Our Approach to Inclusion
As a specialist setting, inclusion is at the heart of everything we do.
From recognising that young people have documented an established needs, to recognising barriers that have prevented prior success in educational settings, we strive to ensure that we understand the young people we work with and do everything we can to support their growth and development.
As such, we use a range of different tools and sources of information to build a complete picture of our young people.
Read through the information below to find out about the steps we take!
At Portland School, a young person's 'Education & Health Care Plan' provides a starting point in allowing us to understand the needs of a student. Under the direction of the School's SENCO, needs identified by the EHCP, as well as the provision required by the young person are carefully considered to ensure the statutory support a student is entitled to is provided.
Prior to the student arriving at Portland, we engage with a bespoke 'Transition & Induction' model to provide our young people with the best possible chance of success. Over a three week period, we aim to meet with parents, carers and the young people themselves, to develop an understanding of the needs that the young person has. Alongside parents and carers, we explore the young person's background, gain parent/carer thoughts on how to make the transition a success as well as developing safeguarding, behaviour and medical plans if required.
When students first attend, we complete a set of diagnostic tests to help identify prior gaps in learning and any underlying difficulties. Using tools from GL Assessment we typically assess English & Maths Skills, Reading & Phonics and Pupil Attitudes to Self & School.
We leave no stone unturned!
With a holistic understanding of the young person, we then develop documents that clearly articulate to staff the support that is required inside and outside of lessons. Our comprehensive 'Pupil Passports' highlight strategies that staff should use in lessons, such as the need for 'task breakdown sheets', 'sensory tools' or adult reassurance. Senior Leaders in the school frequently check how well staff are supporting the needs of young people and provide support and reflection when strategies may not be working.
In addition to support inside the classroom, our young people will access interventions to help them build skills needed for future success. We schedule interventions for young people across the calendar year in response to guidance from EHCPs and where needs have been identified through internal testing. We offer a large range of interventions to address the difficulties of our students. These may include...
We also provide support when students are not ready to engage in learning. "All Behaviour is Communication" is a mantra held by our staff and the team recognise that when students' behaviour demonstrates that they are not ready to learn, support is available throughout the day to help our young people regulate and address needs before returning to learning.
In addition to the support describe above, we do everything we can to shape the environment and experiences of our young people. You can find more details regarding our 'Universal Offer' on our website but we pride ourselves on offering a considered and holistic approach to supporting our young people. The table below provides a summary of the support all students will be provided with;
Please click here for more about our 'Universal Offer'.