The Wyvern DSP

We are a vibrant and diverse DSP where every student is empowered to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.  We nurture and celebrate individual strengths and differences through personalised support and a caring environment, ensuring all learners feel valued and understood. Through strong partnerships with families, we foster a culture where every young person is empowered to achieve their full potential and feel proud of who they are.

College Ethos

Our vision will be achieved by fostering a supportive, respectful culture of collaboration between students, parents, staff, and the community. Our college community:

• Celebrates diversity and individual difference
• Treats others with care and kindness
• Is safe and nurturing
• Is a stimulating, inspiring physical environment
• Is reflective, responsive and embraces change
• Is enterprising
• Develops personal, collective, and social responsibility
• Is inspired by and enjoys the beauty of lifelong learning
• Aims to develop the character of all of our students through the four pillars.

At TCOLC, we aim to educate our young people by providing them with a wealth of opportunities that builds each student’s character. This is through our character education activities that equip our students with the confidence and resilience to flourish in our modern global society.

Our Wyvern students will develop character through the TCOLC Character Pillars:

We use these terms as part of our daily language. Staff will reward Wyvern students for demonstrating these characters with character points that will build towards Character Awards and accomplishment of Character Challenges. These Character values underpin everything we do at the school and are seen across all areas of the college, including in The Wyvern DSP.

Located in the heart of the school in our large, bright, and modern inclusion base, The Wyvern DSP is a well-resourced provision that is equipped to meet the needs of learners.

DSP resources include:

• Two bespoke classrooms, where students have their tutor time, are taught their core subject lessons and other curriculum subjects. All classrooms are equipped with large interactive screens
• Intervention rooms where small group or 1:1 sessions take place
• Laptops and iPads
• A state-of-the-art sensory room providing a safe haven for students to explore various stimuli, helping them manage sensory overload, improve focus, and reduce restlessness
• A kitchen, where life skills are taught, including cooking, washing, and cleaning
• Social space for students to relax during break and lunch times
• Toileting facilities
• The Inclusion office where the DSP Coordinator and Director of SEND are based.

The Wyvern DSP aims to inspire and engage learners through our ambitious, broad and balanced curriculum that we tailor to meet an individual’s needs. Our curriculum is adapted to promote progress, independence, and confidence, whilst also giving students opportunities to engage in mainstream learning where appropriate.

Wyvern students will study the full range of KS3 subjects, being taught, for example, 6 hours each of Maths, English, and Science during their fortnightly timetable. The progress of our Wyvern students is regularly reviewed and because academic assessments are in-line with their mainstream peers this means students can move into mainstream groups if they are making exceptional progress.

In addition to our KS3 curriculum, all students will also have some form of therapeutic interventions each day, either in a small group or in a one-to-one session.

The Wyvern DSP Curriculum Structure

Wyvern students will follow a fortnightly timetable and attend 50 lessons per two weeks. Below is our Year 7 Wyvern DSP Curriculum allocation.

Our Curriculum Principles

Like our mainstream curriculum, The Wyvern DSP’s curriculum is underpinned by our six curriculum principles:

Relevant

Ensuring that what we teach our students is relevant to their lives and context.

Rationalised Content

A curriculum that is broad yet focused on what is important; one that has clear concepts to be taught and knowledge to be gained.  Content needs to be appropriately challenging in its content, texts, concepts and resources.

A Sequenced Journey

Consideration must be given to where units are placed; how they build on prior learning and how they are sequenced so learning is connected and logical.  Students should be included in understanding how their learning journey fits together.

Ambitious Learning

Ensuring that the curriculum we deliver is challenging and ambitious for all students at all levels, including those students with SEND, EAL, or other groups.

Inspiring Learning

Inspiring Learning is about making sure our students enjoy their learning so they are motivated to learn, and in turn are inspired to extend their learning in further education and be confident that they can positively impact the world around them.

Learning that lasts forever

If students can't remember what they were taught, then has it been learnt?  It's important to shift knowledge from the working memory into the long-term memory so students can remember, and build on, what they have been taught.

Character development is at the heart of our approach to behaviour and rewards, supported by clear expectations, consistent routines, and bespoke interventions. Through a nurturing and supportive environment, we promote growth and ensure consistency in guiding positive choices.

All students attending The Wyvern DSP will be expected to follow our TCOLC Character Code of Conduct. However, we acknowledge that students are likely to need additional support as well as reasonable adjustments if they struggle to meet our expectations.

TCOLC Character Code of Conduct

Intellectual Character:

I will strive to think about my learning critically and will be active, not passive. I understand that being an ambitious independent learner is key to my success.

 Moral Character:

I will consciously choose to act with honesty and respect. I understand the importance of accepting others’ beliefs and their equal rights to have a voice.

Community Character:

I will be a positive and responsible member of the TCOLC/Wyvern DSP community. I will act with kindness and be civil to every member of my community, helping others where I can.

Performance Character:

I will be resilient, committed and determined in my attitude to my learning. I will be on time and in uniform every day. I understand my attendance is directly related to my outcomes.

Rewards

At The City of Leicester College our rewards system is built around our four Character Pillars. Students will receive character points for demonstrating Intellectual, Moral, Community and Performance character.

Families can view our Behaviour Management Policy here.

The Wyvern DSP follows the same academic term dates as the mainstream school, these can be found here.

The timings of the school day at The Wyvern DSP are very similar to our main school. However, Wyvern students do start a little later and finish a little earlier than mainstream students to ensure a calm start and end to their day.

If they wish to, and are able to, Wyvern students can join their mainstream peers for their breaktime and/or lunchtime in their relevant Yr. 7 or Yr. 8 social zone. Alternatively, students might want to eat their lunch in the comfort and more relaxed atmosphere of The Wyvern DSP social space, where there are a multitude of games, toys and books available. Wyvern students are welcome to bring a packed lunch or use our on-site canteen facilities.

We want every child who attends The Wyvern DSP to flourish in their education, to enjoy coming to school and to feel a real sense of belonging and community not only as a Wyvern student, but also as a student of the City of Leicester College. Therefore, we don’t underestimate the importance of excellent transition to The Wyvern DSP. Preparing your child for becoming a member of the Wyvern and TCOLC family begins well in advance of their first day. Amisha Patel, our experienced DSP Coordinator, prioritises the careful transition of your child to The Wyvern DSP. The transition process begins with the gathering of information from previous schools and external agencies, so that the strengths, needs and dispositions of each child are known. Knowing this information means that we can ensure students settle quickly into their school life and any bespoke interventions and/or reasonable adaptations can be deployed.

Getting to know the individual child, their likes, dislikes, interests, hobbies and talents prior to the first day is our priority. We invest the time and resources into each child so that we can create a truly personalised pathway of support for them. There are also regular transition events for children and their parents, including SEND coffee afternoons where families can meet DSP staff and other parents/carers to discuss and share their experiences.

Here at The City of Leicester College we want all of our students to have a successful future and

During their time with us, all Wyvern students will take part in activities which will help them be prepared for the future and the world of work. The Careers programme for every year group can be found on the Careers homepage.

All students have access to the Careers platform Unifrog which gives expert Careers information and support. We will use Unifrog in the careers unit of students’ PSHE lessons and students can use the Unifrog programme independently too should they wish.

The Wyvern DSP is for young people with an EHCP and a primary need of Communication and Interaction; your child’s EHCP will state that DSP provision is required.

The Wyvern DSP mirrors our mainstream school’s vision of ‘Ambition for All’ and we aim to achieve this fostering a supportive, respectful culture of collaboration between students, parents, staff, external agencies and the wider community.

It is expected that students attending The Wyvern DSP will be broadly in line academically to their mainstream peers, but they will require bespoke support with communication and interaction, students may have other needs related to their diagnoses such as ADHD, SEMH or dyspraxia.

Potential Wyvern DSP students are referred to us through Special Education Service (SES) at the Local Authority. We consider all referrals (consultations) and usually our DSP Coordinator, Amisha Patel, will visit students in their current school/provision to assess their needs and suitability for The Wyvern DSP.

We welcome visits from families who have been referred to us through SES and would like to find out more about The Wyvern DSP.