Special Educational Needs

  

Rebecca Miller – SENCo

Dawn Connelly - Teaching Assistant

Caroline McDonnell - Teaching Assistant

Angela Cracknell – Teaching Assistant

Sarah Russell – Teaching Assistant

Rebecca Shaw - Teaching Assistant

Chantelle Duncanson - Teaching Assistant 

Nicola Berridge - Teaching Assistant

Danielle Hayhow - Higher Level Teaching Assistant

Samantha Sowerby - Teaching Assistant

Claire Thompson - Teaching Assistant

Stephanie Wilson - Teaching Assistant

Tracy Roberts – SEN Administrator

  • All members of the SEN team can be contacted using the following:
  • Email – info@rrma.org.uk
  • Phone – 01228 822644

Literacy

Lexia Reading Programme is used across the school which helps to target reading and literacy skills.  Students in Key Stage 3 also have a literacy lesson with their English teacher every week.

Literacy is a focus across all subjects, a high focus is placed on it in all students' reading, writing, speaking and listening. 

Numeracy

SPARX Maths – Hegarty Maths allows students to work independently on developing their own skills, with access to video demonstrations as well as teacher support. It provides instant feedback and guidance to move forward.

We also use the Maths Recovery programme to target those students with specific gaps in their maths skills.  We run a maths misconceptions group after school on a Thursday with Miss Wilson.

Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties

The Academy Positive Mental Health lead is Emily Grierson.

The inclusion and pastoral teams work closely with students to develop self-esteem, self-awareness, self-confidence and then work closely with the student to develop the ability to self-manage their emotions and behaviours.

The staff work closely with students to develop their understanding of mental health and the impact it has on their everyday life, this will involve the student developing the ability to identify when he/she needs support and having the confidence to ask for help, as well as knowing where and whom to get help from.  Staff at the Academy are trained to identify when appropriate intervention should take place and which agency to refer to in order to ensure the student’s needs are met.

The goal of the team is to always support students in developing emotionally healthy lifestyles through solid strategies that the student can own and self-manage.

Sensory and Physical Needs

Our SENCo creates and develops medical plans for all students who require it.  The department have a dedicated medical room. 

The department will carry out school risk assessments and plan appropriately to meet the needs of any students with medical needs or physical disabilities. A medical plan will be completed and appropriate staff training will be implemented as required.

The school will work closely with any external agencies including the NHS to ensure quality of life and quality of educational provision for its students. The SENs staff will ensure regular contact with home and involve parents in all decision making about a student’s provision.

The Academy spans 3 floors, we have an elevator in place to ensure access to all areas of the building. A member of staff will always be made available to escort students in the lift.

Appropriate assessments of students' needs for exam concessions will also take place to ensure no disadvantage during internal or external examinations, eg end of year tests, GCSEs etc. The SENCO will carry out the appropriate assessments and apply for support as is needed for individual students.

      Inclusion

Children with SEND are educated alongside their peers who are not recognised as having SEND. They are specifically encouraged to integrate fully in the life of the academy, including in extra-curricular activities with students not recognised as having SEND and at social times.

Parents are invited and welcome to be involved in every decision about their child’s future. The Academy encourage, welcome and value all support from home. We recognise the importance of support from home and understand that no one knows your child better than you.

We will invite you to be involved with all reviews of your child’s progress and will keep you informed of all developments in their intervention and progress and how the academy is meeting your child’s changing needs. Reviews can take place in the format of a meeting, over the phone or information passed by email or letter. The Academy will strive to accommodate parents as much as possible. We expect and encourage all of our parents to offer their thoughts about how to meet their child’s needs in school and will where possible implement these suggestions as appropriate.

The Academy discusses all support offered with our students.

We welcome thoughts and ideas from students about how to improve interventions and support.

We share all strategies and targets with our students so they have an understanding about what is happening and why.

We enjoy celebrating our students success with them and always strive to ensure they have aspirational goals for themselves!

Students are given base line assessments before any intervention so as to highlight key areas of focus, they are then tested throughout and again at the end of an intervention stretch.

Students are given end of term assessments in all subjects.

All of this will contribute to identifying a students progress against their targets / goals.

This information will be shared with the student and parents. At this point the SEN team, parent and student will identify how to move forward together in order to achieve the best possible progress.

Some students may be entitled to exam concessions – this is where a student may be able to access support during internal academy exams and formal GCSEs.

To access this support the student will be tested by the SENCo using approved tests which identify if the child may have a specific need in an exam.

The results of these tests will then inform whether additional support can be applied for. If a student scores low enough for the academy to apply for concessions an application to the exam board will take place at which point they will identify what concessions, if any the student may be entitled to.

If a student is entitled to concessions, the Academy will provide the support required and provision will be made away from the main exam hall.

Any and all entitlements will be shared with the student and parent.

The Academy strives to develop relationships with Primary schools and support all students in their transition to secondary school.

When a Primary school or external agency invite RRMA to any meetings for students intending to transition to us, we will always ensure an appropriate member of the team attends.

RRMA currently works with students from Y5 to prepare a tailored transition that ensures students are successful.

An appropriate member of the SENs team will attend all EHCP reviews in order to plan and support and effective transition to secondary school.

Tailored transitions can include:

A walk around the building – as many times as you need! Parents are welcome to join in.

1:1 time in the SENs department

Small group sessions in the SENs department with peers

Cooking clubs

Sports activities

Staff may (if appropriate) come and spend time with the student in the primary school to develop a relationship

Activities / interventions in the library

The SENs department will strive to meet any requirements an individual child has in order to ensure they have a positive experience when transitioning.

Post 16 Transition

At Richard Rose Morton Academy we work closely with the local authority and external agencies to ensure that students leaving RRMA have a supportive and effective transition to any post 16 choices they make.

We work closely with Inspira, Social Care (where appropriate), Colleges and 6th Forms to ensure our students receive the best transition possible.

All relevant agencies will be invited to EHCP reviews from year 10 in order to ensure continuity of the transition.

The SENs team will accompany students and parents on visits to post 16 institutions and support with advice and access to relevant professionals and additional sevices as much as possible.

We will:

  • Arrange visits
  • Accompany students on visits
  • Attend / organise meetings inviting all relevant parties
  • Support in ensure effective communication with everyone involved
  • Share relevant data with other institutions

All teachers have access to the SEND register and as such are fully aware of the students in their classes who are on the SEND register.

Teachers are expected to adapt their lessons to meet the individual needs of students through tailored planning of activities and resources, tailored questioning and language and will implement strategies advised by the SEND department. Teachers will scaffold activities to promote independence and resilience.

Teachers have access to students' learning plans, which have no more than two targets on them along with advice and strategies, it is expected this information will be used to identify adaptations required for a lesson.  

All SEND students will have access to the full curriculum offered at Morton Academy and as such it is our responsibility to ensure they can access it.

Where appropriate, TA support will be available in the classroom to ensure effective access to the curriculum. TAs will support the students understanding of the lesson and support the child to make progress.

The SEND department support teachers further by offering advice and guidance when planning for SEND students, help to make differentiated resources and support with assessment.

In the event that Academy and parent / student feel that they are making less than expected progress following intervention, it may be appropriate to make a referral for external assessment and advice / support.

In order to do this, the Academy will complete a referral document with the parent and send it to the relevant professional.

Please see the Local Authority website for the Local Offer as to what is available.

Who do I speak to if I’m worried about my child’s progress?

 if you are worried about multiple subjects, speak to the Head of Year or SENCo. If it is one subject, try speaking to the class teacher to identify if there is an issue.

My child finds reading hard, how do I get help?

Speak to the SENCo or SEN team, we can spend some time assessing your child’s progress and from there make a decision with you about how best to help.
What is an IEP or pupil profile?

At RRMA we use an individual education plan or pupil profile to help share targets, offer advice and monitor progress. You will be invited to be involved in the writing and implementation of these if your child needs one.

What if my child needs ore support than your school can offer?

RRMA will strive to meet your child’s needs, in the rare event that we cant, we will take advice from external specialists and work closely with both them and yourselves to ensure we make all reasonable adjustments that we can for your child to access everything we have to offer.

What is an EHCP?

An EHCP is an EDUCATION HEALTHCARE PLAN. It is the new version of a statement, but improved. An EHCP is designed to ensure that all agencies work closely together to support a child more effectively and that we work closely with parents and the child to make sure all their needs are met.

How do I get an EHCP for my child?

The Local Authority would carry out a statutory assessment to identify if your child meets the criteria for one to be implemented.

How do I get in touch if I want to speak to someone?

See the contact page for details.

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