Local Offer

SEN Information Report for Sherbourne Fields School

Local Offer for Learners with SEN

Introduction

At Sherbourne Fields School we are committed to working together with all members of our school community to provide the best opportunities for our pupils.

Sherbourne Fields is an all age special school for pupils with a broad spectrum of need including physical disabilities, medical conditions and a wide range of communication and learning needs. The school's population is wide-ranging and diverse, with pupils from a rich mix of social and cultural backgrounds.

The school caters for pupils between the ages of 2 and 19 and serves the whole of Coventry. We also offer some places to neighbouring local authorities.

Sherbourne Fields provides a range of excellent facilities. These include a swimming pool, a multi-sensory room and a soft play area. We also have a variety of outdoor areas for learning and socialising including an outdoor classroom, an allotment, a large poly tunnel and a fire pit, which is used as a part of our forest schools programme. We also have a specialist rooms for art, science, music, food technology and ICT. Our chickens, ducks, rabbits and guinea pigs also enjoy their own outdoor areas which support the functional and vocational areas of our curriculum. In addition to this our expressive arts studio serves as a multi-functional space and is used by our own staff and pupils as well as visiting musicians, story tellers, dancers and drama specialists who provide exciting workshops for our pupils throughout the school year.

Our school has a large and welcoming early years area, a sixth form centre with facilities to promote independent living and a range of therapy rooms. Our older pupils also benefit from our newly developed vocational learning area, The Wedge Workshop which is used to support a range of accredited courses which teach skills of construction and vehicle maintenance.

At Sherbourne Fields we are proud of our specialist nature and we work hard to ensure that our pupils' experience of school is positive, fulfilling and meaningful. We believe in encouraging achievements of all kinds. Our approach is founded on a special partnership between you as parents, our school and your child – education is always most successful when parents are closely involved in their child’s  development, we will therefore work very closely with you to ensure that your child achieves to the very best of their ability.

We warmly encourage you to visit us at Sherbourne and we very much look forward to meeting you.

Our aim is that all pupils:

• Achieve their best
• Become confident individuals living fulfilling lives as independently as possible
• Make a successful transition into adulthood

How we identify SEN

A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:

Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age.

or

Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 providers.

All of our pupils have a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an Education, Health and Care Plan which clearly details their special education needs, approaches to meeting these needs and required provision.

The Needs of our Pupils:

Our pupils have a wide range of needs including:

• Sensory and/or physical needs
• Cognition and learning needs
• Communication and interaction needs
• Hearing Impairment
• Visual Impairment
• Parent involvement in your child’s education
• The success of our pupils relies on strong links between school staff, governors, pupils, parents/carers and other professionals.

Parents/carers have the opportunity to consult:

• On a daily basis via home school diary
• At any time by making an appointment with the relevant member of staff
• At parent/teacher Learning Conversations at the end of each academic term.  
• Annually at the Statement/EHCP review
• Regular Family Coffee Mornings
• Phone Calls
• Drop off and collection from School
• Family Open Evenings – on a termly basis

Here we offer a number of parent information stalls which enable our parents to meet with other local providers of services to children and young adults with SEN.

Pupil’s involvement in their education

Pupils have the opportunity to consult about their education through:

• Individual tutorial work
• Giving their views for Statement/EHCP Annual reviews and where appropriate attending.
• During Personal, Social and Health Education lessons
• Attending taster days and transition events at post 19 providers.
• Through the Student Council
• Tutor time activities

The Statement/EHCP Annual Review

The annual review will give the opportunity for parents, carers, pupils, teachers and other professionals to review progress over the year towards previously identified outcomes, to identify targets for the future and to plan who and what will need to happen to achieve success.

Approaches to teaching to meet pupils’ needs

Here at Sherbourne Fields we feel it is vital that pupils are familiar with peers their own age in tutor and lunchtime but within lessons they are ability grouped across the Key Stages.

At Sherbourne Fields teachers will use a wide range of strategies to enable pupils to access to the curriculum, this might include using:

A curriculum to meet pupils’ needs

At Sherbourne Fields we provide a very broad and challenging curriculum which is designed to meet the needs of all of our pupils who have a broad spectrum of need. We are committed to high standards of learning underpinned by imaginative and innovative teaching which focuses on individual learning needs.

Our curriculum is designed to promote learning and to prepare pupils for the next steps in their lives. We follow the National Curriculum but adapt it to remain challenging, fun and relevant to our pupils. At all ages there is an emphasis on enabling pupils to be as independent as possible, some of the learning takes place in practical ways such as cooking, shopping or in the community.

We view Personal, Social and Health Education as a core subject along with English, Maths, Science and ICT.

At Sherbourne Fields EYFS is delivered to children in a multisensory and structured way.  We provide the children with opportunities to enable them to learn and play within supportive and exploratory environments. High quality Early Years and KS1 Education makes a positive contribution to children’s early development, enabling them to build on this foundation throughout their lives and providing a sound basis for lifelong learning. Pupils follow a topic themed approach which allows for child initiated learning.

The Primary Department provides supportive and practical learning opportunities which ensure that every child’s individuality is celebrated and that their potential is achieved.

Primary age pupils follow the National Curriculum which is delivered using a topic based approach. There is an emphasis on their literacy, numeracy, communication, personal and social skills. Pupils have regular opportunities to learn within our community.

Secondary aged pupils study the National Curriculum with an even greater emphasis on developing independence skills. Learning is subject based but themed days and projects also form part of the curriculum. Learning in the community is vital for our pupils and we encourage regular educational visits. Key Stage 3 provides a transitional environment which is supportive from Primary to Secondary, engaging young people in exciting challenges from across the secondary curriculum. In Key Stage 4 we foster independence, develop life skills and promote learning through a broad range of accredited courses. Pupils aged 14-19 follow courses that are recognised nationally and for which they receive external accreditation for their achievements. We also work with a number of community partners to support the breadth of our curriculum. The Sixth Form at Sherbourne Fields aims to prepare our students for opportunities in the wider world. The curriculum enables our young adults to further develop their existing skills in a variety of ways through academic, work related and life skills

Measuring success

We continually monitor pupil progress in a number of ways.

Short term targets and agreed outcomes from annual reviews / termly learning conversations are monitored by teachers and TA’s. They involve the child, parent, teachers and other professionals. These are also reviewed annually at the Statement/EHCP review.

Pupil’s progress in Maths, English, Science, PSHE and ICT are assessed termly using B2. We use Progression Data to set upper quartile targets for all of our pupils.  We ensure our standards of judgement by moderating work in school, with other  local special schools and also at a sub-regional level.

We scrutinise the work of pupils through the year to ensure that pupils’ learning is challenging, relevant and accessible.

We also monitor the success of other provision in school such as rebound therapy, alternative communication methods, use of technology etc.

Equality of Opportunity

Our approaches to learning, specialist equipment and staff training ensure that all of our pupils are able to engage fully in activities. The school has high expectations of what all of our pupils can do and are always looking to extend this.

Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning

This is an important area of learning for our pupils if they are to achieve their best and be part of the community. Pupils learn these skills through:

• Personal, Social and Health Education lessons
• The inclusion of lunch and playtimes as part of the taught day where pupils are supported to learn and practise social skills.
• Staff modelling appropriate behaviour and using positive reinforcement to reward pupils when they get things right.
• Small class sizes which enables pupils to feel confident in speaking out.
• A large amount of learning in the community enabling pupils to learn appropriate social behaviours.
• * Assessments of pupils’ social and emotional ability leading to design of intervention resources.
• * Wide range of class based resources to support social and emotional aspects of learning.

Working with other professionals

Working with other professionals is crucial in meeting the needs of our pupils. Most of these work directly with our staff so they can deliver programmes of support on a daily basis.

We have access to a number of other professionals, these include:

• 2.5 days per week of Speech and Language Therapy
• Physiotherapy
• Occupational Therapy
• School Nurses
• Community Paediatrician
• Education Psychologist
• Clinical Psychologist
• Sensory Support
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
• Dietician
• If necessary we are able to call on more specialist advice if a need arises

Funding for SEN

We currently receive a fixed sum for each pupil at the school. There are also other sources of funds we are able to use with specific children, such as those that are looked after or in receipt of free school meals.

The school also is very successful at fundraising and applying for grants to supplement our income.

Preparing for the next step

Preparing our pupils for the next stages of their life is hugely important. This can be transition to a new class in school, having a new teacher, or moving on to another school, college, training provider or moving in to employment. Sherbourne Fields School is committed to working in partnership with children, families and other providers to ensure positive transitions occur.

Transition between year groups and classes involves a range of activities during the summer term so staff and pupils can work together.

Transition to future settings begins in year 9 with the start of a Transition Plan which will be discussed at each Statement/EHCP Annual review. Pupils will investigate different settings; this is in consultation with parents, teachers and Carol Lucas – Family Liaison and Transition Advisor. During a pupil’s last 12 to 18 months regular visits will take place to their new setting.

Have your say

The success of our pupils relies on strong links between school staff, Governors, pupils, parents/carers and other professionals.

We continually develop our practice to improve outcomes for our pupils and welcome suggestions from these groups to enhance our provision.

If you have any questions about our contribution please contact:

Shivaun Duffy Moriarty
Head Teacher
Sherbourne Fields School
Rowington Close
Coventry
CV6 1PR

School: 02476 591 501