SEND
SEND at The Mandeville School
Inclusive Curriculum in Action
At The Mandeville School, we believe that every learner should feel empowered, every need should be understood and every success should be recognised and celebrated. Our SEND provision is rooted in this belief and embedded within our curriculum, our teaching and our culture.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities are not separate from great teaching. They are part of our daily classroom practice. We combine high quality adaptive teaching, targeted intervention and specialist support to ensure that all students can access an ambitious curriculum and prepare confidently for adulthood.
We are proud of the inclusive systems we have built. We are equally committed to continuing to refine and strengthen adaptive teaching across all subjects so that provision is consistent and impactful.
Our Vision and Inclusive Approach
Our intent is that students with SEND:
- Access a broad and ambitious curriculum
- Are supported without lowering expectations
- Develop independence and resilience
- Are well prepared for life beyond school
Inclusion at The Mandeville School means removing barriers, not reducing challenge. We focus on strengths, maintain high ambition and ensure that support promotes dignity and independence.
SEND sits within our whole school teaching and learning framework and is aligned to TMS CORE.
Quality First Teaching and the SEND Toolkit
The first response to need is always high-quality classroom teaching.
All teachers are responsible for meeting the needs of learners with SEND. Adaptive teaching is not an add on. It is part of everyday practice.
To support this, we have developed a SEND Toolkit which outlines practical strategies across the four areas of need:
- Cognition and Learning
- Communication and Interaction
- Social Emotional and Mental Health
- Sensory and Physical Needs
The toolkit provides graduated strategies that range from universal classroom adjustments to more targeted approaches. It supports staff in scaffolding learning, reducing cognitive overload, promoting regulation and ensuring accessibility without lowering ambition.
This is an area we continue to strengthen as we build staff confidence and consistency across departments.
The 5 Cs of SEND
Our 5 Cs framework ensures that inclusive practice is consistent across classrooms and aligned with our teaching principles.
Child Centred
We focus on strengths, understand individual barriers and promote independence.
Communication
We use clear explanations, check understanding and maintain respectful dialogue with students and families.
Consistency
We follow agreed strategies and routines so that students experience predictability and security.
Clarity
We make expectations, success criteria and support strategies explicit.
Collaboration
We work closely with families, staff and external professionals to secure the best outcomes.
The 5 Cs bring inclusive teaching to life in every lesson.
The SEND Learning Journey
Our SEND curriculum is designed with long term outcomes in mind.
At Key Stage 3, we prioritise:
- Transition support
- Literacy and numeracy development
- Communication skills
- Self-regulation and resilience
At Key Stage 4, we focus on:
- Accredited qualifications
- Vocational and alternative pathways where appropriate
- Employability skills
- Supported transition planning
Preparing for Adulthood is embedded throughout and includes:
- Employment and careers education
- Independent living skills
- Community inclusion and belonging
- Health and wellbeing
We want our students to leave us as confident, capable young people ready for their next stage.
Thrive Pathway
Supporting every student to thrive
The Thrive Pathway is a personalised Key Stage 4 curriculum at The Mandeville School designed for students who would benefit from additional opportunities to strengthen their literacy, numeracy and essential life skills alongside their wider curriculum.
Students are identified during Year 9 as part of the options process. Decisions are informed by a range of information, including reading ages, literacy needs, baseline Maths assessments and students’ individual learning needs.
Students following the Thrive Pathway take one fewer traditional GCSE option, allowing dedicated curriculum time for Functional Skills English, Functional Skills Maths and Life Skills.
Functional Skills English
Functional Skills English focuses on developing the practical literacy and communication skills students need for learning, employment and everyday life.
Students develop skills in areas including:
- Reading and comprehension
• Retrieving and interpreting information
• Functional reading and writing
• Sentence construction, spelling and punctuation
• Understanding written instructions and questions
• Speaking, listening and communication
Teaching is matched to students’ starting points, with progress assessed throughout the pathway.
Functional Skills Maths
Functional Skills Maths develops practical numeracy and problem solving skills that students can apply confidently in everyday situations.
Students develop skills including:
- Number and calculation
• Money and budgeting
• Time and timetables
• Measures
• Using a calculator effectively
• Interpreting charts, tables and data
• Applying Maths to real life problems
Learning is practical and purposeful, helping students understand how Maths is used beyond the classroom.
Life Skills and Preparing for Adulthood
Life Skills provides students with opportunities to develop the confidence, independence and practical skills they will need as they move towards adulthood.
Learning includes:
- Independent living skills
• Cooking and nutrition
• Money management
• Organisation and time management
• Emotional regulation and resilience
• Communication and teamwork
• Healthy lifestyles and wellbeing
• Careers and employability
• Community inclusion
• Personal independence
The curriculum is structured around the four Preparing for Adulthood areas: employment, independent living, community inclusion and health.
Measuring Progress
Progress within Thrive is carefully monitored. Students complete baseline assessments to establish their starting points, with English and Maths progress tracked against appropriate Functional Skills outcomes.
Progress in Life Skills is monitored through students’ developing independence, engagement, resilience, communication, organisation and employability skills.
Our Aim
The Thrive Pathway is ambitious for every student. Our aim is to ensure that students leave The Mandeville School with meaningful qualifications, stronger literacy and numeracy skills, increased confidence and independence, and the practical skills they need for their next steps in education, training, employment and adult life.
Glossary of Terms
ADHD – Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder
ADPR / APDR – Assess, Plan, Do, Review (Graduated Response Cycle)
AR - Annual Review
ASC – Autistic Spectrum Condition
ASD – Autism Spectrum Disorder (used interchangeably with ASC)
C&I – Communication and Interaction
C&L – Cognition and Learning
CAMHS – Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
CLA – Children Looked After (includes children in care)
EAL – English as an Additional Language
EBSNA – Emotionally Based School Non-Attendance
Ed Psych / EP – Educational Psychologist
EHCP / EHC Plan – Education, Health and Care Plan
HI - Hearing Impairment
IEP – Individual Education Plan
LA – Local Authority
LAC – Looked After Child (legacy term for CLA)
MLD – Moderate Learning Difficulties
OT – Occupational Therapy / Occupational Therapist
PD – Physical Disability
PfA – Preparing for Adulthood Framework
PP / PPG – Pupil Premium / Pupil Premium Grant
QFT – Quality First Teaching (Wave 1 universal classroom practice)
SALT / SaLT – Speech and Language Therapist / Speech and Language Therapy
SEMH – Social, Emotional and Mental Health
SEND – Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
SENDCo / SENCo – Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator
SEN Code – SEND Code of Practice (2015)
SEN Support (K) – Pupils receiving SEND support (without an EHCP)
SLCN – Speech, Language and Communication Needs
SpLD – Specific Learning Difficulties (e.g., Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia)
TA / LSA – Teaching Assistant / Learning Support Assistant
Thrive – Social and emotional wellbeing approach used for SEMH support
TMS Core – The Mandeville School’s Teaching & Learning Framework
VI – Visual Impairment
Wave 1 / 2 / 3 – Levels of graduated SEND provision: Universal, Targeted, Specialist
