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Special Educational Needs
At Kingswinford Academy:
- We concentrate on the individual needs of our students.
- We are committed to offering an inclusive curriculum to ensure the best progress for all of our students irrespective of their needs or abilities
- Support is based on the notion that learning occurs in context rather than in isolation – our support is therefore focused wherever possible in the classroom supporting the student, the curriculum and the teacher
- All Special Educational Needs (SEND) students will be offered full access to a broad, balanced and relevant education.
The needs of the majority of students will be met in the classroom, through high quality teaching. Teachers are expected to ensure that students with special educational needs are fully involved in the life of the class and individual subject teachers are made aware of the students’ needs through the publication of the Curriculum Support Register’. Teaching staff are expected to make reasonable adjustments to their teaching through differentiation to ensure the needs of all SEND students are met.
The SEND School Information Report is updated each year to reflect the current practices required by the SEN Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs (2014) and other legislation, such as the Equality Act (2010).
The support provided directly by the school is supported by additional Local Authority Services who work alongside the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) to meet the specific needs of our students.
Some of these additional services are:
- Dudley Learning Support Service
- Educational Psychology Service For Everyone
- Physical and Sensory Team
- Autism Outreach Service
- Speech and Language Therapy services
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
- Connexions
- School Health Advisor
- Dudley Counselling Service
SEND Staff
- Mrs E Wilkinson – SENCo
- Mrs Hall – Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead
- Mrs Barker – Higher Level Teaching Assistant
- 8 Teaching Assistants (at Level 3 and Level 2)
How we support SEND students
We offer comprehensive support for SEND students which includes the following:
- Provide advice, support and strategies to teachers
- Collaborate with staff on teaching programmes and curriculum
- Provide training to teachers and teaching assistants
- Liaise with external agencies and primary schools
- Work closely with parents and carers
- Hold annual review and individual education plan meetings
- Assess for examination arrangements for students
- Provide specialised interventions including dyslexia tuition.
Assistants Teachers are deployed with either individual students or within curriculum areas and are allocated either according to the requirements outlined in a student’s ‘Education, Health and Care Plan’ or within the school’s ‘Curriculum Support Register and Provision Map’. They are allocated, where resources allow, to individual students or specific groups of students, such as those who require a more tailored intervention package in order to succeed.
Most support is provided in class by Assistant Teachers, meaning that a student can benefit from small group intervention and additional adults in the classroom. Some students are identified based on prior assessment data to participate in additional interventions (either 1:1 or in a small group setting) with literacy, numeracy or a social skill focus.
We have two well equipped teaching rooms for students to receive interventions, including the use of ICT. We also have a Student Support Centre where students undertake the 'Successful Learner Programme'.
There is provision made for vulnerable students who are supported and supervised by Assistant Teachers during both lunch and break time.