Additional Learning Needs
Our Additional Learning Needs (ALN) department is a dedicated team of experienced staff who work with subject teachers, to ensure that the individual learning needs of all students including those with SEND and EHCPs are met.
Our support is built around a whole-College approach to Quality First Teaching, ensuring all students benefit from high-quality, inclusive teaching. This approach is particularly valuable for students with additional learning needs and disabilities.
Subject teachers are responsible for supporting the progress of every student in their class. Lessons are carefully planned to anticipate potential difficulties and remove barriers to learning. This includes using accessible materials and inclusive teaching strategies such as explicit instruction, scaffolding, retrieval practice and metacognitive approaches, helping students to understand, retain and apply their learning.
Our team of experienced Learning Mentors are based in the ALN Centre, which offers a quiet environment where targeted supports and advice around any learning related issues can be accessed.
Read our Additional Learning Needs Policy.
| Local Offer/SEN Information Report | File information | |
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Local Offer 2026 | pdf 149 KB |
Support available for all students
All students can access drop-in support from our Learning Mentors in the Study Hub during every free period. There are also weekly activities, and demonstrations about aspects relevant to students with Additional Learning Needs such as how to use extra time, how to revise and how to apply for Disabled Students Allowance at University (DSA).
We encourage all students with EHCPs and Additional Learning Needs to come and work in the ALN Centre in their free periods. We have 2 spaces: The Additional Learning Needs Study Hub and the Quiet Zone. Both are open daily 08.30 – 4.45pm.
Some students may also have timetabled, one-to-one sessions with their allocated Learning Mentor.
The Quiet Zone offers a silent space for students to study or re-regulate.
Assistive Technology to empower students
We prioritise the use of assistive technology to empower students to bypass environmental barriers and establish their normal way of working:
- Assistive Software: Tools such as Read&Write software and reading pens are available to promote independent learning. Students requiring a reader or scribe are actively encouraged to utilise these technological solutions.
- Equipment Loans: Laptops are available across the College on a 3-hour loan basis, and students are welcome to bring their own personal laptops for classroom use and self-study.
- Centre Facilities: The ALN Centre is equipped with PCs, a scanner, a printer, and a photocopier for student use during private study time.
Preparing for Higher Education, Training and Employment
Esher Sixth Form College champions autonomy and aspiration. We recognise our students as young adults, and our ultimate goal is to equip them with the tools, skills, and independence needed to shape their own paths beyond their time at Esher.
Our Additional Learning Needs provision is explicitly designed to prepare students for a smooth transition into adulthood, including higher education, apprenticeships, further training, or employment.
– Jorja Bullock, Director of Additional Learning Needs
Our focus is on reducing reliance on human prompts, ensuring students establish independent ways of working that they can take with them to university or the workplace.
The ALN team works collaboratively with the College’s Progression Guidance department to provide clear information and support regarding transitions, including advising students on how to apply for Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA) for university.
How to apply to Esher Sixth Form College with an EHCP
Applicants with an EHCP should follow a dual application route:
Application and Local Authority Consultation
All applicants apply for a place through the general admissions process via the College website and are required to achieve the standard College entry criteria set out in the Admissions Policy.
Alongside this, please ask the Local Authority to start a formal consultation with Esher Sixth Form College. We advise that you ask for this as early as practicable to allow the College and the Local Authority time to complete the consultation, as directed by the SEND Code of Practice 2015, by 31 March of the relevant year.
Communication
The College can only communicate with parents and carers regarding individual adjustments and needs upon the successful completion of this formal Local Authority consultation. Until this point, all communication needs to be via the Case Worker.
Disclosure
It is vital that applicants disclose their EHCP during the admissions process. In the event that a student enrols without disclosing an EHCP, the College cannot guarantee that appropriate statutory support and adjustments will be in place for the start of the course.
Transitional Support
Applicants will be able to book on to a College Tour via the Applicant portal. These small group tours run in the Autum and Spring terms on a Tuesday and Thursday.
EHCP applicants will have the option of attending a transition meeting with the Additional Learning Needs Department in June and attend the College in July for a Taster Day.
Dedicated Mentor Support
To ensure continuity of support and remove systemic barriers, students with an EHCP are assigned a dedicated Learning Mentor. The mentor will work with the student for the duration of their time at Esher Sixth Form College for up to one hour on a weekly basis.
Thinking of joining us in September 2027?
View the presentation from the EHCP Applicant Information session.
