Learning Support

SENCO – Dawn Naylor

At the heart of Tadcaster Grammar School’s vision and values is a commitment to improve the lives of all students by helping them to become keen learners who aspire to achieve their best and are passionate about education, seeing learning as an exciting journey that they will continue throughout their life.

Tadcaster Grammar School is proud of its highly inclusive ethos and commitment to offer, with the compatible use of resources, an inclusive curriculum to ensure every student, irrespective of need, receives the best education and has high aspirations for their own future. Tadcaster Grammar School has been recognised for its ‘total commitment to being a truly inclusive school’ (Ofsted 2012) and for students with SEND, this is achieved through personalisation rather than normalisation; a relentless endeavour to challenge and remove barriers to learning.

We believe passionately in the limitless potential of all our students and we strive to ensure that every student, whatever his/her need, is successful in achieving their own personal goals through appropriate personalised support and intervention. Indeed, in an Ofsted visit (March 2017),  it was noted that ‘pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are making good progress because work is appropriate and specialist teaching assistants support their achievement.’

The well-being, personal development, progress and success of every child at Tadcaster Grammar School is of the greatest importance and this requires:

  • A child centred approach – the students to be at the centre of initiatives to improve attainment and progression;
  • An environment where staff can collaborate and develop professionally to improve the quality of provision;
  • The open exchange of information and the sharing of expertise.

Our aim is to improve inclusion by continuing the education of the most vulnerable students at times when they would otherwise be failing to learn. With our unified approach, we hope to provide the best possible outcomes for our students. We value and encourage the involvement of parents in their child’s education. By working together we will achieve success.

The Learning Support Team

SENCO – Dawn Naylor – d.naylor@tgs.starmt.uk

Assistant SENCO – John Fox

Assistant Headteacher for Vulnerable Learners – Melanie Carroll

The Learning Support Team work and support across the school. Working closely with the SENCO and Assistant SENCO is a Student Development Centre Manager, Learning Support Consultant, English and Reading Intervention Teacher; Maths and Adult Numeracy Teacher; Teacher of Autism; Coordinator for Vocational and Personalised Learning and SEN Administrator.

TGS also prides itself on its dedicated team of teaching assistants who specialise in a focused area of provision: our Student Development Centre and Autism Teams, work from their respective bases as well as supporting across the curriculum; the Literacy and Numeracy Teams work in close partnership with our English and Maths Teams.

Facilities

The Student Development Centre is situated in the main school and is complemented by ‘The Stables’, a base for students with ASC and communication needs, offering provision for students who require a bespoke package of learning and pastoral support. Their purpose is to improve inclusion by continuing the education of the most vulnerable students at times when they would otherwise be failing to learn. They also offer a base where students with additional needs may receive intervention to better develop learning strategies and make progress.

What do we offer?

  • Quiet learning environments for students who require additional support with their learning and alternative learning pathways.
  • Resources for students who may, for a period of time, need support.
  • Secure bases for students who need extra support in an alternative space to the classroom.
  • Programmes which develop social and emotional skills; facilitating students’ holistic development, enhancing student motivation, self-expectations and high achievement.
  • Support and encouragement for students so that they feel able to attend their lessons and participate fully in school life.
  • Physical, medical and sensory support, working closely with outside agencies to ensure all students receive the highest standard of care within school.
  • For students who need a more bespoke curriculum, we offer AQA Unit awards.