If your child is new to Brimsham Green information regarding their prior learning, attainment and additional needs will be passed on by the previous school and/or Local Authority. Within school, students are regularly assessed and monitored by classroom teachers and concerns may be flagged by any member of staff, parent/carer of the student themselves.

Information about individual learning needs is shared with staff via the school’s secure information system (SIMS) and through Pupil Portraits, which also provide strategies for supporting your child with their learning and social behaviour.

High quality planning and teaching encompasses all needs and ability levels. The Supportive Education Team works within all curriculum areas to ensure that more bespoke packages of support are provided when appropriate. Brimsham Green School is committed to inclusion and all of our students have access to the full curriculum. However, for those with the most complex level of need, a more bespoke curriculum can be discussed with the SENCO.

All classroom teachers are responsible for the monitoring and assessment of their students, which are formally recorded three time a year. Formative and summative assessment takes place every three weeks.

Regular assessment points throughout the year provide you with formal data reports, which you will be able to discuss in greater detail with teaching staff during the regular Parents Evenings. If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan then you will be invited to three additional meetings with your child’s key worker.

Brimsham Green School is known for its outstanding pastoral care. The students and their parents or carers are central to this process. The Supportive Education department works closely with tutors, student support coordinators and heads of year to ensure our students wellbeing. Students with an ECHP also have a key worker who is responsible for monitoring their progress and keeping in close contact with the students and their parents/carers.

The school employs a behaviour support coordinator and counsellors for students who benefit from more specialised support. In addition to our own skills of expertise, staff at Brimsham work in close collaboration with a range of experts from outside agencies, such as Educational Psychologists, medical professionals and colleagues from Social Care.

A timetabled programme of SEND training is incorporated into the general staff professional development programme and this includes supporting students with physical needs, visual impairment, autistic spectrum, ADHD, PDA, hearing impairment, augmentative and alternative communication, dyslexia training, manual handling, epipen training, gastro tube feeding, catheterisation, Makaton, cough assist, convene training, epilepsy training.  Additional training is provided to meet a student's specific needs.

A number of enrichment activities take place at lunchtime and after school which are accessible to all students. The supportive education department also runs activities for SEND students including Table-Top Cricket, Boccia and Athletics through our link to YOSC. 

Brimsham Green School is wheelchair accessible and complies with the disability regulations. Buildings are single story with the exception of one building which has a lift. All buildings are accessible through electric doors. Classrooms are fitted with specialist equipment such as height adjustable tables, work benches and accessible ovens and sinks. All equipment, in practical lessons, is adapted for access for students with a physical disability. The provision is regularly reviewed by the Occupational Therapist. There are adapted tables, within the canteen, to allow students with SEND to eat alongside their peers.

Staff work with Year 6 teachers and SENCO’S, students and you, the parent/carer, to ensure that your child is ready for the transition to secondary school. A programme of transition visits can be arranged and students have a number of opportunities to find the answers to their questions before arriving in September.

Transition from one phase to another will always be carefully planned and discussed with parents. Information is shared via the school website and newsletter and additional Parent Information Evenings provide opportunities for you to find out about the move to GCSE or Post 16. In years 9 and 11, students will be offered support through 1:1 meetings with key staff.

For students with ECHPs, the year 11 annual review meeting is an opportunity to consider all the options available for post 16. For some students this will mean a transition to a local college, whilst others will be best served by the courses available at Brimsham Green and the Cotswold link post 16 provision. At this review plans will be made for adjusting the provision to reflect the student’s changing needs. Year 11 annual review meetings take place in term 2, in order to ensure that the move to college is given appropriate planning time.

Brimsham Green School nurtures the limitless potential of all learners, inspiring students and staff to excel. We have access to a wide range of strategies and resources for supporting students. Support is provided. To develop core skills and build learner confidence. We want our students to leave Brimsham Green with the skills they need to be independent in their community.

All students at Brimsham Green School are subject to the same assessments and granted the same opportunities for development and support. However, some students will not make the same progress and this may be flagged as a concern by parents/carers, teachers, support staff or the students themselves.

As an inclusive school, parents of all children are encouraged to be involved in the Brimsham Green School community. The school endeavours to ensure that all community events and extra-curricular activities are accessible and therefore we make no distinction between groups of parents/carers. Opportunities to become involved with the school governing body and or parent focus groups are advertised through the school newsletter and the website.