Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND)

"Pupils benefit from a broad curriculum that develops their understanding of the world around them. High expectations are set for what they can achieve. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The individual needs of these pupils are known and met." - Ofsted 2023

The SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) team at TCS work closely with all teaching and pastoral staff to ensure high quality provision for all students with SEND or potential SEND.

At TCS, we know that all teachers are teachers of SEND, and we spend a great deal of time on training and discussing students with SEND to ensure all teachers are confident in supporting students so that they thrive with us. Our training revisits aspects of SEND frequently, and we make use of external agencies and best practice to ensure we do the utmost for the students in our care. Our training and information dissemination takes place in a range of meetings and briefings throughout the school year, and includes reference to the SEND code of practice, The National Association for Special Educational Needs (nasen) and the best practice research published by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).

The SEND team includes Learning Coaches, Teaching Assistants, our SENDCo, an assistant SENDCo, and a Senior Teaching Assistant. Several of the SEND team are trained in specific aspects of support, for example ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistants). Our named SENDCo is Mrs Geraldine Gray, who is also an Assistant Headteacher.

The SEND team work with teachers to ensure high quality teaching is the backbone of support for students in the classroom. They also continually liaise with the pastoral team to ensure that students receive the bespoke support that they require to become independent and resilient learners. 

In some cases, students will need specific support, often for a short period, and this could include:

• Catch up literacy, such as paired reading, or phonics teaching
• Catch up numeracy, such as telling the time, or using money
• Support in a lesson, from a teaching assistant or learning coach
• Pastoral support using tutor or Head of Year
• Social skills support, such as Talkabout
• Break time and lunchtime supervision and support
• An ELSA period, from 6 to 12 weeks, from a Emotional Literacy Support Assistant
• Support through external agencies such as the Educational Psychologist, or a Speech and Language Therapist

Here is a recording of the last Virtual SEND Information evening, held in February 2023. This event is held each year in February, and the last one was in person in February 2024. This event is a chance for parents and carers to ask questions of the SEND team, and we then update our SEND FAQ document, which you can download here: SEND - Frequently Asked Questions

Here are two anonymised examples of our One Page Profiles, which we use for students and share with all teaching staff:

SEND One Page Profile - EXAMPLE - Sep 2023.pdf

SEND One Page Profile - EXAMPLE - Jan 2024.pdf

Click the link to read our information regarding Access Arrangements for students in Year 10 and 11:
Access Arrangements at Testbourne Community School

SENDCo and Assistant Headteacher: Mrs Gray g.gray@testbourne.school
For General SEND enquiries: send@testbourne.school
Senior Teaching Assistant: Mrs Preston b.preston@testbourne.school

Further information