The Study Preparatory School A GSG School

Special Education Needs

The Study is proudly non-selective at Reception (4+). Every Study girl is different and one child’s strength might be another’s weakness. We understand that some children may be challenged in certain areas and all of our teachers take responsibility for pupils with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). Our aim is to ensure every girl in our school is given the tools she needs to flourish. We aim to know and understand each girl as a unique individual to ensure she feels happy and secure, and is able to make the progress she’s truly capable of. Teaching children with varying abilities and needs is a whole-school responsibility, requiring a whole-school response. Central to our work in every class is a continuous cycle of planning, teaching, assessment and evaluation that takes account of the range of abilities, aptitudes, gifts, talents and interests of all pupils. From this viewpoint, our provision for SEND begins with building a clear picture of the girls’ strengths and areas of difficulty. We run a dyslexia screening test in Years 1, 3 and 5, and will undertake further testing as required. We begin with inclusive in-class support and increase this through carefully planned and evaluated intervention groups outside the classroom. Each pupil has a profile of her particular needs documented in an individual SEND programme, which specifies short-term targets, the teaching strategies to be used and the provision to be made. These are shared and reviewed with both the pupil and their parents. There are of course some pupils who need us to provide interventions that are additional to, or different from, those provided as part of the school’s usual differentiated curriculum. Our graduated response to a child’s additional needs may result in bespoke one-to-one tuition, out of the classroom, or support from other outside professionals. We welcome visiting Occupational and Speech and Language therapists as well as specialist teachers to increase pupils’ progress. All out-of-class interventions are scheduled to take place with minimal disruption to classroom learning wherever possible, avoiding the core subjects of English, Maths and Science. If required, we may recommend additional support from our visiting specialist teachers. We have two highly qualified learning support specialists, with well-recognised qualifications enabling them to work with pupils with specific learning difficulties. The cost of this specialist one-to-one tuition within school is agreed and paid by the pupil’s parents. Through a process of both formal and informal assessment, they look to identify and address any gaps in learning using multi-sensory teaching strategies and align individual learning targets to the demands of the classroom. They also meet with class teachers twice in an academic year to monitor and review progress.

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