Students of UTC Warrington are encouraged to adopt a ‘can do’ approach to their learning in order to achieve their full potential, whatever their abilities.

At UTC Warrington we believe in inclusive practice. This means that progress of all young people including those with SEND is the responsibility of all staff.

The overview of SEND students is the responsibility of the SENDCO who will monitor, coordinate and evaluate provision of these students.

UTC Warrington ensures that all staff receive a comprehensive induction to working at the college and SEND training is part of this staff development.

Please view our SEND Policy

For more information on the Local Offer, please view the Ask Ollie document.

1. What does having a special educational need mean?

The term Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) has a legal definition, which is set out in the Education Act 1996 and the Children and Families Act 2014. It applies to children who have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it significantly harder for them to learn or access education than most other children of their age.

Some children find it harder to learn than other children of the same age. Sometimes, it may be possible to help children by making small changes to teaching and support. Schools and Colleges will try many different ways of helping students to learn and boost their progress. This will include adaptations to teaching methods and the resources used. Children and young people who have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities tend to have more barriers to their learning.

Types of SEND

The term SEND covers a wide range of types of need that UTC Warrington make provision for, including:

  • specific learning difficulties
  • moderate learning difficulties
  • speech, language and communication needs
  • behavioural, emotional and social difficulties
  • autistic spectrum conditions
  • visual and hearing impairment
  • multi-sensory impairment

2 . Who do I talk to at UTC Warrington regarding my child’s difficulties with Learning/ Special Educational Needs and/or disability (SEND)?

UTC Warrington’s first point of contact for a parent will be your child’s Personal Academic Tutor (PAT). If the concern persists, the PAT will signpost you to the most appropriate person or department.

This may include:

  • Subject teacher
  • SENDCo
  • Progress Leader
  • Key Stage Director
  • Attendance & Welfare Officer
  • Student Support Assistant
  • The Personal Academic Tutor (PAT)

Responsible for:

  • Overarching view of your child’s learning
  • Day to day pastoral support

The SENDCO – Samantha Lee, slee@utcw.co.uk

Responsible for:

Coordinating the support for children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) and developing UTC Warrington’s SEND Policy to make sure all children get a consistent, high quality response to meeting their learning needs.

Ensuring that you are:

  • involved in supporting your child’s learning
  • kept informed about the support your child is receiving
  • involved in reviewing their progress

3. How does the college identify that a child has a special educational need?

 The SENDCO will liaise with parents/carers, schools and other agencies on transition to UTC Warrington.  On entry, the college will undertake relevant assessments of all students to ascertain their ability/difficulties and a Learning Profile of their needs. This information will be used alongside data from KS2, KS3 and KS4 to ensure that students who may need additional support with learning are identified. Once needs are identified, a graduated response to supporting the student’s need will be initiated. Where relevant the SENDCO will enlist the services of specialist professionals such as advisory teachers. Details of each student with SEND including the nature of their learning disability, recommended teaching strategies, strengths in learning and history of provision will be available to all teaching staff. All teaching staff, parents and the student will be made aware of this information and informed when any significant changes are made.

It is the responsibility of all staff to liaise with the SENDCO should they have any concerns that a student may have previously unidentified Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. A referral system is in place for teachers to alert the SEND Department.

The SENDCO will also assess students for entitlement to exam access arrangements where appropriate.

4. How does UTC Warrington adapt its curriculum and learning environment for students with SEND?

 The curriculum at UTC Warrington is specialised with a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths (STEAM). The students who choose to attend UTC Warrington want to participate in this specific learning environment. The practical teaching method used suits many of our students with additional needs. However, we do have a flexible approach to our provision realising that a personalised learning approach is preferable in some circumstances. Our ethos is to ensure that students experience many of the opportunities that they may face in the work place. We strive to create an inclusive environment in which students with additional needs do not feel ‘different’ or are isolated from the mainstream curriculum. This is often a big step for students who are familiar with 1:1 support. However, research shows that this does not prepare the students for post 16 and our aim is that students leaving UTC Warrington will transition successfully to employment, training or higher education. UTC Warrington is a ‘state of the art building’ and in that respect it complies with statutory building regulations for disabled access as described in the Disability Act 1995. This includes a lift to all floors and a disabled toilet.

5. How does UTC Warrington evaluate the effectiveness of it provision for students with SEND? 

  • Subject teachers continually monitor students’ progress.
  • Progress is reviewed formally every half term and teacher assessments are made
  • Some students on the SEND Register will have an Individual Education Plan (IEP), reviewed every term, with involvement from parents/carers, and the plan for the next term made.
  • The progress of children with an EHC Plan will be formally reviewed at an annual review with all adults involved in the child’s education.
  • The SENDCO will also check that your child is making good progress with interventions that will be put in place.
  • Parents/Carers will be informed of student progress termly through subject specific data.

6. What are the different types of support available for children with SEND at UTC Warrington?

Subject teacher input via excellent targeted classroom teaching also known as ‘Quality First Teaching’.

For your child, this would mean:

  • That the teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all students in their class.
  • That all teaching is based on building on what your child already knows, can do and can understand.
  • Different ways of teaching are in place so that your child is fully involved in learning in class. This may involve things like using more practical learning.
  • Specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENDCO or outside staff) are in place to support your child’s learning.
  • Your child’s subject teacher will have carefully checked on their progress and will have decided that your child has gaps in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress.

All students at UTC Warrington should receive the following as part of excellent classroom practice when needed:

 Specific Small Group Intervention

  • Run in the classroom or outside.
  • Run by a teacher or most often a Leaning Support Assistant who has had training to run these groups.

 Specialist Groups or Individual support run by outside agencies

  • Students will be identified by UTC Warrington as needing some extra specialist support from a professional from outside of the college. This may be from the Local Authority central services such as the Communication and Interaction Specialist Teacher Support.

For your child, this would mean:

  • Your child will have been identified by the college as needing more specialist input instead of or in addition to quality first teaching and intervention groups.
  • You will be asked to come to a meeting to discuss your child’s progress and help plan possible ways forward.
  • You may be asked to give your permission for the college to refer your child to a specialist professional e.g. CAHMS or Educational Psychologist. This will help us and yourself understand your child’s particular needs in greater depth and the ability to provide the support they need in college.
  • The specialist will work with your child to understand their needs and make recommendations, which may include:
  • Making changes to the way your child is supported in class e.g. some individual support or changing some aspects of teaching to support them better.
  • Support to set better targets which will include their specific expertise.

Specified Individual support

This is usually provided via an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). This means your child will have been identified as needing a particularly high level of intervention, which cannot be provided from the budget available to the college.

This may include:

  • Specialist support in college from a professional outside the college.
  • A Personalised Learning Programme that meets the needs of your child.

This type of support is available for children whose learning needs are:

  • Severe, complex and lifelong.

7. Who is the person responsible for children and young people with SEND?

  • At UTC Warrington we believe in inclusive practice which means progress of all young people including those with SEND is the responsibility of all staff.
  • The overview of SEND students’ is the responsibility of the SENCO, who will monitor, coordinate and evaluate provision of these students.

8. What training or specialist expertise do UTC staff have around SEND?

UTC Warrington ensures that:

  • All staff receive a comprehensive induction to working at the College and SEND training is part of this staff development.
  • Kate Pattullo completed the National SENCO Award and CPT3A for JCQ Exam Access Arrangements in 2017.