CCaassee SSttuuddyy

Establishment name: Pendle Community High School and College (PCHS&C) Pendle View (PVPS) no. 13134 & 13133 Contact name: Susan Campbell PCHS & Fran Clayton PVPC Email: [email protected] [email protected] Telephone no. 01282 682240 & 01282 865011 Award granted: Best Practice Project title: Ensuring Successful Transition Between Sites and Key Stages for Pupils with a wide range of Special Educational Needs

Project summary Our practice ensures we have moved from reactive transition arrangements to a proactive model. All pupils moving from PVPS and local mainstream feeder school into PCHS for KS3 access a planned, staged transition where all information is shared and specialist staff liaise to ensure all needs are met from the following September and no pupil struggles within their new environment. Specific aspect of practice to be accredited? To achieve a smooth transition and reduce the impact upon learning we have embedded the following practice:

• Planned liaison between the two sites (and other primary feeder schools). • Considering the logistical implications due to the nature of the SEND of the pupils • Developed a creative approach by rewriting of the PSHE POS to ensure topics matched in both primary and secondary sites • Allocated time for forward planning to ensure appropriate activities and access to resources • Incorporated a planned residential, in the Spring Term for current year 5, 6 and year 7 pupils What were you hoping to achieve? That pupils who transferred from the primary site were sufficiently prepared for their transfer into secondary school and were familiar with the environment, pupils and staff. They were fully prepared for the pace of movement within the co-located school. All transferring Year 6 pupils had opportunities to meet as a group prior to September.

How did you identify the need for this practice? In 2008 PCHS & C moved to a purpose built co-located campus and PVPS moved into the building vacated by PCHS & C. It was noted that Parents and Carers were very wary of the new build and in the first year they expressed their concerns. The schools were a 10 minute walk from each other. Both schools had very strong links and it was agreed that Year 6 pupils could visit on a regular basis during the summer term to see the building and become familiar with its layout. During the first few years this was completed on an ad hoc basis. It was noted that the pupils were benefitting from the visits so it was agreed that a more planned arrangement would take place in the form of joint PSHE lessons at PCHS & C and regular visits by teachers or TAs to the primary school site. Briefly describe the main characteristics of the school? Location and building PCHS & C was established on Pendle Vale Campus in September 2008 with the first phase of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme in the Pendle area. The large purpose-built campus houses two schools and is a privately funded initiative. Upon re-location we became Lancashire's first co-located special school with our mainstream partner school, Pendle Vale College, a Secondary School, with 979 pupils aged 11-16. The two staff teams work together to maximise inclusive opportunities for all pupils and students.

PCHS & C is located in the Pendle borough of East Lancashire in the Marsden ward. The school is ranked on the 71st centile for multiple deprivations. 72.5% of our population reside in wards rated D to E* and the Health and Disability index is very high across all of our wards, rated E to E* (25% to less than 5% most deprived in and Wales"). Within school we have a multi-disciplinary team (health professionals, a social worker and safeguarding officer) that works with families and external agencies to ensure the best possible outcomes for pupils and students.

Pupil Characteristics A large proportion of our population is White British. 18% of our population is classed as EAL (English as an Additional Language) with 21% of our population being of Pakistani heritage.

Just under half of our current population are eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) and 50% are eligible for Pupil Premium.

Our Pupils Similar to other GLD schools all of our pupils have a statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) with a learning difficulty categorised from Moderate (MLD) to Profound (PMLD). All of our pupils have additional needs with an increasing number of young people with complex medical needs. Within school 5% of our pupils have a sensory impairment: Visual Impairment (VI), Hearing Impairment (HI) and Multi- Sensory Impairment (MSI)) as a primary need. In addition we have pupils with Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) some of whom have significant

Page 2 of 7 sensory difficulties and challenging behaviour. Most of our pupils join us in Year 7 from our sister primary special school, Pendle View (PVPS), after an extensive Transition period however we have pupils joining from feeder mainstream primary schools and throughout KS 3 and KS4.

Pendle View Primary School PVPS was established as a GLD primary school in 2005 and moved into its current building in 2008 when it was vacated by PCHS & C. It has rapidly expanded from 38 pupils in 2008 to its current 90 pupils. These pupils have a wide range of SEN & D - PMLD, SLD, MLD, SLCN, ASC, HI, VI, and MSI. Many pupils also have challenging behaviours associated with their SEN.

A large staff team work with our pupils including specialist staff to; • support the pupils' physiotherapy programmes and OT needs and liaise with NHS physio and OT (TA3, TA2 and TA1); • deliver Sensory Integration Programmes for pupils with ASC (TA3); • oversee communication and AAC and liaise with SaLTs (HLTA and T1); • support the school nurse with the medical needs of the pupils (TA3).

Pupils at Pendle View come from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds but many families require additional support from school and Children's Social Care in order to ensure that their children's needs are met within the family home and wider community. What did you do? 2009 : In May 2009 the schools ran a joint residential for pupils from Year 5 / 6 at PVPS and Year 7 / 8 at PCHS. This was a Transition Residential with pupils and staff from both sites spending 5 days at The Wingate's Centre in Cheshire. This is a time for staff and pupils to become familiar with each other in a relaxed social environment. Due to the success of this initiative it has become an annual fixture in May.

2010 : transition meetings begin in February 2010 with the DHT from PVPS and an HLTA from PCHS. Transition visits were agreed and would commence in March 2010. These visits would take place during PSHE lessons where the current Year 7s would 'buddy-up' with the new Year 6 pupils.

Visits commenced with Year 6 pupils attending for half a day every 4 weeks. 17.03, 21.04, 19.05, 30.06, 07.07.10.

Parents were also invited to coffee mornings - the first one at PVPS (30.04.10) and the second one at PCHS (08.06.10). These were opportunities for parents to ask questions and be reassured about their son/daughters transition to PCHS. The DHT from PVPS and key staff from PCHS attended the coffee mornings.

Page 3 of 7 2011: Transition meetings begin early (6/12/10) to plan for a pupil with Multi- Sensory Impairments (MSl). Tailor-made transition arrangements begin in the new year to ensure she is familiarised with the environment. Transition meetings begin in March 2011. A meeting was held between the DHTs from both schools. A Transition Timetable was agreed for visits to PCHS and coffee mornings for parents. The visits took the format and frequency of the previous year. An alteration following feedback was that on 07.07.11 Year 6 pupils spent a full day at PCHS. Additional half days were also planned on for those pupil's with specific physical development needs so they could spend time with the physical development team at PCHS. The first visit was on 09.05.11 with specialist staff from PCHS visiting PVPS followed by subsequent visits to PCHS.

Pupils from other setting receive visits from PCHS staff to collate up-to-date information prior to transition.

2012: Good practice from the previous year was continued and extended to include a creative approach and visits to PVPS.

Transition meetings begin in March 2012. For the other pupils in Year 6 visits again took place regularly from March through to the end of July. Rather than PSHE lessons the pupils joined 'Themes'. Following feedback from teachers at both schools, visits were planned so teachers/TAs from PCHS could visit PVPS to see the pupils in their primary school environment.

A pupil with complex ASD who required 2:1 staffing at PVPS and a specialist sensory integration programme was part of this transition programme. He had very complex needs and it was agreed that named staff from PCHS would visit PVPS on a number of occasions to get to know the pupil and have training from the staff at PVPS on how to support him to access learning. Advice was sought regarding an appropriate learning for him at PCHS. Visits were made with the rest of the Year 6 pupils and additional visits were also made to ensure he was familiar with the building and staff.

2013 : transition meetings begin in March 2013, held between the DHTs from both schools and HLTA from PCHS. Teacher evaluation from the previous year had concluded that 'Themes' was not the best lesson for the Year 6 pupils to visit so it was agreed to revert back to PSHE lessons as these had been very successful. It was agreed that visits would only take place during the Summer Term and the pupils from the mainstream schools would also be invited to the PSHE lessons rather than them only joining the transition process on Pendle Transition Day.

2014: transition for September 2014 - a similar process occurred as previous years with pupils from mainstream schools who were transferring to PCHS joining all of the transition visits.

2015: transition for September 2015 - The DHT from PCHS visited on 13.11.14 and

Page 4 of 7 spent time in the classes that had Year 6 pupils. She observed the pupils and had discussions with class teachers. This information was then fed back to the HT at PCHS. A meeting was held on 21.11.14 with the HT and DHT from PVPS and HT from PCHS. Pupil groupings for September 2015 were discussed. Which members of the establishment and/or wider community have been involved and what was their role? The practice was initiated between the two schools by the DHT of PVPS and the PSHE co-ordinator at PCHS.

The DHTs of both sites have developed the practice, running bespoke transition programmes for pupils with complex learning difficulties and introducing a whole day of transition on Pendle Transition Day to ensure equal rights of passage for all. We extended the practice to include PCHS staff visiting PVPS to liaise and work with the pupils in a familiar setting, gather important information prior to transition for planning purposes and gain on the job training for medical, postural and feeding procedures. In addition, behaviour management and other proactive intervention strategies are discussed.

The DHT at PCHS has liaised with other primary feeder schools inviting our other new starters to the transition events, ensuring all pupils become familiar with their new classmates, staff and the built environment.

Parental meetings have been organised at PCHS to welcome new parents and explain the campus and facilities, meet the staff and complete paperwork in a friendly environment. The DHT from PVPS attends these meeting to ensure the new parents have a familiar face and to act as an advocate for parents who find the new situation challenging.

Governors have been kept up to date with the yearly arrangements through the Curriculum Governors and Head teacher's reports.

A significant number of staff have been involved in facilitating transition, ensuring they are familiar with pupils and their reactions to a change in environment and personnel. How has the progress of the project been monitored and evaluated? At the end of every summer, teaching staff feed back in written format their experiences and thoughts on the transition process. Each year we devise the events around the needs of the cohort judging, the amount and length of each visit against the SEND of the cohort. The success of the transition arrangements relies on the bespoke nature of the planning to meet the needs of the pupils who will transfer, thus each year is unique whilst following an agreed planning procedure. How has the practice been modified or improved during development? When the new co-located site was opened parents were unsure of the building. Every year we hold an Open Evening and invite all year 5 and year 6 pupils and

Page 5 of 7 parents from PVPS. All parents are now invited to our coffee morning and afternoon held at the end of the transition period to support them in meeting new staff, familiarising themselves with the school at work and supporting in form filling.

We create tailor made programmes for complex pupils. E.g. we introduced an extended programme for a pupil with MSI so she could familiarise herself with the physical environment and the sounds of a busy building.

We introduced an extensive two way programme for a very complex young man with ASC and sensory modulation difficulties and challenging behaviour to ensure he became familiar with new staff in his own setting prior to moves into the new building.

We moved the start of the transition period back from February to May as it was felt the period was too long and confused some pupils.

We introduced Pendle Transition Day into the process as it was felt staff needed to see pupils interact over lunchtime and also observe their eating in the lunch hall and interaction in less structured times.

A meeting is now held with parents in the first half of the autumn term in PCHS to discuss transition and Individual Priority Targets. What has been the impact of the project on pupils’ learning, achievement or enjoyment and how has this been measured? Within PCHS we have noticed that all our pupils settle very well and feel part of the community from the first day of term. Our other pupils know their names and they are accepted into games and activities in less structured times. From day 1 our specialist staff are aware of individual programmes and can meet all of our pupils' needs, ensuring that there is no hiatus in learning whist programmes are set up.

Routines are quickly established and pupils' postural, medical and behavioural needs are met.

Whilst it is accepted that most pupils transferring from one establishment to another will see a fall in attainment, our pupils quickly re-gain any lost ground and are confident within the learning environment to apply themselves.

At PVPS the pupils become thoroughly prepared for transition and are excited about the next stage in their school life. They do not worry, and feel confident about where they are going. The residential is crucial in this process and helps the pupils to build relationships with key staff at PCHS. What are the next stages in the development process? • Now the practice is embedded PCHS will allocate a lead member of staff to oversee the arrangements of the transition process and ensure bespoke needs are met and mainstream pupils invited to all events.

Page 6 of 7 • Both schools will ensure that individual needs are met and will develop further bespoke programmes over time. What aspects of this practice may be useful for other establishments to consider? • The programme is very comprehensive and involves a number of different elements which make for a successful transition for our Year 6 pupils. • Early liaison about pupils in year 6 and their specific needs. • Regular visits to the high school setting over a term which involves meeting buddy's in year 7. • Joint residential holiday as part of the transition process with pupils and staff from both schools. • Visits to the primary school by key staff- teachers and TAs. • Bespoke transition programmes for pupils with specific needs e.g. HI I VI and complex ASC. • High levels of communication between both schools involved. • Inclusion of mainstream pupils who will be starting at the special high school in all of the transition visits. • Support for parents both in terms of an open day but also additional coffee mornings and. • Bespoke visits if necessary. • Creative approach to curriculum management especially in the area of PSHE.

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