1. The kinds of SEN that are provided for

Hope House School is an independent specialist school for children who have an Education Care and Health Plan. It has been registered since August 2007 with the Department for Education to accept up to 30 pupils between the ages of 5-19.

The school provides an education for young people who require autism specific provision as their primary need, tailored to meet the pupil’s social, sensory and communication needs, as well as providing support to enable them to manage their levels of anxiety. We have pupils from Nottinghamshire and the surrounding areas of Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Rutland who travel daily to attend the school.  Admission to the school is coordinated by Local Authority SEND Teams.

  1. Assessing pupils’ needs, including the name and contact details of the SENDCo

High quality teaching, which includes effective assessment and target setting, will identify pupils making less than expected progress. Where progress is less than expected the class teacher, working with SENDCo, will assess as to possible reasons.

The school, in partnership with parents/carers and pupil, will work through termly reviews leading to revisions in individual education plans and interventions. These termly plans will reflect the annual targets and outcomes set out in our pupils’ Education Health Care Plans.

EHC plans are integrated support plans for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), from 0 – 25. An EHCP will specify the provision required for each pupil. The plan is focused on achieving outcomes and helping children make a positive transition to adulthood, including accessing their community and support towards independent living.

The school receives additional funding for ‘looked after’ children in the form of Pupil Premium Plus. This money is used to provide the children with additional support in school. This provision is co-ordinated by Miriam Reynolds, Deputy Headteacher/ SENDCo and a Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead. She can be contacted via the school office.

  1. Consulting parents of children with SEN and involving them in their child’s education

Our Intention is to work in partnership with parents in order to develop a consistent approach to their child’s development and learning.

We encourage parents to contact us on an ongoing basis. Staff are always available to talk outside of teaching hours or an appointment can be made for a mutually convenient time.

At Hope House School we use Tapestry online Learning Journal to share positive personalised information with parents on a daily basis. Telephone calls are made when information needs to be shared about a specific incident.

We have 3 progress meetings with parents, once per term, where parents are encouraged to see and review their child’s learning. These take place in person but parents are able to request a virtual meeting if this is more convenient.

Parents’ are invited to attend their child’s EHCP Annual Review meeting and provide written feedback on their child’s progress.

  1. Consulting young people with SEN and involving them in their education

We work in partnership with pupils, involving them in their education and personal development as much as possible.

All About Me information is collated at admission and reviewed with the pupil each half term as part  of the Pupil Passports used in school.

Targets from the Individual Education plan are shared with pupils in a pupil friendly format which differs depending on the needs of the pupil. These are displayed somewhere in the classroom (depending where is appropriate) so each pupil knows what their targets are.

Pupils’ are invited to attend their  EHCP Annual Review and their voice is collated prior to the meeting.

All classes have a PRIDE Force (Student Council) class member who attends bi-weekly meetings. Pupils’ views are collated using a range of approaches depending on the needs of the pupil in the class group.

  1. Assessing and reviewing children and young people’s progress towards outcomes

Assessments of children’s progress are made on a daily, weekly and termly basis so the teacher always knows what each pupil in his/her class has achieved and what needs to be further developed. Once a term, each class teacher meets with senior leaders to discuss each pupil’s progress.

Copies of each child’s Individual Education Plan are sent home once every term and there is an opportunity to discuss progress at Parent/Carer Consultations and at the Annual Review.

Pupils’ progress is reviewed formally every term and discussed with parents at the progress meetings. A written report is shared with parents at the end of each academic year. The progress of children is formally reviewed with parents at an Annual Review, with all professionals involved with the child’s education invited to attend and/or contribute a report to the meeting

  1. Supporting children and young people in moving between phases of education and preparing for adulthood

Where a pupil is reaching a point of transition (e.g. from primary to secondary school) the school will work with the parents and pupil to ensure a smooth and successful transition. We will share information with the school, or other setting the pupil is moving to.

  1. Our approach to teaching children and young people with SEN

Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all the pupils in their class.  High quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils should be available to the whole class.

Whole school Ethos and practice:

  • Differentiated curriculum and teaching
  • Teaching resources are accessible and appropriate
  • Multi-sensory approach to learning
  • Consistent routines and systems across the whole school
  • Full appreciation and provision of access requirements for all children
  • Training for staff to meet the diversity of communication and language skills
  • Individual SaLT programmes where required
  • Total Communication approach across school
  • Positive Behaviour management strategies with staff trained in using ‘Zones of Regulation’
  • Strong anti-bullying practice
  • Targeted interventions to promote social skills
  • Access to specialist areas eg Sensory rooms
  • Sensory diets for all students
  • Advice and support from outside agencies e.g. Occupational Therapist

Possible focussed support for some children’s additional needs:

  • Curriculum adaptations to meet the needs of pupils
  • Targeted intervention programmes
  • Differentiated resources provided as appropriate
  • Access to ICT equipment e.g. alternative methods of recording
  • SaLT interventions delivered by the Speech Therapist and school staff under their direction
  • Individual risk assessments in place which are shared and reviewed by all
  • Additional advice and support from outside agencies
  • Use of appropriate individualised resources e.g. visual timetables, social stories
  • Care plans
  • Specific medical routines fully implemented throughout the school day
  • Forest School
  • Music Sessions
  • Additional Teaching Assistant support in class

Possible support and intervention for a small number of children:

  • Access to smaller teaching and learning groups
  • Individualised timetable
  • Educational Psychology assessment
  • Access to Riding for the Disabled Association sessions
  • Alternative communication system e.g. AAC
  • Access to external advice and assessment

  1. Expertise and training of staff

The staff team at Hope House School are a group of skilled and devoted professionals who drive the work of the school. Staff come from a variety of backgrounds and therefore bring a wealth of experience to the school. Our staff team also reflects the cultural diversity of the pupil population.

Staff support pupil care and learning as well as enrichment activities such as swimming, tennis and trips into the community.

Staff are enabled to develop their knowledge and skills by taking part in a broad offer of learning and career development opportunities. Recent training has included AET Good Autism Practice, Zones of Regulation, Colourful Semantics and Team Teach.

We use specialist staff for Speech and Language Therapy, Sensory Diet and Recommendations for Education and Learning (Educational Psychologist). Three day first aiders are trained specifically for medical conditions, all staff receive basic paediatric first aid training. We have a number of staff who are Youth Mental Health First Aiders.

  1. Evaluating the effectiveness of SEN provision

The school will annually monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of its provision for pupils, by reporting on the progress of our pupils and the quality of the provision for their special needs to the Board of Trustees.

We evaluate the effectiveness of provision for pupils with SEN by:

  • Reviewing pupils’ individual progress towards their PDP each term
  • Reviewing the impact of interventions termly
  • Using pupil questionnaires
  • Classroom observations by the SENCo
  • Holding annual reviews for pupils with EHC plans
  • Obtaining baseline assessments on admission
  • provide bi-annual reports on progress, the EHCP being one point of reporting and summer term being the final progress report.
  • working closely with parents or carers and their families, consulting them about the young person and obtaining Parent voice each half term

  1. How children and young people with SEND are enabled to engage in activities available with children and young people who do not have SEND

All pupils’ at Hope House School have additional needs. These differ across the groups but pupils are encouraged to socialise with each other at various points throughout the school day, including break and lunch times. Pupils access various off site activities with pupils from other classes including, tennis, Swimming and RDA.

Each class topic involves an educational visit to a place of interest or experience appropriate to the topic. This enables pupils to engage in the other members of the community and learn appropriate life skills.

Pupils in key stages 3, 4 and 5 have the opportunity to attend College open days as part of their Preparation for Adulthood.

  1. Support for improving emotional and social development

We provide support for pupils to improve their emotional and social development in the following ways:

Whole school ethos and practice

  • Identification and assessment in school through Boxall Profiling
  • Additional advice and support from outside agencies
  • Adaptations to curriculum
  • Support to build relationships and engage
  • PSHE curriculum
  • Positive behaviour policy
  • Promotion of a diverse community
  • Staff trained as Youth Mental Health First Aiders

Support for additional needs

  • Interventions that are implemented, reviewed and revised
  • Work with parents to refer to CAMHS
  • Targeted intervention to promote social skills and emotional resilience
  • Adaptations to the physical environment
  • Individualised timetable and support
  • We have a zero tolerance approach to bullying and follow our antibullying policy

  1. Working with other agencies

We have good relationships with outside agencies and pupils have access to services offered through Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy, who assess children and advise parents/carers and school. Programmes and guidance of the therapists is delivered by teachers and teaching assistants integrated within the class timetable to support and facilitate access of the curriculum. If outside agencies are working with a child they will be expected to either meet or report to parents with regards to how they are supporting the pupil through the Annual Review Process. Children’s Individual Education Plans will be discussed during parent consultation meetings .

  1. Complaints about the SEN provision that we offer

The process for all complaints is made available in the Complaints Policy which is updated each year and is available on the website. We hope that all complaints can be resolved informally. Complaints are dealt with by the child’s class teacher in the first instance. If the complaint cannot be resolved it will be passed to the head teacher or the Board of Trustees.

The parents of pupils with disabilities have the right to make disability discrimination claims to the first-tier SEND tribunal if they believe that our school has discriminated against their child. They can make a claim about alleged discrimination regarding:

  • Exclusions
  • Provision of education and associated services
  • Making reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services

  1. Local Offers

Hope House School SEND Information Report is part of the Local Offer for pupils with SEN for the following authorities:

Nottinghamshire

Lincolnshire

Leicestershire