SEND

At King Edward VI Handsworth School, we endeavour to meet the needs of all students, including those who have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, as far as is compatible with the efficient use of school resources.

We believe that every child matters and we work to the best of our ability to ensure that all barriers are lifted for students with SEND, so they can achieve their fullest potential and access the curriculum with ease; we believe that students with SEND are entitled to this provision. We work collaboratively in our setting, between the SEND,  Pastoral teams and all teachers, to provide Quality First Teaching within the classroom and fully embrace the fact that every teacher is a teacher of SEND.  This work includes the implementation of various adaptive teaching strategies and necessary adjustments to resources too.We pride ourselves on getting to know our students well, so that we can fully understand what they need to be equipped with, in order to access the broader curriculum and make the appropriate reasonable adjustments required.  We value the importance of building strong relationships between our families, and strongly believe that, in working in close partnership, we are able to provide a comprehensive and effective graduated approach to students’ learning. Maintaining healthy communication between all stakeholders is key to our way of working.

At King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls, the SENCo works in synergy with external agencies, to gain the best advice for students and to ensure the right support is provided for our students with SEND. The school is supported by the Local Authority through Access to Education, which consists of four specialist services: Communication and Autism, Educational Psychology, Pupil and School Support and Sensory Support. Although the school nurse team has now been taken out of all schools in the local area, we are still able to refer to the School Health Advisory Service and other agencies depending on individual needs. We also work closely with West Midlands Speech and Language Therapy too. The combined effect of the work we do is invaluable for our students and their families.

We work with students who have a variety of Special Educational Needs, as well as medical needs and disabilities. This includes social, emotional and mental health needs. The Learning Hub is a calm space that our SEN students are able to access when they need to; this can be so they access THRIVE based activities, which enable them to emotionally regulate, so they are able to continue with their learning and make expected academic progress.  The space is also available during unstructured social times, for students to socialise with their peers, and increase their confidence with their social skills, communication and interaction. We work closely with students either in the capacity of group work, to help with their learning and also on a one to one basis, if required.  The SEND Team currently comprises the SENCo and two Learning Support Assistants. We endeavour to aid our students who experience emotional stress in the most sensitive and supportive way possible; we listen carefully to what they have to say and liaise with parents and guardians, and help students to work their way through difficult periods.  Although we manage the needs of our students effectively, we call upon outside professionals when we need additional support. We use various tools for the identification of learning difficulties and baseline tests of our Year 7 students upon entry to the school, offer additional transition support to secure an effective start to secondary education and track and monitor academic progress for students with SEND. Our aim is to help students develop into confident and able learners who are prepared for adulthood; we embrace our school motto and encourage the love of learning, by providing excellence for all. This is done via promoting our students to take on roles of responsibilities within our setting.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCo)
Mrs A Lomas, please address any postal queries to the school address or email office@kingedwardvi.bham.sch.uk

Strategies and activities to support reading, writing and vocabulary:
https://accesstoeducation.birmingham.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/English-strategies-leaflet-3.pdf

Strategies and activities to support Maths:
https://accesstoeducation.birmingham.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Maths-Strategies-leaflet-3.pdf

Free Webinars for Parents by the British Dyslexia Association:

https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/shop/webinars

Touch Type Read and Spell ( purchase required):

https://www.readandspell.com/us/dyslexia

Barrington Stoke Dictionary (purchase required):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Barrington-Stoke-School-Spelling-Dictionary/dp/1842995200

My Study Bar:  https://www.callscotland.org.uk/mystudybar/

Reading Text Aloud using Google:

How to make Google Docs read text aloud to you

  1. Open your Google Doc.
  2. Click “Tools” in the top toolbar.
  3. Select “Accessibility settings.”
  4. Tick the box next to “Turn on Screen Reader Support” and then click “OK.” You should now see a new section appear in your top toolbar called “Accessibility.”

Cerebra – Sleep Advice Service:
Cerebra.org.uk

Kooth Mental Wellbeing Community:
Kooth COVID-19 Response

Mind Coronavirus Support for Young People:
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/for-children-and-young-people/coronavirus/

Young Minds Crisis Messenger:
https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/get-urgent-help/youngminds-crisis-messenger/
Also see the Young Minds general website for useful blogs and articles.

ADHD Foundation Parent Area:
https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk/parents/

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