The Kingsbrook School

SEND - Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Department

Introduction

The Kingsbrook School specialises in supporting children who have Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) difficulties within a purpose built Inclusion Unit. We aim to provide a safe stimulating environment where children develop the skills which enable them to be included in their communities. 

Many young people with additional learning needs can make better, more sustained progress when they attend mainstream schools. All Buckinghamshire Council (BC) schools have a similar approach to meeting the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and are supported by BC to ensure all pupils' needs regardless of their specific needs are catered for and they make the best progress possible. BC use of the term ‘Inclusion Unit’, within a mainstream school, acts within the DfE’s definition of a SEND Unit, whilst promoting opportunities for inclusive practices within the mainstream school.

Parents must apply for a place at the SEMH Inclusion Unit, known within the school as the ARC, via the EHCP review process; a place will not automatically be assigned based on the child’s existing EHCP. 

Parents can make their request for a placement at the Inclusion Unit at The Kingsbrook School (The ARC) when their first draft EHCP is issued, or as part of an annual review of an existing EHC plan.  They do not make their request through the normal admissions process. Applications are reviewed at a panel meeting during the autumn term prior to the admitting year.

The SEND department is led by the Assistant Headteacher (SENDCo). They are supported by an Assistant SENDCo, SEMH Lead Teacher, SEND Administrator, Thrive Lead Practitioners, Intervention Leads and a strong team of dedicated Assistant Teachers. Assistant Teachers support students with progress and learning in lessons alongside teachers in a collaborative manner. They may also support students with interventions on a one to one or small group basis such as occupational therapy, communication skills or social skills. 

Our intervention Leads and Thrive Practitioners run specialised intervention programmes to improve literacy and numeracy skills and SEMH. They also deliver interventions on social and communication skills and emotional regulation. They follow the graduated approach as set out in the SEND Code of Practice, including monitoring and assessment of the impact of their interventions.

 Teaching and Learning

Once students have been identified as having a Special Educational Need, their individual needs will be shared with the teaching staff. Students will have a Pupil support plan (PSP) created which will outline their needs and how this can be supported by teachers through Quality First Teaching (QFT). If needs require more specialised intervention outside of normal curriculum lessons, this will be addressed through one or more of the interventions offered in school.  Support may include:

• Targeted and specific interventions
• Key Worker point of contact for individual students.
• Referral to outside agencies such as CAMHS, speech and language therapy or occupational therapy.

The types of interventions currently offered are wide ranging and student centred.

These include those below: 

Literacy- including, Lexia, Dyslexia Gold, phonics development, Catch up interventions

Numeracy- including Rapid Maths and Times Tables Rockstars, catch up intervention

Social and Communication skills- Zones of Regulation, Talkabout, Talk about teenagers, Social stories.

We also ensure our social and communication skills programme supports work in PSHE around areas such as relationships, online safety, self-esteem and mental wellbeing, and risks and dangers.

Speech and Language therapy including Speech and Language Link, Black Sheep language support, Talkabout, Assertiveness and Visualising and Verbalising and Lego Therapy.

Sensory Processing – Sensory Circuits and Sensory Toolkits

Social Emotional and Mental Health – Thrive, Peer to Peer Mentoring, ELSA, Art Therapy, Animal Antiks, music therapy and Animal Therapy

The Orchards

The Orchards is made up of numerous different rooms where support can be accessed. There is one large room used for specific interventions. We have four rooms which provide specific break out rooms for students when on a movement break; Lego, Mindful Colouring, Board Games and Chromebook. We have a specific room for our students to access sensory Circuits and a sensory room.  

Department staff liaise closely with outside agencies in order to maximise support for students with SEND. The department is fortunate enough to have spaces where students can meet with therapists, which is usually specified in EHCPs such as:

• Speech and Language Therapists
• Educational Psychologists
• Specialist Teaching Service for ASD, Cognition and Learning, Hearing impairment etc
• CAMHS
• Buckinghamshire Council SEND Team.