SEND
Special educational needs and disability (SEND)
Malcolm Arnold Academy values the individuality of all our students.
We are committed to giving all students every opportunity to achieve the highest of standards.
We do this by taking account of students’ varied life experiences and needs. We offer a broad and balanced curriculum and have high expectations for all students. The achievements, attitudes and well-being of all our students matter. This policy helps to ensure that this Academy promotes the individuality of all, irrespective of ethnicity, attainment, age disability, gender or background.
We actively seek to remove the barriers to learning and participation that can hinder or exclude individual students, or groups of students. This means that equality of opportunity must be a reality for our students. We make this a reality through the attention we pay to the different individuals and groups of students within our Academy.
We have a wraparound enrichment offer for our students with SEND you will find this in the inclusion tab in the enrichment section.
Our Academy Inclusion Lead is Mrs Paula Smith
Email: psmith@malcolmarnoldacademy.co.uk
The Special Educational Needs that are provided for at Malcolm Arnold Academy:
- Communication and Interaction (Speech and Language, Communication needs, ASD, Autism).
- Cognition and Learning (Moderate learning difficulties, Severe learning difficulties, Profound and multiple learning difficulties, Specific learning difficulties Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and Dyspraxia).
- Social, Emotional and Mental Health (ADHD, ODD, Anxiety, Depression).
- Sensory and/or physical (Visual Impairment, Hearing Impairment, Multi-sensory, Physical needs).
- Designated Specialist Provision (DSP) for hearing impaired.
Identification and Assessing Needs
- The Inclusion Lead is part of the transition team to attend Primary schools within Year 6 - 7.
- Any student who is on the Primary school SEND register and is coming to Malcolm Arnold Academy will be transferred over to our SEND register. All files and information about the child will also be transferred.
- The SENDCO is available to meet parents/carers of Year 6 students at transition parents evening and open evening of any prospective students who have an identified SEND.
- Any student who has an identified/diagnosed Special Educational Need or Disability via an external professional from an external professional or medical evidence will be placed on the Academy Special Educational Needs register.
- The Academy carries out screening of students for dyslexic tendencies (screening not a diagnosis) and we also assess students in year 10 and 11 who may require examination board access arrangements.
- Staff parents/carers at the Academy can contact the Inclusion Lead with any concerns and evidence they have to suggest a student might have an undiagnosed SEND that needs exploring.
Further Strategies
- Reading ages
- Read Write Inc assessment.
- Teacher or Tutor referral.
- Parental referral.
- Referral from medical practitioner.
Communicating with Families
- Annual Reviews.
- Parents’ evenings.
- Option evenings.
- Settling-in evening for Year 7.
- Parent view (survey).
- Arranged meetings with (Pastoral team) Heads of Year/Form Tutor/Assistant Year Manager or SENDCO.
- Parents are also requested to provide input into their child’s ‘Pupil Profile’
- Mid-term reviews.
- Frequent, informal meetings and conversations in the event of any concerns.
- Parent Voice.
Communicating with Young People
- We operate a pupil centred approach. Each Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) student with the assistance of their support worker completes a One Page Profile. SEND students also contribute to their personalised Pupil Profile. All the information is sent to teaching staff and parents.
Reviewing Progress
- Annual / Transfer review paper work, feedback from all the child’s teachers in relation to their objectives.
- Tracking and monitoring by Heads of Year and Assistant Heads of Year in each year group.
- SEND intervention, based upon advice given from professional diagnostic specialist reports.
- GCSE Academic Intervention are put in place to support progress within subject areas.
- Classroom based low stakes assessment.
- Liaison between Inclusion Lead, Principal, Assistant Principal and Safe Guarding Officer to discuss key children.
- Weekly monitoring of student welfare by the Pastoral Team to include Liaison between tutors and Heads of Year.
- Mid Term reviews with all students allocated an EHCP.
Supporting Transition between Phases of Education
- Additional transition days
- Year 6 transition days
- Prospects Careers Service meetings.
- Arrange open day visits to post 16 Educational Facilities to support the young person in making decisions for their further education, liaising with the SEND department if required to support a smooth transition.
- Trips and visits to college/further educational providers.
- Individual advice from Inclusion Lead/Individual support worker.
SEND in the Classroom
- High quality teaching in the classroom is the initial starting point. Academy staff are inclusive in their teaching of all students and have high expectations.
- We are committed to giving all students every opportunity to achieve the highest of standards.
- Staff at Malcolm Arnold Academy will take many different approaches to personalise the learning and create a learning environment where each child feels confident and safe to make progress, whilst being engaged and challenged at the correct level.
- We are committed to ensuring that all vulnerable learners receive a curriculum that is as ambitious and as knowledge-rich as any other learner, lest they be further disadvantaged by an impoverished or ‘easier’ curriculum diet.
- We are committed to ensuring all vulnerable learners do not receive a curriculum which is shaped around notions of ‘relevance’ and ‘engagement’. Instead, we intend to deliver a curriculum that is ‘context-independent’ (Young, 2018) to elevate them, intellectually, from their context.
- In English and Maths, Direct Instruction is on offer for Year 7 students who have entered the academy non-secondary ready. This curriculum is designed to offer rapid progress in closing gaps so that students can catch-up with their peers. Once students graduate they have access to a wider curriculum with the skills required to be successful learners.
- Further differentiation to ensure access to the curriculum (in all year groups) occurs through expert teaching (targeted questioning, mastery approaches, scaffolding, modelling, individual support and feedback) not though a dilution of the curriculum content.
- We have specialist practitioners supporting all vulnerable learner, who have a wealth of experience in their field.
- The learning environment is adapted according to advice given via specialist diagnostic reports, this advice is filtered to teaching staff via Pupil Profiles i.e. Students have access to further equipment to support in lessons when required.
Professional Development
Malcolm Arnold Academy is committed to the continuing professional development of all staff.
Our Vice Principal Mrs Claire Humphries has completed the National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordination.
Susie Dexter A.D.G (Associate of the Dyslexia Guild) holds the following additional qualifications Specialist SpLD Teacher
PGDip: Special Education Teacher of Children with Hearing Impairment (QTOD)
Certificate of Psychometric Testing, Assessment and Access Arrangements (CPT3A)
The Academy rationale behind staff professional development:
- To develop subject expertise so that our teachers are masters of their discipline and creators of a world-class knowledge-rich curriculum.
- To develop fully guided instruction as the norm in all classrooms.
- To develop leaders who have domain-specific knowledge, strong personal and professional purpose and a relentless drive for the highest standards for children.
- To empower teachers to seek out, critically engage with and learn from the full wealth of educational research, literature and experiences available to them.
- To develop theoretical and practical knowledge of assessment, in all its forms, so that we can be assured that our curriculum is being implemented effectively.
- To create a culture where teaching and learning is the foundation of all conversations (from strategic, deliberate discussions; to informal, incidental corridor-conversations).
At Malcolm Arnold Academy we offer extensive opportunities for all staff to be able to work effectively with all students meeting individual needs and requirements. Our training this academic year includes, but is not limited to, topics such as:
- Supporting and challenging SEND learners
- Class on a Page
- I do, we do, you do
- Subject expertise / knowledge-rich curriculum
- Metacognition and self-regulated learning
- Whole class feedback
- Knowledge Organisers
- Explicit vocabulary instruction
- The four areas of SEND need, supported by external professionals
All teachers have access to our Inclusion team specialists to provide support across the Academy at all times. The Inclusion team have an in-depth knowledge across all areas of SEND however, specific training has allowed each Inclusion team member to gain particular expertise in at least one area of SEND.
Evaluation of our Provision
- The Academy follows the SEND Code of Practice 2015 with the graduate approach, in evaluating the effectiveness of the provision made for children and young people with SEND (Assess, Plan, Do, Review).
Evaluation of our Provision
- All students at the Academy have an opportunity to participate in all available activities offered, fully integrating with whole school students. For example, Spring/Summer and Winter Cup, Academy Sports Day, Full programme of Enrichment including weekly sessions and trips, Residential trips, University visits, Music Cup and many more.
Further Support
- The Academy recognises that bullying takes a number of forms and works actively to promote an understanding that bullying is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Students are supported to report any incident which they believe may be bullying. All reported incidents are dealt with and support provided, when appropriate, for both the bully and the victim.
- Malcolm Arnold Academy has a specialist Social, Emotional, Mental, Health (SEMH) practitioner who supports our vulnerable learners with SEMH difficulties
Working with Other Bodies
The Academy makes contact with a variety of support services to help meet the young person’s SEND and support their families as and when required.
We have links with:
- Referral Management Centre: https://www.nhft.nhs.uk/cyprmc
- Target Autism: http://www.targetautism.co.uk/
- County Sensory Impairment Service: https://www3.northamptonshire.gov.uk/councilservices/children-families-education/SEND/specialistsupport-for-send/Pages/sensory-impairment-service.aspx
- CAMHS: https://www.nhft.nhs.uk/camhs
- Educational Psychologist: https://www3.northamptonshire.gov.uk/councilservices/children-familieseducation/schools-and-education/educational-psychology-service/Pages/default.aspx
- Dyslexia Life:www.dyslexialifeline.co.uk
- Education Inclusion and Partnership team: https://www3.northamptonshire.gov.uk/councilservices/children-families-education/schools-andeducation/information-for-school-staff/pupil-support-and-inclusion/attendance-andbehaviour/Pages/default.aspx
- ADHD Matters:www.adhdmatters.co.uk
- School Nurse: https://www.nhft.nhs.uk/special-school-nursing
- 0-19 Service: https://www.nhft.nhs.uk/0-19
- Information and Advice service: http://www.iassnorthants.co.uk/Pages/home.aspx
- National Autistic Society: https://autism.org.uk
- Free2talk https: Lowdownhttps://thelowdown.info/
- Think for the Furture: https://www.thinkforthefuture.co.uk/
- CIRV: https://www.northants.police.uk/police-forces/northamptonshire-police/areas/northamptonshire-force-content/about-us/about-us/cirv/
- Engage: https://www.northamptonsaintsfoundation.org/programmes/engage
- PCSO
If you would like to view the local authority’s local offer please visit:
www.westnorthants.gov.uk/local-offer
This area will show all documents uploaded to the /docs/send folder.
Documents will be shown in alphabetical order.
To list in date order, the folder should contain the word 'letter' or 'minute'.