Cuckmere House School
SEN Policy
Introduction
Cuckmere House School is a special school which offers up to 64 places (twelve
residential) to pupils with severe emotional and behavioural difficulties. The
catchement area is the eastern educational area of East Sussex although pupils from
outside this area do attend. Pupils will have exhibited a wide range of disturbed and
difficult behaviour in their previous placements. Many will have secondary or
associated Special Educational Needs such as Specific Learning Difficulties, Speech
and Language issues and ADHD. They are normally within the average or above
average range of ability and all will have received a statement of educational needs
for their emotional and behavioural difficulties.
The aims of the school
The school aims to:
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Improve pupils self-concept including self-image, self esteem and self- awareness
Ensure pupils curriculum entitlement by allowing pupils access to the national
curriculum to provide pupils who are unlikely to return to mainstream education
with the skills to cope with adult life and prepare them for further education,
training, and employment and the means of realising their full potential.
Produce sufficient change and development in the pupils to enable some of them
to reintegrate into mainstream wherever possible
Implicit within the aims and delivery are the key ideas that:
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All pupils are entitled to a broad, balanced, relevant and differentiated curriculum
Developing a close and supportive partnership with parents is essential
The safeguard and welfare of pupils is of paramount importance
Special needs provision
Admissions
Pupils who come to CHS should:
1. Have a statement for emotional and behavioural difficulties
2. Fall within the average or above average range for ability
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3. Reside in the Western educational area of East Sussex
4. Not require long-term or full time boarding provision
5. Not require psychiatric in-care
If pupils fall into these criteria their names are taken to the WAP panel, which meets
fortnightly. This consists of Heads and representatives of the LEA, , Educational
Psychological Service, Educational Welfare Service, Social Services and Heads of the
Primary and Secondary and PRU Units. The decision is made at this panel to put
forward pupils names to the school. The pupil is then offered an interview with his
parent/carer and an offer of a place is made on the result of that interview.
Special Educational Needs
All pupils have severe emotional and behavioural difficulties and of course this is
manifested in many different ways from phobias to severe conduct disorder. Some
children have been assessed as having specific conditions such as ADHD, which may
require daily medication.. A number have SpLD (dyslexia). Some children may show
autistic behaviours. We are increasingly coming to realise that many of our pupils
have had extremely traumatic childhoods and are now seeing attachment disorder
recognised on their statements.
School Organisation
The school caters for children in National Curriculum Years 1-11. The school is
divided into the Primary and Secondary departments and both departments operate on
mainstream models.
Primary Department
The Primary department is housed in a self-contained area in the main building that
consists of four main classrooms, a library, technology area, art room and a staff
office. The Primary play area is separate from the secondary area. The Primary
Department shares use of the Hall, ICT room gym and some recreational areas but at a
separate time from the secondary department. In the fulltime classes, children are
grouped in their NC year; however groups are sometimes arranged by ability. Class
sizes are a maximum of eight in Years 5, 6 and the Flexible Learning Programme and
six in the KS1 /Lower primary class. There are 4 fulltime and 2 part time teachers and
5 classroom assistants. Staffs teach and support within Cuckmere House and also
provide support and guidance to mainstream colleagues through our reintegration
programmes for fulltime pupils, or as part of their work for the Pupil Referral Unit.
All National Curriculum subjects are offered as well as additional learning support for
pupils with difficulties. The PRU is not legally bound to offer the full National
Curriculum, however for fulltime pupils on short term placements, a wide range of
curriculum subjects are offered, with a core focus of Literacy, Numeracy, ICT,
PSHCE, Science and RE. At various times during the year all other curriculum
foundation subjects are offered. Each class has a teacher and a teaching assistant
attached to them. The class teacher will usually offer Literacy and Numeracy to their
class and will also hold daily target meetings to monitor and appraise progress against
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targets. A member of the care staff is allocated to the primary department as link
worker, ensuring weekly communication with parents and carers occurs and feeding
back key information to staff.
Secondary Department
The Secondary Department is housed in the main building that dates to 1908, a
modern Science & Technology block and 4 portokabins. As well as form rooms there
are specialist rooms for Science, DT, Art, Cookery and ICT. The gym is part of the
original building so local amenities are extensively used. There is a hard area for
tennis and basketball, a football pitch and a fitness room.
Wherever possible pupils are grouped in their NC Year. Class sizes are at a maximum
of 8. There are 6 full time teachers, 1 part time teacher and 2 unqualified teachers and
6 Classroom Assistants. Each Year group is in the charge of a Class Tutor. All areas
of the National Curriculum are covered. However staff, who are not teachers but
extremely experienced in their field, teach two areas- Music and Cookery. Secondary
teachers will teach their main subject area but will also teach English or Maths to their
own Class Group.
The Year Team meets the Pastoral needs of each year group. The Year Team consists
of the Class Tutor, a Teaching Assistant and a member of the Care Staff. The Year
Team is responsible for the group, including writing and monitoring IEPs.
Curriculum
The school offers the whole range of the National curriculum. Pupils study
English
Maths
Science
DT
ICT
Geography
History
Art
Music
PE
PSCHE
Cookery
The Primary Department has been involved in the introduction of the National
Literacy Hour and the National Numeracy Strategy. The Secondary department has
introduced the KS3 Strategy and developed work related learning.
In the Secondary Department every year group spends one day a week for a half term
on Outdoor Pursuits. In addition secondary pupils all have an opportunity to take part
in a residential trip during the year.
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In the Primary Department, pupils take part in Outdoor Pursuits during the Summer
Term.
At KS4 pupils have the opportunity of trying out vocationally orientated taster courses
at local colleges. They also take part in a Vocational Experience Programme. A
member of staff is appointed to support pupils at KS4 .
Residential facility
The school has a residential hostel. ‘Tower House’. Tower House is situated in a
pleasant residential area about a mile from school. There are up to 12 residential
places. Tower House is divided into two self contained areas each offering
accommodation for 6 pupils. The house is spacious and well decorated and furnished.
The accommodation consists of one or two bedded rooms. Pupils considered in need
of a residential facility are offered from 1-4 nights weekly. Residential programmes
are varied and depend on the needs of the pupil. The Care Staff plan and monitor
these programmes carefully. Placement is offered as a support to learning and is not
an alternative to care. Primary and Secondary pupils are kept separate.
In addition pupils who are not resident, may join the extended day programme from
3.30-8.00, taking part in activities with residential pupils. .
There are 7 care staff who work at Tower House. They also spend a Friday and one
other day working at the school and take an important role in the day to day running
of the school.
Staffing
There are 19 teachers, 13 Classroom Assistants, 7 Care Staff, 3 Administrative
Assistants, 2 Kitchen Staff, a Caretaker and a Cleaning Team working within the
school. Occasionally a specially appointed teacher or Classroom Assistant may
support some pupils if the LEA recommends this.
From time to time carefully vetted volunteers working the school offering their skills
and support
Facilities
The school has good Art, DT and Science facilities in the secondary. It has upgraded
and networked its computer facilities. All Classrooms have access to a computer and
have interactive whiteboards installed. Most teaching areas have a TV/video
available. Tape-recorders, overhead projectors and a camcorder supplement this. All
classrooms are linked by phone.
The school has 4 mini-buses, 2 people carriers, 2 school cars. All staff who drive
school transport have undergone the LEA driver programmes. The school has mobile
phones which have been issued to specific senior members of staff.
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Transport
Because of the size of the catchement area all pupils are conveyed to school by taxi. A
member of the care staff has responsibility for the organisation of this in conjunction
with county transport. In Year 11 pupils who live near enough are encouraged to use
public transport.
Behavioural Management
Central to the school’s ethos is the Behaviour Policy. We feel that by providing a
consistent and structured environment we can strengthen the self-esteem of the pupils
and therefore help them to access the curriculum to the best of their ability. The
school works on behaviour modification principles. Each pupil is graded for every
lesson and these grades are recorded in the student’s logbook. The grading system
covers the pupils’ behaviour and their effort. It is not an assessment of their work. The
log sheets are monitored by the Year Team and the Senior Management Team and are
used to help set pupils monitor their own behaviour and help set their own targets.
Log sheets are sent home weekly to parents and involved professionals.
Pupils meet:
1. Primary – daily with the whole department
2. Secondary - weekly with their Class Teacher, Classroom Assistant and member of
Care Staff.
The Year Team meets every 3 weeks to plan and discuss strategy.
Pupils get very clear guidelines as to consequence of behaviour. The major reward for
all pupils are options (daily- Primary/weekly- Secondary) where good grades are
rewarded by different activities. Children who fail to get into options stay working in
school.
Pupils receive many other incentives during the school week from merit slips to trips
out. The consequence of not behaving appropriately ranges from a poor grade;
through detention at lunch, to staying after school to re-do the lesson. All this is
clearly laid out in the school statement on Rewards and Sanctions and the Behaviour
Policy.
IEPs
All pupils have an Individual Educational Plans which sets out teaching and
behavioural targets for pupils. As part of the ongoing review process to develop our
effectiveness we are looking at working on 3 targets for the IEP linked both to the
statement and monitored through the log sheets. These will focus on:
1. A Literacy Target
2. A Numeracy Target
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3. A Behavioural Target within the primary department, whilst in the secondary they
specify behaviour and any additional SEN that might impact on learning.
i.e.dyslexia
Annual reviews
The students have a statutory review yearly to which they, their parents/carers and any
relevant other persons such as social workers are invited. Pupils are encouraged to fill
out a review form and to represent their ideas at the meeting. Where parents do not
have their own transport the school will make every effort to pick them up and take
them home
Other SEN Support
ADHD - Many of our pupils are assessed as having ADHD. The school supports the
management of this by providing facilities for arranging medication and liaising with
the ADHA nurses at CAMHS.
For those pupils who have been identified as dyslexic the SENCo, who is a dyslexic
specialist, will instigate a specific withdrawal programme and provide information for
all staff to best help support these pupils in class.
A CAMHS Clinical Psychologist comes into school weekly to work with pupils and
staff.
Family Work – The Care Staff work with families who request help. The school works
closely with Social Services and with Foster Parents.
Staff Training and Development
The Principal has overall responsibility for staff development. The Deputy Heads coordinate the training for all the education staff, whilst the Pastoral Liaison Officer has
responsibility for the training needs of Care Staff.
The school is committed to professional development for its staff. Staff training is
decided by a process of matching the staff perceived needs as collated from the annual
training audit and performance management, with school led needs as indicated by the
School Development Plan. The school uses the five training days provided by the
DFEE in order to enhance the skills abilities and knowledge of the staff team as a
whole. Recently, these days have been designated by the LEA for training for national
strategies. This looks likely to continue. Staffs are encouraged to go on LEA courses,
where appropriate, and the school arranges courses and workshops for groups in
school. The school also undertakes twilight training, including training for ICT. The
school has training links with other EBD schools and support services and is part of
the Seaford Schools Training Consortium.
Teaching assistants
Teaching Assistants are encouraged to attend relevant courses particularly where they
match their responsibility areas, and are supported if appropriate courses are out of
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school time. They meet with their line manager weekly to discuss issues, and also
have some training in this slot. At the present time they have weekly ICT training
time.
Child Care Team
The Child Care Team participate in whole school training where appropriate, whole
childcare team training and individual specific training relevant to their role.
Links with other agencies.
The Attendance team has good links with the school and is available for work with
pupils and parents.
The school maintains links with pupils’ Social Workers, when they have one and with
the LAC team. A social worker with responsibility for liaison with the school has
been appointed.
The Connexions Service works closely with us in providing a service for pupils in
Years 9-11, both in individual work with pupils and in developing the curriculum and
resources.
The Library Service offers advice on the running of the library and on suitability of
material and enables the school to provide appropriate curriculum with its topic loans.
The Primary department and Secondary Art department is similarly supported by the
Art and Museum service.
Parental Links
All parents receive copies of the log sheets weekly. The Year Team endeavours to
ring home regularly to update parents on how their child is doing. Where possible the
care staff and/or class teacher will make a home visit during the year. Parents are
welcome into school to look around or to discuss any problems. Parents are
encouraged to telephone the school, particularly if something might be upsetting their
child.
The school holds a Parents evening once a year to discuss reports and progress and
see their child’s work. Parents without transport are given lifts.
Academic reports are sent out at the end of the summer term.
Mainstream Links
One of the aims of the school is to actively reintegrate pupils back into school. A great
deal of work has been done on liaison with mainstream schools particularly by the
Primary Department and by the Head Teacher. The schools reintegration policy is
clearly set out in the Reintegration Policy document.
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The school has also been involved in areas such as giving INSET for mainstream
schools training Support Assistants for mainstream schools, taking part in cross-phase
liaison meetings in the local schools cluster group.
We also have links with the local FE Colleges and their SEN staff, both through taster
courses and by arranging pupil’s visits and taking them to interviews.
Complaints Procedure
There is a well-established complaints procedure for pupils at the school. All pupils
have this explained to them and copies of the procedure are available through the
school. Staff will work with pupils who wish to use the procedure and the Head
Teacher will investigate complaints by pupils.
Childline numbers, LEA Complaints hot line for children and other numbers such as
the Samaritans are displayed prominently.
It is expected that most parental complaints and concerns will be addressed through
the normal channels of telephone, visit, letter or the annual review process.
There are occasions wherein it may be necessary to refer complaints to the governing
body or the LEA. In these circumstances parents will be informed of the necessity.
Addresses for Complaints are:
The Chair of Governors
Cuckmere House School
Cuckmere House School
Eastbourne Road
Seaford
BN25 4BA
OR
The Chief Education Officer
The Education department
East Sussex County Council
St Anne’s Crescent
Lewes BN7 1SF
Evaluation Process
Every year the Senior Management Team reviews its policy on SEN. It evaluates its’
success in meeting the educational needs of the pupils and endeavours to identify
areas which can be strengthened and improved or developed. This review process is
reflected in the School Development Plan.
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