The Westgate School

Local Offer

At The Westgate School we are committed to giving all of our students every opportunity to:

  • achieve the highest of standards
  • become #equippedforlife

by taking account of students’ varied life experiences and needs.

We offer a broad and balanced curriculum and have high expectations for all children, reminding them that ‘better never stops’.

We strive to be a fully inclusive school, and actively seek to remove the barriers to learning and participation that can hinder or exclude students. The achievements, attitudes and wellbeing of all our students matter.

The Westgate school has a resource base for those with a physical impairment. Students in the resource base have provision for physiotherapy plans and personal care as outlined in their EHCP. All students with a EHCP are part of the mainstream school and follow a mainstream timetable like all their peers. Intervention takes place during tutor time only as we do not remove students from their lessons and instead put shared LSA support into lessons. 

Who to contact

Contact name
Mr Jon Gargan
Contact position
Head teacher
Telephone
01753 521320 01753 521320
E-mail
secretary@westgate.slough.sch.uk
Website
Westgate School
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Where to go

Name
The Westgate School
Address
Cippenham Lane
Cippenham
Slough
Berkshire
Postcode

SL1 5AH

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Local Offer

Description

Children are identified as having SEND when they have:

  • a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children the same age
  • a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of education facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in schools within the area of the Local Authority (SEND Regulations 2014). 

At Westgate School we support children with a range of difficulties including:

  • communication and interaction
  • cognition and learning
  • social, emotional and mental health difficulties 
  • sensory or physical difficulties.

All students are taught in mainstream classes. We add support into classes rather than removing students from lessons. The support we offer is shared support. 

We also have a Resource Base which is capable of supporting 15 students with physical needs who have an Education Health Care Plan and who are on Band 3 funding or higher.

These students are fully integrated into all aspects of the school. The site is fully wheelchair accessible and students are taught in mixed ability groups with class sizes of 30 students on average.

Contact name
Mrs Shriya Chopra
Contact telephone
01753 521320
Contact email
shs@westgate.slough.sch.uk
Local Offer age bands
Secondary (11-16 years)
Transitions to Adulthood (16+)

Schools extended Local Offer response

Special Educational Needs policy
Teaching and learning

We pride ourselves in giving students opportunities to allow them to become #equippedforlife.

We:

  • provide tailored support for each child depending on their needs and abilities.
  • believe that students in a mainstream school should be taught with their peers, therefore we avoid removing students from lessons for support, but instead we opt to put extra staff into classrooms if necessary.

The Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) can assist with everything from:

  • supporting a student to get from one lesson to the next and
  • breaking-down instructions

to:

  • allowing the child to succeed and helping students to settle down and
  • organise their equipment and record homework. 

All teachers are able to cater for a wide range of needs within their lessons through Quality First Teaching (QFT) and can carefully differentiate work to allow all students to reach their potential.

Where additional support or specialist differentiation or adaptation is needed, the SENDCo or LSAs can adapt work for the class teacher.

The SEND team work closely with teachers, students and external specialists to ensure work is accessible; particularly where students have sensory or physical needs which might otherwise restrict their ability to access the curriculum. 

The school learning environment is fully accessible for all students. The school site is fully wheelchair accessible, with the exception of the school gym.

We offer break and lunch time support for Physically Impaired (PI) students who may need additional support during unstructured free-time.

Other students are welcome to join this provision if they need a quiet place to go during unstructured times but the safety of our PI students is a priority. 

For more information, check Westgate School accessibility plan.

Identifying and assessing Special Educational Needs

When your child first joins Westgate School, we use information from a range of sources to help identify SEND and other needs. These include information from:

  • parents/carers
  • primary school teachers
  • end of key stage 2 levels
  • base line testing
  • reading age tests
  • application form information
  • subject teachers
  • specialist colleagues and external agencies. 

We liaise closely with Primary Schools prior to transition and students are given several opportunities to come to Westgate before starting school in September.

The school can be viewed at any time by arranging a mutually convenient appointment. We are always eager to be given the opportunity to show off our school and we encourage prospective parents and students to contact us if they would like to arrange a visit.

Our class teachers, Curriculum Leaders and Directors of Learning closely monitor the progress and attainment of all students, including those who have, or may have, SEND. The continuous monitoring of students during their time with us will further identify pupils with a special educational need. This identification may come from:

  • tutors
  • subject teachers
  • support colleagues
  • Directors of Learning
  • outside agencies
  • parents/carers or the pupils themselves.

We follow a staged and graduated approach to identifying and assessing needs, using the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ model. 

If a child still does not make the expected progress, underpinned by evidence and despite receiving differentiated learning opportunities, parents will be informed and further investigations will be carried out.

All students with SEND are on the SEND register which is accessible to all staff. Staff use this information to inform their lesson planning, teaching and student learning activities. Targeted interventions are planned and delivered where appropriate and this may include small group or individual work across a broad range of activities. 

Following the teacher’s review of progress, if there are still concerns then parents will be consulted to allow them to be fully involved in the process.

If additional support is needed the school may request for external agencies to become involved. Parents are always asked for their consent if the school feels a student would benefit from additional support. 

Involving parents and children/young people in planning and reviewing progress

We need you to support us and your child by encouraging them to fully engage with their learning and any interventions offered by: 

  • helping them to be organised for their day (including bringing the right equipment and books)
  • full attendance and good punctuality
  • completion of homework
  • checking and signing planner
  • attending parents’ meetings
  • attending any meetings specifically arranged for your child.

We will support you through regular communication, and all students with an EHCP will also have a named LSA buddy who will work with your child and liaise with you regularly.

Students are encouraged to:

  • take part in pupil voice activities
  • regularly evaluate their work in lessons
  • attend review meetings
  • contribute to target setting and reviewing
  • reflect on their learning and achievements by completing documents with their buddy prior to reviews. 
Additional support

As a school we can access a range of services including Visual and Hearing Impaired Team and Disability Team.

These services are contacted when necessary and appropriate, according to your child’s needs. If you believe your child needs specialist equipment, or other facilities, please contact Mrs Chopra or discuss the issue at the next review/parents evening.  

The school works closely with Slough Borough Council and as a school we can access a range of services including:

  • Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
  • social care
  • school nurse service
  • educational psychology service
  • careers advice
  • speech and language service
  • occupational therapy
  • physiotherapy service.

These services are contacted when necessary, according to your child’s needs. 

If you believe your child needs support from a specialist, please contact Mrs Chopra or discuss your concerns at the next review/parents evening. 

Extra activities

Students are taught in mixed-ability groups. This allows students with SEND to integrate fully with their peers. The culture of the school means that all students are very supportive of each other.

The school has a specially designed minibus with a tail-lift to allow students with Physical Impairments to attend school trips and excursions.

We carry out thorough health and safety checks on all venues to ensure they are appropriate for the needs of individual children and wherever possible we will try to ensure that students are fully included in the activities on offer.

We have several LSAs who are able to stay with students after school and we actively encourage students with SEND to attend extracurricular activities and excursions.

Meeting social and emotional needs of children/young people

Within school we are fortunate to have a wide range of staff who are able to support our students with their emotional and social development.

We have:

  • a dedicated pastoral department who are available throughout the day if a child has any worries or concerns
  • 2 school counsellors who work closely with students who may need additional support
  • LSAs who are trained to support children with social skills development.

All staff at Westgate use ‘Restorative Justice’ when discussing incidents that may have occurred during the day to help children understand the consequences of their decisions and the impact these decisions have on others.

Keeping up to date with knowledge and skills

All our staff attend regular training sessions on safeguarding.

There is a program of training sessions for all staff to make them aware of different SEND needs and strategies which can be used to support students.

Transitions

Parents and carers are welcome to contact the SENDCo at any time and many parents of children with statements/EHC Plans start to liaise from Year 5.

From Year 6 to 7.

  • Westgate staff visit primary schools to gather information.
  • Westgate staff visit key feeder schools to deliver interactive sessions and get to know pupils and invite primary schools into The Westgate to sample our exciting new Westgate 6 curriculum.
  • All Year 6 pupils attend a Transition Day early in July.
  • An information evening is held for parents.
  • An additional transition day is held for SEN pupils according to need.
  • All Year 7 have their first day at The Westgate School with Learning Leaders to further sample our innovative skills based curriculum and parents are invited in to see the results of the day's activities.
  • EHC Plan students have a named LSA buddy.

Year 9

  • Extensive work, led by the Senior Leadership Team, prepares all students for the Year 9 options.
  • SEN staff offer 1-1 guidance to SEN pupils and other targeted pupils.
  • The SENDCo attends  Year 9 Information evening to support parents and pupils.
  • Preparation for interviews and world of work are included in planning.

Year 11+

  • A variety of post 16 options are discussed with parents.
  • On-going support with college/university applications.
  • On-going support in finding apprenticeships.
  • Future planning as part of Annual Review.

Students receive individual careers interviews to help them plan for end of key stage transitions and transition to post-16 education. They are provided with support in lessons and in tutor time for CV writing and interview techniques.

We have close links with several businesses who will come in and work with students or invite them to their companies for workshops.

For students with SEND we prioritise their end of KS4 careers advice so that they are provided with early advice and support. Each child is provided with an action plan and this is regularly monitored throughout the year. 

Students with SEND are advised about appropriate post-16 courses and apprenticeship vacancies and we can arrange to transport children to local colleges for Open Days and to find out more information about the pathways which are available for them. 

Helpful contacts
  • Miss A. McCarthy - SEND Administrator 
  • Mrs S. Chopra - SENDCo




 

 

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Disclaimer

This information has been collected from third party providers. Slough Information and Services Guide and Slough Borough Council cannot accept responsibility for the accuracy of this information and recommend that parents, carers, young people, residents and professionals check with providers regarding DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service), OFSTED and CQC registrations.

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