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 SENCo 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 SENCo 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 are targeted for in-class support and students who have a specific learning difficulty have access to specific interventions during period 6, morning registration and in some specific cases, they are withdrawn from a pre-agreed lesson.
The SENCo 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 (SENCo) about any concerns.
Literacy/Numeracy Catch-up 2019-20 [PDF]
Faculty Staff
- Ms Kate Haden (KHA) – SENCO
- Mrs Vicki Palmer (VP) – Achievement First Teacher
- Dr Barker (FBA) – Teaching Assistant
- Miss Verity Chappell (VC) – Exams Access Arrangements and Teaching Assistant
- Miss Lauren Clark (LCL) – Teaching Assistant
- Miss Leah Fairchild (LFA) – Teaching Assistant
- Mrs Moira Fenton (MF) – Senior Teaching Assistant
- Miss Tess Goodwin (TG) – Teaching Assistant
- Mrs Judy Groves (JGO) – Teaching Assistant
- Mrs Jane Hutchins (JHU) – Teaching Assistant
- Mr Andrew Lawrence (DLA) – Teaching Assistant
- Mrs Claire Morris (CM) – Teaching Assistant
- Mrs Helen Williams (HW) – Teaching Assistant
Learning Mentor
- Miss Hannah Dury (HDU) – Pupil Premium Learning Mentor
Achievement First Year 7
| Introduction to the subject | Achievement First is a literacy-based curriculum for students who scored below 98 in their Literacy SAT or who have a specific difficulty with reading that will affect their ability to access the Secondary school curriculum. It is designed to equip students with the literacy and learning skills they need to be successful at Secondary School. It is a challenging course that aims to fast track students beyond their expected progress. History and Geography skills have been integrated into this course and are also taught from Term 2 onwards as separate subjects within the Achievement First curriculum. Students have a reduced Language curriculum in order to spend more time concentrating on basic skills and simplified subject knowledge. |
| Assessment | Work is assessed on a fortnightly basis with targets set for improvement. The work and targets are discussed with a representative from the family at family literacy sessions which take place one lesson a fortnight. One essay a term is formally assessed. (Family Literacy is on hold during Covid 19.) Students are also completing the Step Up to English course at either Silver or Gold, depending on their competency. |
| Course content | The skills and content to be covered are 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: Theme ‘Who am I’ Book: Boy by Roald Dahl Term 2: Theme of the Tudors and Shakespeare Extracts from Shakespeare’s plays Geography: The three themes, Oceans, Continents and Countries, UK population History: Chronology, Sources and Interpretations Term 3&4: Themes are desert environments and American history: Segregation Book: Holes by Louis Sachar Geography: Map Skills – scale, direction, co-ordinates, grid references and contours, Ecosystems and Pollution History: William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings, Medieval Church and the Black Death Term 5-6: Theme is Afghanistan over the past twenty years and Islamic culture Book: The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis Geography: Tropical Rainforests, Polar Environments, Settlements, Cities. History: Native Americans and the religious change under the Tudors. Term 6: Poetry – 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 |
Achievement First Year 8
| Introduction to the subject | Achievement First is a literacy-based curriculum for students who are working below expected level in Literacy or who have a specific difficulty with reading that will affect their ability to access the Secondary school curriculum. It is designed to equip students with the literacy and learning skills they need to be successful at Secondary School. It is a challenging course that aims to fast track students to be ready for GCSEs. History and Geography are taught in normal mainstream classes. Students do not study a Language in order to spend more time concentrating on these basic skills. |
| Assessment | Work is assessed on a fortnightly basis with targets set for improvement. The work and targets are discussed with a representative from the family at family literacy sessions which take place one lesson a fortnight (these are currently on hold during Covid 19). Students are also completing the Step Up to English course at either Silver or Gold, depending on their competency. |
| Course content | Term 1-2: Theme of the Holocaust Book: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Term 3-4: The Victorians and Jack the Ripper Book: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Term 5-6: Themes are Environmental issues and sustainability Book: The Carbon Diaries by Saci Lloyd Term 6: Year 9 readiness including Shakespeare and the anthology of poems |
| 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 literacy tradition • Explain why the author has used particular language and the effect it creates • Retrieve and collate information from a variety of sources Writing: • Varied and interesting to suit audience and purpose • Formal style where appropriate • Wide range of imaginative vocabulary • Clear and coherent sentences and paragraphs with developed links. • Wide range of punctuation including commas, apostrophes and inverted commas • Using a full range of connectives and complex sentences to make writing more interesting • Fluent and clearly legible handwriting |
