CHILDREN WITH ADDITIONAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

Barclay School is committed to social inclusion

In any school there are students for whom the usual programme of lessons and activities may not be entirely appropriate. This may be for a variety of reasons, e.g. physical difficulties such as hearing or visual impairment or lack of mobility resulting in a student being confined to a wheelchair.  Other problems might stem from a child having missed a lot of school through illness, or from the need to learn more slowly than most.  There are exceptionally gifted students who will also need particular consideration in order to develop their talents fully; extension work in chosen subjects can be provided, and close monitoring of progress is undertaken with the responsibilities for learning placed mainly with the student.

By liaising with primary schools, testing and observation, we aim to diagnose the individual needs of these students and take the appropriate action.  Where possible, a Teaching Assistant  will give individual help in the classroom.  The aim is to make it possible for all students to participate in every aspect of the curriculum.  Additional help is available for all students at lunchtimes, breaks and some evenings after school. A spelling programme operates for students we feel would benefit from such activities. There is also the opportunity to practice handwriting,reading and numeracy on a voluntary basis in the Learning Support Department.

As progress is made, the additional help may be withdrawn when it is no longer necessary.  For those students with serious physical impairment, some of which may necessitate the use of a wheelchair, the school has two nurses to look after their needs.  The school has been specially adapted for wheelchairs with lifts and ramps to give full access.

Social Skills Groups

The Learning Support Department recognises the need to run small groups, delivering social skills and anger management courses to KS3 and KS4 students.  It provides the opportunity for students to meet on an informal basis and discuss sensitive issues in a confidential situation.  The groups are highly successful and students and parents have reported that it has made a real difference.

Learning Support Unit

Some students require extra support either to help them cope with school or to give them strategies to manage their behaviour. A specialist teacher and TA’s run this programme in the ‘Bungalow’. More details can be given to you when you visit the Learning Support Department.

The learning support team 

Spelling, Numeracy & Reading Schemes

The Spelling Scheme works on a weekly basis - more detailed information is available about this scheme when you visit the Learning Support Department.

The Reading & Numeracy Scheme is done on a voluntary basis where students are selected to do extra reading and numeracy practice.

Prizes are awarded at the end of every book that has been read or as part of a points scheme on the Spelling programme.

All Year 7, 8 and 9 students are tested for reading and spelling.  From the results, students who experience reading and/or spelling difficulties are invited to attend the appropriate programme to meet their individual needs.

We currently use a number of computer programmes to encourage students to improve their spelling ability further. We are investigating reading software at the moment and will implement this as soon as we find an appropriate package. We currently have 2 laptops which students are able to use, if they have difficulty writing for whatever reason.

More Able Students

For those children who are fortunate enough to be gifted in some subject areas, enrichment programmes of study are being devised whereby they can use their abilities to the full. We have a designated Gifted & Talented co-ordinator at school, this is currently held by Mr Parry. It is our aim to encourage all students to reach their true potential and we feel that enhancement programmes in faculty areas can allow the students to work with others to achieve this goal.

Individual extension work is available for those students who would like to extend their capabilities in individual subject areas, but again these are largely dependant upon self motivation.