The Flying High Academy- Ladybrook

The Flying High Academy Ladybrook is a Mainstream Primary School, which caters for a wide range of needs. This includes pupils with identified special educational needs, and those who have a specific medical need or disability. ‘Relentless in our strive for excellence’ underpins everything that we do and alongside our pledges (Confidence, Aspiration, Creativity, Fun, Pride, Perseverance, Respect and Responsibility) helps all our children to achieve the best that they can in all areas of their learning.

A recent Trust Inspection stated “The exemplary performance of this school owes to the attention to detail applied to enabling every child to fulfil their potential. Staff know the children, their background, their needs, achievements, social contexts, individual journey and this enables a personalised approached to learning stretching beyond the classroom.”

Around 9% of our school population as having Special Educational Needs with around an additional 16% of our children recognised as having additional needs.

Special Educational Needs and Inclusion at Flying High Academy Ladybrook are always a priority and bespoke provision is planned for and provided to ensure that the needs of all our children are met in line with the principles outlined in our SEND policy.

At Flying High Academy, pupils are identified, as having Special Educational Needs if they are significantly behind the Age Related Expectations of their year group. This group of children may also have additional involvement from outside professionals in supporting their needs. These children will form part of the SEND register.

Children who are identified as making slower than expected progress or still developing the skills from the previous year, will be placed on the concerns register. This group of children will be tracked half termly through the intervention timetable and provision will be put into place to aim to bridge the gaps in their learning. This is then reviewed at the next half termly tracking point and adapted to further support their needs.

If any parent/carer has a concern about their child they should initially discuss this with the class teacher. Any parental concerns will be noted and compared with the school’s information and assessment data on how the pupil is progressing. The class teacher and SENCO (special educational needs coordinator) will then liaise to discuss any barriers to learning and ensure appropriate intervention is put in place, where required.

If a parent or staff member has a concern regarding a specific learning difficulty, such as dyslexia, an initial assessment is carried out to establish gaps in the child’s knowledge and appropriate intervention is put in place to address these gaps. If concerns are still evident then screening will be carried out and findings shared with staff who support the child and the child’s parents.

Parents are encouraged to share information and knowledge with the school and will be kept fully informed about their child’s progress and any decisions that have been made to support them. Parents will be informed of any concerns regarding a possible special need and will be notified if a child is put on to the school SEN register.

In order to make consistent continuous progress in relation to SEN provision the SEN team regularly evaluates its provision and its effectiveness through a range of different monitoring activities. This includes:

• termly data analysis
• specific analysis of vulnerable groups at half termly data points
• discussions at parents meetings
• child centred review meetings with the child and any other professionals working with the child
• discussions with teachers and support staff
• monitoring progress 
• monitoring small step targets through B Squared assessments.
• observing of both teaching staff, teaching assistant, MDSAs and children.

In addition to this there is a termly formal evaluation of the effectiveness of the school SEND provision and policy, which is reported to governors through the head teachers report. The effectiveness of provision is also evaluated annually by the Family SENCO.

Pupil progress will be monitored on a termly basis within school, with additional monitoring activities taking place throughout the term e.g. book scrutinies, observations, moderation of writing and maths attainment. At parents evenings data will be shared with parents informing them of their child’s progress. Recognition and value will be given to all forms of achievement including personal development and wellbeing, as well as academic achievement and these are also monitored against personalised bespoke targets.

Where children have significant special educational needs, staff involved in their education regularly meet and feedback to parents/carers. This enables a good level of communication and instant feedback to ensure parents are fully included in all aspects of their child’s education and pastoral care. Pupil voice is also taken into account and is a key part of the vision of our school.

It may be suggested that an EHAF (Early Help Assessment Framework) is opened to allow six weekly discussions and targets to be set to further support the child and the family. This process is intended to be supportive and enables family and school professionals to work more closely together. The child’s progress and well-being is discussed at these reviews.

During parent’s evenings feedback will be given to parents about their child in relation to attainment progress and attitude to learning, next steps and targets are agreed and ideas will be shared as to how to help support their child’s learning at home.

Once a pupil has been identified as possibly having a special educational need they will be closely monitored by staff in order to support their needs. The child’s class teacher will take steps to provide suitable learning opportunities that are matched to the child’s ability and help to support them to make steps in their progress.

The class teacher may ask the SENCO for support and advice to ensure the child receives the best possible learning opportunities.

The class teacher remains responsible for working with your child on a day-to-day basis. They will plan and work closely with teaching assistants to provide a suitable package of support which is outlined in a class action plan. This support may be provided in class by the teacher or TA, or may involve the child being withdrawn for additional intervention. Interventions may be delivered in small groups or on a 1:1 basis. The interventions that we currently deliver are tailored to meet the needs of individuals and develop skills in Maths and English, social skills and support children with coordination difficulties as well as other areas of their pastoral care such as counselling or team building sessions.

Support for our most vulnerable children is closely monitored and changed or adapted, as soon as needs arise, to ensure that bespoke provision is provided to cater for our children academically and emotionally. The SENCO team meet with SLT and TA team regularly to monitor and review this.

Decisions are made on an individual needs basis so the correct provision is in place for each child, all stakeholders will be involved including the pupil and parent. All support follows a graduated approach. Termly meetings with all of the SENCOs from the QE family of schools are held to discuss the needs of specific children, parents will be notified about this and the outcome may include a referral to the School and Family Services team to enable outside agencies to provide additional support and strategies to further meet the needs of the child. For those with most complex needs additional funding can be retained by the Local Authority.

All children are encouraged to take part in out of class learning and appropriate support will be put in place to allow all pupils to access after school clubs, lunch time activities and school visits. Close links with parents/carers enable all children to have trips etc adapted to meet their needs, this might include transport to and from a venue and additional staffing to support specific children.

Additional support is provided at break and lunch times, for those pupils who find the unstructured parts of the day difficult. We also cater for the medical needs of certain children in the mainstream setting as well as a lunchtime club to support those who require a more structured session.

MDSAs receive regular training for specific children in their care, in order to meet their medical and/or social needs. All staff work together to ensure support remains consistent in all aspects of school life.

“The vision and values threads throughout all aspects of school life and can be articulated by staff, children and families, in terms of how they are used to support the development of the school and children.” recent Trust inspection.

Our school ethos embeds the pledges and raises self-esteem, communication and co-operation, which is a starting point for all classroom practice.

All staff work closely together in helping to support our children and reinforce daily our school pledges.

We provide additional support for children when they are experiencing difficulties with their emotional health and wellbeing. We employ a counsellor as part of our pastoral provision who supports children when needed. This is organised by the SENCO team in conjunction with the class teacher and parents. There are also staff trained in make a world and play therapy and close links with Mansfield Area Partnership who provide emotional wellbeing interventions.

We know that children learn best when they are continually and consistently well behaved. We promote this through a range of positive behaviour strategies and rewards. Our consistent approach to behaviour is outlined in our behaviour policy, which can be found on our school website.

The SENCO Mrs Matheson or SENDCo Assistant Mrs Newton can be contacted by phoning the school office (01623 415790) or by dropping into school to arrange an appointment to see one of them.

The school Governors are responsible for the overall effectiveness of provision for special educational needs within the school and have a named Governor who is responsible for special educational needs.

Our school is committed to ensuring that all staff are provided with opportunities to enable them to support children with a range of specific needs. As a child joins the school or new class, specific training is put in place to ensure that the child’s needs are able to be met.

The SENCO attends relevant SEN courses, Family SEN meetings and facilitates/signposts relevant SEN focused external training opportunities for all staff.

We aim to keep all school staff up to date with relevant training and developments in teaching practice in relation to the needs of pupils with SEN. Whole staff training is carried out on a regular basis to increase staff’s knowledge and understanding of a wide range of topics related to special educational needs and disabilities.

The school is a member of the Queen Elizabeth Family of schools, the Flying High trust and the Flying High teaching alliance. This enables the schools to build a bank of joint resources and to share advice, training and development activities and expertise.

The school continues to build strong working relationships and links with external support services in order to fully support our children.

We believe that sharing knowledge and information with our support services is key to the effective and successful SEND provision within our school.

We have a number of services who work alongside staff, pupils and parents at our school to provide support and advice, enabling us to achieve the best possible outcomes for each child and their family. This includes Specialist Family Support Services, Educational Psychologist, Sherwood Area Partnership (SAP)- emotional and mental health, Sure Start, Targeted Support, CAMHS, Speech and Language Therapy, School Nurse, Health Related Education team, Early Help Unit, the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), counselling and Social Services. Additional services/professionals can be contacted to support, as the need arises.

Flying High Academy endeavour to comply with accessibility requirements regarding the physical environment and access to the curriculum.

Our current arrangements and identified adjustments are outlined in our accessibility plan (available on the school website) and we recognise that modifications may need to be put in place to meet the needs of all pupils.  

The school currently has a range of facilities for pupils with SEND in place. These include:

• Full time teaching assistants (who have expertise in a variety of areas)
• Use of dyslexia friendly resources throughout school.
• Translation services for Polish pupils and families.
• Use of signs and symbols for those pupils with communication difficulties.
• Use of iPads
• Information from the school office (for parents) available in a range of formats, including large print, translated and copied onto coloured paper (dyslexia friendly)

If a situation arises where specialist equipment was needed, then advice would be sought from specialist services such as Physical Disability Support Service and Inclusive technology.

Flying High Academy believes that a close working relationship with parents is vital in order to ensure

1. Early and accurate identification and assessment of SEN leading to the correct intervention and provision
2. Continuing social and academic progress of children with SEN
3. Personal and academic targets are set and met effectively.
4. Possible EHAF to be opened
5. Staff are available at the start and end of the school day for informal discussions.

Parents are kept up to date with their child’s progress through informal meetings, progress reports, parent’s evenings, EHAFs and twice yearly parents evenings.

At Flying High Academy we work hard to create a school environment where pupils feel safe to voice their opinions of their own needs. Pupil voice is crucial in the running of our school and all pupils are encouraged to strive for roles on the school council, learning committee and other bodies that help to run the school.

We encourage children to take responsibilities in their own learning to be involved as far as possible in reviewing the way they learn and to reflect how they learn. This takes place through regular self and peer assessment opportunities.

Teaching and learning in class takes account of the different styles of learning that our children have.

If a parent or carer has any concerns or complaints regarding the care or welfare of their child, they are advised to speak to the relevant class teacher or they can make an appointment to speak to the SENCO, where ways forward and steps to resolve the issue will be discussed.

If parents feel the matter is still unresolved and would like to submit a complaint then a full copy of the complaints procedure can be obtained from the school office upon request.

The school continues to build strong working relationships and links with external support services in order to fully support our SEN pupils and aid school inclusion. The Governing body are kept fully informed through termly reports from the SENCO. Through the Senior leadership team, the Governing body support decisions made by the school in order for us to best meet the needs of our children.

Additional services are recommended to parents, carers and young people as and when a need arises. Services which may be recommended include support groups, charitable organisations, clubs for children and the Parent Partnership Service.

Parents will be signposted to Nottinghamshire local offer page on the website, access to this can be supported by school if parents have difficulties accessing a computer.

 www.nottinghamshire.sendlocaloffer.org.uk

The SEND Local Offer is a resource which is designed to support children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their families. It describes the services and provision that are available both to those families in Nottinghamshire that have an Education, Health and Care Plan and those who do not have a plan, but still experience some form of special educational need.

When a child with additional needs joins the school every effort is made to ensure that they have a smooth transition and that training resources are in place to meet their individual needs.

The SENCO team will liaise with the child’s previous school or setting to ensure that all of the relevant information has been shared, so the best possible outcomes can be achieved.

The SENCO will co-ordinate and oversee transition into different educational settings and ensure that the provision is appropriate to children’s individual needs. The SENCO will ensure liaison between staff members and SEN teams within school to ensure that the provision is individualised where needed. As pupils move to a new class plans are put into place to support both the pupil and new staff to enable them to successfully transfer alongside their peers. This may include additional visits, creating photo books, meeting of new staff and facilitating appropriate staff training.

The school closely liaises with local secondary schools to enable an effective transition to take place. Parents are actively involved through this transition process.

Every part of our curriculum will provide children with the opportunity to develop skills that they need to be successful life-long learners our pledges support this. We also encourage independence in our children and ensure that they have the necessary skills to live as independent, successful adults. Our motto “Look back with pride and forward with confidence” underpins our work throughout school.

Further information can be found on our school website or by contacting the SENCO Mrs Matheson.