At Archbishop Holgate’s School we are committed to ensuring that every child has every opportunity to flourish, grow in confidence and make the most of their individual gifts and talents. We recognise that every child is unique and different and that for some children they need extra support. We are committed to ensure that all students in the school receive the support and challenge they require to do their very best.

“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.”

Sophie Grantham: Associate Assistant Head: SENDCo

Sophie leads core SEND strategy, liaises with staff, families and external agencies; primary responsibility for EHCPs in school.

Debbie Glover: Assistant SENDco

Leading on core aspects of SEND K provision, including setting and reviewing targets; liaising with staff, families and external agencies; oversight of SEND K Pupil passports.

Eva Temple: Access Arrangements Coordinator

Eva works closely with the SENDCo, Assistant SENDCo and Exams Officer to ensure that the coordination, planning, arrangement and submission process for exam Access Arrangements for learners across the school runs smoothly; takes place in line with awarding bodies and the JCQ guidelines. Eva is responsible for screening students to see if they qualify for additional Exam Access Arrangements; these are the reasonable adjustments that can be made for an exam candidate, and might include things such as extra time to complete an exam paper, permission to use assistive technology, or provision of rest breaks. For more information on exams Access Arrangements, please click on the link to ‘Our school policies, including Access Arrangements, Equality’ at the bottom of this page.

Louise Manning: SEND Admin Support

Louise supports all things Admin in the SEND department and is a familiar face to both students and parents. You may have contact with Louise via phone or email, as she is responsible for collating all parent, student and staff views ahead of EHCP reviews. Louise sometimes joins us for meetings to help take minutes; she may contact you regarding arranging your meeting or visit.

Shelly Burns: ELSA and SEND Champion

Shelly is our ELSA and SEND Champion. She has a wealth of experience and she tailors her ELSA sessions to each individual. Staff can refer students to Shelly for ELSA. There is a waiting list and if a student is allocated ELSA sessions, they will typically run for 6 weeks.

School Assistants:

We have a wide range of school assistants. We are very lucky to have such experienced and dedicated members of staff who give so much to our school. They may be running specific interventions outside of the classroom, or as a differentiated approach to the classwork set.

Students may see a variety of SAs. This allows the best expertise in each subject area to support classes and to normalise working with a range of adults.

The Wider Pastoral Team and SEND:

We are very lucky to have outstanding pastoral support at AHS and all those involved take great care and responsibility for ensuring any child with SEND is catered for. Each child has a form tutor, who they see twice a day and a wider Year Team, which is made up of the Head of Year and Assistant Head of Year.

Opportunities to speak to the team:

The SENDCo will meet EHCP families termly. Any child on ‘SEN Support’ will also have a termly check in from a dedicated member of staff in school. This may be someone from the SEND or pastoral team, or may be a teacher or form tutor who knows them.

You can contact the SEND team and ask for a call, online meeting, face-to-face meeting or tour of the school by emailing them on sendco@ahs.pmat.academy or by calling: 01904 411 341

Members of the SEND team will be available at every Parent’s Evening, Open Evening and other key events during the academic year. All EHCP students will have annual reviews as a minimum with the SENDCo.

Who is our SENDCo and what is their role?

A SENDCo (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) is a teacher who coordinates the provision for children with special educational needs or disabilities in schools.

The role of the SENDCo is as the expert in the school on all Special Educational Needs. They will not be directly involved with every child with SEND, but will coordinate the interventions and advice given to the Pastoral Team on how best to support every child.

The SENDCo leads on all students with an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP).

SENDCo – Miss Sophie Grantham

Assistant SENDCo – Mrs Debbie Glover

The SEND team can be contacted on:

  • Phone – 01904 411341
  • Email – sendco@ahs.pmat.academy

Who else can help me with SEND support for my Child?

Frequently asked questions

How will I be informed about my child’s progress?

All students’ progress is monitored, tracked and reported back to parents regularly throughout the year. This will take the form of interim reports, full reports, progress reviews with form tutors and parents’ evenings. Any concerns will be reported through the form tutor or class teacher via the school planner.

In addition to this, some students with SEND may have alternative support plans that are reviewed. This may form part of the EHCP, where plans are reviewed annually (as a minimum). A student may also have a Pen Portrait or a pastoral plan, which may be reviewed by either the SEND or Pastoral team.

How will you gather information about my child’s SEND from their primary or other secondary school?

The transition process from Year 6 to Year 7 is thorough and has been well developed from years of experience. Please see the transition section of the website for full details for all students.

The SENDCo will contact all primary schools in Year 6 and will gather information on all students on the SEND register who will be attending Archbishop Holgate’s School. This includes gathering copies of all relevant plans and paperwork. If your child has an EHCP and has named Archbishop Holgate’s as their school of choice, the SENDCo will attend the Year 6 review(s) wherever possible in the summer term.

Our SENDCo is available to meet with parents at a mutually convenient time to discuss individual students and their provision.

Any parents/carers of SEND students joining us Post-16 are welcome to contact the team to discuss provision in the Sixth Form.

How will information about my child be shared with staff in school?

A SEND register is compiled of all pupils who have SEND. Key information is then distributed to all staff at the start of the academic year. It is updated regularly and all staff are notified electronically of any changes. The SEND register also identifies key links to strategies to help those students, and for students with an EHCP, key targets are shared. All markbooks include SEND information, so that teaching staff are fully aware if a student has an additional need or a disability. We also use Class Charts and Provision Map to monitor student progress so staff can see SEND needs and strategies here.

How do you monitor my child’s needs and progress in school?

Our whole school markbook tracking shows a clear picture of a student’s progress towards a given target. Class teachers have overall responsibility for the progress of a student within their class. Any student not making appropriate progress will be identified and targeted for intervention by the teacher and, if necessary, input by the Inclusion Department.

If your child has an EHCP, we will discuss your child’s academic progress at their EHCP review meeting. Before the meeting, we ask staff to report on your child’s attainment so that their progress can be discussed.

How will my child get support for their emotional and/or social needs?

At Archbishop Holgate’s we endeavour to support all students in their emotional and social development. Our school values and the support systems we have in place mean that we provide a caring and nurturing environment for all students. The Inclusion Centre is open from 7.45am to 3.10pm each day and is available to any student who needs to access it for support. This is in addition to the SEND team, ELSA team, safeguarding team; and finally, our dedicated school assistants who provide bespoke support for students when needed.

What should I do if I have any questions about what is offered with regards to my child?

If you need advice or have concerns you should initially contact Miss Grantham or Mrs Glover who will try to resolve any difficulties. If you require further assistance you should request an appointment to discuss the problem with Miss Garland, Deputy Head (Inclusion and Engagement). If you feel the matter is still unresolved you should seek a meeting with the Headteacher, Mrs Pond. Further to this, a complaint should be made to the Chair of Governors.

What is SENDIASS?

York SENDIASS offers impartial advice, information and support for parents and carers of children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities. They are able to help with any concerns that may still arise after any intervention or effort made by the school. In addition an appeal can be made to the Special Educational Needs tribunal, which is an independent body that hears parents’ appeals against LA decisions on statutory assessments, statements and EHCPs.

Where can I find information about what the local authority has to offer?

York’s local offer website enables parents and young people to see what SEND services are available in their area and how to access them. Visit their website for more information – www.yorksend.org. They also have social media accounts which you may find useful to follow. www.raiseyork.co.uk is another useful website.

If you live in the East Riding refer to the LAs local offer: www.eastridinglocaloffer.org.uk and if you live in North Yorkshire: www.northyorks.gov.uk/children-and-families/send-local-offer

We are looking for a school for our child with SEND. Who do we contact? What’s the first step?

Please enquire at reception: 01904 411341 or reception@ahs.pmat.academy and we will get back to you. We can offer telephone calls or meetings, online meetings or visits (both during the school day or after hours), just let us know what you would prefer. Before any discussion or meeting, it would be helpful to know your child’s current year group, primary school, whether they have a SEND plan i.e. an EHCP, and any relevant diagnosis. It would be useful if you could leave a contact phone number and email so that the right person can get back to you. If you require any access arrangements for the visit, please let us know.

What is your Nurture group?

We have a Nurture group in Years 7-9 and an Applied Learning Pathway in Year 10 and 11.

The Nurture group is a small class, made up of no more than 12 students, who are working significantly below age-related expectations. They follow a broad and balanced curriculum like all other students, however their learning is highly differentiated and supported by a member of the School Assistant team. They are allocated extra literacy time each week and are a priority for additional intervention and support in their cognition and learning.

You do not have to have an EHCP to access this group, however there are limited spaces available each year. In Yrs 10 & 11 the Applied Learning Pathway is developed based on the best pathway for students to access the most appropriate KS4 courses.

Where can I find more information on SEND and Support for SEND in York?

Please refer to the sections for varying SEND on our website. You will also find more local information on York’s Local Offer here: www.yorksend.org. www.raiseyork.co.uk is another useful website.

I’m applying for DLA, can school help?

School can add to the ‘supporting statement’ within the DLA application booklet. Please email the SEND team to discuss further.

My child has SEND needs and requires support with transport to school

For all children with additional needs who require transport, the Local Authority requires you to complete the following form: https://www.york.gov.uk/TransportToSchoolOrCollege

My child requires a calm, quiet environment at the beginning of the day

We suggest your child comes to Breakfast Club. This is a free resource that requires no booking. It is held in the Resource Centre from 7.45am and is a great start to the day.

My child struggles with homework, what support is available?

We suggest your child comes to Homework Club. This runs Monday to Thursday from 3.15pm to 4pm. Although 1:1 support is not available, it is manned by support staff who will be on hand to help. All homework can be found on Google Classroom and individual teachers can be messaged via this application. Any concerns around homework should be directed to your child’s Head of Year in the first instance.

It’s such a big school, who do I contact?

  • For all things SEND, contact the SEND Team – sendco@ahs.pmat.academy.
  • For all things Pastoral (friendships, homework, missing PE kit etc), email the Year Team.
  • If your child has an appointment and will miss time at school please email the Attendance Team.
  • For all queries, or if you’re not sure who to contact, please email Reception.

What is the SEND register – is it an unnecessary label?

The SEND register is simply a list of students with additional needs in school. A census of SEND needs is taken annually and comes from this list but its main use is by teaching staff to ensure they are able to provide the best Quality First Teaching for your child in their lessons.

My child requires access arrangements for exams

All Access Arrangements have to be put in place within the JCQ guidelines and the evidence gathering process has to be teacher-led. Private diagnosis and assessment does not automatically qualify you for access arrangements. Please see our Access Arrangements policy for further detail.

My child is in Year 6 with an EHCP and we want to apply for AHS – what do we do next?

Contact your current primary school SENDCo and arrange a review in which AHS is named as the next provider. This lets the Local Authority know and a consult document will be sent to AHS for them to discuss. Please also contact the AHS SEND department. (All details of this process can be found in the SEND CoP: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25)

My Child is in Year 5 – am I too early?

It’s never too early to start thinking about transition to secondary school, especially if your child has additional needs. We would advise you attend Open Evenings which happen across the city early in the Autumn term. It could be useful to attend these in both Year 5 and Year 6.

My child struggles with unstructured time at breaks and lunches

We have a wide variety of lunchtime clubs and activities available. The library spaces are also available at breaks and lunchtimes.

My Child’s SEND impacts their ability to take part in PE:

Please enquire with the SEND team about specifics and we will arrange for a call back or meeting with the PE team. The PE team have excellent resources on their Google Classroom about what PE activities are happening when and what kit and equipment is required. The PE team are excellent at differentiating activities and are pioneers of inclusion within the school.