At Northbourne, we are committed to Nurturing Excellence in all of our pupils. We know that all of the children in our school have unique talents, but that, at some point, many children may find some aspects of school – be they academic, social, emotional or behavioural – more challenging. All staff at Northbourne share a commitment to supporting any child with an additional or special need, be this a short-term problem related to a very small part of the curriculum or school life, or more complex needs.

We strive to provide the support each pupil needs in order for them to become a motivated and successful learner. This support takes different forms for each child, but some of our strategies include:

  • Inclusive ‘first teaching’ in the classroom, with activities adapted to meet the needs of each child. Work planned for each child is based on detailed and careful ongoing assessment by well-trained teachers and teaching assistants, and is designed to engage and motivate all pupils
  • Clear feedback to pupils through high quality marking and discussion about their learning
  • Good relationships with parents, built on regular contact and a number of more formal meetings – including, for example, parent consultations, structured conversations, or target review meetings (for those pupils on the SEN register) each year
  • Individual curricular targets for writing, maths and handwriting, addressing each child’s specific next steps in learning
  • Employing intervention teachers for those pupils who might require extra support in reading and maths
  • A range of proven intervention programmes, delivered by teachers and teaching assistants, including 1 to 1 or small group tuition before, during and after the school day
  • Working with other local schools to jointly employ a home-school link worker to support parents with any difficulties and signpost other sources of help
  • Working closely with other agencies, including speech therapists, the educational psychology service, and CAMHS, to develop the support we are able to provide and to assist with target-setting and intervention work
  • A clear and regularly reviewed anti-bullying policy aimed at ensuring Northbourne is welcoming and inclusive to all pupils, regardless of any difficulties they may face

The documents in this section of the website provide more detail about our approach to supporting pupils with special educational needs. If you would like to find out more, please contact Mr. Rob Woods, our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) or Mr. Paul Shaughnessy, Headteacher, using the contact details on the homepage. You can also find out more about some of the support which Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) offers more generally by looking at their Local Offer – link available below.

 

Further SEND Information