The Florence Nightingale Academy

The Florence Nightingale Academy has an ethos of inclusive schooling for all. We will make provisions for all areas of special educational needs to the best of our ability. We endeavour to provide personalised provision for each individual.

You are welcome to make an appointment to speak to the Inclusion Leaders at The Florence Nightingale Academy to discuss any concerns you may have about your child. The school teachers and staff at The Florence Nightingale Academy look closely at how your child is developing academically (with termly assessments) and your child’s social development and will raise any concerns with the Inclusion Team and yourselves.

The school closely monitors the progress of pupils with special education needs through data scrutiny and a range of evidence. Evaluations and reviews of support and provision is made termly and sent to governors.

School will arrange termly meetings called structured conversations with you to discuss their progress and the provision. These meetings will also involve you telling us about your child outside school as well as discussing how to support your child’s learning at home.

We are an inclusive school and look at each child as an individual. We aim to integrate children with special educational needs within the mainstream setting as much as possible whilst catering for their individual needs with adjustments to the learning environment and specialist support or provision as required.

At The Florence Nightingale Academy we believe in a stimulating and interactive curriculum based around independence and accessing all styles of learning so that our children can develop as rounded individuals. Care will be taken to incorporate any specific strategies for your child into their daily classroom routine if required.

The Inclusion Team discuss children of concern with the head teacher and senior leadership team who in collaboration with the Inclusion Team will make decisions on the type of support the school can offer. If extra support is believed to be required this may be discussed at a larger meeting of the Family of Schools in order to access further specialised support and funding.

We endeavour to make activities outside the classroom, including school trips, open to all students at The Florence Nightingale Academy. All necessary health and safety precautions will need to be considered and discussions with parents will take place if there are any concerns.

The child as a whole and especially their social and emotional well-being is at the heart of our ethos at The Florence Nightingale Academy. We have a number of systems in place to support children such as “The Den” with specialist equipment in to provide a safe and nurturing environment away from the main school. Any dietary requirements can be catered for and we will strive to ensure that we can provide the best care possible for your child.

At The Florence Nightingale Academy we have an Inclusion Team. Mrs Baxter and Mrs Whittaker have lead responsibility for SEN provision. They can be contacted on the school phone number 01773 713 452 if they are not available please leave a message and they will get back to you as soon as possible.

All staff working with children at The Florence Nightingale Academy are qualified or in training. At the start of every year all staff have training and guidelines set for Safeguarding procedures. There is also a session focussed on special educational needs looking how to support SEND in the classroom, the school’s expectations and procedures around referrals and concerns and a general overview of the systems in and around SEND provision. Throughout the year specific training is delivered on areas of high priority for the school.

Specialist Service support can be accessed through the Family of Schools Springboard meeting and by direct referrals depending on the services referral process. Some of the specialist services currently working with children at The Florence Nightingale Academy include: Speech and Language, Physical Disability Support, Educational Psychology, Inclusion Support and CAMHS.

If a child needs specialist equipment this will be sourced and provided to the best of the school’s ability. The setting currently is not fully wheelchair accessible across the whole site. However, the school works closely with Fountaindale and will make any adaptations necessary where possible. The school has the ability to move classes around if required.

Parents will be invited to termly review meetings about your child where you will be able to discuss the progress of your child and the provision they are receiving.

Where possible children will have the opportunity to voice their thoughts and feelings about their school environment and their needs. This may be through specially adapted pupil voice questionnaires, social stories or conversations depending on the child.

If you have a concern please contact Mrs Whittaker, SENCO, on 01773 713452. If they are not available please leave a message and they will get back to you as soon as possible. You can also contact the head teacher by email if you are not fully satisfied that your complaint has been resolved.

Close work with organisations and services ensures that both the families and children with special education needs are supported. The governing body evaluates the school’s SEN policy and provision annually.

Leaflets about general local services are available and advertised in the office/reception area. More specific organisations and services are signposted to families and children in their review meetings dependent on the presenting needs.

Before a child starts at The Florence Nightingale Academy we encourage the child and family to visit the school. On the visit they will be taken for a tour around the school by a member of staff and see all the key areas and introduce your child to key staff. A pupil form will need to be completed detailing any special educational needs, including medical needs so that provision can be arranged before your child starts. Buddies will be assigned to your child to ensure that routines are explained and established and the class teacher will be in touch on the first day to explain how they have settled in. Any additional visits or special arrangements before joining the school can be discussed with the Inclusion Team. Any child starting at The Florence Nightingale Academy at the beginning of a new academic year are offered to join the rest of the school on some of the transition days in order to support the process.

Care is taken at all phases of transition to make it as seamless and stress free as possible. Extra transition days can be arranged for both phases of transition to ensure that your child is familiar with their new surroundings. If needed, extra support through creating specialist resources can be tailored for specific needs.

The Florence Nightingale Academy curriculum includes “Growth Mindset” where we teach our children the qualities and skills to be a rounded individual where the key is to believe in yourself and know that even if you can’t do something yet, you will be able to soon. We promote the values of friendship and courtesy and encourage all children to be as independent as possible.

You can access more information about The Florence Nightingale Academy on our website: Welcome to The Florence Nightingale Academy | The Florence Nightingale Academy where you will find the full SEN policy, other school policies, our school blog and links to National information. Further information about SEN provision in Nottinghamshire can be found on their website.