Students who are recorded as new Stage One will be receiving school delivered special educational provision.
• Stage Two: Students who are recorded as new Stage Two will be receiving school delivered special educational provision plus external provision, e.g., from one of the Education Authority (EA) Pupil Support Services or from a service within the Health and Social Care Trust. Students who are going through the statutory assessment process will be recorded as Stage Two also.
• Stage Three: Students who are recorded as new Stage Three will have a statement of Special Educational Needs and will be receiving school and EA delivered special educational provision as detailed in their statement.
Identification of SEND
Banbridge High School boasts an efficient referral system of identification of additional needs requiring SEN supports, Referrals can be made to the Director Of SEND from students, parents and guardians, teachers and outside agencies. A system of diagnostic testing and SEND assessment will establish the necessary intervention to ensure appropriate support systems are in place.
SEN Curriculum Provision Mapping
As a school we have extensive provision which is additional to and different from the average student enabling us to minimise potential barriers to learning.
These provisions are categorised under the following categories and stages and are supported by a range of interventions including:
Ongoing Review of Provision
Interventions put in place to support students is reviewed twice yearly through PLP review. Parents are considered an intrinsic part of this process. SEND Data is reviewed four times a year and necessary amendments are made to reflect emerging needs.