A member of our Senior Leadership Team, who is a qualified and experienced Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCO), oversees the strategic leadership of our SEND provision. 

Our experienced and professional team of teaching assistants work directly under our SENDCO, Deputy SENDCo and  two Assistant SENDCOs work across the school; they provide a comprehensive package of support to cater for a wide range of needs. The support for your child is personalised to fit their needs, in consultation with our SEND Team, teaching staff, parents and outside agencies. We believe that the key to effective support is engaging the pupil and families to work together with us so that we provide the right support, at the right time and in the right areas for them. Together with the school’s pastoral team, we assess, plan, do and review the support in place to ensure we provide for your child at every Key Stage, academically and socially.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator: Helen Bacon - sendtriage@ousedale.org.uk      

We have a range of Teaching Assistants working with students with special needs across both campuses. These include HLTAs specialising in numeracy or literacy, and other HLTAs and TAs offering support with specialist sensory needs, behaviour, BTEC & vocational study skills, autism and support within the sixth form. The team offers a range of 1:1 and small group interventions, as well as support within the classroom.

New queries must be submitted to sendtriage@ousedale.org.uk which will then be directed to the appropriate member of the SEND management team and an initial telephone appointment with them will be made within 5 working days. We cannot respond effectively to emails when sent directly and often to several members of staff. 

We also offer bookable face to face Teams 10 minute meetings throughout the week. These can be booked up to a week in advance on Edulink. Open Edulink and once you have logged in click on the "Parents' Evening and SEN meetings" button to book your slot. 

Appointments should be made with the appropriate member of the team as follows:

• Mrs Helen Bacon - SENDCo: for all enquiries relating to EHCPs/EHCP pupils
• Deputy SENDCo: for all enquiries relating to SEND Support Plans/pupils on a SEND Support Plan (these meetings will be available after October half term)
• Assistant SENDCo (KS3): for all enquiries relating to SEND pupils in KS3/new referrals in KS3 unless already liaising with SENDCo or SEND Manager (these meetings will be available after October half term)
• Mrs Melissa Barber - Assistant SENDCo (KS4/KS5): for all enquiries relating to Exam Access Arrangements/SEND pupils in KS4/KS5/new referrals in KS4/KS5 unless already liaising with SENDCo or SEND Manager

The telephone call or Teams meeting may well lead to additional meetings in school as necessary, although we hope to resolve any concerns as quickly and early as possible; any further communication regarding the same query/issue will be directly with the allocated member of staff. 

New SEND queries sent directly to members of staff will not be monitored.

We hold various meet & greet sessions for parents/carers of current pupils. The dates of these are added to the school calendar and advertised here. Parents/carers will also receive an Edulink invitation for the meet & greets. The date for the next session is on the poster below.

Our SEND team run various clubs across both campuses: 

New Club launching January 2025!

New 5 week cake decorating course - secure your place now!

SEND Homework Support Sessions

Resources for Parents/Carers

Below are some links to information parents/carers may find useful. There are more resource guides at the bottom of this page. 

• SEN Year 11 Exam Advice
• The Graduated Approach - Ousedale
• Useful SEND Information
• SEND Abbreviations Glossary

Policies

• E-ACT Ousedale SEND Policy 2024-25
• E-ACT Ousedale SEND Information Report 24-25
• Accessibility Plan

MK Council New Initiative - SEND Youth Council

Autism Central:

Useful Information from MK Council

Milton Keynes Council's local offer of services outside of education available to students with SEND can be accessed via the links below. This also gives information about how students' needs are assessed on requesting an Education, Health and Care Plan.

• https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/schools-and-lifelong-learning/SEND
• https://www.mksendlocaloffer.co.uk/programmes-and-workshops

In Milton Keynes, as well as nationally, we are seeing an increase in children and young people experiencing difficulty in attending school due to emotional reasons like anxiety. Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) is a broad umbrella term used to describe this. EBSA can present differently across individuals, but can often involve fear and anxiety, misery, complaints of feeling ill without an obvious cause, and/or reluctance to leave home. For more information and practical support click the link below: 

https://www.mksendlocaloffer.co.uk/emotionally-based-school-avoidance-ebsa