SJB understands the journey all parents have when deciding their child’s next school. With so many factors and pressures on parents, it is understandable that the process and pathways can become overwhelming particularly at points of transition. However, we want to reassure all parents from the outset that we are here to help. We will guide parents and provide concise and easy to understand information that will help them to make the best and most informed decisions for their child.

If a child currently has an EHCP and is in Year 4 or 5, we recommend that parents book a tour to see all about the provision at SJB. The tour, lasting for about an hour will consist of all the significant parts of the school and the Learning Support Department. At the end of the tour, parents will get the opportunity to ask any questions relating to what the school does to support all students. Our SEND Tours are bookable via the main school office and only run at specific times and days – please email info@sjb.surrey.sch.uk if you would like to book onto one. It is also important that you have read our SEND policy and other SEND documents if you are planning on naming us as your preferred school for Year 7 so you fully understand the offer we can provide.

Whilst much of our work supports those students with an Educational Health & Care Plan (EHCP), we continue to provide support and expertise to those students with any additional needs throughout the school. More information about what we provide for non-EHCP students is on our provision map. It is important to remember that many students with SEND needs can be fully supported in the classroom by their class teachers using High Quality Teaching and additional support is not always necessary. For more information on this please see Surrey’s Ordinary Available Provision information https://www.surreylocaloffer.org.uk/practitioners/resources/ordinarily-available-provision#panel-5

Starting at SJB does not always mean day one of Year 7. Once a child’s place is confirmed, The SJB SEND team will be in touch with primary schools to arrange the first visit whilst they are in Year 6. All students who need a supported transition will be offered opportunities to get to know us before they start. This may be in their primary school or, for a small number of children, at SJB as part of additional transition work.

 

Yr 6 into 7 SEND Transition Morning or Afternoon (June)

These sessions are open to a small number of students who, after discussions with primary schools, we feel would benefit for additional support. The sessions will take place at SJB before the main Year 6 into 7 Induction Day (see below). After a few introductions we will unpick the schools’ expectations on them as students. The students will then be split into a few groups and then, supported by our team of LSAs, embark on a tour of the school, sample a lesson and enjoy lunch together. This is an excellent opportunity for the children to get to know key members of the Learning Support Department and some of the other students joining SJB in September. Students are invited to either the morning or afternoon session dependant upon their need.

Induction Day (July)

Open to all new starters to the school; their first whole day at SJB. The opportunity to start making lifelong friends and getting to know many of their new teachers and support staff who will be working with them for the next few years. This is a fun-packed day anchored around time spent getting to know each other in form groups.

SEND Provision

SJB is a mainstream secondary school providing students with a curriculum that culminates in GCSEs at the end of Year 11 and GCE A Levels at the end of Year 13. This means that it may not be suitable for students who are not able to follow this pathway and need a more alternate provision.

We are committed to providing for students with a range of Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) including those without an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). We are also committed to supporting colleagues in school to provide the initial wave of support in the classroom, Quality first teaching (QFT).

SEND Population (Students on the Learning Support Register) 2023-24

	EHCP (E)	SEN Support (K)	Monitoring (M)	Total
Year 7	17	25	34	76
Year 8	11	14	20	44
Year 9	8	16	31	55
Year 10	11	10	23	43
Year 11	8	21	14	43
Year 12	2	2	10	14
Year 13	0	3	20	23

The school currently meets the needs of students with and without an EHCP with the following kinds of special educational need:

• Autistic Spectrum Conditions
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs including ADHD and Anxiety
• Speech and Language Needs
• Specific Learning Difficulties relating to literacy or numeracy
• Visual/Hearing Impairments
• Sensory and Physical Needs

SJB has a huge wealth of experience working and providing for students with SEND. We run interventions to meet the need of the students proactively.

Below are some of the key provisions we currently offer. Many of these provisions are available to both students with and without an EHCP.

Before School Club

8.00am – 8.50am Learning Support starts first thing in the morning for students to have a good calm start to the day. Monitored by a small team of LSAs, students can study and complete homework. This is a great time for many of the students to organise themselves and prepare for the day ahead. This is based in the school Hub.

Lunchtime Support

Learning Support offers a safe calm and supported environment for students who find the canteen overwhelming. This is based in the school well-being room. At lunchtime, they can eat their packed lunch in the Well-being room if they wish. As we want students to engage with each other during this time, we ask them not to use their iPad over lunchtime. Learning Support Assistants are on hand to offer support socially to help set up games, activities as well as having a good chat with anyone who needs it.

Homework Club

3.25pm – 4:30pm Homework club runs every day in The Hub. Supported by a large group of LSAs, it is an environment where students can feel supported in making a good start with their Homework. This club is open to all students not only those with special educational needs.

SEND Mentoring System

Every student with an EHCP (E) or on the Learning Support register as SEN Support (K) will have a Learning Mentor or Key LSA. The Learning Mentor / Key LSA is the students “go-to person”, they will also hold the administrative and communication responsibilities to gather and pass on feedback to relevant people. Effective mentoring can really be the glue that holds all the support together. Overseeing the students’ progress for a minimum of a year some mentors could oversee a student for up to 3 years. The mentor will create the ‘Student Passport’ and ‘SEND Learning Plan’. Each age phase (KS3,4&5) is overseen by Age Phase Leads who oversee the SEND provisions in their range.

Transition Programme (Year 7)

Transition is available to all Year 7 students, not just those with special educational needs. It operates a much smaller class size of around 15 – 18 students. These are students who are most in need of support. They are provided with a calm, constant and nurturing environment on their transition to secondary school. Core subjects – Maths, English, RE, Geography and History are taught by one specialist teacher in the same classroom. Science, MFL, Computing, Drama, Music and Art are taught by subject specialist teachers in specialist rooms. For Design Technology, Food and Physical Education the students are taught amongst the rest of Year 7.

Removing the anxiety of multiple teachers, rooms and environments significantly aids the learning and settling in process. It also provides to opportunity for additional literacy and numeracy support where needed. Specific SEND support can also be deployed in the same environment making it more effective.

The students become quickly familiar with the expectations of the school, whilst being able to receive the best possible support from their teachers and the Learning Support department, whilst accessing the full curriculum in an inclusive environment. Overall having a better transition into mainstream secondary education. The school determines who will be placed in the transition programme each year based on the needs of the cohort; placement is not based solely on SEND needs.

Emotional Literacy Support Sessions (ELSA)

Carried out by trained and skilled Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs). These sessions are considered early intervention for emotional thinking and understanding. There is a variety of reasons why a student is referred to this support such as family issues, sickness or separation as well as school-related anxieties and concerns, however it is not always obvious.

We run a variety of different programmes to suit the varying needs of our students. The sessions all run once a week for 4-6 weeks and are either small group or one-to-one depending on the programme and the needs of the individuals.

These include:

• Social Skills – The sessions focus on age-appropriate aspects of social skills regarding the thinking and understanding of how we communicate and interact with each other, both verbally and non-verbally, through gestures, body language and our personal appearance. For many students especially those on the Autistic Spectrum, it is not automatic, and we need to provide a long-term understanding of our ability to understand why effective communication is so important.
• Friendships and Relationships Skills – In this small group programme the students gain a better understanding of healthy friendships and relationships and explore different challenges that they may face. It also provides opportunity to for the students to build friendships within the group.
• Building Self-esteem – These sessions will deliver an opportunity to reflect and build on the students’ self-esteem with a variety of practical activities.
• Dealing with Low Level Anxiety – These sessions teach the students what anxiety is and provide them with the tools to work through it.

The impact of these programmes is reviewed by the ELSAs at 4-6 weeks and may be extended.

BEAT Sessions

Overseen and created by an Educational Psychologist, this 6-week workshop is delivered by an ELSA to a small group of Year 11, 12 and 13 students who might become anxious about exams. Students who access the group will have greater understanding and will be able to use strategies to help reduce anxieties with exams.

Thinking Reading Programme

Thinking Reading is a bespoke one-to-one diagnostic literacy intervention programme offered by our highly trained specialists. All students with a reading age more than two years behind their peers will be assessed for their suitability for this programme.

Executive Functioning Programme

Our team of LSAs run functional skills programmes over the course of 6-8 weeks. This programme allows students to develop their skills in areas such as:

• Working Memory
• Emotional Control
• Sustained Attention
• Task Initiation
• Planning And Prioritising
• Organization
• Time Management.

Specialist ASD/ADHD Support

We are fortunate to have a full time specialist teacher of ASD and ADHD as part of our team. Mrs Mitchell has many years of experience working in both mainstream and specialist schools. She supports students, staff and families in a variety of ways including:

• 1:1 student sessions
• Lesson observations and teaching strategy support
• Small group sessions for students
• Parents groups
• Regular CPD sessions for staff

Pathway 2

Pathway 2 is an invite-only alternative curriculum at KS4. Considerable time and care is invested into identifying those students who might benefit from this pathway prior to the Year 9 options process. Identified students and their parents are invited into school for a Pathway 2 meeting before the Year 9 options process begins and are given the choice as to which pathway model they would prefer to follow.

This provision provides greater flexibility in the school week by reducing the total number of GCSEs/BTECs taken by the student from ten to nine or eight. This allows us to create additional support lessons on their timetable. These lessons, run by specialist teachers, will focus on Maths/numeracy, English/literacy and Science.

This combination of additional support lessons and study outside the classroom compared to the main pathway, allows students greater time to focus on those subjects that they are following GCSE/BTEC examination courses in. The end result of this is that Pathway 2 typically leads to better academic outcomes at the end of KS4 and to a wider range of options and courses Post-16 for those students following it.

In addition, a small number of students in Year 10 are invited to undertake their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award as one of their option subjects.

Functional Skills English (Level 1 and 2)

Each year a very small number of students work towards the Functional Skills English Level 1 and Level 2 qualifications. Those who achieve a pass at Level 1 in Year 10 go on to study for Level 2 and GCSE English Language in Year 11.

English & Maths Boosters

Bespoke individual packages of English and/or Maths intervention delivered by a subject teachers or subject specific LSAs help students who find it hard to access the content of the GCSE curriculum. The support on offer will cater to the learning needs of the student, pre-teach and gap-fill in all areas of the subject.

Careers Support & Work Skills

Students will be given the opportunity to have some lessons from SJB Career Advisor, then to follow a plan to ensure they are prepared for life after education giving them the opportunity to complete CV writing, work related life skills, communications and finance.

Speech & Language Therapy and Literacy Support

Our in-house specialist teacher provides support and care for children who have difficulties with communication. Provision is in small groups or one-to-one depending on need. Speech and Language Therapy is provided by the LA when needed.

Learning Support Assistants

The Learning Support Assistant (LSA) works with students with SEND in and out of the classroom. Supporting academically, physically and mentally; the students wellbeing, social development and focus within the classroom are all supported. This could be in the form of gentle and occasional prompts within the lesson to correct focus to being seated next to a student to physically support them access the curriculum and work set by the teacher.

LSAs are much more nomadic than other support staff and will often support a range of students throughout the school, working across multiple classes and years over the week. LSAs at SJB are broadly linked to year groups and to subjects and will work in all types of lessons. It is extremely rare and only in exceptional circumstances that LSAs work one-to-one with individuals or for individuals to have full-time support during the school day.