Our SEND policy and SEND information report can be found on our Policies and Reports page where they can be viewed and downloaded.

Highlands SENCO: Dr Vicky Tsoni: senco@highlearn.uk

At Highlands, we pride ourselves on being inclusive. We have many students with a broad range of different special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) that add to our vibrant and inclusive community. We have consistently been the school with the most students with EHCPs in Enfield for a number of years and we are proud that students and parents make that choice. 

We have high expectations for every student at Highlands and it is our strong belief that all students should all have access to the full curriculum on offer. This means that we work hard to make our curriculum accessible to all and that we keep time spent out of the classroom, for example in interventions, to a minimum. Teachers are provided with regular professional development to support them to make our classrooms inclusive and to ensure that the quality of our teaching and learning supports all students to achieve their potential, regardless of their SEN. 

We have a SENCO who is an assistant headteacher and a group of dedicated learning support assistants (LSAs) who provide additional support in class for students who have an EHCP that funds this, and act as key workers for many of our students with SEND. As well as this, we have a range of interventions that we deploy to support students including:

• Lexia - research backed, computer-based intervention to support students with low reading ages.

• Colourful semantics - a programme recommended by speech and language therapists to improve writing and grammar.

• Emotional literacy support assistants (ELSA) - LSAs who are trained by the educational psychology service to provide support to students with a range of needs who require support with their emotional literacy and regulation.

• A quiet lunch and break room.

• Work with speech and language therapists where an EHCP specifies this.

Highlands also houses Enfield’s secondary Additionally Resourced Provision (ARP) for deaf students. We have a teacher of the deaf in training and a team of communication support workers and LSAs who specifically support our deaf students in mainstream lessons and around the school. The provision has a dedicated classroom and office, and the teacher of the deaf works closely with the local authority and Brimsdown school. 

Please read about our Deaf Resource Base for more information.