Broad areas of need
Education exists to give children and young people the knowledge and skills they need to grow into capable, healthy and contributing members of society. Whilst most students can access learning through high‑quality teaching, some have needs that are greater or more complex than those of their peers and therefore require additional support.
Under the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice (2015), a young person is considered to have a Special Educational Need when they “have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age” (DfE & DoH, 2015, p.16). This definition guides schools in identifying students who need provision beyond the universal offer.
The four broad areas of special educational needs set out in the SEND Code of Practice are communication and interaction (C&I), cognition and learning (C&L), social, emotional and mental health (SEMH), and sensory and/or physical needs (S/P) (DfE & DoH, 2015, p.85). These categories help schools understand the general nature of a student’s needs, but many young people present with difficulties that span more than one area. Each learner is unique and therefore a student’s primary area of need is identified as the category that best reflects their current, most significant challenges.
Communication and interaction (C&I) needs cover speech, language and communication difficulties. These may involve challenges with producing speech, expressing ideas, or understanding spoken language. Language underpins learning and social interaction so students with C&I needs may also struggle with the social use of language and may experience additional learning difficulties alongside their communication challenges.
Cognition and learning (C&L) refers to difficulties with understanding, retaining, or applying new learning. These needs may be identified as specific learning difficulties (SpLD), moderate learning difficulties (MLD), or, in the most complex cases, profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD).
Sensory and/or physical (S/P) needs include physical disabilities and sensory impairments, such as hearing impairment (HI) and visual impairment (VI). Students with these needs often require input from a range of specialist professionals to ensure their provision is well planned. While some may experience associated learning difficulties due to the additional challenges they face, others may have average or above‑average cognitive ability.
Social, emotional, and mental health difficulties (SEMH) – This an increasingly complex category is for students who have needs relating to their mental health, their social interactions and/or emotional regulation. We believe that all behaviours are communications. For some young people with SEMH difficulties, the nature of these difficulties could impact their learning and as such can present with additional learning difficulties.
A culture of inclusion at Burton Borough School
We take pride in fostering an inclusive learning environment where every student is ambitious and supported to reach their full potential. We understand that students are unique and are proud of our diverse and caring community. Some of our students may require extra support, and we are dedicated to delivering tailored assistance—timely, effective, and compassionate.
Every learner benefits from quality first teaching, with lessons thoughtfully designed and adapted to accommodate all our students’ educational needs. Our teachers continuously assess understanding and refine their methods to ensure optimal outcomes via adaptive teaching strategies. Our staff know our students well, that knowledge of who we work for is at the heart of our academy. For some students, their presenting needs may exceed those of their peers and require additional support to be met for them to flourish. At this point our student would be assessed and enter our Waved Support system.
We offer a waved model of support that allows fluid movement between waves as a students’ needs dictate at a given time. These waves range from wave 1 support, within the classroom, to wave 3 support, where external professionals are heavily involved. We are proud to be continually evolving the support that is offered to our young people as their presenting needs change. This process of assessing our students' strengths and needs, planning collaboratively based on the evidence collected, carrying out the plan and then reviewing the impact of these steps for our students is the vehicle that drives our ambitious SEND provision. This method is known as Assess Plan Do Review cycles (APDR).
Inclusion Waves of SEND Support
|
Wave One |
|
The first wave focuses on enabling subject specialists to deliver high‑quality, ambitious, teaching to all students, with adaptations that ensure every learner can access the curriculum with appropriate support and challenge. In so doing we increase understanding, celebrate strengths and promote a student's sense of belonging. This includes:
|
|
Wave Two |
|
Wave 2 is introduced when the approaches used in Wave 1 have not led to sufficient improvement or reduced the concerns identified. At this point, the Inclusion team meets with the family to review the student’s progress in detail and agree on the most appropriate next steps. This stage is designed to strengthen the young person’s skills, confidence, and independence through support that extends beyond what can be achieved through classroom adaptations alone. Provision at this level may involve targeted programmes delivered by the Inclusion team alongside the core curriculum, as well as additional in‑class adult support where this is considered beneficial. These interventions are tailored to the student’s individual needs and examples may include: Cognition and Learning – Lexonic Leap and Advanced Reading programme; Pre-teach core subjects; Vocabulary Boosters sessions; The comprehension box & Beat Dyslexia Communication and Interaction - SALT targeted interventions & Structured Lunch time clubs. Sensory and Physical - Assistive technology training sessions & Intervention time dedicated to work on task set by professionals such as occupational therapy, or the Sensory Inclusion Service. Social, Emotional Mental Health - Nurture sessions, Cooking therapy, Garden Mentoring and Talk about for Teenagers
Most students will have their needs met effectively within Wave 1 or Wave 2 and will be viewed as they progress through the school. Over time, this sustained provision typically enables gaps in learning to narrow and ensures that students remain well supported within the universal and targeted offer, allowing students to move from Wave 2, back to Wave 1 and in some cases then away for the need for additional support. A small number of pupils may present with needs that require the involvement of external professionals. In such cases, the SENDCo and the family meet to review the student’s profile, consider whether specialist input is appropriate, and, where agreed, prepare a referral to the relevant agency or service. This process ensures that any escalation of support is purposeful, evidence‑based, and aligned with the student’s best interests. |
|
Wave Three |
|
The third wave applies to students who require sustained, long‑term support due to a high level of SEND need. At this stage, families are fully involved in planning, and the SEND team coordinates access to external specialist services to ensure the student receives comprehensive, multi‑agency support. External professionals who may be involved include: • Our Councillor or Trust Mentor • Learning Support Advisory teachers (LSAT) • The Mental Health Support Team (MHST) • Sensory Inclusion Service (SIS) • Behaviour Support and Advisory teachers (BSAT) • Speech and Language Therapists (SALT) • Educational Psychologists (EP) • The school nursing team. • Occupational Therapist (OT) • Additional Medical professionals. • Alternative provision providers.
Together, with our students and their families we strive to enable our young people to become prosperous, fulfilled, healthy and happy members of our communities, and the wider world. |