Newbury College

The college will identify your special educational needs or disability’s that have not been previously identified through working with your current educational provider and the local authority. Through transition, taster days, internal assessments. Initial assessments and link up groups. Also through: * Interviews * Prior knowledge from all involved * Personal details form ILP * Work with Local Authority to agree appropriate action for assessments to be undertaken- multi agency approach * Open door policy * Input and agreement through Course leader, Team leader HNS Manager

Your child / young person will be supported by a multi-agency approach with the Local Authority, College, Learner and Parents. There will be on-going reviews, student reports, home- college diary’s, progress events. Support will be reviewed on-going and support and needs will be updated as needed. Experienced teacher always differentiates learning to meet the student’s individualised learning style. Support is available to assess wider college and mainstream courses. Full access to Student Learner Services, designated staff to speak to, pastoral care, as well as a safeguarding team and student councillor. All intervention needs are met on an individualised basis as per the learner’s specific needs. Additional time, scribe, reader, access to ICT equipment, braille and large print are available to support the learning.

Accreditation is through Own learning goals, city & guilds ASDAN entry 1-entry 3. Level 1 course’s. We are able to offer award, certificate and diploma depending on student needs. Different materials and resources are in place to suit the needs of the individuals. Interactive boards, sensory equipment, Specialist ICT equipment, adapted kitchen equipment are all available.

We monitor your child / young person’s progress through progress/ parent’s evenings, parent /student survey, student review/reports. Targets are reviewed regularly by staff and learner if appropriate and on a termly basis which parents are involved in. We like to build good working relationships with parents, parents are aware of all relevant contact details to speak to staff directly involved with young person. We are always contactable via email or direct phone lines. Academic reports show attendance, progression, new course’s facility’s, resources, parent survey discussions with staff, transition meetings and moving on planning.

Emotional and social development is imbedded within all foundation courses. Students have access to multi agencies, psych, councillors, and pastoral care. Behavioural policies are differentiated for our LDD provision in a supportive and inclusive way. Additional support is identified by initial assessments, behavioural plans, learning agreements/contracts. Trained first aiders, training for epilepsy, epi pen, medication training, and risk assessments are all in place. Medication needs are handled by fully trained staffing, guidance from gp’s , signing in sheets and the college medication policy. Personal care needs are met from staff through manual handling training, fully equipped assessable bathrooms with hoists and shower facilities. Caring and discrete staff with training to provide individual care. Working with Occupational Therapists and Speech And Language Therapists to ensure the correct care is given.

All SEN needs are catered for within the college if possible and if we didn’t already have the support or resource in place this would be sourced. Speech and language therapy, Occupational therapy and physiotherapy are usually referral needs are usually made to the learners Local Authority. Newbury College have staff trained within the foundation learning department to support with the needs of speech and language input. If you feel your child needs the additional support from Speech and language therapy, Occupational therapy or physiotherapy then you should speak to the learners tutor and they can speak to the relevant authority and make the referrals needed.

Teaching staff have a wide variety of training available to them. Teaching staff are involved in training from medication, managing behaviour, manual handling and first aid. Newbury College will ensure that any training needed to ensure the learners are supported and safe are resourced and rolled out to the staff across the provision before the learner starts their course. Staff at Newbury College receive a vast amount of training for SEND needs and any additional training needed will be identified through personal development portfolio’s and the learners needs. Currently support staff are trained in Epilepsy care and administration of rescue drugs, Makaton, SALT support, Health and social care level 2/3, Level 3 award in education and training, Level 2 in functional skills, manual handling, safeguarding, challenging behaviour, PROACT-SCIP, Equality and diversity, Epi-pen and administration of medication. The college provide both external and internal training for all staff. All of the teachers that work with the SEN department have extensive experience and knowledge of working with learners with an SEN. All of our teaching staff have teaching qualifications. Currently support staff are trained in Epilepsy care and administration of rescue drugs, Makaton, SALT support, Health and social care level 2/3, Level 3 award in education and training, Level 2 in functional skills, manual handling, safeguarding, challenging behaviour, PROACT-SCIP, Equality and diversity, Epi-pen and administration of medication.

>Our learners with foundation learning participate in a wide range of enrichment programmes from mixed ability sports on and of college grounds, trips to the local community, wall climbing, canoeing, archery, swimming, horse-riding, sailing, parks and areas of natural wildlife. Teachers and health and safety officers will risk assess the trip in advance and liaise with the event/place of interest to ensure that not only is it safe for our learners but also fully accessible. Parents and carers are informed of these trips through letters and communication in home college diaries and consent slips are sent home. Some of our learners have the chance to participate in choices and planning of trips and outing when it is appropriate.

Newbury College is fully accessible to learners with mobility difficulties including those with wheelchairs. We have adapted widened doors at reception and all exits, a lift to all floors and specific hoisting equipment if required. Within Newbury College we have quiet working sensory rooms for our students with high auditory sensitivity issues and learners who are easily distracted. We have a fully equipped sensory room. We have the use of interactive boards and other IT equipment used for SEN needs, and are able to acquire any additional recommended equipment for our learners. Some of our classrooms are fitted with the hearing loop to enable our students with hearing impairments to be fully involved in all classes. Newbury College currently has three fully accessible changing and toileting facilities with a wet room and showering facilities.

Newbury College ensures that transition planning and trips are built around the individual needs of the learner. Our teaching and support staff will go to the student’s current place of study to meet with the learner and their current support staff to find out as much information as possible. Parents and carers will be invited to the college to meet with teaching staff and see how the department works and ask questions and raise any concerns or worries they may have in an informal. We work with all of our students throughout the year to prepare them for the next stage. We provide taster sessions and taster days. The learners have access to other course’s we offer throughout the year as part of their own current course to enable them to make an informed choice of what they would like to do. With learners that need more time to adjust to new surroundings we do internal transition with the support of their own current staff. Newbury College works with a number of organisations of which will help the learners progress on to the next stage in their life- Adviza, connections, learner services and EBP.

Newbury College is fully accessible to learners with mobility difficulties including those with wheelchairs. We have adapted widened doors at reception and all exits, a lift to all floors and specific hoisting equipment in place if required. Some of our classrooms are fitted with hearing loops for students with hearing impairments. We also have a fully equipped sensory room for students with auditory and sensitivity issues.

The type and level of support your child will receive will be decided on a number of factors. Prior knowledge will be sought through the previous school, review documentations, discussions with parents and local authorities as well as college internal assessments and interviews.

The college will also welcome parents and carers into the college for a discussion if there are any issues to be resolved. The college also send out a parent survey to be completed yearly and the results are looked over and any problem areas are identified and worked on.