Schools Extended Local Offer Response

How does the setting/school/college know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs?

Aurora Woodlands is a small specialist school providing personalised, tailored academic and therapeutic support in a calm, nurturing environment. Based within Darwen

Our team of skilled and experienced practitioners support young people with complex needs, helping them to reach their educational aspirations and prepare for a successful future.

Many of the students who arrive at Woodlands have had negative experiences of school in the past. We strive to offer them a different, more positive experience, working hard to ensure that their needs are identified and catered for; that they feel settled and quickly develop a sense of belonging within our school community.

We promote community and sharing throughout the school day. Staff and students share their meals together, and every morning we hold an assembly centered around a specific theme, which takes place in our large communal hall.

We take a proactive, evidence-based approach to changing behaviours of concern, completing functional behaviour assessments and creating appropriate behaviour support plans that employ Positive Behaviour Strategies (PBS), such as pre-correcting, prompting and nonverbal signals.

How will early years setting/school/college staff support my child/young person?

We regularly review our training and identify areas for development. The Woodlands team continuously undertake professional development to ensure that they can meet the needs of our young people.

• Team Teach 
• Mental Health First Aid 
• ELSA 
• Lego Therapy 
• Emotion Coaching
• Drawing and Talking 
• Phonics
• Oracy
• Nurture
• PBS
• THRIVE

How will the curriculum be matched to my child's/young person's needs?

     During our admissions process we assess our students in variety of ways. We have access to information from previous educational settings, from parents and carers and from the young person. We get to know our new starters when completing a one page profile and positive behaviour plan which we then share with the team to ensure that we are all working in the same way to support the individual. We then complete assessments which will highlight any gaps in certain areas and this will then be shared with class teachers. Our teachers will monitor our young people and will liaise with our SENCo if they feel that any young person is not making progress. We will then liaise with parents, carers and professionals and set targets which will be reviewed termly. 

 

     We work closely with parents, carers and professionals to review our students and work together to put the right level of support in place to meet their individual needs. Woodlands provide small class sizes with in class support and interventions to enable our students to make progress and fill any gaps they may have along the way. 

How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support my child's/young person's learning?

If your child attends a school you could contact the schools SENCo who will be able to provide you with support around the process of determining if your child has additional needs and what support is available. Here at Woodlands you can liaise with our SENCo to ensure that the young person’s EHCP is up to date and that we have all of the relevant information. 

 

What support will there be for my child's/young person's overall well being?

All our teachers are teachers of SEND and differentiate for each student when planning all their lessons. This enables our class teachers to meet our young people’s individual needs whilst challenging them to ensure that they make good progress. Our classes are small and have a teaching assistant present to support 1:1 or in small group work. Our teaching assistants work closely with the class teachers to select teaching materials and resources that are appropriate  to support specific needs.

 

What specialist services and expertise are avaliable at or accessed by the setting/school/college?

We offer a broad and balanced curriculum, which comprises the National Curriculum with a rich and varied programme of learning to help support the social and emotional development of our students.

Our teachers ensure that they plan and deliver a broad curriculum for our individual young people through quality first teaching. We take a personalised approach; each young person has a personalised timetable which is specific to their individual targets within their EHCP.

What training have the staff supporting children and young people with SEND had? Are any being trained currently?

Teachers are trained to adapt their teaching to meet the young people's individual needs and cater for different learning styles. Teachers have access to different resources according to the individual's level of need. Our classes are small and include in class support who are directed by the class teacher to ensure that the young people are receiving the right level of support. 

 

We have interventions which are delivered 1:1 and in small groups which focus on literacy, numeracy, social emotional and mental health needs. The effectiveness of our interventions for SEND are evaluated through measuring progress that has been made by using entry and exit assessment data. Our young people are monitored termly and this information is shared with parents and carers. 

How will my child/young person be included in activities outside this classroom including school trips?

Staff liaise with parents and carers on a regular basis through the following methods:

• Form tutor weekly phone calls 
• Transport staff 
• Pastoral support 
• Educational Health Care Plan Annual Review 
• Text/email 
• School progress reports

How accessible is the setting/school/college enviroment?

We have regular communication with parents and carers through a variety of methods. Our teachers make contact every week and our Senior Leadership Team and SENDCo are always available for a phone call or email to offer advice. We encourage reading throughout our school and for our young people to take their books home to continue reading with their parents and carers.

How will the setting/school/college prepare and support my child/young person to join the setting/school/college or the next stage of education and life?

We are a supportive team at Woodlands who actively support children's emotional well-being. We have different teams across the school from safeguarding, pastoral and SEND who work together to support our young people. If we notice that a child is unhappy, we will spend some 1:1 time with them to help them to identify what is bothering them and to help them to find a solution. We understand that a negative feeling or mood can have an impact on learning which is why we start our day by having breakfast with our young people to ensure that they have the best possible start to their day, and we can identify any issues early and support them to start their day positively. Our staff continue to support our young people during all social times which allows us to observe and ensure that they are happy. 

 

We will also use strategies and recommendations from EHCP's to support our young people's wellbeing. We can also make a referral to Mental Health Support Team if we feel that it is necessary. We deliver the THRIVE approach in school which is a trauma informed practice that supports students to develop positive mental health and well-being.

How are the setting's/school's/college's resources allocated and matched to children's/young people's special educational needs?

At Woodlands we have a range of activities that students can choose from and we work together with external agencies in order to provide some of these.

 

• Residential Duke of Edinburgh
• Creative Arts
• Music
• Drama
• THRIVE sessions
• Outdoor Education
• Forest School activities
• Food technology
• Motor Vehicle
• Construction

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child/young person will receive?

welcome meeting and a tour of the school. During our induction process children spend time with each of our members of the senior leadership team and our SENCO. During this time, we will complete a one page profile which we can share with our team to ensure that they are taking a personalised approach when planning and differentiating their lessons. If students are moving on from us then our careers advisor will support them on visits and we have a focused interventions available for supporting young people as they transition from education to employment. 

 

How are parents involved in the setting/school/college? How can I be involved?

     We will provide resources and equipment to our young people if it is recommended in their EHCP or if we feel that it would benefit them in school. We also work closely with parents, carers and professionals to identify any resources that our young people would benefit from.