The Park Community School

The Park Community School The SEN Department

Professional Development Exercise Case Studies

Anna has Special Educational Needs and is currently being cared for by foster carers until the future of her family is decided by CYPS Social Care workers. There is a Personal Education Plan which has been put together by her Social Worker, foster carer, Educational Psychologist and the Child Protection Officer at her school. She has a reading age of 9 years (her chronological age is 14 years) and she can spell reasonably well. She has poor organisational skills and the presentation of her work is very poor. She needs support with homework. Socially she is very isolated. Until she went into care her personal hygiene was poor and she would regularly spar verbally with boys in her teaching group. She is a vulnerable girl and is at risk of being taken advantage of when she is of school leaving age.

What stage of the Code of Practice should she be at? What could be provided for her in school?

David is nearly 16 years old and therefore will soon be leaving secondary school. He has a Speech and Language difficulty and has traits of Autistic Spectrum Disorder. He is extremely polite and relates well to adults but feels threatened by “teenagers” as he calls them – not realising he is a teenager himself. He is easily confused by changes in the school routine and hasn’t quite grasped the social mores of personal space when talking with another person. He is a very vulnerable boy who has been bullied in the past. David’s perceptions of bullying are occasionally due to lack of understanding that actions are not always specifically directed at him personally e.g. the hustle and bustle of the corridor. He has poor gross motor skills – tends to be overweight and has been uncomfortable in PE. He is an excellent fine artist and pays acute attention to detail. His work is slow and to a perfectionist level. He attends a local Special School one and a half days per week.

What do you think is provided in school for David? Has he a Statement of SEN? Produced as part of the Partnership Development Schools (PDS) Strategy Phase 3 2008-09 (Lead PDS: The Park Community School. Contact Chris Ley ([email protected]) Phil has a Learning Mentor in school. He has started GCSE courses in school in Year 10. He has had a history of smoking, drinking and more recently substance abuse. He is quite blatant in his smoking activities in school. Older pupils have always been a draw to him and he has friends out of school who are much older. His younger brother has anxiety attacks, but Phil does little to support him at home or at school. Phil is in danger of underachieving and a referral has been made to CYPS social care to try to help his mum, a lone parent with the family circumstances. Attendance is an issue; he has not met targets of 93% attendance since Year 8 – currently attending for only 70% of the time.

What stage of the Code of Practice is this? Why? What will the Learning mentor be aiming to achieve with Phil?

Jenna is a Year 7 pupil. She has some literacy difficulties. She has a reading age of 8.05 years and a spelling age of 8 years. She has been supported in Primary School in a small group for two sessions each week in Year 6. Her Primary School recommended that on entry to secondary school that she did not study a second Modern Foreign Language. She is a very friendly girl who is keen to work hard. She gets on well with all the pupils with whom she works.

What will Jenna need at secondary school? Is this School Action?

Aaron has had a history of literacy difficulties since Year 7. He is now in Year 11 and will soon be going to college after GCSE exams. He has been extracted from German since Year 7 and all Modern Foreign Languages since Year 9. He has been able to study the Certificate of Personal Effectiveness course in Years 10 and 11 which is tailor made for pupils with mild learning difficulties. He has also had a reader for SATs exams in Year 9. He will be able to work more carefully with the Connexions PA, in the coming months and the fact that he has had some SEN support will be communicated to the further education college by the SENCO. He is a pleasant young man who has always worked well with SEN staff.

Produced as part of the Partnership Development Schools (PDS) Strategy Phase 3 2008-09 (Lead PDS: The Park Community School. Contact Chris Ley ([email protected]) What support will Aaron need in Year 11 from the SEN Department? What stage of the Code of Practice is this?

John is in Year 8, he has a physical difficulty – he has an ungainly walking habit, needs help with stairs and has worn a special shoe in the past. He needed help in the canteen when he first came to secondary school in order to negotiate paying for his dinner and handling a tray and the queue. He has a key for the lift in the Science block. He also has some associated learning difficulties and has had extensive Speech Therapy. John has a loud voice and finds volume control difficult. He is an extremely naïve boy and prone to fantastic stories about himself and his family; he has also been the target of bullying. He will be extremely vulnerable as an adult – he has little understanding of puberty, the onset of adolescence and sex education. Unfortunately as John has got older he has retained little of what he has learned and every new topic has to be revisited over and over again. He is a very weak reader. He does not like homework at all and also does not always want to access sheltered lunchtime facilities provided by the SEN Department. He has a small circle of friends and has endeared himself to his tutor group and teaching group particularly.

Does John have a Statement of SEN? Which other agencies/educational establishments could give support to John?

Kay Sanders November 2008

Produced as part of the Partnership Development Schools (PDS) Strategy Phase 3 2008-09 (Lead PDS: The Park Community School. Contact Chris Ley ([email protected])