SEND

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

Our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Department is dedicated to ensuring that every student with additional needs receives the support they require to thrive. Our knowledgeable and passionate team, composed of specialist teaching staff and Teaching Assistants, work closely with students, parents, carers, staff, and other stakeholders to ensure that each student's unique learning needs are fully met. Our goal is to ensure that all students can access the curriculum and achieve their full potential.

Tailored Support for Individual Needs 

The SEND Department is committed to identifying and addressing the specific needs of each student. Whether a student has a SEND, is learning English as an Additional Language (EAL), or faces challenges in accessing the curriculum for other reasons, we provide specialised and targeted support. Examples of our targeted support include: 

• Literacy & Numeracy Support: Focused sessions to strengthen essential skills. 
• In-Class Support: Additional assistance during lessons to aid understanding and participation. 
• Small Group Support: Collaborative learning in our SEND base. 
• One-to-One Support: Personalised help for students with specific learning difficulties. 
• Access to Specialist Equipment or Programmes: Tools and resources tailored to individual needs. 

A Collaborative Approach to Success 

Students working with the SEND Department are provided with clear, achievable targets for progress. These are regularly reviewed and communicated with parents / carers and staff in school. We design and monitor specific interventions to ensure that each student's needs are met effectively. Our collaborative approach ensures that every student has the opportunity to achieve their best. 

We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where every student can succeed, regardless of the challenges they face. 

Our SEND register

Students who have or may have SEND are added to the schools SEND register in one of three cohorts: 

SEND Monitoring: these students are monitored to find out if they need SEND provision. The monitoring cohort is reviewed regularly, and students are moved up to SEND Support or taken off the Monitoring list. 

SEND Support: these students are identified as needing SEND provision which is additional to or different from the support generally made available to students of the same age.  

SEND Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP): Students with an Education Health Care Plan have specific outcomes and provisions defined by the local authority in which they live. These students have a key worker who regularly checks their wellbeing and annual reviews led by the SEND team.

A typical provision plan for a student who has an EHCP.

Graduated Approach to supporting SEND 

The work of the SEND Department is guided by the Special Education Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice (2015) published by the Department for Education. The Code of Practice advises all school to use a graduated response to SEND. This means that barriers to learning should be addressed gradually, starting with measures in the classroom and building towards more personalised measures. The graduated response is sometimes described as a Waves approach. It begins with high quality teaching in the classroom which is supplemented by further waves when needed. 

Wave 1 – High quality teaching and learning for all pupils by teachers who adapt their teaching to address and support needs.  

Wave 2 – Targeted interventions based on the development of specific skills. Usually delivered by the SEND Department or Pastoral Teams as part of a small group. 

Wave 3 – Personalised assessment or intervention. These may be delivered by specialists such as an Educational Psychologist or Speech and Language Specialist. 

The Manchester Local Offer (Disability & Special Educational Needs)