All students at some point in their academic life will require support. This support can be pastoral or academic. A minority of students require particular support and intervention to improve their basic skills and academic performance. This group of students are defined as having learning difficulties.  Our overall aim is to reduce the barriers to their learning and ensure that their time at Mortimer is productive and rewarding.  The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice requires us to register these students under the following headings:

School Action-  where all support comes from the school’s resources
School Action Plus-  where agencies such as the Educational Psychology Service are involved in decision making and specifying targeted work
Statement of Special Educational Needs –following a formal assessment clarifying and clearly stating the specific learning needs of an individual student.

Key Stage 3  and 4 Work
Year 7 students on the SEN Register receive various levels of support. Students on entry who are below level 4 are taught in two discreet groups to boost their numeracy and literacy skills.
Students with reading ages below their chronological age have access to small group literacy intervention.  This year a pilot scheme is being used to boost literacy skills in year 8 through the Accelerated Reading Programme.  This is computer based literacy software targeted towards students with low levels of reading comprehension.
Students also have access to classroom assistants to support their individual learning needs in class.
Students on the SEN Register at Key Stage 4 receive support with coursework and obtain, where appropriate, exam concessions.