Newman College’s Local Offer
The Inclusion zone is both the pride and the heart of our college. It truly reflects the dignity & excellence
that is our mission, where the most impressive young people work together with the most talented and
committed staff who support learning and guide them in dealing with the challenges they face.
Mr Mike McGhee (Head Teacher)
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What is Our Mission?
To promote dignity and excellence! Blessed John Henry Newman RC College is an inclusive community
which aims to endorse mutual respect and understanding and an effective education for all its pupils. The
Newman College believes that all children and young people should be equally valued and therefore we
will do all we can do to promote equality of opportunity and outcomes and to help develop a learning
environment where all children and young people can flourish and feel safe.
All young people should have access to a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum, with teaching and
learning strategies that maximise achievement and prevent underachievement by removing barriers to
learning and providing access to a wide range of learning experiences and challenges.
SEND pupils are given equal opportunities to their peers to fulfil their academic and personal potential and
also to ensure they are helped to feel valuable and important members of the wider College community.
What Are Our Aims?
1. To ensure that all SEND pupils enjoy and succeed during their time at Newman
2. To ensure that the necessary provision is made for any pupil who has SEND
3. To ensure that provision for SEND pupils is specific, appropriate and measurable for impact
4. To ensure that all staff are aware of the importance of identifying and making provision for pupils
identified as SEND
5. To ensure that parents are notified of a decision by the college that SEND provision is being made for
their child
6. Ensure that all support services which are available from relevant external agencies including the
local authority and local health trust are deployed and managed effectively
7. Provide specialist equipment and assistive technology when necessary
8. Provide a continuing programme of staff development
9. Have regard to the SEN Code of Practice when carrying out its duties toward all pupils with SEND
10. Ensure that all support services which are available from relevant external agencies including the
local authority and local health trust are deployed and managed effectively
11. Help, guide and support pupils with SEMH to work to improve their behaviour
12. To ensure disabled pupils feel part of our inclusive school community and to ensure our school is
disable friendly where all pupils can access all areas of the school
Who is in the SEND team?
Mrs Kate Diveney- Assistant Head for Behaviour and Safety
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Oversees the Inclusion Zone
Mrs Paula Jackson – SENCO
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Supports and advises colleagues
Holds CPD sessions on specific SEND needs
Completes all SAMP applications
Acts as a link with external agencies and other support agencies;
Holds the Annual reviews for Statement pupils
Jenny Armfield - Higher Level Teaching Assistant
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Co-ordinates the provision for all SEND pupils
Manages and updates the records of all learners with special educational needs;
Monitors and evaluates the special educational needs & disability provision and reports to the
SENCO for re-evaluation
Holds personal centred reviews for SEND pupils
Mrs Jess O’Neil- Higher Level Teaching Assistant
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Maintains the academy provision map;
Manages timetables of Teaching Assistants
Line-manages the Teaching Assistants and liaises with the SENCO for re-evaluation
Arranges withdrawals
Ensures pupils gain the appropriate access arrangements for their exams
Moria Harwood Specialist Assessor
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Assess pupils using LASS and EXACT programmes
Determines whether or not special exam arrangements are need for a pupil
Assesses whether or not pupils display dyslexic tendencies
Liaises with the exams officer to ensure the appropriate arrangements are made
Literacy Teaching Assistant
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Provide 1-1 support when necessary
Provide advice for classroom practitioners
Encourage independence
Small group intervention
Twenty Two Teaching Assistants
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May of our teaching assistants have specialised in specific SEN needs and run small group interventions
Support pupils in a classroom setting
Provide 1-1 support when necessary
Provide pupils with the opportunity to engage in lessons
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Provide advice for classroom practitioners
Encourage independence
Collaborate with teachers where possible
What are the waves of intervention?
The College will provide for the SEND needs of pupils through wave 1, wave 2 and wave 3 interventions as
follows:
Wave 1 – Quality First Teaching. The individual needs of all pupils are provided for in the classroom
through high quality, differentiated and personalised provision. IEPs for SEND pupils must be consulted and
strategies incorporated into differentiation and provision for SEND pupils in the classroom. Any relevant TA
supporting should be fully consulted in lesson planning.
Wave 2 – Targeted small group interventions. Wave 2 interventions are short term programs delivered by
a TA or teacher that addresses the specific needs or pupils enabling them to make accelerated progress.
Wave 3 – Wave 3 interventions are for pupils for whom quality first teaching and wave 2 interventions are
not enough to enable them to make progress. Wave 3 interventions are more intensive programs involving
more one to one and specialist provision.
What interventions do we offer?
Every child is unique: suitable provision for one pupil will not necessarily be appropriate for
another pupil. That is why we treat every child as an individual.
The provision we offer changes all the time but below are a list of provisions we currently
have on offer:
Lego Therapy: LEGO Therapy falls within the broad class of “Play Therapy”, where children can learn to
communicate with others, express feelings, modify behaviour, develop problem-solving skills, and learn a
variety of ways of relating to others.
Play therapy differs from regular play in that the therapist helps children to address and resolve their own
problems, and builds on the natural way that children learn about themselves and their relationships in the
world around them.
Literacy Group: The aim of these sessions is to improve pupils reading abilities, reading comprehension and
reading confidence. The sessions are delivered to small groups of pupils using various well-established
‘guided reading’ and ‘reading development’ programmes, developing essential literacy skills.
Short Fuse: A Cognitive Behavioural Therapy based programme for young people experiencing difficulties
with anger – this group will explore the harmful effects of anger, and how thoughts can influence
emotions. Pupils will also learn how they can change their reactions to events by changing their thinking.
Numeracy Group: Using various numeracy toolkits, pupils will learn and practice the basic maths skills they
will need in order to access their mainstream lessons. The content of these sessions can be designed in
response to the pupil’s particular need/area for improvement.
Social Stories: Social stories are a method used to teach or reinforce social and daily skills to pupils who
lack social understanding. They help to improve social interaction, communication, thought and behaviour.
A variety of topics are covered which also helps pupils to focus on self-awareness and self-knowledge.
Social stories can be delivered either in a 1:1 setting or to a small group.
Let’s Move: Designed for pupils experiencing difficulties with fine and gross motor skills, this programme
offers fun techniques and activities to improve dexterity, hand-eye coordination, visual perception, and
increase confidence.
Brain Gym: Brain Gym activities can improve stability, mobility, and/or sensorimotor coordination. In turn,
these motor skills support ease of learning. The programme develops eye teaming, hand-eye coordination,
and whole-body flexibility, and stimulates the brain for optimal storage and retrieval of information.
Let’s talk: Pupils experiencing Speech, Language and Communication difficulties can access activities to
develop skills in listening, expressing and questioning, and social communication. Sessions aim to build on
pupils’ confidence and motivation.
Let’s Lunch: A lunch club in the Inclusion Zone. Pupils can come and eat their dinner in the Inclusion Zone if
they so wish.
The Creative Reading Programme: This is a programme for pupils who are working under Level three. It is a
very specific programme that is designed to improves pupils’ reading skills.
Life Skills: Pupils in this group will learn to understand themselves, others, and the world they live in. They
will complete individual and group challenges in areas such as money matters, environment, feelings and
cultural awareness, and will receive an ASDAN certificate at the end of the course.
Nurture Group: Pupils who have feelings of low self-esteem and who are maybe struggling to deal with
their own emotions and anxieties can join in ‘circle time’ activities to explore their own feelings and those
of others, and to learn ways to cope with those feelings.
Drama Therapy: Using drama as a therapeutic measure, pupils develop social and team building skills, and
increase self- and peer-awareness, helping them to gain confidence through collaborative activities.
Social Skills: These sessions are mainly aimed at our ASD pupils and will help them to make sense of day to
day social situations and help them to understand better ways to respond to and communicate with the
people around them.
Circle of Friends: Circle of friends is a very useful strategy for helping our ASD pupils to learn to build
relationships with peers and to problem solve during social situations.
Assessment preparation/study skills: Many pupils experience anxiety and stress when assessments loom,
these sessions aim to help pupils take control and prepare themselves – includes tips on controlling anxiety
and on ways to revise and retain information.
Dyslexia support: Specific programme to support pupils with dyslexia and develop their confidence.
Learning Mentor support 1:1 focused work to help pupils with behaviour, motivation, attendance and selfesteem.
Counselling: Person centred professional counsellor, aimed towards those pupils suffering a close
bereavement, significant trauma and severe difficulties.
Curriculum Support: Working on classwork set by the pupils teacher in a smaller setting of 6 pupils per
group, supervised and supported.
1:1 Volunteer support: We have a small number of volunteers who will help pupils by providing one to one
support to complete work and to offer some emotional support.
EAL support: Various services including induction programmes and specialist assessments for new arrivals,
regular progress reviews, ESOL qualifications for early stage learners, support for teachers with
differentiation/adaptation of resources, homework support clubs, home visits, social integration support,
family support, pupil mentoring and cultural support.
What if the internal support we offer isn’t appropriate for your child? Who
else do we work with?
 We liaise with an Educational Psychologist who comes into the school to assess pupils we
believe are struggling to access provision made by the school.
 We also have councillors who come into our school to work with our more vulnerable pupils.
 We work with the Additional and Complex Needs team in Oldham (ACNS). ACNS who provides a
comprehensive and integrated approach to supporting educational settings in working with
children and young people. It is made up of a number of different but complimentary
professionals who work with children, staff and parents /carers to improve outcomes
for children and young people. The following teams make up ACNS: Counselling Service,
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Educational and Child Psychology; Hearing Impairment Service; Visual/Physical Impairment;
Quality and Effectiveness Support Team (QEST).
Oldham Speech & Language Therapy Service
The School Nurse
The Safeguarding Team at Oldham Childrens Services;
Child Adolescent and Mental Health Service (CAHMS).
Social workers
Attendance officers
Young Carers
Positive steps
Connexions
How do we involve you as the parent?
KATE I CAN’T THINK WHAT TO PUT HERE!!!
What have Ofsted said about our Inclusion Zone?
‘Teaching assistants are deployed well to support the learning of relevant individuals and smaller groups
including disabled students and those with special educational needs.’
‘Students enjoy their school…they speak highly of the adults who work them and say, ‘We are proud of our
school and our headteacher and other staff are proud of us too!’
‘Most parents who responded to the online questionnaire and all who met inspectors during the two days
believe their children are safe and happy in school. As one parent commented, ‘The students here are
known as individuals.’
Views from our Ofsted Report (2014)