Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)

Welcome to the SEND Department

SENCO – Mrs Anna Garner
Assistant SENCO – Mr Dan Palmer

AIM

Our aim is to enable all learners to reach their potential and be independent when leaving Linton Village College.

We aim to produce independent and confident learners who achieve accreditation beyond their potential.

How do we do this?    

We have a robust and clear identification process of students who have additional needs. This is then recorded on our SEND Register and shared with all relevant teaching staff. Staff have training throughout the year on understanding the different needs and become skilled in removing the barriers these needs can cause to a student’s learning.

How do we support our students?    

The primary and most effective support your child can receive is High Quality Teaching from their subject specialist teacher. Our Learning Support Department plays a key role in promoting inclusion and access to the curriculum for all students. The team includes our Assistant SENCO and Provision Leaders to manage support and provision in key areas of additional need. We also have a teacher who coordinates assessment including test and exam concessions. Some students will require in class support from our Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) who have a range of different subject specific skills and SEND specialisms. Students may also need intervention in the form of group work or specialised one-to-one sessions which may include the following:

• Intensive literacy and numeracy catch-up programmes
• Individual sessions which may include prior learning and consolidation and supported homework
• Dog Mentor programme

Ralph, the springer spaniel, spends one day a week in school, working with and supporting a number of our students.

The Dog Mentor programme has been proven to have a positive impact on children in all areas including self-esteem, behaviour, peer relationships and better engagement skills. These improvements then result in improved academic achievement.

We have a number of laptops that are available for students to use in lessons and an interactive whiteboard in HMC that can be used during intervention sessions. In addition, we have a variety of schemes, games and equipment to support students with a range of special educational needs.

The Department liaises with external specialist services such as the Educational Psychologist, Virtual School, Speech and Language Therapists and Specialist Teachers.

This support also includes students arriving with English as an additional language.

Where are we based?

The Learning Support Department is based in the Henry Morris Centre (HMC) which provides support and open access for all students at break and lunchtime. We are lucky to have an outside area and garden that the students can enjoy. We also have a Sensory Room within the HMC, for students who need support with their sensory needs.