SEND

SEND and the ‘Local Offer’

Aims and philosophy

We passionately believe in an inclusive education for all and are dedicated to providing a “whole school” approach to raising achievement in line with the students starting point.

We are incredibly proud of the personal, social and academic achievements of our young people with Special Education Needs and Disabilities and are confident that through an inclusive learning environment we help students go from Sancroft and beyond.

We have high aspirations for our entire community and aim to create a learning environment which is flexible enough to meet the needs of all students in our community and supports them to make the best possible progress and achieve their full potential regardless of their individual need.

Mrs Smith (SENDco) and Mrs Whittleton (SEND Manager) have responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the schools SEND Policy and operate in accordance with the national Code of Practice 2014 to provide effective support for students.

At Sancroft, we use the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ cycle. We ensure that any additional needs a student may have are identified early and offer a package of support to meet those requirements.

We aim to:

Ensure that the school’s statutory duties are met for students that have an Education Health and Care Plan
Ensure that students are enabled to become independent, resourceful and resilient learners
Ensure every child achieves their potential regardless of their barriers to learning or starting point
Ensure there are strong links with parents and families in regard to supporting their child
Ensure that the views of individual students are considered when determining the nature of provision required to support them.
Ensure all advice from professionals is integrated into planning and provision.
Ensure we use the data and progress of students to inform planning and provision

Provision

At Harleston Sancroft Academy, we aim to ensure students are offered full access to a broad, balanced and relevant education, including an appropriate curriculum with optional elements of bespoke learning. Teachers at Sancroft are dedicated to ensuring that provision is accessible to every young person. The collaboration within the Multi Academy Trust allows teachers to reflect and refine their practice in order to provide high-quality learning for all.

We employ the following (Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) who work under the direction of the SENDCo, SEND Manager and teachers to ensure the best possible outcomes for our students with additional learning needs:

Mrs S Deemer
Mrs HA Fogg
Miss P Frost
Mrs D Griffin
Mrs C Miller
Mrs C Cook
Ms R Blackledge
Mrs C Roberts
Miss A Doe
Mrs S Florence

How we evaluate the effectiveness of our SEND Provision

We continuously ensure that provision has a positive impact on the outcomes for all of our children. We measure all student’s academic progress through summative assessments and where applicable, through targeted intervention. The progress of students with SEND is monitored by the subject teacher, Faculty Leader and the SENDCo. Information regarding progress is then used to evaluate the effectiveness of the support that is given. We will also gather information from the young person, parents/carers, Learning Support Assistants and, where applicable, professionals from other agencies.

We place great importance on effective SEND provision and regularly review the impact of our intervention. Evaluation methods include:

Reviews as part of Faculty and Subject Meetings
Book scrutiny
Curriculum scrutiny
Provision mapping
SENCo/SEND Manager/SLT/Governor monitoring
Learning walks
Performance management targets
With the permission of parents, we may also seek additional advice from outside specialists. This extra advice may come from health professionals, specialist teachers or educational psychologists.

These professionals may:

Carry out further activities to show what the child finds easy and what they may need specific help with
Provide advice to schools on how to best support the child
Suggest resources (things) that would help the child make progress

If your child needs lots of help from a range of professionals to succeed in school and in life, we will talk with you. We may, with your permission, ask the Local Authority to carry out an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment.

A Team

The A Team is a cohort of students that receive nurture-based provision. The aim of this focused intervention strategy is to provide support and guidance in a safe, and structured environment. A number of resources are designed to bridge the gap between home and school and aim to enable full access to the curriculum. Students are carefully selected according to their individual holistic profile of needs, identified using a dynamic assessment model, visits to the child in their primary school, as well as conversations with families and previous settings. A variety of tailored experiences, opportunities and resources are then employed to address these needs within a culture of trust, understanding and knowledge.

Learning support takes place both in the classroom alongside the students and through targeted intervention usually delivered in one of our nurture classrooms. Designed to offer a safe and structured learning environment, the nurture classrooms are the base for a wide range of intervention for all students including High Achieving Pupils, students with SEN, struggling readers and the A Team.

The nurture classrooms are also available at lunchtimes for students who may benefit from this environment at less structured times of the day.

Interventions

During their educational journey, a student may require a more bespoke and personalised approach to their learning. In which case, the student may receive some additional intervention as part of their provision. At Sancroft, we offer optional personalised learning interventions to identified students.

For those students who have disabilities, guidance is sought, and all reasonable adjustments are made.