Serlby Park Academy

The Academy is committed to providing an appropriate and high quality education to all our pupils.

We believe that all pupils, including those identified as having special educational needs, have a common entitlement to a broad and balanced academic vocational and social curriculum which is accessible to them all and enables them to be fully included in all aspects of school life.

The sponsor, Delta Academy Trust and the Local Governing Body will endeavour to ensure that every pupil actively participates in high quality education, which is enjoyable, relevant and motivating. Within the new framework there will be an enhanced approach on supporting families with a parent-friendly academy SEND policy.

Examples of some of the special educational needs we make provision for a listed below:

• Cognition and Learning needs

• Communication and Interaction needs

• Sensory, physical and/or medical needs

• Anxiety related needs

• Behavioural, emotional and social needs

Pupils have special education needs if they have a learning need that calls for special education provision to be made.

Pupils have a learning difficulty or disability if they:

• have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age

• have a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of the facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions

Regular evaluation of the effectiveness of provision takes place in a number of different forms. Firstly, attainment data generated through the academies data capture every half term is analysed by the SENCO and used to identify areas of strength and development for SEN students across the curriculum areas. Secondly, attendance and behaviour data is also tracked and analysed by the heads of year and finally interventions are monitored and tracked every half term. In addition to this weekly RAG meetings are held every week for early identification of students that may require additional support to ensure progress.

Regular evaluation of the effectiveness of provision takes place in a number of different ways.

• Attainment data generated through the academy’s data capture every half term is analysed by the SENCO's and used to identify areas of strength and development for SEND pupils across the curriculum areas;
• Attendance and behaviour data is also tracked and analysed by the Learning Managers; and
• Interventions are monitored and tracked every half term.

Numerous strategies are utilised by the academy to ensure students with SEND can access a broad and balanced curriculum. As previously outlined each member of staff has access to accurate resources such as the SENd register and pupil passports to inform their planning. Effective deployment of Teaching Assistants is applied across the academy.

Students are encouraged to make use of learning support at break and dinner times where TAs and the SENCO’s are available to work with individuals on home/class work the students may require extra help with.

Your child may be identified as requiring specific group work to support their learning. (These groups are referred to as intervention groups and can be led by class teachers and/or support staff such as Teaching Assistants, both within and outside of the classroom)

If your child has been identified by the class teacher or SENCO's as needing some extra support in the academy in order to ensure progress and have significant learning difficulties, after consultation and planning with yourself, they may be place onto the “SEN support” register.

For your child this would mean:

He/she will engage in group sessions with specific targets to ensure progress. A Teaching Assistant/teacher or outside professional (like a Speech and Language Therapist) will run these small group sessions using the teacher’s plan. This type of support is available for any child who has specific needs in their learning.

At this point your child may also require some extra specialist support from a professional outside the academy. This may be from outside agencies such as the Local Authority central services such as the cognition and learning and communication and interaction team. Or also other agencies such as the Speech and Language therapy (SALT) Service.

For your child this would mean:

Your child will have been identified by the class teacher or SENCO’s (or you will have raised your own concerns) as needing addition support in addition to quality first teaching and intervention groups. As a result it would be necessary to make adaptions to the curriculum and teaching. Giving your child access to ancillary aids and assistive technology where necessary, changing the learning environment to meet pupil’s needs.

• All children with SEND are included in class teacher’s planning.
• Most children with SEND work within small supported groups and have access to the same curriculum as all of the other children; their work is differentiated so that it is pitched at the correct level.
• Some children have rather significant needs and academically are not at a level where they can access the same level of work as the peers in their class. In these cases they are given work that is still linked to the curriculum but at a level in which they can access whilst still ensuring challenge. They remain in class for the majority of the school day so they are still included in day to day lessons. This is all recorded on teacher’s planning.
• In rare circumstances we have children who cannot cope with the academy day as it is and therefore with agencies involved other arrangements have to be made. In the afternoons we have a curriculum called the sensory diet. This is where SEND children have a much more sensory curriculum and they choose activities that are not as structured and classroom based. Children who follow this curriculum will go to find their own personal space and will use specialised resources to help them cope with a full day of school.
• We make sure that individual or group tuition is available where it is felt that pupils would benefit from this provision.
• We use in-class provisions and support effectively to ensure that the curriculum is differentiated where necessary.
• Using in-class provisions and support effectively to ensure that the curriculum is differentiated where necessary.

All pupils with SEND will have access to placement funding from the academy budget which equates to £6,000. Some pupils with SEND may access additional funding. This additional funding might be from a budget which is devolved to and moderated by the Family of Schools. (The Family of Schools comprises of 5 primary schools and 1 secondary school). For those with the most complex needs, additional funding is retained by the local authority. This is accessed through the Family of Schools. The Family SENCO will refer individual applications to a multi-agency panel, which is administered by the Local Authority, who will determine whether the level and complexity of need meets the threshold for this funding. Children are monitored carefully in the academy and if they are displaying significant difficulties that are impacting on their education then the class teacher initially has a meeting with the Inclusion Leader. Together they look at the provision and environment that the child accesses and look for things that can be changed to see if it has an impact. After a graduated response has been considered, including consultation with parents, a support package is arranged, this may include support in the classroom, a referral to springboard or an application for extra funding.

Serlby Park Academy is an inclusive school, no child is excluded from any part of school life. Where necessary, for example, on a school trip, parents may be invited to support their child. Risk assessments are conducted, for every school visit. All members of staff on visits are made aware of any children with additional needs and any provision that may be required.

Serlby Park Academy has an effective Care and Guidance team who provide pastoral support to all students which may range to providing social and emotional support to students and informing parents of any incidents that may have occurred throughout the day. There is a Learning Manager for each year group and all students have access to the Pupil Support Centre and/or Bridge if they require. After school clubs are provided for all students to involve themselves with including a cooking club which is run by a teaching assistant from the academy.

SEND students are able to have break and dinner times within the Learning Support area which means students have the chance to discuss any concerns frequently and informally. Support can then be arranged if required. Learning Support is also used as a safe place for the SEND students so they are able to interact with their peers in a small and less daunting setting.

Furthermore, the academy uses a social and emotional use of language programme (SULP) to develop skills of vulnerable students whom may require additional guidance with social skills. The Academy also has a CASY counsellor who works within the school and to whom students can be referred if parents or teachers have concerns about a student’s emotional well-being.

Outside agencies such as the Educational Psychology Team is attached to the academy; Autism Team, CAHMS, Social care and IFSS (Integrated Family Support Services) are contacted where appropriate for specific students, based on their area of need. At each stage parents/carers and students are actively involved.

Karen Firth SENCO (3-18) firthk@Serlbyparkacademy.org.uk 

TEL: 01302 742535

Over the course of the academic year, academy staff takes part, contributes to or delivers a range of CPD sessions. These sessions focus on developing teaching and learning across the academy, centring on areas such as differentiation and assessment for learning, to ensure each student’s needs are met. Good practice is shared and developed at such sessions to develop consistency across the curriculum areas.  The academy also delivers specific training for all staff with regards to SEN needs which can be delivered by outside trainers and also Teaching Assistants whom have wider understanding of a particular learning difficulty.

Additional training for teaching staff and Teaching Assistants will be organised as and when required. If a particular pupils needs require specific staff training, this will be organised, eg Manual Handling Training. The SENCo attends relevant SEND courses, Family SENCo meetings and facilitates/signposts relevant SEND focused external training opportunities for all staff. We recognise the need to train all our staff on SEND issues. The SENCO's, with the senior leadership team, ensures that training opportunities are matched to school development priorities and those identified through the use of provision management. In addition to this, strong links have been made by the SENCO’s with outside agencies to support pupils further.

Future training is constantly accessed according to staff requirements and the needs of the students within the academy.

The following services will be involved as and when is necessary: Healthy Family Teams, Occupational Health, Physiotherapy, Speech and Language Specialist, CAMHS, Casy Counselling, SFSS- (Schools and Families Specialist Support Services) Educational Psychologist, PDSS- (Physical Disability Support Service) Cognition and Learning Team, Communication and Interaction Team, Other relevant services

The academy is located on one main site. It currently has no special units or S.E.N.D specialisms. Disabled changing facilities are available on the ground floor of the site which are also provided with a hoist. There are ramps to improve wheelchair access, handrails and high vision paint on steps for Visually Impaired. A hoist is also available for safe swimming pool access. In addition, we work closely with outside services agencies to provide special equipment where needed.

Please view full details in the academy's accessibility plan which can be found on the school website.

Parents of pupils with SEND have a number of opportunities to be involved in their education. Parents are encouraged to have an input into the statutory review meetings of their child through identifying their strengths, areas for development and suggesting how improvements can be implemented. This can be from either a pastoral or academic point of view. Each child on the SEND register will have a Pupil Passport which is created with the student. This will include personalised targets which will be worked on in class, individually or in small groups. Each term (or sooner if necessary), pupils’ targets will be reviewed, shared with parents and new targets set. Parents are given a copy of the Pupil Passport to take home and comment on ideas of how to support their child. The provision for each pupil is also reviewed at least termly and necessary adaptions put in place. This provision is constantly evaluated to ensure it meets the needs of all the children and that all children have access to facilities and extra-curricular activities.

Pupils with SEND have a number of opportunities to be involved in their education. Students are encouraged to have an input into their statutory review meetings through identifying their strengths, areas for development and suggesting how improvements can be implemented. This can be from either a pastoral or academic point of view. Each child on the SEND register will have a Pupil Passport which is created with the student. This will include personalised targets which will be worked on in class, individually or in small groups. Each term (or sooner if necessary), pupils’ targets will be reviewed, shared with parents and new targets set. Parents are given a copy of the Pupil Passport to take home and comment on ideas of how to support their child. The provision for each pupil is also reviewed at least termly and necessary adaptions put in place. This provision is constantly evaluated to ensure it meets the needs of all the children and that all children have access to facilities and extra-curricular activities.

We also collate pupil voice from students with SEND at least termly to analyse the views of those students and give them a voice to any changes that need to be made with their provision.

If you have concerns about your child’s progress you should speak to your child’s class teacher initially if your child is in the primary phase of the academy. Alternatively, you would speak to a learning manager within the Secondary phase. If you are not happy that the concerns are being managed and that your child is still not making progress you may contact the SENCO’s who will arrange a meeting to discuss your concerns or will refer to the Senior Leadership Team if necessary.

There is an overarching policy for handling complaints available on the Serlby Park Academy website. However, we do strongly encourage parents/carers to either speak to or meet with the SENCO's prior to this happening in order to work together to resolve issues if they arise.

Serlby Park Academy has a designated governor with the responsibility for overseeing SEND provision (details can be found in the SEND policy of the academy website)

The Academy also invites and seeks advice and support from external agencies in the identification and assessment of, and provision for, SEND.

The SENCO and Heads of Year are the designated people responsible for liaising with the following:

• Education Psychology Service

• Primary Social and Emotional Difficulties Team

• Social Services

• Speech and Language Service

• Language and Learning Support Service

• School and Families Specialist Service

In cases where a child is under observation or a cause for concern, focused meetings will be arranged with the appropriate agency and the child protection officer where appropriate. Parents will normally be invited to and informed about any meetings held concerning their child unless there are over-riding safeguarding issues.

Regular meetings with an experienced professional, provides opportunities for parents and school to discuss the needs of a child.

The experienced staff member will have the knowledge to refer/signpost parents to services/groups that are relevant for their child’s needs.

Alternatively parents can access Nottinghamshire’s local offer website which contains information about services available to families. This can be found at:

www.nottinghamshire.sendlocaloffer.org.uk  

As children enter the Nursery, the academy will liaise with parents/ carers and any childcare settings that the child may have attended. The Inclusion Leader will then put in place any necessary adaptations to the provision prior to children entering our academy.

Similarly, when children move to full- time academy, extensive transition is in place so that this is a smooth process. Again, parents are involved at every stage and support is put in place according to the needs of the children. This continues as children move through our school into Key Stage 1,2,3,4 and 5 with changes taking place where appropriate.

The academy has a system for supporting students in key stages 4 and 5 with their career choices. This involves regular appointments with the Careers Advisor and the Head of 6th Form.

As children prepare to leave our academy, the SENCo and Head of Year 11 will liaise with the post 16 providers.

Children with additional needs are given the opportunity to visit their chosen place of study more frequently and again parents are involved at every stage.

Any necessary adaptations are put in place and the class teachers are informed about the children’s learning needs. In working towards this principle, the academy will ensure that Academy staff work closely with colleagues on transition and accessibility.

There will be clear referral routes for staff who wish to bring to the notice of the SENCO a student who may be having special educational needs. Every consideration will be given to the views of parents/carers in the assessment and decision making process. Students with SEND will also be consulted whenever possible and in addition procedures for inter-service and cross-agency referrals will be actively used and reviewed regularly.

Contact either SENCO on 01302 742535 or go to http://www.serlbyparkacademy.org.uk/