It was a pleasure to join Mrs Baston and her SENCO team for the feedback of the Departmental Evaluation that took place on 5th October 2023.
Mrs Barker spent the day observing the department on what is called a Deep Dive to evaluate specific areas of the department. The feedback to the whole SEND department was fantastic. During the Departmental Evaluation Mrs Barker attended lesson observations, book trawls, observed how SEND students are supported with their homework and private study through the after hour’s homework club.
During my visit it was clear that the Quality of Education showed teachers within Prince Henrys were aware of the different methods needed to teach SEND and non-SEND students. Staff training and upskilling was important to continue new ways of teaching the students.
There was a wide range of resources available to students should they find them to be helpful: Reading pens, laptops, office lens and iPads.
The Nurture Room within the department, was used to its full advantage by those students that needed a smaller less daunting space to learn. There were Intervention programmes available to students, covering Literacy for yr9, Literacy Plus for Yr10 & Yr11, Dyslexia Support, Lego Therapy, Touch Typing, ASD Mentoring, ELSA Emotional Wellbeing, Revision and study skills.
Feedback from the SEND students noted they enjoyed the support they received from the department, Extracurricular activities were enjoyed by the students and Heads of Year were being encouraged to speak on a one to one basis to encourage those that perhaps would not put themselves forward to actively get involved.
The department is lead with a clear vision to provide high quality intervention and support for those students on the SEND register. Knowledgeable staff listen to the student’s feedback and constantly evaluate how they can include their thoughts going forward.
Family conversations were ongoing and an opportunity to liaise with student’s families to gain a better understanding of what each student needed, both in school and outside of the classroom.
There is great knowledge within the SENCO team which was very obvious during my visit, thank you to all those involved with the care and education of those students on the SENCO register at Prince Henry’s, you are helping a group of students believe in themselves and achieve their full potential.
I commend the department on the superb work and I look forward to the next meeting.
Jo Brett
Governor