Kingsland CE Academy

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Kingsland C. E. Academy is larger than average with 475 pupils currently on roll.

We are two form entry school in which the very large majority of pupils are White British.

51% of our Students are eligible for Pupil Premium. The National Average is 25.2%. The school is located amongst one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country. (IDACI SCORE 0.17) Kingsland is also high in the deprivation indicator at 0.41 (national 0.21)

22% of our Students have Special Educational needs and/or disabilities. 2% Pupils have an EHCP Plan.

Our school has excellent links with St. John's, our local church.

We share our site with a Nursery, The Lighthouse Centre and the community Lantern Cafe.

The Lighthouse Centre (opened in June 2018) is important in supporting our parents and families both in and outside term-time. Please visit www. lighthousecentre.co.uk

Our school is proud to be Apple Regional Training Centre for Stoke-on-Trent where we host iPad training events to effectively use technology in the classroom.

As a Church of England Academy our Christian ethos is at the heart of everything we do. We believe in the importance of developing children’s social skills and confidence leading to informed decision making.

What kinds of SEND does the school provide for?

• Speech, Language and Communication
• Autism
• Physical Impairment
• Learning difficulties
• Hearing Impairment
• Visual Impairment
• Social and Emotional support
• Mental health needs
• Dyslexia 
• Dyspraxia
• Dyscalcula
• Bereavement.

How does this setting know if their children/young person needs extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs?

At Kingsland CE Academy we identify children who need additional help through the graduated response. The academy has a rigorous system in place, these include:

• Sharing of information from previous school or day nursery
• Sharing of information with external agencies e.g. Speech and language, school nurse, health visitor, Educational Psychologist
• Home visits prior to starting school
• Ongoing assessments
• Standardised testing
• Observations of individual children/groups
• Data tracking
• Pupil Progress Meetings
• Concerns raised by staff, parents and children
• Support from SEND services.
• Support from Educational Psychologists

If as a parent / carer you have concerns about your child’s progress your first action is to make an appointment with the class teacher via the office. If you would then like to speak to our SENCO (Special Educational Needs and Disability Coordinator) Miss Wilson, you can arrange an appointment in person (via the office), by phone (01782 229138) or email: office@kingslandceacademy.co.uk 

How will the setting support my child/young person?

• Each child at Kingsland CE Academy is valued equally irrespective of their starting point.
• All staff ensure that children with SEND (special educational and disability needs) engage in the activities of the school alongside those who do not have SEND.
• Each child’s education programme will be planned by the class teacher and in some cases, with the support of the SEND Co-ordinator. It will be differentiated to meet each child’s needs. This includes additional support by the teacher, teaching assistant and use of equipment and resources to help aid learning.
• If a child has needs related to more specific needs of their education such as reading, spelling, writing, Maths and social and emotional needs, then the child will be placed in a small focus group which will be run by a teacher or teaching assistant.  Interventions at Kingsland are generally run for a term.  This is monitored closely through pre and post intervention data, discussions with the teacher, teaching assistant and SEND Co-coordinator and in half-termly pupil progress meetings.  All of this information together informs future planning, interventions and provision.
• Occasionally a child may need support from outside agencies such as speech and language therapy, Educational Psychology, SEND services and medical advisors.  A referral will be made with your consent and forwarded to the appropriate agency. Following this, a programme of support will be given to the school and parents/carers.

How will teaching approaches and the curriculum be matched to my child or young person's needs?

• A child with special educational needs will have their work differentiated by the class teacher to make the curriculum more accessible.
• Special equipment such as writing slope boards, pencil grips, adapted scissors and coloured overlays are given to children if needed.
• At Kingsland, all children have access to 1:1 iPads. These help to open up the curriculum to all children. Children are able to use voice activated tools, typing and photographs to assist with their learning.
• A teacher or teaching assistant may be assigned to work with a child in a one to one or small group to target their specific educational needs.
• If a child has been identified as having a special need, they will be placed on the SEND register (as either SEN support or having an educational health care plan (EHCP) . All SEND pupils will be given an pupil passport termly. Children who are being identified as possibly having special educational needs, will take part in interventions and receive support from the teacher and teaching assistant but will not necessarily have a pupil passport. Targets will be set according to their area of need (which may be Communication and Interaction, Cognition and Learning, Social, emotional and mental health difficulties and Sensory and/or Physical needs).  The class teacher and the SEND co-ordinator will monitor these closely.  A copy will be given to the parent or carer and the parent or carer will be given the opportunity to meet with the class teacher to discuss progress termly.
• The SEND co-ordinator may liaise with the SEND (Special educational Needs and Disability Service) advisor from the local authority or a wider range of professionals to get advice to enable a child to access the curriculum.

How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support their learning?

• Class teachers use a range of information such as observations, assessments and children’s work to regularly assess their progress. This information shapes planning and teaching. 
• You will be able to discuss your child’s progress at termly special educational needs meetings, which will be held at the end of each term.  During these meetings, your child’s work and assessments will be shared so you know how much progress your child has made. 
• For some children, who require considerable support at school, a home/school diary is sent home so that parents/carers and school staff have regular contact and share important information about the child.
• For children with an Educational Health care plan (EHCP), they will have annual reviews involving all agencies involved with their child to discuss their progress and adjust provision for the coming year.
• Written reports are sent home at the end of the academic year.

How will you help me to support my child’s learning?

During parents meetings, informal discussions and termly special educational needs meetings, the class teacher will suggest ways that you can support your child.

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

Kingsland CE Academy offers a wide variety of pastoral support for children and their families who are experiencing emotional difficulties. 

These include:

• Signposting to relevant agencies, for example, the NSPCC / Trailblazers / CAMHS / Young Minds 
• Intervention groups focusing on self-esteem and emotional well-being.
• Direct work will be integrated 
• Care Plans drawn up in consultation with the school nurse, parents, carers and the Senco. 
• There are a number of staff who have been first aid trained.
• School has a home/school link workers available to talk to parents and carers (Mrs Redican / Mrs Street / Mrs Johnson).

What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the setting?

At times it may be necessary to consult with outside agencies to receive their more specialised expertise.  These include:

• Educational Psychologist
• CAMHS
• Educational welfare officers - VIP Attend 
• Social Services
• ChAD Advisors
• Speech and Language Therapy
• Physiotherapy
• Occupational Therapist
• Behaviour Team
• Visual Impaired Team
• Hearing Impaired Team
• School Nurse
• Health Visitors
• SEND Services. 
• SENMAS.

What training are the staff supporting children and young people with SEND have had or are having?

• Dyslexia training
• Talking Maths training
• Paired Maths 
• SULP Training (Social use of language training)
• Spirals training
• Behaviour training
• ASD (Autism) training
• RWI 
• How to be an effective special educational needs teaching assistant
• Precision teaching training
• Language for Thinking 
• Adapting PE to support children with physical disabilities
• Anger Management training
• Mapa (Managing of actual or potential anger training)
• Epilepsy and Asthma training
• First Aid training
• Safeguarding level 1 training
• Social stories training
• Makaton training
• Selective Mutism training
• Relax Kids Yoga training
• Massage Therapy 
• Working with parents with children with special educational needs training.
• Differentiation for children with special educational needs
• The Senco attends termly meetings with the local educational authority for special educational needs updates and works as part of a team within the School Trust.

How will my child/young person be included in activities outside this classroom including school trips?

Activities and school trips are available to all.  Alongside parents/carers, risk assessments are carried out and procedures are put in place to enable all children to participate.  However if it is deemed that an intensive level of one to one support is required, a parent/carer or teaching assistant may be asked to accompany the child during the activity. 

Please refer to the academy accessibility plan and policy on the academy website. 

How accessible is the environment?

As an academy we are happy to discuss individual access requirements.  Facilities that we have at present include one toilet adapted for disabled users, an automated physiotherapy couch and a lift.  All of our classrooms are on the ground floor and technology can be made available to meet the needs of the individual children.

Please refer to the academy accessibility plan and policy on the academy website. 

How will the setting prepare and support my child/young person to join the next stage of education and life?

Many strategies are in place to enable the child’s transition to be as smooth as possible. These include discussions with the previous or receiving schools prior to the child joining/leaving.  All children attend transition sessions where they spend time with their new class teacher.  Additional visits are arranged or children who would benefit from more time at their new school.  Photographs and transition booklets are used when appropriate to support children with their transition. 

Miss Wilson, the Special Educational Needs and Disability Coordinator,  is always willing to meet with parents/carers prior to their child joining the school.  Miss Wilson liaises with other Special Educational Needs Coordinators to pass on information regarding special educational needs children.  Here professionals share data about children’s attainment and strategies that have been persued to support the child.  Secondary school staff visit children prior to joining their school.  Where children have more specific special educational needs an additional meeting may be set up between the Primary and Secondary Special Educational Needs Coordinators with the parents/carers and where appropriate with the child.

Children will an EHCP plan have an early review in Year 5 to allow timely support to be put into place to support their transition.

How are the setting's resources allocated and matched to children's/young people's special educational needs?

The SEND budget is allocated each financial year and the money is used to provide additional support or resources dependent on an individuals need.  The additional provision may be allocated after discussions with the class teacher and at termly meetings or if a concern is being raised at another time in the school year.  These resources may include deployment of staff depending on the child’s circumstances and where a child is entitled to pupil premium funding, this will be used to meet their needs.

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child/young person will receive?

These decisions are made in consultation with the class teacher and Special Educational Needs Coordinator and decisions are based upon termly tracking of children and as a result of national curriculum assessments, standardised assessments and assessments carried out by outside agencies. 

Where, despite having taken relevant action to identify, assess and meet the special educational needs of the child, the child has not made expected progress, the school or parents should consider requesting an educational health care needs assessment.

How will our child and young person be involved in the decisions about their learning?

Staff will involve children in decisions about their learning on a daily basis and when they are writing new passports each term.  Children are also asked for their views as part of the end of term SEND termly reviews.

How will we be involved in the decisions about the learning of our children and young people?

Parents/carers are able to contact class teachers at any time to discuss their child's learning. If parents/carers feel they need to they can make an appointment to see or speak to the Senco at anytime.

Termly SEND meetings with the class teacher also take place and during these,  parents are fully involved in the decision making of their child's learning. 

How are parents involved in the setting? How can I be involved?

All parents are encouraged to contribute to their child’s education.  This may be through discussions with the class teacher during progress meetings, discussions with Miss Wilson or other professionals.  Parents are asked to give their views throughout the year through parent questionnaires and parent focus groups.

What do I do if I want to make a complaint?

The academy’s full complaints procedure is on our website.

Complaints need to follow the following route:

Level 1 - Meet with child’s class teacher

Level 2 - Meet with Vice Principal  (Mrs Glover) or Principal (Mrs Goddard)

Level 3 - Formal complaint in writing to the Principal (Mrs Goddard) 

Level 4 - Request a review from the Board of Governors.

What other support Is available to parents and how can I contact them?

Early Help is available for families experiencing difficulties (financial, health, relationships, children). Contact Mrs Redican via the Academy Office, phone: 01782 229138.

What other support Is available to parents and how can I contact them?

SENDIASS can be contacted by parents if they need further advice.

SENDIASS - SEND Information, Advice & Support Service

Telephone: 01782 234701 or 01782 234847 E-mail: iass@stoke.gov.uk