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Samuel Whitbread Academy

SEND Information Report

Actions we are taking to implements our SEND policy at Samuel Whitbread Academy

1. WHAT KINDS OF SEND DO WE PROVIDE FOR?

  • We are a mainstream academy for young people aged 13-18. 
  • We provide support for all types of SEND and Disabilities, and some of our students have Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).
  • We also have the local authority commissioned specialist mainstream provision for young people with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) for Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC) who the local authority have placed there.  In 2019-20 we are oversubscribed with 18 young people.
  • In 2018 we gained the Inclusion Quality Mark in recognition of our leading work in SEND and Inclusion.
     

2. WHAT IS OUR POLICY FOR IDENTIFYING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITH SEND AND ASSESSING THEIR NEEDS, AND WHO IS THE SENCO?

  • Our SEND policy sets out clearly what our process for assessing needs are. It is the role of teachers, supported by the SENCO, to assess the needs of the young person in the classroom, and to identify those who may need support to make expected progress because of a learning difficulty or disability. This is usually done through regular ongoing in class assessments, but may involve more specialised assessment from our SENCO.  Children with known SEN will be screened with a baseline test.
  • Some students have an EHCP, which clearly set out the needs of the young person.
  • You can contact the SENCO team by phone on 01462 628020 or email send@bestacademies.org.uk
     

3. HOW DO WE CONSULT WITH PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH SEND AND INVOLVE THEM IN THEIR CHILD’S EDUCATION?

  • Parents get regular reports from the school regarding students’ attitudes to learning and predicted grades, target grades, and subject specific targets.
  • There are other opportunities through the year at parents’ evenings to meet with form tutor, class teachers and the SENCO.
  • Those who are receiving specific SEND Support (as categorised by the Code of Practice 2014) will be offered a meeting with the school at least three times per year to discuss progress and support.
  • Personal Provision Plans are shared Google Docs which parents can access at all times.
  • Parents are free to contact the school at any time, either by phone, or by email to have a conversation about their child’s progress in school. The form tutor is always the first point of contact for parents regarding their child.

4. HOW DO WE WORK WITH YOUNG PEOPLE AND INVOLVE THEM IN THEIR EDUCATION?

  • All students can access their own Personal Provision Plan as a Google Doc
  • Students are encouraged to contribute to the plan and write sections in them.
  • We have a range of surveys for students throughout the year that help to inform our practice

5. HOW DO WE ASSESS AND REVIEW CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE’S PROGRESS TOWARDS OUTCOMES?

  • Class teachers will be regularly assessing student progress as part of their normal practice.
  • We complete reports regularly through the year for all young people, and this information is sent home to parents.
  • The data generated by these reports will be scrutinised by the SENCO after each reporting cycle so that less than expected progress can be highlighted and support put in place.
  • We will try to use our normal school assessment processes as much as possible so as not to overburden our young people with too many assessments.
  • There may be times though when we need to conduct more specialised assessments in order to obtain standardised scores so that we can see if a young person needs exam access arrangements for example. We will always let students know this is happening and let parents know the outcome of any testing.

6. HOW DO WE WORK WITH CHILDREN TO SUPPORT THEM IN THE NEXT STAGES OF THEIR EDUCATION AND PREPARING FOR ADULTHOOD.

  • All students with EHCPs will have a specific target from the Year 9 EHCP review which will be preparing them for adulthood.
  •  We do a lot of work with all students through form time on their next steps and careers, with lots of support around post-16 choices.
  • For those with SEND, we will work individually with them as needed to help them with this.

7. HOW DO WE TEACH YOUNG PEOPLE WITH SEND

  • We offer high-quality teaching for all, and where a child has SEND, their teachers are made aware of their specific needs and given training and advice on how best to meet those needs in the classroom.
  • In addition to what is normally available in the classroom, we have a number of interventions and additional learning opportunities to help any student with SEND to get better at the things they are finding difficult.

8. WHAT ADAPTATIONS DO WE MAKE TO THE CURRICULUM AND THE ENVIRONMENT FOR THOSE WITH SEND?

  • We have a fully accessible site, and the environment is adapted to all needs.  For those with different needs we can change their day slightly to reduce sensory overload, or to make it easier for them to access parts of the school at different times
  • We have a very large and well run Learning Support Department and ASD Provision where children can come and learn and get help with their learning
  • The curriculum is inclusive and everyone has full access to the whole curriculum, we will never forcibly narrow the curriculum or restrict an individual's choices in our curriculum.  We recognise that some young people may want to follow a slightly different route and we would be led by the young person in relation to creating a more manageable curriculum for them.

9. WHAT IS THE EXPERTISE OF STAFF TO SUPPORT CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITH SEND AND HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO TRAIN THEM. HOW DO WE SECURE SPECIALIST EXPERTISE?

  • Jenny Swift is the SENCO and Head of Learning Support.  She manages the day to day running of the department including the Specialist Provision for ASC. She has the National Award for SEN Coordination (NASENCO) and postgraduate qualifications in SEN in schools.
  • Elizabeth Lockhart runs our Inclusion Provision for children with more significant mental health and medical needs who are reintegrated into school or who require a modified curriculum.  She leads on our provision for children with SEMH needs.
  • Maria Ryan is our Deputy SENCO, a HLTA who leads on Cognition and Learning and coordinating support for children with these needs
  • Kirsty Dardis is our specialist HLTA in English, she teaches small group English classes and 1:1 support too.
  • Tim Harris is our HLTA leader in our Learning Support room and manages the alternative provisions offered to some students too. 
  • Paula Waring is our ASC ARP Manager who takes a lead in the day-to-day management of the ASC provision.
  • Michaela Crawley is the lead LSA in the provision.
  • Staff are encouraged to continue to train as part of their own performance management, and we regularly undertake in-house training on specific issues.
  • Many staff members have undertaken Team Teach training, which is a method of behaviour de-escalation and management. We will also use the Specialist Teacher for ASD from the Local Authority to run some whole school training on ASD.
  • We run regular training for all staff on different aspects of SEND Practice. 
  • We have a large team of LSAs who access the wide variety of BEST SEN training on areas such as Dyslexia, ASD, ADHD and behaviours, Speech and Language and Visual Stress.
  • We use the local authority outreach service and external providers as needed.

10. HOW DO WE KNOW HOW EFFECTIVE OUR PROVISION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITH SEND IS?

  • As part of the normal school development and self-review cycle we will carefully examine the data from exam results, student surveys and teacher observations to evaluate the effectiveness of the provision. 

11. WHAT DO WE DO TO MAKE SURE CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITH SEND ARE ENABLED TO ENGAGE IN ACTIVITIES AVAILABLE WITH CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE SCHOOL WHO DO NOT HAVE SEND?

  • There are no barriers for any students with SEND for our activities in school. All out of hours activities are monitored and registers are taken and student engagement is monitored.

  • We actively encourage students with SEND to take part fully in the life of the school.

  • We are a fully inclusive, comprehensive school.

12. WHAT SUPPORT HAVE WE GOT IN PLACE FOR IMPROVING EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF OUR STUDENTS?

  • Our provision map shows clearly the provision in place for those young people with emotional and social needs.

  • Our anti-bullying policy sets out our approach to bullying.
     

13. HOW DO WE INVOLVE OTHER BODIES, INCLUDING HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE BODIES, LOCAL AUTHORITY SUPPORT SERVICES AND VOLUNTARY SECTOR ORGANISATIONS, IN MEETING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE’S SEND AND HOW DO WE SUPPORT FAMILIES?

We draw on a range of local providers such as:

  • NHS, Union Street Clinic, local GPs, School Nurse.

  • CAMHs

  • Children’s Social Care

  • Early Help Intervention from CBC

  • Education Psychology Service

  • Outreach service from Ivel Valley School

  • Youth Inspired

  • Local Colleges (Bedford, Shuttleworth, North Herts)

  • Academy of Central Bedfordshire

  • CHUMS

  • Alternative Providers such as Canter, Stable and Wild or Angling for Success.

  • There are many others that we can access from time to time to help us secure the best possible support for our young people.

  • They may come in and help us with assessments, providing advice as needed, or they may be alternative providers.
     

14. WHAT ARRANGEMENTS ARE IN PLACE FOR HANDLING COMPLAINTS FROM PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH SEND ABOUT THE PROVISION MADE AT THE SCHOOL?

Looked After Children who also have SEND will be supported through this process with the support of the Designated Teacher for Looked After Children (Mr T Rowell) and the Virtual School.

The Local Authority publishes its local offer here.

 

15. HOW IS THE SCHOOL IMPROVING ACCESSIBILITY?

These details are held within our Accessibility Plan.

Increasing curriculum participation

  • A bespoke curriculum for some in Learning Support, working with Maths and English Department to include Functional Skills in English and Maths, Entry Level Qualifications.

  • Develop the use of assistive technology using Chromebooks and increase training on speech-to-text and text-to-speech software.  Google Classroom training to share information in different forms.

  • Purchase of Roger Pen to assist Auditory Processing Disorder

 Improving the physical environment

  • Samuel Whitbread Academy is having a hearing induction loop fitted to the Main Hall in Block 1. This will assist students who would need to access that facility as well as parents and members of the public at school events. 

Improving the delivery of accessible information

  • The school works closely with the Local Authority Hearing Impairments and Visual Impairment services to improve the accessibility of information to those students who need that level of support.

  • The school is looking to improve the accessibility of its website by adding text-to-speech modules if possible.

  • Ensuring that information is available in a variety of formats.  Purchase Edulink to improve communications. 

Next review September 2024

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