| Castle Hill School |
Proposed Plan for Implementation
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| Castle Hill School |
Castle Hill School at present attracts LEA funding for a notional six pupils with emotional and behaviour problems. In the Ofsted inspection of December 1995, one of the key issues was to address the question of behaviour and its management. Subsequently, this has been a feature of the last two School Development Plans.
As part of addressing the issue of disruptive and disaffected pupils, the school has introduced a number of strategies as whole school initiatives. However, it would be true to say that the lead in these initiatives has been offered through the school's senior staff and the SEN co-ordinator on a voluntary basis.
Focus has been on :
To integrate and continue to develop the above initiatives over a period of twelve months with oversight from a named coordinator.
Programme
| Allocation of one responsibility point to the SEN co-ordinator for a period of 12 months (with on costs) | £ 2453 |
| Supply cover for three monitoring days by the SEN co-ordinator (one per term) | £ 360 |
| Supply cover for twelve days in providing individual counselling for two pupils (two per half-term) | £ 1440 |
| Resourcing | £ 257 |
| TOTAL | £ 4510 |
Castle Hill School is a special school for students aged 11-18 with a range of learning difficulties including several presenting emotional and behavioural difficulties. The GEST project offered an opportunity to continue and expand initiatives that were already in place, and funding was used largely to provide supply cover so that staff could develop and improve systems and also to buy appropriate curriculum resources, with the overall expectation that an appropriate curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties will reduce disaffection and disruption.
There have been two Project Directors. One with major responsibility until January, and a second person, with particular responsibility as SEN Co-ordinator, from January until July.
Major developments have taken place in terms of producing a staged procedure to coordinate overall provision. A colour-coded system has been introduced which begins with an early stage of "concern" and identification and permits monitoring of pupils who may be particularly vulnerable or needing care and attention as well as those who are disruptive. The Project Director believes that the system has raised staff awareness of the range of difficulties and the significance of managing EBD in the school. {This has also been given further status by establishing responsibility for EBD within the remit of the post of SENCO.)
New Incident Report forms have been introduced so that there is improved documentation available for both staff use and for external support professionals (e.g. an Educational Psychologist) which will therefore ensure more effective and efficient use of expertise in planning for meeting behavioural difficulties. There is better monitoring of individual problems in terms of nature, severity and frequency.
Reviews of Behaviour Plans take place termly and involve the SENCO {Project Director), the Deputy Headteacher and the school's Educational Psychologist. There is general agreement that aims 1 and 2 have been met.
The school already had a well-planned Behaviour Policy in place, and, as is possible within a school of this size, has a whole-staff approach to monitoring behaviour on a weekly basis (details available from the school). There are rewards available on a class basis (as well as for individual pupils). (Aims 1, 2 and 6 met)
The system could, she believes be further improved by placing more emphasis on the positive and rewards but the current policy does involve both rewards and sanctions.
There has been greater use made of informal counselling during the year than previously, and greater encouragement of home-school-links through home visiting. (Aims 3 and 8)
There were 3 inputs on Managing Pupils' Behaviour and the School's Behaviour Policy over the last year, as part of each of 3 days, although a whole day's Inset on disaffection was delayed. (Aims l, 2 and 6)
The Project Director has been involved not only in individual counselling, but in providing an environment within her room which can be used as a "safe place" for troubled students. This approach has been based on a need to attend to the emotional needs of children who may present anti-social, disruptive behaviours as well as those more popularly perceived as "troubled" as a result of withdrawn behaviours. Discussion of their problems with students, together with the "class-reward" system have encouraged pupils' ownership of the need to take responsibility for their behaviours and understand the changes which have been made in school policies and practices related to behaviour and discipline. (Aim 5)
The purchase of teaching materials, particularly those using a "games" approach and for literacy development has been based on the premise that access to learning and making learning fun (Stott, 1985) will prevent disaffection. The Project Director believes this has led to a reduced incidence in disruption, but of course, it would be difficult to isolate this as a variable. However, she can verify that many students have enjoyed lessons based on games. Using a similar curriculum-based approach, she has introduced the use of "Circle Time" (see, inter al, Moseley, 1995) which has also been shown to be successful in fostering pupils' self confidence, raising self esteem, encouraging respect for others' viewpoints and generally supporting communication and thinking skills. The approach (which is not new) is "community-centred" and can make an important contribution to cognitive, social and emotional development.
Commenting on the original aims and intended outcomes (which included the possibility of an alternative curriculum), the Project Director believes that most have been met. She believes that the school has
There is an acknowledged need to monitor over a 12 month period, the incidence, nature, severity and frequency of behaviour difficulties and exclusions.
It must also be acknowledged, as the Project Director did, that several of the pupils in this school have statements of SEN relating to EBD, and that in many (but not all) cases, the measures described are as applied to a population which presents, both in terms of SEN and size, a very different picture from a mainstream secondary school.
Nevertheless, there are many common aspects as can be seen - particularly:
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- all staff - pupils - parents - other professionals |
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