The school is committed to ensuring that students with special educational needs are supported so that they gain full access to the curriculum.
The standard teaching methods of the school cater very well for the needs of most pupils, most of the time. However, all of our teachers know that for some youngsters, special attention is essential. This may be because:
• a child has difficulty with basic skills like reading, writing and arithmetic
• English is not the child’s first language
• physical disability is affecting a child’s learning
• some children with high abilities require extra work to fulfil their potential.
We are proud of our reputation at John Spence Community High School as all of our staff have experience in working with children with special needs. The school is currently seeking to meet the requirements of the new code of practice on special needs, whereby education plans and parental involvement take place at an earlier stage than hitherto. Parents whose child is on the register of special need for ‘School Action’ are reassured that, in the majority of cases, this involves alerting teachers and parents of short term concerns, like handwriting, and taking steps to tackle the problem.
Our aim is to enable all children to work in class with youngsters of their own age. Some children (usually those with a formal statement), have a named support teacher who accompanies them to some of their lessons. Other children receive more general help from school staff. Pupils on ‘School Action Plus’ benefit from specialist support given by the school’s SEN department and LEA support staff. Also, the Excellence in Cities government programme offers funding for learning mentors to work with pupils on removing barriers to learning.
Excellence in Cities provides funding for talented youngsters; and high fliers receive support to accelerate their progress in the form of extra-curricular GCSEs in Statistics, PE, Modern Languages, Art and Religious Education.
The teenage years can be an emotionally difficult time for many young people. When very real problems exist and we are unable to resolve these complex issues ourselves, we can call on the support of allied agencies in the psychological, social and medical fields.
“my son struggles with his lessons
but staff make him feel so comfortable
that he really enjoys going to school.”
Parent quoted in Ofsted Report
