Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
Information Report
Welcome to the SEND Department
Marden Bridge Middle School caters for pupils ages nine to thirteen years. We are an inclusive school that works to provide an environment where all students, regardless of their abilities or challenges, feel welcomed, supported, and have equal access to learning.
Meet the team
Sarah Richardson is our qualified SENDCO (National Award for Special Education Coordinators, Northumbria University) and leader of the department. She is involved in daily decision making to support progress when barriers to learning occur. She is supported in her role by 11 SEND Support Assistants. Our SEND Support Assistants have a diversity of qualifications and extensive experience in supporting students both in lessons and in small groups or 1:1.
Within our team a range of experience, training and qualifications are held, including ASD, ADHD, Visual Impairment, Young Carers, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Thrive, Social and Emotional Mental Health and for Language and Communication learning difficulties. The SEN Department is also supported by our Wellbeing Coordinator and two Learning Mentors. Sarah is part of the senior leadership team and the designated Senior Mental Health Lead.
If you would like to talk to her, please email sendco@mbms.org.uk or phone the school office (0191 349 9538) to arrange a meeting.
SEND Support
Marden Bridge Middle School provides support for pupils within the four broad categories of need identified in the
SEND Code of Practice 2014
These are:
- Communication and Interaction needs
- Cognition and Learning needs
- Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs
- Sensory and/or physical needs.
Identifying if a pupil may have Special Education needs is done using a graduated approach.
We follow North Tyneside’s ‘graduated approach’ to meeting your child’s SEN needs. This takes the form of a four-part cycle through which earlier decisions and actions are revisited as a result of a growing understanding of the student’s needs and of what supports the student in achieving good outcomes. This four part cycle enables us to assess the student, plan how we will support, put the support in place and then review what has been done.
We will let families know about any concerns about a student’s learning by contacting the parent via the SENDCO (Mrs Richardson) or the Head of Year. This will be in the form of a phone call or email, which would be to invite parents / carers in for a meeting to discuss the progress of the student and the measures that could be taken to support the child.
The LA Local Offer
Local Authorities (LA) and schools are required to publish and keep under review information about services they expect to be available for children and young people with SEND aged 0-25.
The LA refer to this as the 'Local Offer’. The intention of the Local Offer is to improve choice and transparency for families. It is an important resource for parents in understanding the range of services and provision in the local area.
Provision
Provision at Marden Bridge Middle School for pupils with special educational needs will be met through Quality First Teaching (QFT). This refers to high-quality, inclusive teaching practices designed to meet the needs of all students, including those with Special Educational Needs (SEN). It focuses on delivering lessons that are accessible and engaging for every pupil, with particular attention to the diverse needs of SEN students.
As a part of the planning stage of the graduated approach, we will set outcomes that we want to see your child achieve. Whenever we run an intervention with your child, we will assess them before the intervention begins. This is known as a ‘baseline assessment’. We do this so we can see how much impact the intervention has on your child’s progress. We will track your child’s progress towards the outcomes we set over time and improve our offer as we learn what your child responds to best. This process will be continual. If the review shows a pupil has made progress, they may no longer need the additional provision made through SEN support. For others, the cycle will continue and the school's targets, strategies and provisions will be revisited and refined.
More information on the graduated approach; how we identify needs and how we measure the impact of targeted support can be found in our SEND Information Report
Room 23
The SEN support room is available for all pupils with Special Educational Needs during breaks and lunchtimes. Support is also available for pupils who need additional support for their social and emotional needs during breaks and lunchtimes. These give pupils the opportunity to discuss any concerns they may have, including bullying and friendship worries. Staff in school, and within the SEND department, build up strong working relationships with pupils and make themselves available for pupils who wish to share their views, concerns or needs.
Pupils with Special Educational Needs have the opportunity to take part in all of the extra curricular activities. If this requires support from staff, then this support is provided, including all educational visits.
Training & Resources
The areas in which some of the Special Educational Needs Staff are trained in are:
- Read Write Inc - Phonics, Fresh Start, Language, Literacy and Spelling
- Language and Communication difficulties
- ASD
- Behavioural, Emotional and Social difficulties
- ADHD
- Dyslexia
- Dyscalculia
- Moderate Learning Difficulties
- Attachment Disorder
- Auditory Processing difficulties
- Physical difficulties (motor skills and medical needs)
- Hearing impairment
- Self esteem
- Theraplay
- THRIVE
- Youth Mental Health First Aid
- Communicate and Regulate
- Lego Therapy
External Agencies and Experts
Sometimes we need extra help to offer our pupils the support they need. Whenever necessary we will work with external support services to meet the needs of our pupils with SEN and to support their families.
These could include:
- SEND Support Service
- Speech and Language Therapy - SaLT
- North Tyneside Educational Psychology Service – EP
- Language and Communication Team - LCT
- Occupational Therapy
- GPs or paediatricians
- School nurses – My School Health
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
- Social services
- Connect Mental Health Support Team (MHST)
- HIVE
- Visual and Hearing Impairment Team
- North Tyneside Dyslexia Referral Team - DRT
- Young Carers Service
- Primary Outreach Service (formally Silverdale)
- ACORNS - Domestic Abuse Outreach Service
Other agencies may be required as specific needs are identified.
North Tyneside’s approach to supporting Dyslexia
Please follow this link for more information: https://ntdyslexia.org.uk/
Social and Emotional Development
In December 2024 Marden Bridge Middle School was awarded the Carnegie Mental Health Award at Silver level for outstanding mental health and wellbeing provision.
The award acknowledges our whole school approach and dedicated pathway of support available to all pupils.
More information about this can be found in the Wellbeing Section
Parents and Carers
Parents of pupils with special educational needs are invited to parents’ evenings to discuss their child’s with subject teachers. This happens once per year. They are also invited as part of the transition process to plan for transition from Year 4 to Year 5 and 8 to 9 as pupils move on to high school.
Parents and carers are also able to collaborate on pupil support plans and these are reviewed with parents/carers through the SEND Department at the end of each term. This also gives parents the opportunity to share their views and opinions on Special Educational Needs And Disabilities policies and procedures, liaise with the staff who work with their children, look at the progress being made and raise any concerns they may have.
The SEN Department runs a number of events for parents of SEN children throughout the year. We are currently working in collaboration with the Parent Carers forum on providing support to parents who care for children with additional needs.
Parents and carers are also contacted and updated on progress via email and the messenger app Class Dojo
Complaints Procedure
The school’s complaints procedures are set out in the School Policies page. If you have any concerns about your child’s special educational needs and/or disability, their progress or the support you receive, we would ask that you come into school and discuss matters further with your child’s Head of Year and / or the Special Educational Needs Coordinator.
Although school complaints procedures are in place and can be accessed through our website we would always hope to resolve any issues or concerns informally by working in partnership with parents.
Parents can contact SENDIASS for impartial information, advice and support in relation to their child’s special educational need and / or disability
*North Tyneside’s Local Offer can be found on the North Tyneside Council website
