Support that grows with every student

Moving into Sixth Form is a significant step up, and for students with special educational needs and disabilities, getting that transition right matters more than ever. Our Sixth Form supports students with a wide range of needs — including autism, social, emotional and mental health needs, specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulties, speech, language and communication needs, physical disabilities, and sensory impairments — as well as students with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

Our approach is simple: identify need early, put the right support in place, and keep adjusting it as the student and their course demands change. Support here isn't a fixed package — it's built around the individual student and reviewed regularly so it keeps pace with them.

How we identify and plan support

• Early transition planning.  Before students join us, we work closely with Year 11 teams — whether internal or from partner schools — to understand existing needs, EHCPs and any support already in place, so nothing is lost in transition.

• Pupil Passports.  Most students with an identified need have a Pupil Passport — a working document that sets out their needs, the adjustments that help, and strategies for staff — kept up to date and shared with every teacher who works with them.

• Individual Education Plans (IEPs).  Where a student's needs are more complex, a Passport may be escalated to a full Individual Education Plan, developed with the student, their family, and our SENCO.

• EHCP reviews.  For students with an EHCP, we ensure plans are reviewed and updated in line with statutory expectations, working with the local authority and any external professionals involved.

• Ongoing, responsive identification.  Needs don't always show up before Sixth Form starts. Our teams monitor closely through Years 12 and 13, and where a new need emerges — for example following a diagnosis — we act on it, rather than waiting for the next scheduled review.

The support available

Depending on individual need, support can include:

• Extra time and alternative arrangements in internal assessments and examinations.

• Access to a separate, quieter space for study or assessment.

• Use of a laptop or other assistive technology where this supports learning.

• A dedicated quiet base for students who benefit from a calmer environment during the school day.

• Movement breaks, decompression time, and agreed flexibility around start times where appropriate.

• Adapted timetables, including reduced course loads where this is in a student's best interests.

• Coloured overlays, adapted materials, and other resources tailored to specific learning needs.

Where a student's needs call for it, we also draw on external professionals — including CAMHS, outreach teams, and school nursing — coordinating this support so families and students aren't left navigating it alone.

Support beyond the classroom

SEND support at CBSC isn't limited to lessons. Our pastoral teams keep a close eye on attendance and wellbeing, and students with additional needs are fully included in careers guidance, university and apprenticeship preparation, and our wider enrichment programme — with adjustments made wherever they're needed to ensure genuine access, not just an invitation.

Outcomes

Good SEND support should show up in results, not just intentions. In our most recent leaver cohort, students with SEND progressed to university at a higher rate than their non-SEND peers, and their average progress from GCSE to A Level exceeded the whole-cohort average. We're proud of these outcomes, and prouder still of the individual stories behind them.

Getting in touch

If you would like to  talk through what support would look like in our Sixth Form — whether you're considering applying or already have a place — please contact bearley@carshaltonboys.org 

Additional Contacts:

SENCO: Paul Farr
Email: pfarr@carshaltonboys.org

Deputy SENCO: Cassandra McFarlane
Email: cmcfarlane@carshaltonboys.org

Phone: 02087143100

No concern is too small. We are here to help.

Our SEND Policy can be found on the Policies Section of our Website and HERE