SEND & Learning Support

Welcome to our SEND & Learning Support pages.

We hope you will enjoy reading about the variety of ways in which Okehampton College is able to support our students with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) to reach their full potential.
Our main aim is to be flexible and to meet the individual needs of all students who require additional help.
Accessability Plan 2020/23
Vision:
At Okehampton College we are committed to offering an inclusive curriculum to enable all of our students to make the best possible progress and access the opportunities available.  Our first priority is to ensure all students’ needs are met within the classroom with high quality differentiated and personalised teaching, delivered by subject specialists.  Our Core values of Community Opportunity Respect Equity are at the heart of everything we do.  We want our young learners to develop the essential life skills that will enable them to not only feel part of and valued in our College environment, but to become part of our wider learning community.  We will support them to develop the necessary skills to be able to navigate the wider world as young adults.

We work alongside all other faculties within the College to facilitate support, both long term and short term, for a wide range of individual student needs.  This support is provided in a variety of ways: within mainstream classes; specialist programmes; or by intervention in small groups or one-to-one.  The learning support faculty has well equipped specialist teaching rooms as well as smaller intervention rooms.

We work closely with other agencies and rely on the partnership we develop with parents whose children are on our SEND register.  Working together is important to us and for your child's success.
Our SEND policy has been written to ensure that it provides clear guidance for all stakeholders.  Through training, network meetings and conferences we have developed ideas from leading local and national practitioners, to ensure that student’s with SEND can thrive.  We are fortunate to have a range of expertise within our Learning Support Team.  Our teaching assistants use their knowledge and skills effectively to ensure that students are supported not only academically but pastorally too.  We have a SEND representative in each Faculty through which we are able to offer further support and guidance.  The Learning Support Team are constantly working, adapting and revising everything that we do to ensure that we meet the needs of our students.
Every student at Okehampton College has the opportunity to follow all National Curriculum subjects as well as following an appropriate GCSE curriculum pathway.

Our range of curriculum pathways ensures that all students are able to access the right options for them.  We endeavour to offer the opportunity to follow a curriculum specifically designed to develop a range of skills and to give students self-confidence through their learning.

We are committed to narrowing the attainment gap between students with SEND and those who have not. This may include after school interventions, short-term intervention learning programmes, home-school intervention learning programmes or other learning interventions developed on an individual needs basis.

We have good attendance at Okehampton College as students want to come to school to experience our high quality learning environment.
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If your child has a disability and you would like to know more about what we offer at Okehampton College please contact us.
 
Our Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Co-ordinator is: Miss Karen Moore
Our Assistant Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Co-ordinator is Mrs Caroline Arnett
Assistant Principal (Safeguarding and Inclusion) Charlie Edwards
Our Governor with responsibility for SEND is: Mrs Mary Ellery
 
Does my child have a disability?

The Equality Act 2010 states that a person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
A physical or mental impairment includes:
Learning difficulties
Medical conditions, including epilepsy, diabetes, more severe forms of asthma and eczema
Specific learning difficulties, including dyslexia
Autism
Speech, language and communication impairments
If the impairment has a substantial and long-term effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities it may amount to a disability.
A young person has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.
A young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:
(a) Has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
(b)  Has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in a mainstream school.
If you would like to discuss any educational needs that you feel your son or daughter may have please contact the school.

How does the school know if my child needs extra help and what should I do if I think my child may have special educational needs?
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We receive information from the student’s previous school informing us if they have special educational needs.
We further compile information about each student through CAT (Cognitive Ability tests) and Literacy assessments which include a reading test and a spelling test.
We will carry out further assessments to support applications for Exam Access Arrangements and to provide teaching and support staff with a detailed picture of need.

How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?

We use data to accurately track student progress. Your child will be set challenging targets. Our challenge is to support your child in attaining the targets.
Here are some practical examples:
We develop learning programmes with parents and the student when facing new challenges within SEND.
We have an excellent transition programme for students in year six and work very closely with the feeder primary schools to ensure students feel happy and confident in Year 7.
We have programmes to support specific students with social skills and self-esteem.
We have supported lunch and home learning clubs for Yr. 7, 8 and 9 students.

What support will there be for my child’s overall wellbeing?

​​At Okehampton College, students and parents should be at the heart of decision-making, ensuring high quality individual education pathways are carefully planned around the specific needs of the student.
We believe in working in partnership with parents.
We will appoint a member of staff to the role of key adult to liaise and support every student identified at SEND Support whilst attending Okehampton College.  This member of staff will manage and support a student with their SEND Support Plan (SSP), monitoring and reviewing their targets at least termly, and liaising with parents/carers.
We have a highly motivated, enthusiastic team of colleagues including Literacy Intervention Teachers, Teaching Assistants, Higher Level Teaching Assistants and Maths Specialist Teaching Assistant.
All our staff are involved in and committed to providing education and support for SEND students. If you are concerned about your child please contact us.

Provision for students with disabilities and additional educational needs
Admissions

At Okehampton College we look at the needs of a student with special educational needs and, in liaison with all other professionals involved with the student, plan a comprehensive learning package, which will allow for measurable learning opportunities to be put in place. This means that the student and all adults involved in supporting that student will meet to plan the educational provision best suited to the needs of the individual student. At all times we will work closely with parents to ensure that their child receives the very best educational experience that Okehampton College can offer.

Discrimination

At Okehampton College we have a Special Educational Needs Policy and Equality policy, therefore every Okehampton College student is provided with equal opportunity to access all aspects of our curriculum. Okehampton College welcomes any suggestions as to how we can further improve this facility.

How accessible is the school?

At Okehampton College our premises include a 3 storey building with Science Laboratories on the second floor and humanities classrooms on the third floor. We are accessible to wheelchair users in all areas through use of lifts and slope access to all buildings. 

Additional educational needs

The Governing body is confident that every student with additional educational needs who is currently on roll at Okehampton College will be provided with an educational support package designed to cater for their individual educational requirements. The Governing body are informed of any changes of policy which may affect the education of students with additional educational needs, and in what way the school will respond to those changes. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us.

Devon's Local Offer 

​Devon County Council is committed to ensuring that all children and young people have a good start in life.  Some children and young people have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and these differing needs mean varied levels of support may be required at different times.

new.devon.gov.uk/send

Devon Information Advice and Support Service

Provide confidential and impartial information, support and training for parents and carers who have children (age 0-25 years) with additional educational needs.

https://www.devonias.org.uk