SEND Education at IAT Schools
We currently have additional provision at two IAT schools for students with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND). The two provisions we have are of different designations. At Princes Risborough School, we have an Additional Resource Provision (ARP) and at The Kingsbrook School, we have a Unit. Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School and The Mandeville School have mainstream SEND provisions in place, as do Princes Risborough School and The Kingsbrook School.
At each school we have an Assistant Headteacher SENDCo who is the strategic lead for SEND at each school. At each school the SENDCo is supported by an Assistant SENDCo who also leads on specialist teaching in the provision.
Princes Risborough School ARP
The ARP at PRS is for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The ARP can cater for up to 26 children. The ARP is part of our SEND provision at the school and SEND staff work between the both our mainstream SEND support and the ARP. We have an Assistant SENDCo who is responsible for the Teaching and Learning in the ARP and from September 2023 we will have an additional Assistant SENDCo to focus on the Teaching and Learning of our mainstream SEND students.
Students are directed to an ARP ether by the Local Authority or Parental Preference. Students attending the ARP will have an EHCP and generally need support to transition from the ARP setting to mainstream lessons. In general, an ARP student will initially spend the majority of their curriculum learning and time in the ARP. For this reason the decision as to whether a child is suitable for an ARP placement is made by the Local Authority Placement Panel in conjunction with the school Assistant Headteacher SENDCo.
The Kingsbrook School Unit
AT TKS, our unit is called The ARC. The Provision is for children who have Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs. The unit is a totally separate learning space and is very different to an ARP. While it is our aim to support mainstream integration for students who attend The ARC, this may not be the case for the majority. The students in our unit study a variation of the mainstream curriculum. They have lessons in all areas, but also have additional breaks and activities during the day to support their wellbeing. The ARC has a slightly different start and finish time to the published school times.
Students in The ARC are directed to us by the Local Authority and are placed via a pupil panel with the school. The ARC is designed to the meet the needs of a student with particular needs and, in many cases, they may have a very poor history of attendance at school. While parents can discuss The ARC with their Primary SENDCo at their Annual EHCP Review, it must be noted that The ARC is not an ARP and placement is subject to very strict criteria, also managed by the Local Authority in conjunction with the school Assistant Headteacher SENDCo.
A note on Mainstream SEND at The Kingsbrook School
Many parents believe that sending their child, with SEND, to a new school like The Kingsbrook School will mean they will have more support, as the school is small. Please note that this is not the case and parents must think very carefully about choosing a newly established school for their child's needs. A smaller, new school has less funding and less resources than larger established schools. This also includes our SEND capacity and SEND support staffing. A larger more established school may be in a better position to support SEND students than a new school. We anticipate that TKS will be under resourced until September 2025 when we are accommodating our first year 10 group.
