SEND AT FORTISMERE
SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities)
Introduction
As SEND specialists, we work collaboratively to support the learning of students who are experiencing barriers in accessing the curriculum because of a variety of different additional needs. We are committed to creating equality of opportunity in the school and review and reflect on our practice to ensure that we are doing the best we can for students in our care. Our vision is to make Fortismere as inclusive as possible and we work strategically to support teachers in their planning and delivery of High Quality Teaching across the curriculum. Please contact the LINC Department lincadmin@fortismere.org.uk with any queries you may have about SEND and inclusion at Fortismere.
Categories of SEND
- Cognition and learning (Specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia or Developmental Co-ordination Disorder - DCD)
- Communication and interaction (ASC, Developmental Language Disorder – DLD)
- Social, emotional and mental health (including ADHD, ADD, ODD, attachment and trauma)
- Sensory and/or physical needs (hearing or visual impairments)
Departmental Teaching
SEN teaching
Small group literacy and numeracy support is organised by our SEN teacher, targeting students who need additional support with reading, writing and numeracy, with short courses for different year groups drawing on best practice in literacy catch up. Our specialist SEN teacher also works on the Prince’s Trust KS4 course and is part of the Year 7 Accelerated Group team. As necessary, we also organise extra, intensive academic support in English and Maths for our EHCP students.
TA Support and Interventions
We have a team of skilled Teaching Assistants (TAs), who work in class with students, supporting their learning and progress. Our TAs also deliver a range of carefully planned interventions - whether to support reading (ReadingWise, That Reading Thing), or speech and language (smiLE therapy, emotional regulation, Higher language group), or handwriting and motor skills support, or autism social skills and Lego therapy, for example. We regularly review our provisions based on the profile of our cohort of students. We work with EHCP students, students with a diagnosed SEN and those who might just need a little boost. For example, ReadingWise is for students with a reading age below their chronological age – and is very popular and successful with all who participate in this reading booster course. Additionally, TAs run a lunch club, playing board games, quiet time and ICT, as well as a homework club providing support for students after school.
Specialist Services
We work with specialists from different services - Teachers of the deaf, VI specialists, Speech and language therapists, dyslexia teachers and others, in order to ensure that our students - both those with Educational Health Care Plans and those in need of additional help - get the support they need. For example our KS3 dyslexia groups provide support for students by teaching strategies they can use across the curriculum.