SEND

Craven College is committed to providing excellent support for students with SEND. The support provision is designed to enable every student to develop their independence with discrete support within a classroom setting and around the College campus (depending on individual assessed need), but at all times working to raise aspirations for students and prepare them for adulthood through education.

• Where students have a learning difficulty/disability or medical condition that affects their studies, they are encouraged to disclose this via the application form, attendance at Open Events/Taster Days or at Enrolment. Please note: all courses have predetermined entry criteria specific to that programme
• The SEND Team will meet and assess students who have declared a learning difficulty/disability or medical condition normally prior to Enrolment or once disclosed if post Enrolment and complete a One Page Profile to identify individual support needs. They will carry out risk assessments, personal emergency evacuation plans and care plans and refer students to our various Support Services that our College provides as necessary
• Each student’s needs will be assessed on an individual basis and the College will aim to support identified needs in accordance with the reasonable adjustment guidance; this support may be different to the support offered at a previous setting, with the discussion of support being centred on the student’s opinions and wishes. This enables staff to develop effective support plans prior to students beginning their studies and ensures that specific resources are prepared in advance and enables students to settle quickly into their studies
• The One Page Profiles are used to inform person-centred action planning and target setting and students are supported to participate in discussions about their aspirations, their needs and the support they think will help them
• The College has excellent relationships with schools and liaises with key members of staff in mainstream and special schools e.g. SENCO, careers teachers, YPS advisers, social workers, YOT and other support agencies to support the transition to the College
• Where invited, the SEND team attend EHC Plan reviews and, with permission, utilise the transitional information (e.g. Education Health and Care Plan, Transition Reviews, school reports detailing current curriculum levels, care plans, medical information) provided by the school, student, their parents/carers and any other appropriate organisations to inform an individual transition programme
• During induction, there is an initial assessment for English and Maths
• If a student has a learning difficulty/disability/medical condition which will cause them to be at a “substantial disadvantage” in exam or assessment situations, then assessments are carried out within College by our own specialist staff. An application is made to the awarding body and arrangements (e.g reader, scribe, prompt, extra time) are put in place for all assessments and exams (including mocks). The support is provided by trained and experienced members of the Student Support Services team. Additional support may be recommended via a specialist support workshop
• Following a potential student’s consent for us to disclose SEND information, their tutors and support staff will be given access to their transitional information (e.g. Education Health and Care Plan, care plans) via ProMonitor which is an on-line integrated student monitoring and support system or via Evolve’s monitoring and review system
• Please note that for HE students who have disclosed a learning difficulty/disability or a medical condition that affects their learning, an application to the Disabled Learners’ Allowance needs to be made in order for support to be put in place. Please contact the SEND team for further information

ProMonitor is an online student monitoring and information sharing system which is used across the College. As well as capturing and sharing information on qualifications on entry, target grades, initial assessments, aspirations and progression/destinations, it also houses the student’s individual learning plan. Through the Markbook facility, assessment schedules and grades are captured and shared. Through ProPortal, secure access is given to students and parents/guardians, allowing them to keep ‘real time’ track of progress.

The SEND targets and reviews are shared on ProMonitor. Regular reviews help to inform whether the support arrangements are appropriate or if they need revising. Support may need to be increased, stay the same or be reduced to promote increased independence as well as the exploration of assistive technology support. Progression Support Assistant staff observations help to inform revised levels or types of support.

Evolve has an in-house student monitoring and information sharing system that compliments and replicates elements of the ProMonitor system whilst creating bespoke individual learning plans linked to each student’s visual timetable.

The SEND team co-ordinates the review process for Education, Health and Care Plans for students within College and hosts the meetings at the College. The SEND team works with the Local Authority to ensure that the annual review of the Plan is undertaken in line with SEND Code of Practice and that parents/carers, appropriate professionals and, most importantly, the student is at the heart of the process. Annual reviews focus on next steps for students and the support they need to prepare for adulthood including securing paid employment, independent living and participating in society.

Parents/carers are encouraged to contact the SEND Team if they wish to share information with us or discuss the support arrangements. In addition, there will be a parent information evening in the autumn term and a parent progress report evening in the spring term.

SEND Team Leader – 01756 707 273

SEND Administrator – 01756 707 273

Specific Learning Difficulties Co-ordinator – 01756 707 274

Admissions, Careers and Employability Team Leader – 01756 707 278

Evolve Centre Manager – 01765 608 999

The College adopts an inclusive approach to learning, offering high-quality teaching which is differentiated to take account of individual requirements.

• It is recognised that some students may need 1-1 PSA support in or out of class or a ratio of support depending on need. The focus is on removing barriers to learning and developing strategies with our students to foster their independence
• Handover arrangements – where this is identified within the EHC Plan support will be provided by the SEND team. Taxi drivers and parents are able to drop students off in the accessible parking bays or other designated area as communicated to them. The SEND team will be on hand to meet students and accompany to class. They will also accompany students back to the transport at the end of the College day
• Please note transport to and from the College is the responsibility of the student/parent/carer. If the student is not an independent traveller, then this would need to be arranged in consultation with the local authority. Please refer to their current policy and eligibility criteria for post 16 transport
• A range of assistive technology applications are available to assist students with their studies and to help promote independence such as Read, Write, Gold
• Students can attend one of the Specialist Study Support centres where an effective provision of support needs enables strategies for learning to be in place within the academic year
• Visual stress materials such as overlays and coloured paper are available
• Exam Access Arrangements such as reader, scribe, extra time. Appropriate assessments will be carried out in College and an application made to the relevant awarding body
• Mentoring support helping with issues such as anxiety, lack of confidence and intervention as needed. This service can link students to external services
• Access to the College counselling team
• Transition support – taster days and orientation visits
• The College has access to a number of Bursary funds aimed at supporting students with specific financial difficulties which may prevent them from taking part in learning. Eligibility for funds is based on household income, and recent evidence of this must be submitted with the application

• The SEND team is a highly qualified, trained and dedicated team of staff. All staff providing support have at least the essential qualifications and experience required to undertake their role and undergo a detailed induction period including observation of their practice and ongoing personal development
• The SEND team oversee the student’s application and transition programme to the College and identify where there may be a situation where we need to train staff to accommodate specific requirements e.g. epilepsy awareness, anaphylactic shock/EpiPen instruction. Training will be completed prior to entry. Where there is insufficient time, the enrolment may be deferred until this has been completed and the appropriately trained support is in place
• The College has a team of trained First Aiders
• All College staff (including volunteers) complete Safeguarding and Prevent training every year which is overseen by the Designated Senior Person for Safeguarding
• Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) coordinator and specialist are qualified at Post Graduate Level (L7 Exam Access Arrangements Assessors)
• Qualified Irlen Screener who can assess for Irlen Syndrome to identify causes of reading/processing/concentration problems
• The College successfully renewed its Investors in People award and Matrix Award in 2018

• The majority of the College’s buildings are fully accessible and we continue to work at improving our facilities to make them as user-friendly as possible
• The main entrances to the central buildings have automatic doors
• A number of dedicated accessible parking bays are provided
• Each building has lift access
• All of our buildings at Skipton sites have fully accessible toilets, including a Changing Places facility with hoist and changing table available in the Pen-y-ghent building at Aireville Campus
• In summer of 2015 the Student Services area was totally refurbished and now provides an accessible suite of rooms which are used for appointments with students such as counselling, welfare, specialist support, learning resource centre, careers zone and café
• The College has a wide range of Assistive Technology equipment and is able to provide software solutions which will help students with their academic studies such as Read & Write Gold
• The Learning Resource Centre (LRC) offers the facility to reserve PCs. The LRC caters for a range of needs by offering spaces for individual and group working, as well as silent study space

In addition to the transition activities in schools, the College and SEND team provides:

• Taster Days
• Open/Advice Evenings
• Attending Year 10/Year 11 reviews within a school
• Familiarisation visits
• Set SEND transition dates throughout the year
• Tours of the campus/curriculum area
• Individualised parent and student transition meetings
• Taster sessions within curriculum areas
• Introduction to SEN support staff
• Enrolment support
• SEND staff visits to existing provision

Tutors and Progress Coaches will support students with SEND to explore their progression routes. In many cases students who access the Pathways and Gateway discrete provision do progress onto mainstream programmes – see College prospectus/website for details of current study programmes.

Employability and progression feature strongly, not just in the curriculum, but also as part of tutorials. Topics such as how to gain an Apprenticeship, researching Higher Education, living away from home, securing full-time employment, interview techniques and preparing a CV are all delivered as part of this entitlement.

Our Careers Team offer specialist and impartial support for all of our existing students. Situated in the Careers Zone, students have access to specialist staff, together with online and paper-based resources. Accessed via drop-in or appointments, support is specific to the needs of the students, and always geared towards progression and employability. SEND students can get one to one support from well qualified and experienced staff, benefiting from interview practice, CV and personal statement writing, job search skills and assessments. SEND students and their parents or carers can meet with our qualified Careers Advisers to help them make decisions about their next course option or their transition into the working world at any point in the academic year. Our Careers Advisers also often take part in EHCP review meetings.