In this section...

Special Educational Needs

Please find the answers to frequently asked questions about the SEN department at The Maplesden Noakes school.

What is the Green Room?

The Green Room is the name of the SEN department at Maplesden Noakes. This is where our SENCo, Assistant SENCo and SEN TAs are based. We also have specialist subject TAs deployed across departments.  The Green Room is an area within the school where children will be able to access interventions and support.

Who is the SENCo at Maplesden?

Miss L Dalmedo is The Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo).  Miss Dalmedo is an experienced teacher with Qualified Teacher Status and holds the National Award for SEN Coordination. 

How does the school support students with an EHCP?

We hold annual reviews in school with parents/carers along with a virtual mid-year review and share updated or new provision plans at the beginning of the academic year.  Parents/Carers are also encouraged to discuss their child’s provision with subject teachers.  During these information and provision sharing opportunities, we will review interventions, long term outcomes and short-term targets.

Will my child receive TA support?

Depending on the needs of the student in specific areas of the curriculum or individual need, we will provide additional TA support in the subjects where there is the greatest level of need.  This will reduce the adult to student ratio and enable more teacher focus time as well as encouraging a greater level of independence in areas of strength. 

What interventions/support can you offer?

Our English, Maths and Science departments run academic interventions based on the needs of the cohort. The Green Room currently run the following interventions:

Caseworker – High needs students are allocated a caseworker to support individual needs.

Morning Meet and Greet – An opportunity for students to prepare themselves for the day if they are feeling apprehensive or anxious.

Nurture – A small group intervention to develop self-esteem, resilience and wellbeing.

Social Communication Skills – A 6-week intervention to support a small group of students with their social skills.

How will the school support my student with their emotional well-being?

Each year group is allocated a Student Manager and Head of Year to support students on a day-to-day basis. The school also use three different mentoring services and two counsellors to support individual students.

How does the school support students with Dyslexia?

All teachers use a dark blue, dyslexia friendly font with an ivory background on projectors to reduce visual stress and maximise accessibility.  If you have obtained a private diagnosis of Dyslexia for you child, the school will implement the specific strategies advised where possible.  We follow the guidance from Kent’s Mainstream Core Standards in relation to Specific Literacy Difficulties and strive to incorporate a range of strategies to support these students in their daily learning. 

In the instance of externally diagnosed visual stress, students are permitted to use their own overlays and where necessary, we can provide coloured paper. All students with dyslexia are entitled to use ivory paper.

Laptops are provided when it has been recommended by an external professional or the student presents with significant fine motor difficulties.  This is explained in greater depth in our word processing policy and part of our Normal Ways of Working which is explained in our ‘Normal Way Of Working’ and ‘Word Processing’ policies.

How will the school support my child if I have concerns about potential SEN needs?

In the first instance, please contact the SENCo/Assistant SENCo to discuss actions going forward. The SENCo and Assistant SENCo also run 3 SENCo surgeries per academic year, this offers parents the opportunity to discuss any concerns.

Who do I contact if I am worried about my child at school?

If you need to contact a member of staff, please use the General Enquiries email address. If it is a SEN issue, please address the email to the attention of the SENCo/Green Room. For all other enquiries, please address the email to Head of Year and/or Student Manager. 

What is in the SEN register?

The school provides Personalised Learning Plans for students with the highest need, these students are also allocated a caseworker from the SEN department.  We also closely track students in receipt of SEN Support to ensure that they are accessing a broad and balanced curriculum using ‘Quality First Teaching’ strategies and adaptive teaching and learning methods. 

How do teachers know about my child’s individual needs?

The SENCo liaises with the local primary schools to gain information which will inform a whole school, central, information sharing resource. This is accessed by all staff to recognise strategies to best support students in the classroom according to specific areas of need.

SENCo

SENCo
  • *
  • *
  • *
Your browser is out-of-date!

Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now

×