The Horizon Team

Sen team cartoon

Contacting the team:

You can contact Horizon through the use of the email:

Horizon@oaksparkhigh.org.uk

How the team works?

The Horizon team works closely together, with many informal interactions to share best practice and update each other on children’s progress, as well as more formal meetings.

Key formal meetings include:

  • Weekly leadership team meetings: reviewing overall progress, curriculum development, teaching, learning and support strategies/resources and planning for events, training and meetings
  • Student Review meetings each week at each of KS3 and KS4 to review progress and make any changes to support strategies or focus
  • Meeting or Support preparation time when teachers and support staff share priorities for forth coming lessons or tutor time and use of support staff in class
  • Weekly therapist meetings to prioritise work, check progress and use input into curriculum planning; therapists also attend student review meetings as needed

There is also formal training each week.  Much of this is sharing best practice and developing in-house capacity, but use is also made of the expertise of the Psychologist and therapy team.

Members of the team:

The team is made up of teachers and support staff, all of whom  play a vital part in the effective support for our students.  The different team roles are shown below:

 

The Horizon Leadership Team:

The Horizon Leadership Team is made up of the following roles:

Horizon Leader: Ms McMillan who takes a key leadership role within Horizon and oversees its work with students.  She also works closely with the Trust SENCO regarding admissions and consultations to Horizon.   She also holds a responsibility for staff training with regard to ASC and is a qualified SENCO.

KS3 Leader: Mrs Finlay oversees KS3 (Years 7 and 8) and the induction of our new Year 7 students into Horizon.

In addition, Ms Noble, Deputy Headteacher, line manages the Horizon team and is the direct link to mainstream SEN work and the School Leadership Team.   She also oversees SEN within the school and works in partnership with the Trust SENCO.

Finally, Mrs Smith, Horizon Pastoral Leader, also attends leadership meetings.  Mrs Smith oversees aspects of well-being, behaviour and safeguarding working closely with the Horizon Leader and school safeguarding team

 

Horizon Teaching Team:

In addition to the teachers above, there are other teachers based within Horizon and the school SEN team.  The teaching team all have experience in Social and Communicative teaching and learning, and also have mainstream expertise across the subjects of:

  • English
  • Science
  • Primary and KS3 curriculum
  • SEN teaching expertise

As well as being experienced with working with ASC students, they are supported in their subject teaching by the relevant department. 

Teaching is supplemented increasingly by subject specialists as students progress from KS3 to KS4.

Horizon Support team

The Horizon support team is made up of the following roles:

  • Horizon Pastoral Manager and Horizon Pastoral Support Officer
  • The SENCO assistant and the SEN LSA Team Manager (who support both Horizon and whole school SEN administration)
  • Post 16 learning assistant and SENCO Assistant
  • Dedicated SEN administrative support (who support both Horizon and whole school SEN administration)
  • Teaching and Learning Support Officer (who takes classes in the absence of the class teacher as well as leading various interventions or support groups)
  • Leading Learning Support Assistants: who take on additional organisational and training roles within the team as well as support children in small group or mainstream classes/tutor groups.  They also run interventions under the direction of the SENCO or Horizon Leadership team.
  • Learning Support Assistants: who support children in small group or mainstream classes/tutor groups and run interventions under the direction of the SENCO or Horizon Leadership team.

There are approximately 20 support staff in the above team.

Expertise within the Horizon team includes ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistants, supervised by Educational Psychologists) as well as various in –house and external training on areas such as:

  • Social stories
  • Autism strategies in the classroom
  • Bereavement
  • Occupational Therapy Strategies
  • Speech and Language Therapy strategies
  • Zones of Regulation
  • Positive Language
  • Team Teach training – to minimise escalation

Members of the team also hold various certifications related to Learning Support Assistant work including ASC provision..