Wokingham Directory | Maiden Erlegh School (2023)

Maiden Erlegh School works together with the primary school, parents and professionals during transitionto identify students with special educational needs and disabilities. The student’s voice is placed at the heart of all planning on how their needs can be met.

Examples and strategies for identification include:

• Liaison with the primary schools during Year 6 to 7 transition
• SATs results
• Support provided to students for the SATs tests
• CATs test at the start of Year 7
• On-going teacher observations, assessments, experience
• Regular progress tracking through the Data Collection Reports, three times a year
• Outside agency reports
• Liaise with parents/carers and use of their knowledge
• Listening to students and their concerns
• Experiences shared from previous schools and settings
• All staff encouraged to highlight areas of concern to the SENCo

Firstly, detail the concern in writing to the SENCo, submitting any specialist reports. Following receipt of the above, the SENCo will contact parents/carers.

Staff from the Inclusion SEN Team in liaison with Subject Teachers, Head of Year and Tutor.

There are a number of qualified SENCo's at Maiden Erlegh School due to the number of students we have with Special Educational Needs. They are supported by two SEND Managers.

• RegularData Collection Reports (three times a year)
• Education Plan meetings
• Annual Review meetings if student has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
• Meetings as needed with subject teacher, SENCo, Head of Year, Tutor
• Parents Evening (annual)
• Classroom Support Plan
• Home-School Book

The holistic development of the student is central to the support provided within school. Our aim is to ensure that all students achieve success for themselves academically, but also are well prepared for their next steps after Key Stage 4. Some of the strategies used are:

• Classroom Support Plan
• User friendly timetables, suitable for secondary school
• Setting homework on Google Classroom
• Contact person for the student within the Inclusion SEN Team for any worries or concerns
• Include plans for independence (Travel Training, Using Money, etc.) in the Education, Health and Care Plan Reviews
• All students take part in the Personal Development programme delivered in school on a weekly basis.
• All students take part in a diverse and informative Assembly Programme
• Teaching Assistants are shared within classrooms and provide support as/when required and students are encouraged wherever possible to be independent learners
• Careers advice including: Developing Curriculum Vitae, Mock Interview Practice, Meeting with Careers Advisor.

The curriculum will be differentiated by the subject teacher within the classroom based on each individual student’s need, taking in to account teacher assessment, advice provided via a Classroom Support Plan and outside agencies.

Foundation Purple Pathway

Students entering Maiden Erlegh in Year 7 with Key Stage 2 levels in both English and Mathematics that are significantly below national expectation (but are not lower than junior school levels - above Year 3), are supported within our ‘Purple Pathway’ curriculum. This is a two year programme that provides the student with firm foundations from which to select Key Stage 4 Options, which commence at the beginning of Year 9. This curriculum pathway is taught within a smaller teaching group (maximum of 12 students) and is designed to provide the student with more personalised and specialist support with numeracy and literacy.

In order to fully avail of this opportunity, the students on this pathway do not study French, Geography, History or Religious Studies explicitly, though elements of these subjects are delivered as project based work. For the remaining subjects (Music, Drama, ICT, Technology, Science and Physical Education), students are taught within larger mixed ability teaching groups.

Key Stage 4

For a very small number of our students at Key Stage 4 for whom a profile of 8 successful GCSE's is not realistic and whose medium term educational goal is successful access to Level 2 courses at college or basic work/apprenticeship placement. Students can choose to take the Princes Trust Qualification qualification and be prepared for GCSE English Language, GCSE Combined Science (Foundation) and GCSE Maths (Foundation) alongside Entry Level Certificates or Number & Measure qualifications.

Indigo Resource Base

Maiden Erlegh School opened a resource base for students with an EHCP and a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and require support as well with associated Social Emotional and Mental Health. The Resource Base will have the benefit of a specialist SEN classroom, dedicated work spaces, a Therapy Room, Sensory Room and a Garden area. Students will spend 20 - 80% of their time in mainstream lessons. Five spaces will be allocated each year.

SEND students outside of these groups are taught within the mainstream curriculum.

Subject to staffing, the school also provides a range of additional groups and clubs which SEND students can access, depending on their individual need.

There is a whole school Homework Club after school, which all students are invited to attend, supported by a member of staff and sixth from students.

Each student’s needs are looked at individually to determine the best strategies for them. Classroom Support Plans are provided to teachers containing advice on strengths, difficulties and recommendations for them to use in the classroom.

Strategies used in the classroom include:

• Differentiated activities in the classroom
• Visual support including pictures, writing frames or word banks
• User friendly timetables
• Reward systems
• ICT support
• Read Write Software
• RNIB book share scheme
• Breaking down tasks into manageable chunks
• Multi-sensory approach to activities
• Advice from outside agencies including CAMHS, The Sensory Consortium, Educational Psychologist, etc.
• Classroom materials and homework being placed on a Google Classroom
• Worksheets and written materials on different coloured paper, different sized fonts, etc.
• Use of the Inclusion Study Area and Inclusion SEN Area for bespoke timetables

• 3 SENCOs
• SEND Manager x 2
• Teaching Assistants
• Supervisory Teaching Assistants to support within the Inclusion SEND Area
• Higher Level Teaching Assistants in Mathematics and English
• School Counsellors
• JAC Youth Workers
• Speech and Language Therapist (SALT)
• ELSA trained HLTA

This will vary for each student but we will endeavour to provide resources as each student with SEND requires. Any resources and equipment that a student needs will be considered based on recommendations made by specialist services. Currently we have the following resources and equipment in school:

• Inclusion SEN classrooms
• Inclusion Study Area
• Exercise books for visually impaired students
• Use of RNIB book share scheme
• Rapid Plus Reading programme
• Reading Plus programme
• Read Write Software
• Coloured overlays
• Posture packs
• Support Chairs
• Social skills materials
• Screening materials e.g.GL Screener and GL Portfolio for Dyslexia and Dyscalculia
• Library of SEND support materials
• Board Games
• Safe Knives for Food Technology

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) publishes a comprehensive guide with regard to Access Arrangements, which outlines their criteria and threshold for qualifying for concessions. For a concession to be awarded, the student must meet the stringent criteria outlined by the JCQ. Maiden Erlegh School employs an assessment process in line with JCQ criteria to assess qualification. The Centre’s decision is final and external professional reports can only be used as supporting evidence.

The following are some of the concessions available:

• Extra Time
• Scribes
• Reader/Computer Reader
• Word Processor
• Prompter
• Colour naming
• Supervised Rest Breaks
• Smaller Venues
• Squared Paper
• Ear Plugs
• Fiddle Toys

The school’s procedures for concessions and access arrangements for examinations are on the website:Maiden Erlegh School - Examinations Access Arrangements

• My Child at School Parent App.
• Regular data tracking via DCP reportsavailable online.
• On-going Teacher assessment and in class assessment.
• Progress Meetings (once a year for each year group).
• Termly review by the SENCo or SEND Manager
• Annual Review meetings for students with an EHCP – parents/carers invited to attend and supply a report.

• Parents involved in student target setting process at the start of each academic year.
• Subject staff will contact parents/carers as necessary throughout the academic year.
• Regulartracking reports inform teacher of targets and students’ personal targets (three times a year).
• Consultation at Progress Meetings.
• Annual Review Process for students with an EHCP.

• Annual Reviews if the student has an EHCP.
• Parents/carers can contact the relevant subject teacher or Head of Year at any point in the academic year if there is a concern.

There are a variety of communication strategies to enhance liaison with parents/carers of students:

• Parents Information Evening at the start of each year.
• Email, phone, diary and home-school books.
• My Child at School Parent App.
• Weekly update by the Headteacher (Friday)

Lots of information is provided to parents on the school’s website about you can support your child’s learning:

Some of the key points are given below:

• Inform the school of any changes of circumstances that may impact on your son/daughter’s day at school.
• Establish regular routines with regard to organisation and the completion of homework.
• Encourage students to complete homework when they receive it and not the night before it is due, then if there is an issue they can find the subject teacher for help.
• Encourage students to pack their bag the night before, so they don’t forget any of their books or equipment.
• Ensure that students have the right stationary and equipment for school.
• Ensure they attend school regularly and discuss any concerns in relation to this with the Head of Year.
• Offer rewards and incentives at home for success at school.
• Work in partnership with the school.
• Parent Information Evenings provide information on how you can support your child in the different stages of their academic career:
  • Parents Meeting for students transitioning from Year 6 to Year 7
  • Parents Information Evening at the start of each year

• The school runs annual Parent Information Evenings to offer guidance with supporting students in school.
• The school regularly updates the website with new information about how to support your child.
• Annual Careers Fair.
• GCSE Options Evening.
• Information evenings for students and parents/carers at key transition points.

• Students review their Data Collection Reports, three times a year in tutor and with their subject teachers.
• Annual Review Meetings - if the student has an EHCP, this enables the student to give written and verbal feedback.
• Student voice is sought when developing and revising Classroom Support Plans.
• Students are expected to attend Progress Meetings with their parents/carers and teachers.

The curriculum has different pathways in KS3, KS4 and KS5 (see curriculum pages on website which outline our different curriculum pathways designed to meet our students’ different needs and help them realise their potential). Each SEND student is supported in the Curriculum Pathway that school thinks is most suitable for them as an individual.

Provision and policies are monitored and evaluated by the SENCo, SEND Manager, Deputy Head of Pastoral and SEN, the SEN/Inclusion Governor and the Headteacher.

The SENCO reports to the governing body each half term on the SEN needs of pupils in the school, the effectiveness of the provision in place and the progress made by the SEN group of students. In addition to this we monitor overall effectiveness by:

Monitoring progress via regular data tracking (three times a year).

• SEN students are separately discussed and tracked at standards review meetings.
• Review recommendations from outside agencies.
• Measure the impact of interventions using specific criteria designed to evaluate progress.
• Discussion with students and parents/carers as appropriate.
• Students are aware of own learning targets and next steps.
• Questionnaires completed at the beginning and end of intervention.
• Lesson observations.
• Annual parents and student school surveys.

All students at Maiden Erlegh School have a form tutor, in a tutor group of approximately 30 students and they meet with them every day. Pastoral work is overseen by a Head of Year and in turn their work is overseen by an Assistant Headteacher for each year group.

The aims of the pastoral work are to care for the well-being of all students, promote all aspects of a pupil’s development, monitor personal development, behaviour academic progress and attendance. In addition to all of this there are also:

• Teaching Assistants
• After School Clubs
• Personal Development Lesson (delivered weekly):Maiden Erlegh School - Curriculum
• Assembly Programme
• JAC Youth Workers
• School Counsellors
• Mentor staff based in the Inclusion SEN area.
• Structured Emotional and Mental Health Support Programme, including:
• • Kooth App
  • Educational Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs)
  • Mental Health First Aiders

• External Support where appropriate e.g. CAMHS, Behavioural Specialists, Foundry, Cranbury College, Reading FC, Alt Prov and other Alternative Learning Provisions, etc.
• Reactive Plans
• Proactive Plans (Individual Behaviour Plans and Pastoral Support Plans)
• Risk Assessments
• Art, Canine & Equine Therapy
• Inclusion Team SEN Team
• Inclusion Student Support
• Inclusion Study Area
• JAC Youth Workers
• School Counsellors
• Work Experience Opportunities
• Educational Psychologist Referral

• Trained First Aiders
• Staff can take on training to support the medical needs of students, where it is considered appropriate within our mainstream setting e.g. Epilepsy training, Epipen Training, etc.
• Medical Health Care Plans
• Referral to School Nurse

The School’s First Aid Team sends out Medical Healthcare Plans to all parents/carers to capture the full medical details of conditions and the care plans desired.

The Schools Website provides further details.

• Specifically trained adults are allocated according to individual needs of students.
• A First Aider always on site.
• All medication is stored safely and securely. Written consent must be provided by parents/carers before the First Aid Team are permitted to administer or store any medication.

The school does not provide any form of intimate care, help with toileting or eating.

There are the following facilities available on site:

• Disabled toilet.
• Quiet area during snack break available, if required
• Separate changing areas for PE

The school has access to the following support services:

• CAMHs
• Wokingham Local Authority
• Occupational Therapists
• Education Welfare Officer
• Speech and Language Therapists
• Educational Psychologist
• Maiden Erlegh Trust Career Advisor
• JAC (Just Around the Corner) Youth Workers
• School Counsellor
• Educational Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs)
• Sensory Consortium (for Visual or Hearing Impaired Students)
• Behaviour Support Worker from Foundry College (Wokingham) or Cranbury College (Reading)

Write to the SENCo who will assess and make a referral or provide advice. In many instances it is more appropriate to discuss your concern with your GP, if your concern has a medical basis.

• In school staff follow programmes provided by these services.
• The school has their own Speech and Language Therapist who can complete assessment and implement programmes.
• Specialists (Occupational Therapy and Educational Psychologists) are requested via the CYPIT service for Wokingham and come in to support from time to time, depending on each student’s needs.

• GP referral
• Speak to the school SENCo
• Referrals can, in some instances, be made via the SENCo.

School has access to Children’s Social Care Services, if required. This is done via our Designated Safeguarding Officer. Further information can be found on the school website.

• Training is provided, dependent on current needs on roll during staff training days and via staff briefings.
• Deputy Head for Pastoral and SEN, SENCO and SEND Manager attend training and share this expertise with staff.
• The SENCo or SEND Manager attend Wokingham SEN meetings, accessing and sharing best practice.
• Maiden Erlegh School is part of the Maiden Erlegh Trust and best practice is shared across the trust and overseen by a Trust Lead in the area. Further information on the Trust can be found on their website.

Teaching Assistants have weekly team meetings during which training can be provided and expertise shared. All Teaching Assistants are included in whole school training day programmes. Teaching Assistants who specialise in aspects of SEND cascade their knowledge and expertise throughout the SEND team and during whole school training days.

Teachers do not have specific qualifications for working with SEND students, but as part of the teaching qualification, they have to be able to differentiate and provide an inclusive environment in the classroom for all students.

Teachers are supported by our SENCo and SEND Manager.

Teaching Assistants are given opportunities to attend courses and training to further develop their knowledge and understanding of areas of SEND. Recent courses attended include: Nurture Assistants, Dyslexia, Speech and Language Support, Occupational Therapy support, Attachment Disorder, EAL, ADHD and Supporting Mental Health and Bracknell and Wokingham Teaching Assistant qualification.

All students at Maiden Erlegh School are included in out of school activities and trips in discussion with parents/carers and subject to a risk assessment being undertaken. There is a wide range of extracurricular activities and the timetables for these are published each term. In order to ensure inclusion for all students:

• 1:1 support on trips may be provided, depending on the level of need.
• Specific activities are arranged for SEN students, recent events include:
  • Inclusive sporting fixtures
  • Multi-skills club after school
  • Pantomime

Maiden Erlegh aims to create an inclusive environment for all students, including accessibility to school trips. The school:

• Discusses activities and trips with parents/carers and school staff.
• Takes advice taken from the place to be visited in terms of their facilities and accessibility.
• Parents/carers are sent the relevant communications with regard to specific trips by the relevant faculty.
• Parents/carers complete a Medical Healthcare Plan as part of the application process, which forms a significant part of the school’s risk assessment process.
• Information evenings are then held for those attending residential trips so that the relevant information can be relayed and parental questions addressed.

The majority of the school is fully accessible to students with restricted mobility, as the new buildings have spacious lifts, ramped access to all areas, automatic entrance doors and other adaptations. The major functions, such as dining hall, main halls, etc. are all on the ground floor. Although there are a few areas that are only directly accessed via stairwells, the conjunction of the old and new buildings often means that one is able to enter and reach the upper floors by lift and then walk through to the older areas.

• Open classrooms have been replaced by closed classroom areas.
• Classrooms have been carpeted
• Signage is reviewed on a regular basis

• Disabled toilets.
• The PE changing rooms are accessible via ramped access points.

Every effort is made to ensure all students can access the school’s facilities. Each year an Accessibility Audit is conducted of the site and a plan developed to enable continuous improvement to take place of facilities.

Parents/carers receive the same formal communication links as all parents/carers via meetings, phone calls, email correspondence and letters. The school will endeavour to accommodate the needs of parents on an individual basis.

The school will have a record of each student’s first language. Where possible we ask staff, with a shared common language, to support with communications.

The school website can be translated in many different languages easily, by selecting which language you require from the home page.

• For Primary transfer there is extensive liaison with their current school or setting. We endeavour to visit ALL students who are transitioning to our school in Year 7. For those students with an EHCP, a member of the Inclusion Unit team will visit them in their primary setting.
• Planned transition includes additional visits into our school for the student.
• Photos of key areas and key staff can be made available.
• Booklets with school information can be provided.
• Meeting held with the family and specialist services involved with them, as necessary.
• SENCo / SEND Manager will attend TAFs, Annual Reviews, etc. as appropriate.

• Classroom Support Plan given to all new teaching staff outlining student’s needs and suggested strategies to support them.
• Analysis of attainment data is used to inform as to the most suitable curriculum pathway for a student.
• For Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5, an Advisor representative is involved in the transition planning.
• Specialist SEN Careers advice provided to Key Stage 4 and 5 students with an EHCP.
• GCSE Options evenings and Sixth Form Options Evenings
• Advertisement of college open evenings
• UCAS and Apprenticeship support for sixth form students

• Maiden Erlegh will take guidance from parents/carers and new setting in this respect and support as appropriate
• Support can be identified and planned as part of the Annual Review process for EHCP students.
• Where necessary we support applications and visits to college.

The relevant Maiden Erlegh staff will liaise with the key staff at the new school / college to supply them with all the relevant information needed to support with the student’s smooth transition to their new setting.

In discussion with parents/carers, school will share records of interventions, reports andassessments carried out.

• Personal Development Programme
• Trust wide careers programme
• Work experience
• College visits
• Annual Careers Fayre
• School works with Maiden Erlegh Trust Careers Advisor in preparation for college transitions for EHCP / Statemented students
• Students have access to an online careers portal
• Students have a careers interview in Year 11
• Guidance can be given from an independent advisor at key transition times, when necessary.

To get the most efficient response, you should follow these guidelines:

• If your concern is subject specific you should contact the subject teacher directly. This can be done by emailing mesoffice@maidenerleghtrust.orgor telephone the main switchboard on 0118 9262467.
• If it is a general pastoral issue then you contact your son/daughter’s tutor or for serious issues, their Head of Year.
• If your query is related to your son/daughter’s special educational need you should contact the SENCo. The lead SENCo at Maiden Erlegh School is Claire Nimmo and she can be contacted atc.nimmo@maidenerleghtrust.org

Not at this time. Parents/carers are able to contact SENDIASS (The Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service).

School tries to keep up to date contacts for agencies and is always happy to help parents/carers find support groups as needed.

Our Complaints’ Policy is available on the school’s website.

The school appreciates positive feedback, as it supports us in reviewing and reflecting on our provision. Any compliments received are extended to the relevant members of staff.

11.1: School admission arrangements for children with special educational needs and disabilities

11.2: School Accessibility Plan

11.3: Special Education Needs Policy