Vision of the Learning Support Team
Become independent learners who achieve the essential knowledge and skills to make a good transition to adulthood, leading contented and fulfilled lives
The Learning Support Faculty is a flexible, whole school resource, which responds to needs as
they arise. The principle aim of the Faculty is to ensure that the particular special needs of individual students are met, through positive use of all the resources available through the school. The Faculty consists of the SENDCo who is the Head of Learning Support; a teacher with Primary and Secondary School experience; a specialist for assessing Access Arrangements who also has BSL and eleven full or part-time teaching assistants. We currently have 96 students on the SEN Register including 15 students with EHCPs. Hayesfield has a strong tradition of integration and support across the curriculum for pupils with individual SEND. We aim to create a warm, supportive environment in which each student’s confidence and self-esteem can grow, develop resilience and where each individual feels valued.
Our vision for students with SEN:
- That they achieve well at school and in further education
- Become independent learners with the desires and skills necessary for life-long learning
- Make a good transition to adulthood
- Lead contented and fulfilled lives
Students with Special Educational Needs are those who experience significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of their peers or who have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities that are provided. These students require special consideration in terms of curriculum and teaching provision and above that which might normally be expected to be available. The intention is to enable all students, whatever their need, to benefit from access to a full curriculum and to the life of the school.
From the start of Year 7 a continuum of support is provided at all levels, based on the following information:
- Knowledge and information received by the SENDCo and the Head of Year, during transition meetings from Year 6 to Year 7 and from Year 11 to Sixth Form
- KS2 SATS levels received August/September
- SUFFOLK SCALE Reading Test and Blackwell Spelling Test taken in early September
- NFER Cognitive Abilities Tests (CATS) taken mid-September
Many students are aware of their difficulties and are anxious for support. Some students self-refer; others are referred by staff or parents. Students are encouraged to discuss their learning and/or behaviour difficulties with Support Staff. They are helped to understand their needs; how they can improve their skills; develop coping strategies and recognise progress. Some students will use a Dyslexia Screening test as part of an early check for exams access arrangements.
Students who have an Education Health & Care plan plan are targeted for in-class support. Students who have a specific learning difficulty have access to specific interventions during period 6, morning registration, and lunchtime and in some specific cases, they are withdrawn from a pre-agreed lesson.
The SENDCo monitors the progress of children with special educational needs using appropriate assessment data. This includes analysis of pupil tracking data, IEP reviews and standardised test results in addition to information from subject teachers, TAs, parents and reports from outside agencies. Provision is then amended to reflect the student’s needs if the expected progress is not made. There is excellent liaison with outside agencies, including Educational Psychologists, The Sensory Impairment Support Service, Speech & Language Therapy Service, Fosseway ASD, Specialist Behaviour Support Service and various health services.
The Faculty considers parents to be of paramount importance in helping their children to make progress towards independence. We form close links with parents, to work in partnership for the benefit of the student. Workshops are run to inform parents about the interventions we are using and to help them support their student. Parents are regularly invited to school to discuss their child’s progress or to review IEPs. Parents are always welcome to contact the Head of Learning Support (SENDCo) about any concerns.
Literacy/Numeracy Catch-up 2019-20 [PDF]
Faculty Staff
- Ms Kate Haden (KHA) – SENDCo
- Miss Rhiannon Adams (RAD) – Teaching Assistant
- Miss Jennifer Bentley (JAB) – Teaching Assistant
- Miss Renee Bond (RBO) – Teaching Assistant
- Miss Eleanor Brennan (EBR) – Teaching Assistant
- Miss Verity Chappell (VC) – SpLD Co-ordinator and Teaching Assistant
- Miss Lauren Clark (LCL) – Teaching Assistant
- Mrs Moira Fenton (MF) – Senior Teaching Assistant & ELSA Lead
- Mrs Jane Hutchins (JHU) – Teaching Assistant
- Mr Andrew Lawrence (DLA) – Teaching Assistant
- Miss Emily McCormick (ERM) – Teaching Assistant
- Mrs Claire Morris (CM) – Teaching Assistant
Achievement First (AF)
Lower School Curriculum Intent
This is an ambitious alternative curriculum, constructed to develop Lower School learners needing extra support having transitioned from primary school with results, or expected results below Age Related Expectations. It covers the English, French, Geography and History curricula, encompassing the same content and cultural capital as experienced by other students, but with a greater emphasis on closing the gaps in their knowledge and skills. Girls are expected to demonstrate a range of skills across reading, writing and the spoken word, especially focusing on reading for meaning through close analysis of a text. Through strengthening and embedding basic skills we develop confidence in verbal and written communication expanding written accuracy and allowing creative and analytical expression.
The curriculum is structured and sequenced in such a way that students are able to graduate from the AF Classes in either Years 7 or 8 and study English, French, Geography and History as separate subjects in mainstream classes. Those students that remain in AF in Year 8, will learn Geography and History in mainstream lessons whilst continuing to study English and French in AF. In Year 9, all students return to the mainstream curriculum and they complete their GCSEs alongside their peers in Years 10 and 11.
Students are regularly assessed (formally and informally) for readiness for mainstream.
Achievement First Year 7
Implementation
Students study 14 lessons of Achievement First a fortnight, this is broken down into 4 sub areas; English (to include one lesson a week of grammar), French (two lessons per fortnight) and Geography & History lessons (from October half term). The SIMS tracker will monitor the progress of these subjects. All students are set by their KS2 SATS results and in discussion with the primary school and with parents.
- All teaching sets and lessons are differentiated for ability to maximise progress for every student
- Teachers present the subject matter clearly, checking for understanding, identifying misconceptions and new teaching points with clear, directed and personalised feedback. Class discussion is actively promoted, encouraged and praised
- Formal assessments are completed as individual pieces of work as per the Programme of Study. Assessments inform the next steps teaching approach within lessons
- Phonics knowledge and understanding is explicitly taught (where necessary) and students have the opportunity to read at their targeted level, developing a love of reading
All teachers follow the agreed Achievement First Programme of Study.
Impact
Students will graduate to mainstream when there is clear evidence of confidence in their learning and a ‘Ready for Mainstream’ checklist is completed. Students who require ongoing support will continue into Year 8 Achievement First.
Course Content: English
The skills and content to be covered are mostly based on themes that centre round a book. Students are expected to read the book with their family at home and make notes on it to bring to the lesson. Each fortnight, the students are given a booklet to work through in their lessons. The booklet covers the skills that are to be developed and provides writing frames and other support aids to assist students with developing these skills.
Term 1:
- Creative Writing Theme ‘Who am I?’
- Descriptive Writing ‘Sweet Shop Description’
- Book: Boy by Roald Dahl
Term 2&3:
- Contemporary Writer – essay writing and character development
- Book: Alice in Wonderland
Term 4&5:
- Drama, Shakespeare
- Play: The Tempest – developing opinions and analysing text
Term 6:
- Poetry: Understanding techniques and devices
- Climbing with my Grandfather & Before you were mine
Skills Developed
Speaking & Listening:
- Discussion skills
- Range of situations
- Awareness of audience
- Developing ideas
- Listening carefully and asking questions
- Beginning to use standard English
Reading:
- Understand main ideas, themes, events and characters
- Evaluation of sources
- Analysis of literature
- Chronology
- Infer and deduce
- Identify, analyse and explain
- Understand how texts reflect time and culture in which they were written
- Use text to explain viewpoint
- Research skills: Find and extract relevant information from text
Writing:
- Range of forms: lively and thoughtful
- Clear purpose and style
- Sustained ideas, developed in interesting ways
- Adventurous choice of vocabulary
- Wide range of connectives
- Complex sentences
- Basic punctuation and paragraphing
- Fluent handwriting
Course Content: French
Term 1: La rentrée – brothers & sisters, describing yourself and what you are like
Term 2: En classe – school subjects, what you like and your uniform
Term 3: Mon temps libre – free time activities
Term 4: Ma vie de famille – talking about your family and where you live and what you have for breakfast
Term 5: En ville – what you do at the weekend, ordering at a café and saying what you are going to do
Term 6: Catch-Up and Project work – Paris project
Skills Developed
Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, Vocabulary and Grammar
Course Content: Geography
Terms 2&3: Where am I?
Term 4&5: Fragile environments
Term 6: Urban Challenge
Skills Developed
- Understanding Geography of the South West and the United Kingdom
- Handling Information and data
- Map Skills
- Understanding Eco-systems
- Tropical Rainforests
- Polar Environments
- Growth and Change of settlements
- Sustainable cities
- Hierarchies of settlements
- Changing patterns of shopping
Course Content: History
Terms 2&3: Where am I? The Battle of Hastings
Term 4: The Black Death
Term 5: Native Americans
Term 6: Tudor Religious Change
Skills Developed
- Understanding of knowledge, evidence and interpretations
- Analysing information and interpretations
- Demonstration of knowledge and understanding key features and characteristics
- Making judgments using analysis of sources
Achievement First Year 8
Course Content: English
Term 1:
Where am I?
Persuasive Writing looking at Advertising
Term 2 & 3:
Contemporary Writer – Animal Farm
Term 4 & 5:
Poetry Comparisons
Moon on the Tide
Term 6:
Year 9 readiness and Literary Heritage
Shakespeare – Much Ado about Nothing
Skills Developed
Speaking & Listening:
- Confidence in a range of situations
- Appropriate language for the audience
- Formal and informal situations
- Varying vocabulary and expression to engage listeners
- Listening carefully and asking questions to develop ideas further
- Regular use of Standard English
Reading:
- Understanding a range of texts and selecting essential points from them
- Infer and deduce detailed meanings
- Analyse and compare
- Select sentences, phrases and relevant information to support viewpoint
- Explain how texts fit into a historical or literary tradition
- Explain why the author has used particular language and the effect it creates
- Retrieve and collate information from a variety of sources
Writing:
Course Content: French
Term 1: Vive les vacances!– talking about your last holidays and past activities
Term 2: J’adore les fêtes! – describing festivals and buying food
Term 3: A Loisir – taking about digital technology, cinema and leisure activities
Term 4: Le monde est petit – talking about where you live, routine and helping at home
Term 5: Le sport en direct – opinions about sport, asking directions and going to the doctor
Term 6: Catch Up/Project work
Skills Developed
Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, Vocabulary and Grammar
