SEN

SEND Information

SENCO: Mrs Jessamy Hill                                                      SEND Governor: Mr David Day

SRP Lead Teacher: Mrs Cathy Toulet

Assistant Head (Personal Development): Mr Jamie Speed

Contact: 03333 602210

Kent County Council’s Local Offer:

https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educational-needs

At Goodwin Academy, we are committed to transforming the life chances of our students, ensuring that all are supported and encouraged to achieve their personal best. We deliver this through the BEST Agenda – ‘Be Your Best’ with BEST being an acronym for B = Brilliance, E = Enrichment, S = Society and T = Thinking. We therefore strive to ensure that:

• There are high expectations for every student as part of our high quality first teaching within the classroom
• Every lesson motivates students to engage with their learning
• Every student is treated as an individual and with dignity and respect
• Students learn and socialise together, understanding the moral values of respect, tolerance and responsibility through our Goodwin Gateways

In order for this to happen, some students will need extra support and targeted intervention in order for them to reach their full potential. When this has been identified through our Assess, Plan, Do, Review (APDR) graduated response, the SENCO will work with teachers, specialists, parents/carers to consider a range of evidence-based and effective teaching approaches, appropriate equipment, strategies and interventions in order to support students’ progress.

Whole School Approach to SEND:

“A pupil has SEN where their learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision, namely provision different to that normally available to pupils of the same age. Making high quality teaching available to the whole class is likely to mean that fewer pupils will require such support.” (DfE: SEND Code of Practice: 0-25 yrs, 2015).

When deciding whether to make special educational provision for a student, class teachers and Heads of Year, working closely with the SENCO, will consider a range of information about the progress and needs of the student and will follow the APDR (Assess Plan Do Review) graduated response as outlined below:

Assess:

Students’ needs are assessed by their class teachers through formative and summative assessments. If parents/carers or teachers have concerns regarding a student’s levels of progress, the Head of Year will address these concerns through termly progress review meetings with teachers and/or SENCO. If further support is needed, it may be decided that the student will be placed on the SEN register.

Plan:

If a student is placed on the SEN Register, a SEN Support Plan Student Profile will be compiled by the Head of Year in conjunction with parents/carers and class teachers, along with the support of the SENCO.  This profile will identify the additional support the student will receive and strategies that the student will need in order to make progress in their area of need.  Much of this support might be within classroom teaching, but sometimes students will be withdrawn from classes to attend additional interventions designed to teach them specific skills or support them in ways that cannot be delivered within class. These interventions are recorded on a school provision map. Where a student has complex needs in several areas they may have a Personalised Plan that pulls all the strategies and provision together into one document.

Do:

Recommendations are then implemented by class teachers and any other staff involved in supporting the student within school. Additional support outlined in the Student Profile and Provision Map will then be put in place and progress towards targets will be reviewed termly. In some instances, the additional support will take place outside of the classroom and will be delivered by a member of the SEND team under the guidance of the class teacher and SENCO.

Review:

In school review meetings are held every term and a student’s progress towards their outcome and SMART targets will be discussed. Personalised Plans will be reviewed three times a year with parents/carers with new targets agreed and interventions updated accordingly.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND):

There are four broad areas of SEND and support available at Goodwin Academy is categorised under each of the following:

Communication and Interaction

Cognition and Learning

Social, Emotional and Mental Health

Sensory and/or Physical Needs

SEND Provision:

Goodwin Academy’s approach to identification and assessment of special educational needs is set out in our SEND Policy, linked below:

SEND Policy

There are external support services available for parents/carers of children with SEND. The contact details for these services can be found via the following KELSI website link: https://www.kelsi.org.uk/special-education-needs

SENSouth Kent – 03000 420889

Kroner House, Eurogate Business Park, Ashford, Kent, TN24 8XU

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How does the school know if young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child may have special educational needs?

On entry and other points of transition, Goodwin Academy (GA) liaises very closely with primary schools and other providers to ensure that our information is up to date and relevant. Where necessary, highly individualised arrangements can be put in place for students who may be vulnerable over this period. Detailed plans and interventions will already be in place for young people whose special educational needs are already identified on entry.

If a teacher or parent/carer perceives that there may be a difficulty which has not been previously identified, they can speak to the SENCO by arrangement. Using the graduated approach of Assess, Plan, Do and Review (APDR), the SENCO will ensure specific areas of difficulty are investigated to identify barriers to learning and the information is collated for each year group. Heads of Year are also involved in this identification process, liaising with classroom teachers and curriculum leads as required, as is the wider Inclusion team, so that a complete picture may be obtained. The SENCO will then examine the most recent learning data, speak to all of the relevant staff and may undertake or commission additional assessments/ investigations. The views of parents and carers are very important to us and are integral to this process.

Team Around the Child meetings take place regularly and are attended by a wide range of staff within the Academy, both teaching and non-teaching, and can be supported by external agencies when required in order to identify specific outcomes and targeted interventions/support that may be needed to ensure individual students’ progress across the curriculum.

2. How will GA staff support my child?

GA staff will undertake to deliver quality first teaching, monitored by middle and senior leaders as part of the regular review and observation cycle. The SENCO is also responsible for ensuring that interventions impact positively in terms of improved outcomes for the student and represent best possible practice and value for money. Heads of Key Stage, Heads of Year or the SENCO are available to meet parents/carers by appointment. We never assume that “one size will fit all” and we always aim to be as flexible as possible in ensuring bespoke provision where needs warrant.

Planning LSA deployment involves members of the SEND team, English and Maths subject leaders, and the appropriate Heads of Year. Crucially, members of the SEND team meet regularly with Heads of Year and the Inclusion Team to exchange information leading to identification and assessment, to monitor progress and to evaluate impact of interventions carried out by any of the teams and in the classroom on a daily basis, enabling co-ordinated provision.

Students with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will have provision allocated according to the outcomes within the document. The support for these students will incorporate a balance of approaches and will be based on relevant data about a student’s academic progress, personal development and wellbeing. It will be focused on promoting learning and will be regularly reviewed (three times per year) in light of student progress. There will be a choice of interventions driven by evidence of impact and these will be focused on the need to promote student independence, choice and ownership of learning. However, class teachers retain ownership of the learning and progress of all students they teach and the protection of students from harm, including those with an EHC Plan.

3. How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?

High Quality teaching is the first and most effective approach to supporting students with SEND.

Teaching will be adapted to meet the needs of individual students through good inclusive practice.

4. How will I know how my child is progressing?

Student progress data is gathered, collated and monitored every 6-8 weeks and outcomes are shared with parents/carers at designated times of the year. This data will also be used to identify concerns around progress and determine targeted interventions that may be needed within the classroom. The subsequent data will be used to measure the impact of targeted interventions through a class data file. Other measures are routinely used to gauge progress against other needs e.g, attendance data and other scales of emotional well-being and engagement. Parents will have regular opportunities to discuss progress with their teachers at scheduled consultation events or informally by appointment, telephone or email to Heads of Year. In addition, written feedback is provided as per the Academy calendar.

Parents and carers of students in the SRP are also invited to be part of the Steering Group meetings held regularly to enable liaison between KCC, the NHS and the Academy for the Specialist Resource Provision.

Student progress data is gathered, collated and monitored every 6-8 weeks and outcomes are shared with parents/carers at designated times of the year. This data will also be used to identify concerns around progress and determine targeted interventions that may be needed within the classroom. Other measures are routinely used to gauge progress against other needs e.g, attendance data and other scales of emotional well-being and engagement. Parents will have regular opportunities to discuss progress with their teachers at scheduled consultation events or informally by appointment, telephone or email to Heads of Year. In addition, written feedback is provided as per the Academy calendar.

Parents and carers of students in the SRP are also invited to be part of the Steering Group meetings held regularly to enable liaison between KCC, the NHS and the Academy for the Specialist Resource Provision.

5. What support will there be for my child’s overall wellbeing and what specialist services can be accessed by the school?

The SEND team works in conjunction with the Pastoral team, the school mental health lead and the two school ELSAs (Emotional Literacy Support Assistants) to ensure that students’ well-being is supported. We offer group interventions to develop resilience and independence, to promote self-esteem and confidence and to develop self-regulation skills as well as 1:1 mentoring support for learners with more complex needs.

In some cases the Academy may deem it more appropriate to involve a specific external agency (whether through Early Help Notification or separate referral). The arrangements for the appropriate support will be made in conjunction with the staff in the Inclusion team as appropriate. The SEND department also accesses Specialist Teaching Service support through attendance at and referral to the Local Inclusion Forum Team (LIFT) meetings held each term.

Goodwin Academy regularly accesses support from Educational Psychologists, Speech and Language therapists, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy support, in addition to specific agencies such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. These are supplemented by our local School Nurse team and the local offer provided by KCC.

Designation of the Specialist Resource Provision brings with it an additional opportunity to utilise the expertise of the Speech and Language Therapy Service and since 2016, there is now a designated speech and language therapist funded within the Academy on a weekly basis.

If a young person has a medically-related need, a care plan will be drawn-up in advance and reviewed and updated regularly with our Health care plan Co-ordinator.  The First Aid Co-ordinator and her team have duty to administer medicines where appropriate and are also trained for the administration of personal care needs. There are separate policies governing these activities.

The Anti-Bullying policy explains how all young people may enjoy life within their Academy community, free from the anxiety caused by bullying or confident in knowing that it will be dealt with swiftly and effectively if it does occur.

6. What training have the staff supporting young people had?

The SENCO holds the National Award for SENCOs and has a PGCE in education.

Staff have undertaken bespoke training on the identification of specific learning difficulties, communication and interaction and Autism and ADHD and implementation of strategies to support students’ needs within the classroom. The SRP has been awarded Specialist status in addition to this, reflecting levels of expertise across the Academy in meeting SLCN for our students.

The Speech and Language Therapist from the SRP is on site two days a week and is able to offer support and guidance as part of the balanced system approach adopted by the Speech and Language Service. The SEND department receives regular training to ensure they are skilled at supporting students’ learning and developing their independence. They also receive training on supporting high incidence SEN such as Autism, ADHD, dyslexia and a range of SEMH needs. The SENCO also delivers and contributes to whole staff training as part of the Academy’s ongoing CPD (Continuous Professional development) with a current focus on Quality First Teaching and adaptive strategies so that all learners with SEND are supported effectively within whole class teaching.  

7. How will you help me to support my child’s learning?

We welcome the support and involvement of parents in their children’s’ learning. Parent/carer liaison is routinely managed through regular home/school liaison. Parents/carers are encouraged to contact staff directly by telephone or by e mail. All staff are happy to be very flexible in their liaison with parents to ensure that the appropriate support is in place for students both at home and in Goodwin Academy.

8. How will I be involved in discussions about and planning for my child’s education?

We aim to develop close and mutually supportive relationships with parent/carers from the point of transition. Where students have SEND, transition is usually extended, enhanced and bespoke and we aim to involve parents as a source of expertise around the needs of their child. There are regular opportunities to engage with subject and pastoral teams to review progress and set new targets through the Assess, Plan, Do and Review graduated approach. There will also be other opportunities to discuss your child’s learning during annual reviews and SEN Provision reviews. Parents and carers are represented on the governing body.

Parents and carers of students in the SRP are also invited to be part of the Steering Group meetings held regularly to enable liaison between KCC, the NHS and the Academy for the Specialist Resource Provision.

9. How accessible is the GA environment?

The Academy is fully-accessible with a lift and access to all areas.

The site is very clearly sign posted and there are visual timetables for students who require or prefer them. Teachers are accustomed to utilising technology to enhance the visual and auditory environment and bespoke arrangements can be implemented where appropriate. In order to facilitate good communication with parents whose first language is not English, we are able to access interpreters through the Trust, wider community or local authority.

• Who can I contact for further information?

Routinely, the first point of contact is the form tutor or subject teacher, if further clarification or involvement is needed, the curriculum leader, the Head of Year, the Head of Key Stage, or SENCO can always be available on request. We aim to be as accessible as possible.

• How will GA prepare and support my child to join the school, transfer to a new school or to the next stage of education?

We aim to ensure that transitions are positive and will implement a bespoke package where needs warrant this. We involve all other appropriate agencies at other points of transition to ensure that the processes run smoothly and with good outcomes. We are always guided by the views of parents/carers and aim to ensure that the transition is a positive experience for them as well as the young person.

• How are GA resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?

We regularly review and update GA groups and individual provision plans which are costed and evaluated for impact and to ensure value for money and the efficient deployment of resources. We implement KCC’s banding system for SEND which is scrutinised by the local authority and which can be subject to external and independent moderation. We are flexible in this process and never attempt to ensure that “one size fits all”; our focus is to maximise engagement, achievement and enjoyment in learning for ALL of our students.

• What should I do if I have a complaint about the support my child has?

Any complaints about the provision made to the Headteacher or Governing Body will be treated in accordance with the Complaints policy. Such complaints will be acknowledged within 3 working days and a detailed investigation into provision for student needs will be undertaken as part of the process, with evidence. A meeting will be arranged as quickly as possible between the SEND team, Head of Year and Resilience Team, if relevant, and the parents or carers of the student to obtain resolution.