Special Educational Needs and Disability at Berkeley Green UTC
We have a dynamic approach to education in a fast-changing world, offering learners from age 14 upwards a specialist high quality vocational and academic education for those with a strong interest in Engineering and Digital Technologies including Cyber Security.
We aim to challenge all learners, including those with special educational needs to prepare them for life in modern Britain. Here you will find all the information you need about how we support young people with SEND.
Our contacts at Berkeley Green UTC are:
Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO): Penny Rolfe
Email: penny.rolfe@berkeleygreenutc.org.uk
Telephone: 0800 470 1516
Young Carers: Kim Holmes
Email: kim.holmes@berkeleygreenutc.org.uk
We aim to:
- Raise the aspirations of and expectations for all learners with special educational needs;
- Enable learners with special educational needs to achieve their full potential;
- Close the gap in attainment and progress of pupils with special educational needs;
- Support all learners with special educational needs so that they can become confident individuals and make successful transitions into adulthood, further education or training and employment.
We Identify and support learners with additional needs such as:
- Cognition and learning needs
- Communication and interaction needs
- Emotional, behaviour and social needs
- Sensory and physical needs
- Young Carers with additional responsibilities at home
This is done on an individual basis with support given appropriate to the need.
We use notifications from individual’s previous school; parental notification / contact; partner agencies or whilst here at the UTC via teaching staff or self-referral.
Key Documents
All staff undergo mandatory training in safeguarding, equality and diversity, data protection and relevant health and safety training.
The steps our UTC will take if special educational needs are identified include:
- Speaking with the learner to get their view on what they can do and identify successful strategies that can be used to support them.
- Establish a baseline from the information provided from previous schools and doing our own assessments.
- Provide teaching staff with an overview of needs for each learner with SEN.
- After discussions with all relevant individuals, a plan of interventions will be put in place to support the learner’s needs.
- Progress will be tracked and monitored.
We offer achievement for all
- An inclusive approach – based on every child being an individual.
- Small group study.
- Specific targeted intervention work both 1:1 and small group.
- Transition support from Year 9 and to post 16/18. Where a student with additional needs requires further support to integrate this can be accommodated with a personalised transition programme.
- Break and lunch pastoral support.
We offer a partnership approach:
- Working with parents/carers to support their child.
- Supporting teaching staff in enabling all learners to access the curriculum.
- Depending on the nature of the learner’s need, liaise with support agencies including:
- Children & Young People’s Service
- Educational Psychology Service
- Advisory teacher service
- Learning Support Team
- Behaviour Support Team
- Speech and Language Therapy
- CCD/Autism Team
- Teachers for the Visually/Hearing Impaired
- Physical Difficulties Support Team
- Physiotherapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Educational Welfare Officer
- Social care
- Community Paediatrician
- Child and Adult Mental Health Service
- Police service
Downloads
Further reading and information:
Useful links
Access
SGS Berkeley Green UTC is a new school and the buildings are built to comply with all disability legislation.
There is plenty of parking for disabled people with level access from these bays to the building. There are automatic doors at reception and a lift to all floors large enough to accommodate most self-propelled and electrically powered wheelchairs. The building features an acoustic treatment to ceilings to improve audibility for young people with hearing impairments; disabled user toilets and a fully accessible wet room for non-ambulant learners.
Transport to the school via bus is fully accessible at the bus stop at the western end of the car park.
Staff Training and Qualifications
All staff undergo mandatory training in safeguarding, equality and diversity, data protection and relevant health and safety training.
As appropriate to the needs of the individual learner, staff will receive training for learners with medical needs.
Specialists will be brought in to support learners with individual needs.
Staff working within the UTC have a range of qualifications and experience appropriate to their role and the needs of the learners. As part of the SGS group, additional expertise can be made available from within the organisation.