Gateways is an inclusive school community that values all its pupils. We actively support our pupils to develop and to achieve their goals at a pace suited to their individual abilities.

Gateways welcomes pupils of all abilities and the school strives to provide a full and balanced curriculum for all its pupils in a professional and caring environment. Learning support is a valuable resource in meeting this provision. We believe that each pupil should be allowed to develop and to achieve their goals at a pace suited to the individual.

Aims

• To provide support from an early age allowing progress to be made so that each child is able to reach his/her full potential.
• To assess a pupil’s needs using diagnostic and standardised tests and, if necessary, refer to an educational psychologist for full assessment.
• To liaise closely with, and advise teachers on relevant and appropriate teaching strategies to meet the needs of all pupils.
• To ensure that pupils with learning difficulties are fully included and integrated into a broad and balanced curriculum; their needs are understood and their strengths valued.
• To offer programmes of support to reflect the individual’s learning profile.
• To equip our pupils with strategies for study to enable them to cope with the academic demands of the curriculum.
• To liaise closely with parents, offering them support and advice.

Support

We have two qualified Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCo), Mrs Susan Wilson (High School) and Mrs Samantha Dobson-Brear (Prep School) assisted by a team of experienced Learning Support assistants and tutors responsible for supporting the needs of pupils in all areas of the school.

Alongside our small class sizes and quality-first teaching, the Learning Support department provides the following:

• In-class support provided by Learning Support assistants working closely with the class teacher.
• Additional intervention led by Learning Support assistants, delivered in non-core lessons on an individual, pair or small group basis.
• High School learning support lunchtime club tailored to students’ needs. We offer support such as: touch typing, handwriting, social skills.
• Learning support rooms – quiet classroom environments where pupils receive out of class interventions and additional support throughout the day.
• Access arrangements for examinations/controlled assessments.
• English as an Additional Language (EAL) support to pupils where English is not their first language.

All continued learning support will incur an additional cost. At KS4, pupils can choose learning support as one of their timetabled options.