Inscape House School

Schools Extended Local Offer Response

How does the setting/school/college know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs?

Before a pupil starts at Inscape House, the admissions team will assess the following: 

• Whether we have a space in an appropriate cohort  
• Assessing whether Autism is the student’s primary need 
• Meeting and talking with parents/carers and the pupil 
• Speaking to other professionals who work with the young person 
• A visit to the current education provision (if appropriate) 
• Looking at the student’s communication, sensory, social, behavioural, emotional and curriculum needs 

https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/inscape-house-school/our-admissions-process  

 

What happens when a new student starts? 

• An ‘Initial Placement Review’ is held within their first term.  
• This is an opportunity for the multi-disciplinary team, including parents, to identify progress, ask questions, identify what is working well and what could be working more effectively, set some actions and review levels of support.  
• Pupils are closely monitored; this will include termly pupil progress meetings with the multi-disciplinary team.  
• Reporting their progress towards EHCP outcomes. 
• All students will have a RAMP (Risk Assessment & Management Plan) to support staff to take a proactive approach.  
• We look at the holistic progress of each student. 

 

How do we keep in contact with parents/carers? 

We are conscious that many of our parents live a distance away from school and we maintain open communication in a format that suits each individual family. The class teacher would usually be your main point of contact. We may use one or more of the following: 

• Home-school diaries 
• Email 
• Group call  
• Phone calls  
• Face-to-face or virtual meetings 
• Parent Partnership Events (face-to-face and virtual) 
• Parent Partnership Facebook Page

How will early years setting/school/college staff support my child/young person?

At Inscape House School, no two learning programmes are the same, because no two learners are the same. We take a creative and personalised approach so that every student can learn at their level, in a way that suits their needs. 

 

From the curriculum to classroom design, we think about every detail to help our learners thrive. And we work with our students to be as flexible and responsive as possible. We know that small adjustments make a big difference. 

 

The class teacher has overall responsibility for the day-to-day wellbeing of the student in school. Class teachers plan and deliver appropriate learning opportunities for students and ensure that resources are in place to support the student to access the curriculum.  

   

How will the curriculum be matched to my child's/young person's needs?

https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/inscape-house-school/curriculum  

We have four different pathways at Inscape – Champions, Explorers, Adventurers and Pioneers. Each path provides a structure for our learners. 

From the moment you choose our school, we work with you to assess your child’s education, health and care needs. We’ll then get them started along the right pathway. As things change, your child might move between different pathways to suit their needs. 

How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support my child's/young person's learning?

All school staff have high expectations for their students. Short and medium term targets are set and monitoring takes place on a regular basis by all school staff who are well placed to identify areas of need and areas of progress. 

The class teacher and multi-disciplinary team take responsibility for:  

• Writing, monitoring and reporting on progress towards EHCP outcomes  
• Writing and contribution to education, therapy and end of year reports 
• Attending statutory Annual Reviews  
• Attending additional meetings with outside agencies    

What support will there be for my child's/young person's overall well being?

We know that students can flourish if their emotional wellbeing is supported effectively. 

  

• We use the Autism Education Trust (AET) framework to support students to develop their emotional understanding and self-awareness. 
• Social and emotional development forms an integral part of the school day.  
• Staff support students in managing their emotions and regulating their behaviour and use the zones of regulation to support this. 
• Staff also encourage students to develop and maintain positive relationships with peers and staff. 
• Students have scheduled PSHE lessons which seek to work on identified areas of need. 
• Each student has identified positive behaviour support practitioner. 
• Students can self-refer to our play therapist or school counsellor. 
• Staff can refer students to our play therapist or school counsellor. 
• The Assistant Head for Pastoral Care and Support has a mental health wellbeing tracker which closely monitors the pastoral support needs of each child. 

 

Any form of bullying is taken very seriously by the school. Many of our students will have experienced bullying in previous settings and is therefore a particularly important issue. Students are taught about tolerance of others, resilience and friendship skills, both in formal taught sessions and as part of their own individual programmes and targets. This is taught through embedding the AET framework into the curriculum. 

 

How are behavioural and safeguarding concerns dealt with? 

• All behavioural incidents are logged by staff. This is to help us build up a clear picture of potential triggers so that we can proactively seek to reduce further incidents/anxiety. 
• Any incident of bullying is logged, reported and dealt with swiftly in line with school policy.  
• All safeguarding concerns are logged by staff and are dealt with appropriately by our designated safeguarding leads

What specialist services and expertise are avaliable at or accessed by the setting/school/college?

We specialise in meeting the needs of students with a diagnosis of Autism. 

 

https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/inscape-house-school/our-approach - please take a look at the “What to expect” section. 

  

Our specialist staff team includes:  

• Specialist ASC teachers 
• Play therapist 
• Counsellor 
• Speech and Language Therapists 
• Occupational Therapists trained in sensory integration 
• Positive Behaviour Support Practitioners  
• Child Psychologist 

 

We also have close links with health professionals such as CAMHS, Social Care and Information, Advice and Support Service IASS (formally Parent Partnership).  

What training have the staff supporting children and young people with SEND had? Are any being trained currently?

All staff undertake The Together Trust’s induction programme, which is assessed against national standards, followed by an extensive programme of continuing professional development for all staff across the organisation with a mandatory programme of training refreshed on an annual basis.  

 

When staff start at Inscape House School, we provide school-based specific induction to ensure that students autism, sensory, behavioural, educational and social and emotional needs are met. 

 

Training content covers not only knowledge of autism but also the various methodologies we use in school such as: 

• Attention Autism  
• TEACCH  
• Sensory Integration  
• Social Stories 
• AAC 
• PECS 
• Speech & Language Therapy 
• PROACT SCIPr-UK®  

 

Some of our students have additional needs such as epilepsy, dyslexia, ADHD etc. Relevant staff are trained in the administration of medication, first aid, epilepsy awareness.  

 

Throughout the year there are training/awareness sessions which focus on a variety of relevant SEND issues.  

 

Some of our staff hold additional qualifications such as MA’s in Autism, PG Dip’s in SEN / Autism, Sleep Counselling, Intensive Interaction, Dyslexia, Reading Recovery, PROACT-SCIPr-UK® Principal Instructor, NPQH. 

 

The Continuing Professional Development of staff takes place and monitored throughout the year in the form of supervisions and appraisals. 

How will my child/young person be included in activities outside this classroom including school trips?

This is an important part of the way in which we support students to meet their EHCP outcomes. Trips and community access take many forms and may include: 

• Visits relating to educational topics 
• Bespoke 1:1 sessions in the community relating to AET targets 
• Sensory experiences 
• Reward trips 
• Travel Training 
• Work Experience 
• Health and Wellbeing e.g. swimming, rock climbing, boxing, badminton etc. 

 

As an inclusive school setting, we seek to ensure that all students, regardless of need, attend enrichment opportunities outside of the classroom. We work creatively and flexibly to make relevant adaptations to enable all students to attend.

How accessible is the setting/school/college enviroment?

Our school is fully DDA compliant.  

Due to some of the challenging behaviour that can be presented in school, we do not cater for non-ambulant students or those who are vulnerable physically. 

How will the setting/school/college prepare and support my child/young person to join the setting/school/college or the next stage of education and life?

When a student starts at Inscape, we undertake baseline assessments. To do this we incorporate a range of measures, including information from parents and carers, along with information about their previous education. We then gauge, record and report student development in a number of ways including: 

• Progress towards the achievement of individual targets 
• Progress against their starting  point 
• Progress towards nationally  recognised qualifications 

 

Our students vary considerably in their abilities and we seek to help everyone at Inscape achieve the highest level possible. Alongside celebrating educational success, we also recognise and celebrate personal achievements. 

 

We recognise the importance of providing our students, parents and guardians with access to careers information in preparation for future transitions. We also understand that it is essential to provide a range of events that will offer providers an opportunity to access the school to offer impartial careers advice to students and/or their parents. Inscape House School has been awarded the Fair Train Silver Quality Standard Award, which recognises an excellent provision for work experience. Please find further information about our careers programme on our website: https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/schools/about-us  

How are the setting's/school's/college's resources allocated and matched to children's/young people's special educational needs?

Autism is the primary need of all our students.  

Many of our students have co-occurring diagnoses or conditions. 

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child/young person will receive?

Before starting school with us, assessments are made based upon: 

• Paperwork received through the admissions process  
• Information in the EHCP  
• Liaising with relevant professionals, including those from the student’s previous education provision 
• Meeting with and observing the student in their previous education provision 
• Information and conversations with the student (if applicable) and parents/carers. 

 

We make an initial assessment as to the staffing level  and funding band required.  

The staffing level is dependant on funding from the local authority and is reviewed at both Initial Placement and Annual Reviews. 

 

Our therapy and curriculum offers are flexible and not funding related. Students may access different levels of support at different times based upon their most recent assessment of needs. 

How are parents involved in the setting/school/college? How can I be involved?

We are conscious that our families come from a wide geographic area and therefore try to be a flexible as possible.  

 

The class teacher would usually be your main point of contact. We may use one or more of the following: 

• Home-school diaries 
• Email 
• Group call  
• Phone calls  
• Face-to-face or virtual meetings 
• Parent Partnership Events (face-to-face and virtual) 
• Parent Partnership Facebook Page 
• Parents’ evenings 
• Options evenings 
• Initial Placement and Annual Reviews 
• Staff are always available by prior appointment.