Walton Academy

Local Offer

Description

What should I do if I think my child has special educational needs?

Initially speak with your child’s Form Tutor or classroom teachers and explain your concerns. You may choose to go on to complete the SEND Identification Sheet for Parents/Carers and/or Students and send this in to the SENDCo, Mrs Bassan, who will contact you to discuss your concerns and can help to explore a range of strategies to support your child.

How will the school respond to my concern?

We will listen to your concerns and investigate and discuss the situation. If a longer meeting is needed, this will be arranged. If the SENDCo feels that the issues are more Pastoral, or Curricular, then it is likely that referrals will be made to relevant staff. Your concerns will be looked into over an agreed length of time, with the sharing of information between school and home. A follow-up meeting may then be organised to review the progress made and discuss the next steps to take.

How will school decide if my child needs extra support?

The decision will be made by the SENDCo after gathering information from class teachers and in-school tracking systems and may involve your child having an assessment/intervention programme by an outside agency. You and your child will be involved in deciding the next steps; in setting individualised targets and in monitoring impact.

What support will there be for my child’s emotional and social well-being?

The emotional and social well-being of your child is of great importance to us at Walton. If there are any difficulties with this, the first ‘port of call’ should be a Form Tutor, closely followed by support from our Pastoral Team who can, where appropriate, put additional intervention (individual or small group) in place to help your young person with their emotional and social development.

We work closely with outside agencies to support students with emotional and behavioural needs if this is necessary. The school rules and our positive discipline system, are consistently used to support good behaviour in school. We do not usually administer medication to students in school, although parents/carers of students with long-term medical issues/disabilities are invited to discuss the planned administration of long term prescribed medication with the SENDCo.

Contact Name

Mrs T Bassan

Contact Telephone

01476 563251

Contact Email

tbassan@walton-ac.org.uk

Experience

What will the school do to support my child?

Every student at Walton has tailor-made targets to suit her individual needs, facilitated by our Pastoral system. If we decide that your child has SEND issues then we will start a cycle of Assess> Plan > Do> Review where we will identify, through assessment of need, and agree upon specific, time measured SEND targets for your child to work towards. These will be recorded on an Individual Education Plan (IEP) which will be reviewed regularly and will be impact driven. Additional support may be organised by a Form Tutor, regular class teacher or other members of staff, or there may be in-school intervention sessions led by a trained Teaching Assistant (TA). This may involve your child participating in individual, or small group work sessions or could involve using specific resources/strategies to enable full access to the regular school curriculum. The IEP will be revised at least termly, or three times a year during a Structured Conversation/Review Meeting which may take place as a face to face meeting, over the phone or via email.

Who will support my child in school?

Your child will be supported by:

• Class teachers
• Teaching Assistants working within class
• Form Tutors
• Pastoral Team
• Support staff – including the First Aiders
• Outside agencies

Who else might be involved in supporting my child?

Where appropriate, outside agencies will be asked to support your child and the staff who work with them.

These include:

• Educational Psychologist – Emma Clink
• Specialist Teaching Team (STT) – Mrs Helen Lane
• Speech and Language Therapist – ECLIPS team and Karen Lawrie
• Sensory Education Support Team – Ms Isabel Widdowson
• School Nurse
• Community Paediatrics
• Targeted Youth
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
• Lincolnshire Healthy Minds

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

Students of all abilities and needs are able to access the full curriculum and be supported and challenged by their teachers. It is the teacher’s role to differentiate, which means to amend or edit the work to make it suitable for learners of all abilities. Teachers are expected to support learners with a range of learning needs as a matter of course and deliver quality first teaching. A TA may be present in your child’s lessons and your child may access some support and intervention from the TA, but this should be led by the teacher and will not usually be on a 1:1 basis. ICT is used regularly to enhance our curriculum. Some students have the personal use of laptops, voice activated word processors and tablets to aid their learning. Classroom layout, including seating arrangements, displays and groupings of students is likely to be used to support every student with their individual needs. Quality Assurance of differentiation occurs through lesson observations, work sampling, student pursuit, and student feedback. If your child needs support over and above that which the teacher is able to provide in class, additional individual or group intervention work will be offered. This could be with a teacher, a TA or an Outside Agent.

What opportunities will there be for me to discuss my child’s achievements?
How will I know how my child is progressing?

Your child will have three Attainment and Progress Checks in an academic year. This is where you will receive formal documented feedback about progress from every one of your child’s teachers. All teachers welcome communication over any concerns you may have over their young person’s progress. We hold a yearly parents’ consultation evening, in order to discuss and review your child’s progress and attainment face to face. A follow up meeting may be arranged if time is an issue. In some instances – when agreed by school and parents and the usual medium of communication via the Homework Diary is deemed insufficient – a home-school communication book may be used to assist the home-school partnership for the benefit of the young person. It is sometimes useful to maintain regular email and/or telephone conversations if more frequent contact with home is necessary.

How does the school know how well my child is doing?

We constantly track student progress. We formally measure the amount of progress made three times yearly and measure how their attainment compares with age related and academic expectations. Any students working significantly below age expectations are assessed using PIVATS (Performance Indicators for Value Added Target Setting). This enables us to measure small steps of progress, and set appropriately challenging specific targets. We also assess students using standardised assessments (such as Reading and Spelling Ages), teacher assessments and CATs. All of these are used to provide a clear and detailed picture of your child’s progress and attainment. All students have individual targets in their Homework Diaries which will support the next steps of their learning.

How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom, including school trips?

There is a working area in the library for your child to work quietly on homework both before school, after 8am, and after school until 5.00pm from Monday to Friday. There are also many various different clubs and activities which are provided for the benefit of all students which take place during lunch times and after school. We have a varied programme of school trips, including trips related to current topics and other curriculum areas. We ensure that we have enough adults on trips to enable all students to take part and provide TA support if physical or medical support is required.

How accessible is the school environment?

The school is not entirely accessible to wheelchairs as we have a 1960s tower block and no lift facilities available in the main school. Several classrooms are wheel-chair accessible and there are three disabled toilets in school. There is a lift in the Post 16 building. We carry out regular accessibility surveys to ensure that problems are minimised. Specialist equipment and resources are used to support student needs as necessary.

How will the school prepare and support my child to join the school?

We organise a series of events for students at transition, including our scheduled Transition Week in the Summer term and bespoke transition visits/programmes of visits if these are required. Our TAs visit as many local primary schools as possible prior to the Transition Week in order to liaise more closely with Y6 teachers and to complete a pen portrait and provide us with essential transition information about the SEND needs of individuals. All Y6 students also receive a visit from another key member of the pastoral team so that they can ask any questions and/or share any concerns about transition. For students starting at other times of year, or in other year groups, we encourage you to look round, and – if possible – organise for your child to spend an afternoon in their new class getting to know the adults, the other students and our routines. If your young person has SEND issues then we recommend an additional transition meeting to take place with the SENDCo prior to starting at Walton.

How will the school prepare and support my child to transfer to a new setting/school/college?

We work closely with our students at transition points and provide a personalised plan of Careers Support and Guidance to those who need it.

How can I be involved in supporting my child in school?

We encourage all parents to be actively engaged in supporting their child’s education. You could continue to encourage them to read widely and provide a quiet and supportive environment for them to complete their homework in. You could support your child by encouraging them to plan and proof read their work carefully and help them with their learning for tests and exams. Your child will have a homework diary issued at the start of the year and this provides an ideal opportunity for you to be directly involved in monitoring and supporting home learning tasks. Your child’s individual targets will be shared with you, along with ways for you to support achievement.

Training details

What training and experience do staff have for the additional support my child’s needs?

The SENDCo has attended a variety of training courses to suit her role in school, including training in Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Sensory Impairment, Medical Conditions, Sensory Impairment and Dyslexia, amongst others. She also has well-established, close working relationships with a team of outside agency professionals who provide specialist support, advice and guidance. Staff have had training in Sensory Impairment disorders, literacy difficulties and Autistic Spectrum Disorders, with TAs being trained in paired reading, dyslexia support and ASD. One member of staff has had training in Dyscalculia, another is qualified to deliver EKLAN Speech and Language support. We also have staff who have been trained in supporting students who have experienced grief and loss and in supporting students with a range of mental health issues and who liaise regularly with a team of health workers. TAs have had training in the delivery of a range of different interventions, including paired reading and speech and language support.

Links

SEND (Parent tab)

Local Offer Age Bands

Secondary (11-16 years)

SEN Provision Type

Universal