Learning Support
As Learning Support teachers, we are very much aware that some children need special help, and there is close liaison between the Learning Support Department (LSD), the English department and other subject teachers. At Blundell’s we aim to ensure sympathetic treatment, individual support and a positive approach, focusing on the learning difference with its positives rather than any negative associations connected with a learning disability. It is not unusual for LS pupils to gain the highest grades in both GCSE and A level examinations. Above all, pupils who receive support from the LSD are taught to think of themselves as Blundellians, developing confidence and expertise in as many areas as possible.
The LS Department exists to provide:
- A caring and sympathetic environment in which the pupils and their parents feel free to express concerns and difficulties
- Support for colleagues both in general terms and specifically related to individual students
- An environment in which each pupil can develop in confidence, skills and attainment
- A programme of study individually designed to develop strengths and build up skills and knowledge
- Support with coursework, revision and examination techniques as well as specific support with aspects of the curriculum encountered but not understood in all subject areas studied.
Pupils at Blundell’s School may have special educational needs as a result of one or more of the following:
- General learning difficulties
- Specific Learning differences
- Particular difficulties with literacy/numeracy/other skills
- Emotional, social or behavioural problems
- A physical disability
- Speech or language difficulties
- A medical or health problem
The Department for Education and Employment’s Code of Practice on the identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (part 4) as amended by SEN and Disability Act 2001 is very much taken into account when considering assessment and provision for children who seem to have special needs.
Identifying those who need Learning Support
For those pupils from other schools, whose parents inform the school of the need, every effort is made to continue learning support by liaising with parents and the SENCOs of previous schools. 
For those students entering the Senior Department from the Preparatory Department, there is a continuity of Learning Support between the Departments. Parents will be contacted by letter asking them if they would like their child to be seen in Learning Support. Students who enter the senior school from another school without parental notification of previously diagnosed SpLD will generally be identified by colleagues as below.
All pupils entering Blundell’s School are required to sit an entrance examination. In addition they sit NFER Vocabulary and Comprehension tests in Year 7 as well as MidYiS tests. These often highlight where there may be areas of concern.
Any other pupil not identified prior to admission who may have learning difficulties is usually identified by a teacher or by his/her parents. Identification is often prompted by concern raised by several teachers during Mark Order meetings, by a House Parent or by colleagues in the English Department. This concern that a pupil is not performing to the best of his/her abilities is registered by the Head of Learning Support and opinions sought from other members of the common room involved with the pupil. Once the level of concern reaches this stage, parents are informed and depending on the individual circumstances, the situation monitored or, with parental consent, initial assessments are begun.
An informal assessment will then be made of both the difficulties and suggestions for remediation. At this point, parents will be sent a short report and support provision, if necessary, will be offered. For pupils in Years 10 or above, if the difficulty could qualify the student for special access arrangements in examinations, or if the results do not produce a clear picture of the difficulty and hence way forward, an Educational Psychologist’s assessment may be recommended to the parents.
Consent to provide Learning Support
Consent forms, detailing the fees payable termly, are sent out to parents whose children have not previously received Learning Support. They are accompanied by a personal letter offering a recommendation as to the frequency of support, a parental questionnaire and information about the Learning Support Department. These forms allow parents to decline the support if they so wish. If replies are not received within four weeks, another letter will be sent, and House parents informed. If there is still no response, parents will be contacted by telephone before the end of the first half of term. Students who have received support in the previous year and who have arrived for support sessions will be seen in the meanwhile.
Although assessments and IEPs will indicate the most appropriate level of support, parents can request to vary this, where there is availability of time and staffing. This can be increased in frequency above the recommendation or they may choose to reduce the support.
Access Arrangements
In public examination, access arrangements are additional provisions or circumstances permitted during coursework assessment and terminal examinations. They are applied to those pupils whose special educational needs have implications for the way they need to be assessed. The purpose of access arrangements is to provide pupils with opportunities to demonstrate their attainment; they must be designed and applied to enable pupils to fulfil assessment criteria needs.
Examination at GCSE or above leads to formal qualifications used for entry to further study, training and employment. They are conducted by external examining bodies. The examination conditions under which pupils are required to demonstrate knowledge and skills are specified in an examination syllabus and any adaptations or modifications are at the discretion of the examining body. The examining body needs to know a pupil’s assessment needs before permission may be given to apply a special arrangement. The Learning Support Department, in conjunction with the School Examination Officer, prepares and presents to the examining body the evidence which can demonstrate a pupil’s special educational need and related assessment needs.
A statement of Special Educational Need or an Educational Psychologist’s report does not in itself guarantee the provision of special arrangements.
Examples of access arrangements:
- Extra time allowances
- Use of rest periods
- Use of reader/scribe/amanuensis
- Use of additional evidence for example, transcripts
- Use of mechanical or technological aids such as a work processor
- Alternative accommodation arrangements in invigilation procedures for example within the school or in a hospital
- Use of modified forms of communications e.g. yellow examination papers
The list is not exhaustive, and other arrangements may be deemed necessary, but approval will always be required from the examining body.
Pupils who may need special arrangements in examination must also be on the SEN register at School Action Plus. This means that they must be obtaining support either from the school or from a recognised external agency. Generally an IEP will be in place and this will form the evidence for support.
Additional charges may be applied especially where an external invigilator has been employed. These charges may be absorbed by the school where a child is in receipt of support at the “full support” level or may be defrayed to parents in other circumstances depending on individual situations and by agreement with the School Bursar.
The school makes separate provision for those children whose first Language is not English, for Gifted children or those with special talents, and for children who have physical handicaps.