FAQs Archive - The Stephen Longfellow Academy

Q: What kind of help and support can you offer to students with Special Education Needs and Disability?

A strong and highly trained pastoral team who are responsive for student’s needs High levels of personalised materials in lessons Individual and small group literacy and numeracy support Pastoral support coaches and welfare support officers Small class sizes A high level of therapeutic support – Wellbeing Coach, Accredited Counsellor, Level 7 Counsellor, Assistant Principal leading on Health and Wellbeing Family liaison officer and family support Behaviour focused programmes, such as Martial Arts and bag work, physical therapies A variety of programmes to help students for Social Emotional and Mental Health Bespoke 1:1 intervention and/or small group intervention Technology for access and access arrangements in class and for examinations Referral to external agencies

Q: How are children and young people included in the planning for their support and provision?

The SENDCo and Assistant SENDCos work closely with the on roll (commissioning academy) to transition students with SEND to the academy. This includes planning for the student. Parents/carers are invited to an induction meeting at the start of a placement to share information and plan for students. Form tutors update every student’s Individual Education and Behaviour Plans (IEBPs) and contact parents/carers on a weekly basis and parents/carers are invited to discuss SEND needs informally but also at parents/carers event and inclusion consultation events. Students discuss the information on their IEBPs and targets with their form tutors, which includes strategies for support and areas of difficulty.

Q: What specialist services and expertise are available or can be accessed at the academy?

The academy has strong relationships with specialist services within the local area. These include, but are not limited to: Educational Psychologists Occupational therapy Complex Needs Team Speech and Language Therapist Team Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) STARS – Autistic Spectrum Conditions SENIT (Complex Needs Team) – Dyslexia specialists specifically This list is not exhaustive and The Stephen Longfellow Academy is committed to communicating and working closely with professionals involved with a young person or child and their family.

Q: What support will there be for my child’s/the young person’s overall wellbeing?

SENDCo and an Assistant SENDCo for both primary and Attendance and welfare support Primary Teaching Assistant Senior Pastoral Coach/Pastoral Coach – both primary and secondary BACP Accredited Counsellor Accredited wellbeing coach Level 7 qualified therapist/counsellor Welfare officers – behaviour and emotional regulation support Assistant Principal – lead for health and wellbeing (medically trained professional) SENDCos referrals where further personalisation and intervention is needed Assemblies, form time activities around Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development and Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Physical and behaviour focused support Family support The academy has 9 trained Child Protection Designated Officer Daily check-ins with pastoral staff Green rooms access and pastoral support

Q: How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s/young person’s needs?

The Stephen Longfellow Academy is an Alternative Provision setting and therefore we provide a bespoke and personalised curriculum to meet the varied needs of all of our students. There is a high level of personalisation led by the expertise of Curriculum Leaders and teaching staff, with the support and advice from pastoral and therapeutic professionals. Where students are accessing Quality First teaching and following assessment and review they are not making expected progress they may need further intervention and support, such as group work. Students may specifically have Social Emotional and Mental Health difficulties and will have access to bespoke pastoral or therapeutic support.

Q: How will the academy support my child/young person?

All teachers at the academy are teachers of students with SEND and will support students in their classes by personalising their lessons in response to a student’s needs. Teachers will refer to the SENDCo/Assistant SENDCo if they have concerns about a student’s academic progress or emotional wellbeing. The SENDCo/Assistant SENDCo oversees the day-to-day provision for children and young people in the setting, this includes quality assuring teaching and personalisation and pastoral support. The primary setting and Key Stage 3 and 4 have a phase leader/Head of Key Stage who support and monitor student’s academic progress and emotional wellbeing and can access support in and outside of the academy. Every student has a form tutor who has a two lessons a day with their tutor group, where the student’s day is reviewed and progress praised, this includes and review of their ClassCharts information through the day.

Q: How does the academy know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person has Special Educational Needs?

Some children/young people attend the academy and have already been identified as having a specific need and are on the SEND register. Others are referred to attend the academy and the on roll school has identified difficulties but not assessed fully what these are. When a student is referred to attend the academy we review all of the information provided by their commissioning school and also carry out baseline assessment and reading/spellings assessments. We also assess student’s Social Emotional and Mental Health through Strengths and Difficulties questionnaires. The SENDCo will review all of this information, any professional reports, assessment data and the initial assessment to identify of students may have a specific difficulty. Students may then have further observations by the SENDCo/Assistant SENDCos to identify areas of need. At this stage this would be discussed with parents/carers. If you are feel that you child/young person has SEND you can contact the SENDCo to discuss this further.

Q: How will we assess how your child/young person is doing and how will we help you to support your child/young person’s learning?

Every student in the academy is assessed formally on a termly basis and data is reported to parents/carers along with information about whether or not your child/young person is on track to achieve their target grade. Once per year this data is accompanied by summary comments from the form tutor and Head of Key Stage/phase and pastoral coaches/therapeutic staff members. The SENDCo/Assistant SENDCo and professional agencies may also use different assessment tools to assess the learning of your child/young person to further investigate if they a specific difficulty or need that impacts upon their learning. At each Assessment Point the SENDCo, along with the Senior Leadership Team, analyse the data of students with SEND to ensure they are making progress in line with their peers. If students are not making, or are not on track to make expected progress appropriate intervention and sourcing of any additional support will be put in place. There is a Parents’ Evening for each year group and also SEND consultation opportunities throughout the year to review progress, set targets for Individual Education and Behaviour Plans and discuss and plan intervention.

17 07, 2020

What kind of help and support can you offer to students with Special Education Needs and Disability?

[email protected]2020-07-17T13:55:39+01:00

What kind of help and support can you offer to students with Special Education Needs and Disability?[email protected]2020-07-17T13:55:39+01:00

17 07, 2020

How are children and young people included in the planning for their support and provision?

[email protected]2020-07-17T13:55:19+01:00

How are children and young people included in the planning for their support and provision?[email protected]2020-07-17T13:55:19+01:00

17 07, 2020

What specialist services and expertise are available or can be accessed at the academy?

[email protected]2020-07-17T13:54:59+01:00

What specialist services and expertise are available or can be accessed at the academy?[email protected]2020-07-17T13:54:59+01:00

17 07, 2020

What support will there be for my child’s/the young person’s overall wellbeing?

[email protected]2020-07-17T13:54:36+01:00

What support will there be for my child’s/the young person’s overall wellbeing?[email protected]2020-07-17T13:54:36+01:00

17 07, 2020

How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s/young person’s needs?

[email protected]2020-07-17T13:54:14+01:00

How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s/young person’s needs?[email protected]2020-07-17T13:54:14+01:00

17 07, 2020

How will the academy support my child/young person?

[email protected]2020-07-17T13:53:51+01:00

How will the academy support my child/young person?[email protected]2020-07-17T13:53:51+01:00

17 07, 2020

How does the academy know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person has Special Educational Needs?

[email protected]2020-07-17T13:53:29+01:00

How does the academy know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person has Special Educational Needs?[email protected]2020-07-17T13:53:29+01:00

17 07, 2020

How will we assess how your child/young person is doing and how will we help you to support your child/young person’s learning?

[email protected]2020-07-17T13:53:11+01:00

How will we assess how your child/young person is doing and how will we help you to support your child/young person’s learning?[email protected]2020-07-17T13:53:11+01:00