Green Lane Community Special School

School Details

Green Lane Special School is in Woolston, Warrington. It is a Mixed school of Non Denominational religion.

All children in England between the ages of 5 and 16 years are entitled to a free place at a state school. Legally your child reaches compulsory school age at the beginning of the term following his/her fifth birthday. In Warrington, however, it is current policy to provide education from the beginning of the school year in which your child is 5 years old. This means that a school place will be available in the September following your child’s fourth birthday.  Mainstream state schools are funded by the Local Authority (LA), follow the National Curriculum and are regularly inspected by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).

This link http://www.greenlaneschool.co.uk/site will take you to the schools website.

Childcare provision related to this school

For information of possible childcare linked to this school please contact the Families Information Service, who can offer comprehensive up to date information on registered childcare in Warrington, including childminders, day nurseries, pre-schools, playgroups, out of school and holiday clubs, carer & toddler groups, leisure activities and much more.....

Other Useful contacts

Warrington School Admissions Team: 01925 446226 

Playability  01925 493838


http://www.education.gov.uk/

(Sections of this information is based on text kindly provided by the DCSF)

Who to contact

Contact Name
Paul King
Contact Position
Head Teacher
Telephone
01925 811617
Sixth Form telephone: 01925 811447
E-mail
greenlane_school@warrington.gov.uk
Website
Green Lane School

Where to go

Name
Green Lane Community Special School
Address
Woolston Learning Village
Holes Lane
Woolston
WARRINGTON
Cheshire
Postcode
WA1 4LS

Time / date details

When is it on
Approx 9am - 3.30pm Mon - Fri

Local Offer

Description

Green Lane School is a mixed, all-age (4-19) day specialist school for Cognition and Learning. Children/young people have complex learning difficulties and some have additional medical conditions.

School uses the communication method of MOON.

School offers needs leds services including Ophthalmic  clinic, dental services, and Pediatric Consultant monthly visits.

Contact Name
Paul King (Head Teacher)
Contact Telephone
01925 811617
Contact Email
greenlane_school@warrington.gov.uk
Local Offer Age Bands
11-16 - Secondary
5-11 - Primary

Schools Extended Local Offer Response

How does the setting/school/college know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs?

All children/young people who come to Green Lane School have a Statement of Special Educational Need (SEN) which in future years will be replaced by an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). The school does not have an admittance policy as in all children/young people are admitted by the Local Authority (LA). The school currently caters for 140 pupils (126 in the main school with an additional 14 pupils in the sixth form) funded by a 'planned place'  formula funding mechanism. Children/young people in the sixth form also receive higher needs funding grant. Children/young people join the school/college from across schools in Warrington with a very small number of children/young people coming from neighboring Local Authorities. These children/young people will have been assessed by an Educational Psychologist who would describe what an educational setting should be able to provide for that child/young person. A pupil panel from within the Local Authority would then make a decision as to the most appropriate provision  (school) for meeting those needs. Parents/carers and children/young people would be invited to look around the proposed setting (if they haven't already done so.) All of our children/young people are working at levels of attainment significantly lower than their peers within mainstream settings.  

Green Lane School was awarded specialist school status for Cognition and Learning in September 2010.  We are also an accredited school of the NAS.

How will early years setting/school/college staff support my child/young person?

When children/young people join Green Lane School they are placed either within the main body of the school, or, if their ASD is so significant, within one of our discrete ASD classes (we have a discrete ASD class within each key stage). Our staff are very experienced in meeting the needs of a wide range of learning difficulties. In the lower school children may be in classes that are 'vertically grouped' i.e. containing more than one national curriculum (NC) year group. Generally in upper school children are placed in national curriculum year groups e.g. year 7, year 8 etc.  Currently we have established two key stage groups, one at KS3 and the other KS4, for children/young people who have significantly more severe learning difficulties that their peers. These children/young people follow a very personalised curriculum that is lifeskills based. The ASD children/young people in the discrete provisions follow a curriculum that is heavily based on the SCERTS programme and encompasses the use of PECS, Makaton, TEAACH and other strategies. The majority of our children/young people follow an adapted curriculum that staff have worked on that seeks to meet the requirements of a National Curriculum with the requirements of the children.young people's individual needs. All classes are staffed by at least one teacher and teaching assistant (TA) for all lessons with some classes having additional staff dependent on pupil need.  Individual speech and language programmes are delivered by speech and language therapy teaching assistants to ensure all pupils have their own individual education and individual behaviour plan (where required.) These are shared with parents and reviewed termly.

How will the curriculum be matched to my child's/young person's needs?

Our staff have reviewed the National Curriculum and made amendments that we believe better meet the needs of our children/young people. We continue to follow the National Curriculum but it has been adapted to better meet the needs of our children/young people. In lower school are children are taught as a class for all subjects, following a Primary model. In upper school children/young people are grouped according to ability for Maths and English. They move as a class to different members of staff to receive their Science, ICT, PE, Art and Food Technology lessons. 

At KS4 children/young people begin a two year programme of awards, certificates and qualifications which are delivered at the levels the child/young person is working at. At present we deliver GCSE Maths for a small number of children/young people; GCSE Art for most children/young people; Entry Level qualifications in English, Maths, ICT and PE; Functional Skills in Maths, English and ICT and a range of ASDAN awards in Certificate in Personal Effectiveness (CoPE) and Personal and Social Development (PSD). 

As mentioned above, all our children/young people have Individual Education Plans and Individual Behaviour Plans. These very closely match the curriculum to the children/young people's needs as described in their statement of SEN.  Within our whole-school target setting arrangements, all children/young people are expected to make academic progress over a year. Termly assessments and tracking of children/young people takes place and these are shared with parents/carers at Parents' Evenings, through the Individual Education Plans and within the Record of Achievement (RoA) document. Class teachers closely monitor children/young people's progress and any concerns are passed through to the school leadership team (SLT). Termly data analysis carried out by the data manager and fed to the SLT. This is then discussed and advice produced for class teachers to improve progress via key stage meetings.

How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support my child's/young person's learning?

Communication between home and school is vital. As a special school our pupil population is drawn from across Warrington and in some cases outside of Warrington. We currently run three Parents' Evenings each year (one per term).  Individual Education Plans are written at the start of each term and reviewed at the end to show progress. Annual targets are set for children/young people progress in Maths and English as well as the other subject areas. These targets are closely monitored by the SLT and classteachers and any underperformance is addressed quickly. RoAs are sent home at the end of each term to show examples of children/young people's work. All of these encourage parents/carers' to play a full part in their child's education.

We encourage parents/carers to make appointments with staff to discuss any cause for concerns before they escalate. We make every attempt to 'free up' a member of staff at short notice but it is much better if an appointment is made so that cover can be put in place.  The school has employed its own Family Support Officer who attends a variety of meetings to support families and who will also make home visits to discuss issues with parents.  A range of other professionals work closely with the school. This allows for effective multi-agency working for the support of our families.

We have arranged a number of parent meetings in the summer term on topics such as 'managing sexual behaviours of young people with SEN and the new SEND Reforms. Staff from our discrete ASD provision offer home visit support as well as coffee mornings and joint trips.

What support will there be for my child's/young person's overall well being?

We are very keen to ensure that all our children/young people enjoy their schooling with us. Pastoral care is a very large part of the role our staff play in the lives of our children/young people. The social and emotional aspects of our children/young people are addressed via our PHSE curriculum but also by our school ethos and climate. We have a safeguarding team that monitors closely safeguarding and child protection within school. All staff receive regular training around safeguarding and child protection. Concerns are passed through to the Safeguarding team with the Local Authority. We have policies for the administering of medication and regular training from NHS colleagues on issues such as Asthma, allergies and specific medical conditions. Those staff involved in Intimate care of children/young people receive manual handling training, correct use of hoists and changing beds and wheelchair training.

Exclusions are rare and used as a last resort. We work closely with other agencies to support our children/young people if they are going through a difficult time. We have monthly meetings with the School Attendance Officer and he will write to parents/carers or make home visits to those very small numbers of children/young people whose attendance is a cause for concern.

Each class within Upper School elects its own School Council representative to meet with the Deputy Head Teacher to discuss issues that may be affecting our children/young people and to give them a voice as to developments within school. The school uniform came as a suggestion from the School Council. An annual questionnaire is completed by our children/young people and fed back to the School Council. The SLT also give feedback to class teachers so issues raised may be directly addressed with children/young people. An annual parent questionnaire is sent out every June to gauge parent/carer views and perceptions of what is happening in school.

What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the setting/school/college?

Currently we have a number of staff who undertake specialist roles within the school. Four of our teaching assistants have been trained to deliver speech and language programmes that are written by the speech and language therapist. Two of the four deliver these programmes full-time. They organise the groups and individual speech and language sessions each day and ensure that the speech and language programmes are delivered. We also have an NHS speech and language assistant who also delivers speech and language programmes during the week.

The school has also invested in the services of an Occupational Therapist who carries out assessments, particularly of our ASD children/young people, then writes sensory programmes to meet the sensory needs of those children/young people. These programmes are delivered, on a daily basis, by the class based teaching assistants.

We have also employed our own family support worker (FSW) who is a trained teaching assistant but who works solely with families. This role is to attend Child in Care, Family support and child protection conferences and to support children/young people and their families and liaise with colleagues from other services.

We also have the services of a school nurse on site. The school nurse liaises with other NHS staff, i.e. consultant pediatrician and others to coordinate the medical services that come into school.

All of our teaching and support staff have regular training in areas of special needs to allow them to best support the needs of our children/young people. We also offer Outreach training and advice to other schools in order that they may best help the children/young people within their schools who have special needs, e.g. Makaton training, Team  Teach training; Manual Handling training.

What training have the staff supporting children and young people with SEND had? Are any being trained currently?

The school is committed to the professional development of all staff. Recent training has included Team Teach; TEAACH; SCERTS; Administering of medication; Manual Handling as well as curriculum development training.

How will my child/young person be included in activities outside this classroom including school trips?

School trips and visits are an important aspect of our school curriculum. We currently have three minibuses which are used daily to transport children/young people on educational visits etc. Thorough risk assessments are carried out before any trip is allowed to take place. Every child/young person attends the trip irrespective of their need or disability. Adaptations to the school building and curriculum are made to accommodate pupils with physical disabilities. PE activities are as fully inclusive as we can possibly make them with our childrens/young people's learning to play Boccia, new age curling and other sports that  can be accessed by all.

How accessible is the setting/school/college environment?

The school is now on the former site of Woolston High School. This building has been renovated and refurbished to a high standard. It was designed to be disabled friendly from the outset. Colleagues from the Visually Impaired (VI) and Hearing Impaired (HI) Teams have been involved in the design of the building to ensure it is disabled friendly. Corridors are wide to allow the easy movement of wheelchair users. A quiet and multi-sensory room have been constructed to offer additional areas and facilities for those children/young people who require them.  We have shared access to a Hydrotherapy pool. Changing areas are disabled friendly and we have disabled toilet and changing facilities placed strategically around the school. A lift offers disabled access to the first floor specialist rooms.

How will the setting/school/college prepare and support my child/young person to join the setting/school/college or the next stage of education and life?

Wherever possible before a child/young person starts their education at Green Lane School they are offered some form of integration into the school and their new class. Usually this involves a member of staff visiting and meeting the child/young person in their current setting. Integration visits are then arranged. The child/young person is initially escorted by a member of the transferring school staff. They are introduced to all classes within the school and then spend time with the class/teacher they will be moving to. These visits are normally half a day initially building to full days. This allows for the child/young person to become familiar with the school building, the class and school routines and to allow them to get to know their classmates and teacher(s).

If a child/young person is to move from Green Lane to a new setting then the reverse arrangements apply. We support the children/young people to move into a new setting (where applicable). When children/young people leave school at 16 they are supported by visits to the establishments they are moving on to, e.g. Warrington Collegiate Institute (WCI) with members of staff. For those children/young people moving into the sixth form they experience a week long integration experience.  Throughout this process parents/carers are kept fully informed and involved. We also employ the services of a 11-19 Inclusion Adviser who completes much of the paperwork around the transfer into training or further education.

How are the setting's/school's/college's resources allocated and matched to children's/young people's special educational needs?

The school is funded so that most needs can be met direct from the schools budget.  Every class has at least one teacher and one teaching assistant, some classes have more teaching assistants. Very occasionally we may seek additional support from the Local Authority. Where we believe the needs of a child/young person require additional funding and support. Usually an Educational Psychology report will be sort to identify the additional needs of the child/young person. A request is then made to the Local Authority for additional funding. This request goes to a panel where it is considered and a decision fed back to school. The funding is for a set period of time and shouldn't be seen as a permanent arrangement. Where the funding needs extending, another application to the panel is made.