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Inscape House School

Special school
A range of educational services for young people with multiple and complex learning disabilities including autism spectrum conditions.

Referral details

Parents and carers are welcome to contact Inscape House School directly, through Together Trust or referrals can be made via the Local Authority. We hold regular open mornings throughout the year. This is a chance for parents to come to the school and meet with some of the members of the Senior Leadership Team. During the morning there is a presentation about the school explaining what we do. There will also be a tour of the school and a chance to discuss your child's needs. These dates can be found on our website www.togethertrust.org.uk by calling 0161 283 4750 Admissions do not depend upon a diagnosis of an autism spectrum condition but upon a common pattern of special educational needs. This includes the need for: A broad curriculum with an emphasis on the development of social, communication and independence skills. Structure and specialism in the teaching approaches adopted. Consistency and continuity within and between Key Stages. Work to be conducted in small groups with a high staff/ student ratio and/or individual personalised programmes. Before a pupil starts at Inscape House, initial assessments are undertaken. This is done by talking with parents/carers and the pupil, when possible, as well as speaking to other professionals who work with the young person. This way we can prioritise support that will be needed for developing robust effective transition arrangements. Pupils undergo comprehensive assessments that look at the child as whole. A multi disciplinary team is involved with this, including teachers, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, educational psychology and positive behaviour support specialists.
Together Trust Campus, Schools Hill, Cheadle, Cheshire, SK8 1JE

Venue notes

Inscape House School is based at Cheadle, Stockport and is part of the Together Trust charity, a leading specialist education, community and care provider, offering opportunities to students throughout the UK in our purpose built setting.

Contact phone

0161 283 4750

Contact email

inscape.admin@togethertrust.org.uk

Website

https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/inscape-house-school
Ofsted URN: 134064

Ofsted rating

Good

Ofsted report

https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/25/134064

Age

From 5 to 19 years old

Opening times

School Term Time - Monday to Friday 8.55am to 3pm

Description

The Together Trust offers a range of educational services for young people and adults with multiple and complex learning disabilities including autism spectrum conditions (ASC) and complex emotional difficulties.

All services are accessible to young people across the UK. Inscape House School Inscape House School is a non-maintained day special school in Cheadle, Cheshire. We take referrals from all over the UK. Our school can meet the needs of children and young people aged 5 to 19 years with autism spectrum conditions and related social communication difficulties.

Inscape is operated by the charity the Together Trust. Young people within the autism spectrum share a pattern of differences affecting social understanding and social skills, communication and social imagination. We believe that each young person has individual strengths which can be harnessed to support their learning.

We believe that the following, makes all the difference:

  • Skills and strategies.
  • Personalised approaches.
  • Shared Understanding.
  • Power with' approaches.
  • Independent and valued citizen.

This response starts with attempting to see the world from their perspective and from there, teaching them skills and strategies to cope with the demands of everyday life. Skills: Things the person has learned to do independently in any aspect of their lives. Strategies: Things that help the person to learn and maintain skills.

Crucially, strategies need to be ‘owned' by the person with autism and should reduce dependency on staff ‘telling' them what to do. In doing this, we work in close collaboration with families, appreciating that parents and siblings have a unique understanding of the young person with autism.

Some students may contribute using signs and symbols or photographs and video, others may play an active role in their annual reviews. We also have a very active student council with representatives from every class. 

The Together Trust has achieved PQASSO level 1, to has the Investors in People and the 'Positive About Disabled People' quality marks. These standards apply to the entire organisation, including education services.
Inscape House School also has NAS accreditation.

Young people within the autism spectrum share a pattern of difficulties affecting social understanding and social skills, communication and social imagination. We believe that each young person requires an individual response to meet their needs. This response starts with attempting to see the world from their perspective and from there, helping them develop the skills and make the adjustments necessary to cope with the demands of everyday life.

In doing this we try to work in close collaboration with families, appreciating that parents and siblings have a unique understanding of the young person with autism.

Inscape House School offers a particularly high level of input from therapists very experienced in working with individuals across the ASC spectrum. This includes access to educational psychologists, to regular speech and language and occupational therapy sessions.

Where appropriate there is a focus on sensory integration with a dedicated occupational therapy facility, to all pupils have access to a range of sensory rooms.

Inscape has a dedicated family liaison support worker and a parent's room enabling parents to meet and talk.

Additional support is available from the Together Trust's 'Together for Autism' services.

How do you identify special educational needs and disabilities?

Inscape House School is a specialist provision who meet the needs of children and young people aged 5 to 19 years presenting with tendencies indicative of autism spectrum conditions and related social communication difficulties. Before a pupil starts at Inscape House, initial assessments are undertaken. This is done by talking with parents/carers and the pupil, when possible, as well as speaking to other professionals who work with the young person. This way we can prioritise support that will be needed for developing robust effective transition arrangements. Pupils undergo comprehensive assessments that look at the child as whole. A multi disciplinary team is involved with this, including teachers, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, educational psychology and positive behaviour support specialists.

How do you support a child with extra needs?

New pupils to the school have an Initial Placement Review within their first term. This is an opportunity for all concerned, including parents, to identify progress and ask questions, identify what is or isn't working, set some actions and review levels of support. Pupils are closely monitored, this may include an IEP (Individual Education Plan); see below and ISP (Individual Support Plan). Both these plans again look at supporting the progress of the whole child. The fact that pupils are so closely monitored means that any concerns are quickly raised and because we have a large therapy and behaviour support team they can be addressed in a timely manner. Review meeting can be called at any time, by any party.

How do ensure a child’s education meets their needs?

All our staff attend regular class/ cluster group meetings in which they discuss the needs, progress and development of the children and young people. We also have an integrated information management system which stores electronic data regarding each child in school; this can then be accessed by relevant staff using a password protection system.

How will we know my child is progressing?

All school staff have high expectations for their pupils. Targets are set and monitoring takes place on a regular basis by all school staff who are well placed to identify progress. There is regular home / school contact using; home / school diaries, email or telephone. Formal monitoring takes place half termly. Information and discussions around target setting are addressed through termly parent forums; progress is also shared at parents' evening, annual reviews and in the form of an end of year report. Staff can always be available by prior arrangement at other times to discuss progress as required. Some pupils use their pupil premium or direct payments to fund activities during holiday times to provided continued structure throughout the year.

How will you support my child’s overall wellbeing?

Social and emotional development forms an integral part of the school day. All students start the day with a SEAL (Social, Emotional Aspects of Learning) session. These sessions cover a variety of topics, from learning to regulate one's own emotional state through to keeping safe online. Staff support pupils in managing their emotions and regulating their behaviour on a daily basis. Staff also encourage pupils to develop and maintain positive relationships with peers and staff throughout the day. In addition to the daily SEAL sessions, pupils have scheduled PSHE lessons, pastoral leads for each pathway, input from the therapy teams, targets set on their Individual Support Plan and school learning mentors. The learning mentor's role entails supporting young people in all areas such as academic or social or emotional well being. Any form of bullying is taken very seriously in the school. Many of our pupils will have experienced bullying in previous settings and is therefore a particularly important issue.Students are taught about the tolerance of others, resilience and friendship skills, both in formal taught sessions and as part of their own individual programmes. Targets about relationship skills are often set in the IEP (Individual Education Plan) or ISP (Individual Support Plan). Any incident of bullying is logged, reported and dealt with swiftly in line with school policy. Many of our pupils have complex needs and again, this is when having so many specialists in school, we can address this successfully. Class staff, the Positive Behaviour Team and Support for Learning (Therapy) all work together to help support every pupil's pastoral needs.

What specialist services and expertise are available?

With our school being a special school that specialises in autism, all our staff are well trained. Some of our pupils have additional needs such as epilepsy / dyslexia etc. All staff have training in these areas and are given further support, training and guidance as required. Our staff team includes Specialist ASC teachers, Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists trained in sensory integration, Positive Behaviour Management Specialists and Psychologists. We also have close links with health professionals such as CAMHS, Social Care and Information, Advice and Support Service IASS (formally Parent Partnership). Some pupils may have regular medical appointments. School can support with this in many ways, for example we have developed social stories to explain what may happen at the dentist. Stockport Dental Service attends school once a year and is available for all children irrespective of their placing authority. Recommendations from these visits will be sent home. The school is an NAS (National Autistic Society) accredited school. We are also OCR approved, a member of SSAT and have achieved PQASSO level 2 and Investors in People. Search for accreditations' on our web site www.togethertrust.org.uk

How are staff trained on extra needs?

All staff undertake an induction program, which is assessed against national standards, followed by an extensive programme of continuing professional development for all staff across the organisation with a mandatory programme of training refreshed on an annual basis. Our school is a special school that specialises in autism. Our staff are well trained - training content covers not only knowledge of autism but also the various methodologies we use in school such as TEACCH as well as other related areas e.g. Sensory Integration, Speech & Language Therapy, PECS etc. Some of our pupils have additional needs such as epilepsy / dyslexia etc. Staff are trained in the administration of medication, first aid, epilepsy awareness. When required, staff undergo further training in required areas and are given further support, training and guidance as and when needed. Throughout the year there are weekly training / awareness sessions which focus on a variety of relevant SEND issues. Many of our staff hold additional qualifications such as MA's in Autism, PG Dip's in SEN / Autism, Sleep Counselling, Intensive Interaction, Dyslexia, Reading Recovery, PROACT-SCIPr-UK® Instructor/Monitor etc. The Continuing Professional Development of staff takes place and monitored throughout the year in the form of supervisions and appraisals.

How will you support my child's needs?

As a school we are wholly committed to the Person Centred Approach, where the child is at the centre of the decision making process. We make every effort to ensure that every student's voice is heard and work hard at facilitating this. Some students may contribute using signs and symbols or photographs and video, others may play an active role in their annual reviews. We also have a very active student council. The purpose of the school council is to give the students a place where they can have a voice, to express their ideas, opinions, desires and complaints about things that happen in school;Expressing themselves and engaging in the council at whatever level they can. Giving students a ‘forum' where they can raise issues with managers and governors of the school. Providing an opportunity to raise students' awareness of issues that are happening in school or that affect school. Giving an opportunity to work alongside peers that they may not otherwise encounter during the school day. Providing a meaningful situation for generalising learning and for teaching and practising skills such as listening, negotiating, making choices, problem solving etc. This is run by the Speech and Language Team to ensure all pupils have a ‘voice'. Working with families is very important for us at Inscape House; We work closely with families providing support, advice and listening to parents' wishes and aspirations. Wherever possible, we respect parental preferences with regard to issues such as diet, dress and religious matters. As a specialist SEND setting, we make every effort to make reasonable adjustments to meet every pupils' and families' need. A copy of accessibility plan is available on request from the school.

How do you support children when they start and leave?

Transition planning with pupils, families and current schools will only commence when assessments have been completed, lead by the Applications, Transitions and Outreach Manager, the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) has agreed to offer a place and funding with the local authority has been confirmed. Once funding is agreed a ‘school transition lead' will be allocated and an individual transition plan is put in place. · Transition plans are Person Centred. A Person Centred 1 page profile is developed with the young person, their family and current setting (where applicable). · We then work with all involved to develop a transition plan that will work best for the child. Some transitions involve using SKYPE or email to communicate with peers online before actually attending school. Transition booklets are produced using photographs of the school, the class team and peers. Some transitions can be a very slow and gradual process, while others can be quite rapid. It depends entirely on the young person. · When transitioning pupils to other settings, much work is done with the new setting to ensure they have a complete picture of the child to enable them to begin working in a positive way from the outset. We will also support any transition work the new setting requires, such as supporting students to visit. Our Post 16 pupils follow learning programmes based on the National 16-19 Study Programme Framework. These programmes are tailored to their individual needs, education and employment goals. The overarching elements within the programmes include: Pathway to Employment Pathway to Housing Pathway to Health Pathway to Friends and Relationships These pathways include learning functional skills in Math's and English, alongside a range of other training to prepare our young people for their adult lives. Other elements of learning could include meaningful work experience, travel training, independent living and personal skills. For more information search ‘Post 16' on our website www.togethertrust.org.uk

What is available to help my child with their education?

The school operates a banding or pathway' system for funding. The pathway in which a student is placed is dependent on an initial assessment prior to starting school. As well as identifying the appropriate pathway, additional support needs may also be identified on an individual basis over and above the pathway funding. The banding is also subject to review in line with meeting the pupil's needs. This review will take place at any time during the year in response to the changing needs of a child. · All pupils in school have access to Specialist Teachers, Teaching Assistant support, universal and targeted Speech and Language, Occupational Therapy and Positive Behaviour Support as part of their programme.

What support can I expect for my child?

Discussions take place from first contact and are developed once a placement is agreed with the local authority. They are further developed during initial assessments, IPRs (Initial Placement Reviews) and ARs (Annual Reviews) and involve the pupil, parents / carers, school staff and external agencies. At these meeting, the desired outcomes for the pupil will be discussed and the provision or support needed to meet the outcomes will be identified. If a change of support is identified which has a cost implication, it is vitally important that the local authority is informed, included, provision need is evidenced and agreement to fund is reached before such changes are made on a permanent basis.Any changes made without agreement from the local authority can only ever be on a very temporary or emergency basis.

How will I be involved in my child's education?

As a school we have regular home/ school contact, using home / school diaries, email, group call / phone etc. We are conscious that many of our parents can live a distance away from school and are keen to maintain good, open communication. The class teacher would be your main contact and would be able to arrange a meeting after school, during the school day (in certain cases) or a home visit. Parents are encouraged to take an active role within the setting. We want our parents and families to participate in the life and running of the school. There is an annual questionnaire enabling parents to provide feedback. Parents are also encouraged to use Parent View, a feedback service available via Ofsted.(http://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk) We have parent governors who sit on the schools governing body and details of how to stand are advertised in the school newsletter when vacancies arises. Parents can also apply to become volunteers - application forms are available via our website www.togethertrust.org.uk
Updated: 17/03/2023