Pupils With Particular

NEEDS

Outstanding educational opportunities for all, regardless of prior ability, are at the heart of our mission. We take a personalised approach, with each pupil at the centre of a personal learning plan. This helps us to ensure that the needs of pupils with differing abilities and potential barriers are fully met. This focus on individual achievement drives our target setting and Academy improvement systems, the delivery of our curriculum and our approaches to behaviour, attendance, and well-being.

We have a Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCO) and a Governor who takes lead responsibility for special educational needs on the Governing Body.

Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND)

It’s very important that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are properly identified, assessed and supported and that the support is tailored to each child’s particular needs. In deciding what those needs are and how we can support the pupil to overcome any ‘barriers to learning’ arising from those needs, we will work closely with the pupil and their family. This 3-way partnership underpins all our work and is a major contributory factor to our success; it is essential in making sure that all pupils make the best possible progress whilst at our Academy.

For a very small number of pupils with more complex and specialist needs, we may also call on the expertise and experience of specialists from outside the Academy. These may be people who work for the SEND specialist teams in the Local Authority or specialists in children’s issues in the Health Service. For pupils who need this extra and more specialist input, we work in close partnership with these external partners as part of an “Education, Health and Care Plan”. This provides a detailed and properly coordinated plan of action to provide additional support to the pupil to enable them to benefit fully from their time at our Academy. The plan is always drawn up in partnership with the pupil and parents and clearly identifies the contributions that each partner needs to make to help the pupil to progress in their learning. There are regular reviews of the progress that the pupil is making and the extent to which the Plan is working. Parents and pupils have an important role to play in helping us to review and, if needed, improve the plan.

For the majority of children and for most of the time, we provide support in class, as part of normal day-to-day lessons. As an inclusive academy where every pupil is valued, we want all pupils to take a full part in all lessons and in every aspect of academy life alongside their peers. Our teachers plan and deliver quality lessons that are well differentiated, so the needs of all pupils are catered for, and all pupils can benefit fully from them. Sometimes, however, a pupil’s personalised assessment shows that they would benefit from additional one-to-one tuition or to work as part of a small group. If this is needed, then it is carefully planned by skilled teachers, and delivered with support from teaching assistants and learning mentors.

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

For pupils who are new to English, we provide additional support to help them improve their English and make progress in their studies. Individual support is planned in partnership with the pupil and their parents. We identify key strategies that the Academy will use to help the pupil to learn, any additional activities (and programmes) the pupil should engage in at home and the way their progress will be monitored.

In supporting pupils with English as an additional language (EAL), we draw on the proven approaches we have used and refined over the years and on best practice from other academies and schools.

Our staff receive training on the best approaches to support pupils with EAL and incorporate this learning into their lessons. Some pupils with EAL benefit from one-to-one tuition or small group work to help them to make more rapid progress in their English language development. If this is needed, we consult with the pupil and parents to make sure it is well planned with clear objectives and timescales. The partnership with the pupil and parents is essential in helping pupils with EAL make the progress we want them to make so that, like all our pupils, they achieve their full potential.

Gifted and Talented Pupils

We have very high expectations of all our pupils, staff and parents. We set ambitious progress and attainment targets for all our pupils based on their ability and prior attainment. We ensure that Gifted and Talented pupils are challenged and supported to excel, with stretching personalised targets in the classroom and tailored enrichment activities. Our approach enables Gifted and Talented pupils to play a full and active part in the life in of the Academy, taking on leadership roles and experiencing special activities that will excite and challenge them. A member of the Senior Leadership Team takes specific responsibility for Gifted and Talented provision.

Thrive Unit

Our Academy has a dedicated Thrive Unit, which caters for pupils with social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties who may be at risk of internal exclusion. The Thrive Unit supports optimal social and emotional development by working in a targeted way with children and young people who have struggled with difficult life events to help them re-engage with life and learning. The Unit has a dedicated team of learning mentors who use a range of age-appropriate techniques to enhance pupils’ emotional and mental wellbeing and ensure they develop the resilience and coping mechanisms to remain in a classroom environment. They focus on a staged approach to progress that centres around “thinking,” “being” and then, finally, “doing.”

The Thrive approach uses sensory, arts and play-based activities with children to promote a positive sense of self and build optimal learning capacity. Lessons take place on either a 1:1 or small group basis. Every child is given an individual plan with specific actions that are clearly communicated to parents, staff and school leaders, and progress is reviewed at regular intervals.

Other Needs

From time to time, pupils may need access to additional support because of specific short-term issues. For example, if a pupil has had to deal with the bereavement of a close family member or friend, then they will need special emotional support. In these circumstances, we will work closely with the family and other agencies to make sure that we provide the support the pupil needs to help them deal with their emotions and to enable them to continue to make progress in their studies.

For some pupils, issues in the home or other external matters can affect their attendance or behaviour at the Academy. In these circumstances, the Academy provides intensive support to make sure they get the help and support they need to improve in these areas and to continue to succeed in their learning.

The Academy’s mentoring programme provides specialised, individual guidance for any young person in need. Sometimes the pupil and family need access to more specialist help. In these cases, we work in partnership with other agencies (the Local Authority, Health Services, voluntary organisations) to plan and provide this specialist support.

Key Information
  • See our Policies and Publications page to access our Supporting Pupils with Special Educational Needs Policy and our Accessibility Plan.
  • The Academy’s SENDCO is Sarah McKirgan (01274 665812). 
  • Visit Bradford’s Local Offer, an online resource that details services, support, and guidance available to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) aged 0–25 and their families.