Tutors form the first port of call in the partnership between student, parent and the College. Tutors spend some time with their tutor group every day at registration and form close bonds with their tutees. As such, they are best placed to see and understand your child’s progress and should be your first point of contact if you or your child require help or advice.

As well as taking registration, tutors also:

• Check through your child’s Student Planner, monitor progress, check for any problems and liaise with you or subject teachers if necessary
• Assertively mentor students to ensure they make progress in the ‘Big 5’
  1. Progress in subjects
  2. Classwork
  3. Homework/coursework
  4. Attendance
  5. Behaviour
• Monitor targets set for them
• Ensure that all students meet their expected grades and make three levels of progress and aim to exceed this to make four levels of progress
• Guide or support students with any problems they may have, socially, academically or emotionally
• Encourage your child to become involved in the wider life of the College: to join in activities outside the classroom and record the full range of their achievements for their Record of Achievement folder
• Encourage high standards of behaviour within their group, and encourage all students to keep to the College’s Code of Conduct

The Head of House is also a key person in the life of your child. Their aim is to ensure that all students participate and perform to reach their full potential with the correct support and guidance. The Head of House will:

• Visit Year 6 students in their Primary Schools to introduce the College, answer questions and settle any uncertainties or anxieties they might have. They will also liaise with your child’s Primary School teachers about his or her needs and abilities
• Deal with matters relating to behaviour and discipline, problems with work, and social or emotional problems
• Monitor progress, check for any problems and liaise with you or subject teachers if necessary
• Assertively mentor students to ensure they make progress in the ‘Big 5’
  1. Progress in subjects
  2. Classwork
  3. Homework/coursework
  4. Attendance
  5. Behaviour
• Monitor targets set for students and the tutor team’s support for students
• Monitor and organise the ‘Big 5’ to ensure student progress in the year group
• Ensure that all students meet their expected grades and make three levels of progress and aim to exceed this to make four levels of progress
• Together with tutors, organise activities, including social and educational trips
• Monitor the achievements of your child, celebrating success through Year Assemblies and the presentation of Certificates of Commendation and Credit Awards. Our housepoint system is a very important way of recognising and rewarding positive behaviour and application
• Follow up the regular monitoring of your child’s work through Interim Reports, annual Examinations and Records of Achievement
• Work with students experiencing difficulties, or causing concern
• Lead a weekly Year Assembly providing a chance for all the students in a Year group to come together and develop a sense of community and common purpose
• Organise parents’ meetings with subject staff at which your child’s progress can be discussed

Senior staff also take an active role in supporting your child during their time at Sidmouth College. They:

• Organise taster days in the Summer term when Year 6 students can visit the College, meet their tutors and Head of Year, meet their new classmates, sample a day in the life of the College and its lessons
• Organise with colleagues an evening for new parents to visit the College, meet their child’s tutor and Head of Year, and answer any questions
• Monitor the progress of students, through reading Records of Achievement, discussing them with the student, and following up with Interim Reports. Senior staff also often ask to see students with their exercise books and Student Planners, to discuss general progress
• Monitor progress, check for any problems and liaise with you or subject teachers if necessary
• Assertively mentor students to ensure they make progress in the ‘Big 5’
  1. Progress in subjects
  2. Classwork
  3. Homework/coursework
  4. Attendance
  5. Behaviour
• Monitor targets set for students and the tutor team’s support for students
• Monitor and organise the ‘Big 5’ to ensure student progress in the year group
• Ensure that all students meet their expected grades and make three levels of progress and aim to exceed this to make four levels of progress
• Meet with students and their parents if a student is experiencing real difficulties with school, or has committed a serious breach of the College’s rules, liaising with tutors and Heads of Year and outside agencies where necessary
• Offer praise and encouragement to students for a range of achievements<
• Organise regular assemblies, offering students chance to consider a range of moral, ethical and spiritual issues and celebrate a range of student achievements, academic, sporting and otherwise

The Student Development Centre aims to facilitate inclusion for all students throughout their time at the College by providing equal opportunities and equal access to a broad, balanced curriculum tailored to their needs. The department adheres to the Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs, involving parents and students at all stages in the process of identification and assessment, and annual reviews are held for those students who have been awarded a Statement of Special Educational Need.

The Department benefits from well qualified staff headed by our Inclusion Manager, Mrs Shepherd, and Director of SEND, Mrs Cassy Wilkinson. We also have Higher Level Teaching Assistants, Specialised Teaching Assistants in Maths, English and Science, Specialised Visual Impairment Teaching Assistants, Specialised Teaching Assistant for students with physical difficulties and behaviour issues, Teaching Assistants across the curriculum and specially chosen volunteers (with subject knowledge and past experience) for some literacy work. All of these staff are fully CRB checked. Our Teaching Assistants provide support in classrooms and, where necessary, work on an individual basis with students as appropriate to their needs. In addition, one member of the Governing Body has a specific responsibility for special needs in the College and Governors work with members of the department to monitor the effectiveness of our agreed policy.

The Student Development Centre works in partnership with parents, other agencies, all staff in the College and, of course, the students themselves, to ensure that all students have the opportunity to achieve their potential whatever their needs, and to move towards more independence as they become young adults. Where necessary, students will have an individual curriculum designed to meet their needs and we work very closely with the Careers Advice service to ensure that once students reach the age of 16 their needs continue to be met.

Some of our students have more personalised curriculum needs which include being educated off-site. This is agreed in consultation with students, parents, carers and Heads of Year. One of our educational providers who provide remote support is called Learn to Work.

Our role includes:

• Working closely with feeder Primary Schools to ensure that those students in Year 6 with a Special Educational Need have some extra time for transition to secondary school
• Testing the literacy levels of all students who come to the College and working with those students who have specific literacy needs to enable them to access the secondary curriculum to the best of their ability
• Teaching small groups of students in English and Maths when those students need some specific input in those areas, or where the pace of the mainstream lesson would be too challenging for them
• Providing an extensive programme of literacy work with students, using recognised systems such as ‘Sounds Write’ to boost students’ levels. This work includes reading, handwriting, comprehension and spelling
• Working closely with other agencies, including an Educational Psychologist, Advisory Teachers from the Visual Impairment and Hearing Services, the school nurse, the Parent Support Advisor, PCSO, CAMHs workers and an advisor who will work with students with Challenging Behaviour that may cause exclusions from school. We also maintain contact with all other agencies working in Childrens' Services in Devon
• Running specialised groups including Anger Management, Social Skills and Classroom Skills and providing access to a School Counsellor (see below)

The Department has its own area which is equipped with computers, laptops and alpha smart machines, which can be used by students as appropriate, and we have four working rooms for teaching and learning sessions. During lunch time we offer homework support to students as appropriate to their needs and provide a safe area for those students who sometimes need some space from the hustle and bustle of school life. When necessary we can also offer some after school support to students in agreement with parents.

Sidmouth College wants to ensure that our students have access to wellbeing and mental health support at school, including counselling. There are three qualified and supervised counsellors working in our school.

Counselling is an intervention that young people can voluntarily enter into if they want to explore, understand and overcome issues in their lives which may be causing them difficulty, distress and/or confusion.

The counselling relationship has identified boundaries and an explicit contract agreed between the young person, counsellor and, where appropriate, parent or carer.
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We encourage the young people to discuss counselling with a parent/carer but should a young person aged 13 or older wish to make their own consent, and we considered that they have capacity to make that consent, we would not automatically inform a parent or carer.

Our counsellors follow the school’s child protection policy and procedures.
Any records are kept in line with the latest GDPR regulations.
Please contact the school if you would like more information.

We have a duty of care to share information with other agencies to safeguard children, this includes when a child transfers to another educational setting, new GP, Social Services or local police.