The SEN Department at Beaufort has a team of 3 SEN teachers and 22 Teaching Assistants led by the SENCO, Mrs. Price. Our experience and expertise means we provide excellent provision for pupils with a wide range of special educational needs.

We are committed to ensuring that pupils with SEN are supported in reaching their potential.

We understand that the transition to secondary school can be an anxious time for SEN pupils and their parents, so our liaison with SENCOs in all our feeder primary schools in the summer term enables us to understand pupils’ difficulties prior to entry and plan effectively for their needs. We attend Year 6 Annual Reviews for statemented pupils so that appropriate provision is put in place.

Pupils who join us in Year 7 with significant learning difficulties have the opportunity to join the Transition Group. Pupils in the group are taught by the Deputy SENCO, Miss Snell, for History, Geography, RE and French lessons so that more of an emphasis can be placed on basic literacy skills. An additional benefit is that by having several lessons in the same, familiar environment with the same teacher there is greater continuity between primary and secondary school for those pupils who may find the Key Stage 3 curriculum a little overwhelming.  Pupils who make good progress are moved back into the mainstream lessons when the time is right for them.

SEN pupils at Beaufort are included in mainstream lessons as much as possible and there is lots of support available from Teaching Assistants in the classroom. However, for pupils who require more specific support with their difficulties there are opportunities for pupils in Year 8 and Year 9 to be extracted from French to work in a small group on Literacy and Numeracy. We also run Social Skills groups for pupils across all year groups.

At Key Stage 4 pupils with SEN can choose to follow our Education for Life course, which leads to a BTEC Entry Level Certificate. We have excellent links with Connexions, GLOSCOL and other local colleges, ensuring that SEN pupils at Beaufort are able to successfully move onto the post-16 pathway that is right for them.