SEN Information Report

Louth Academy is committed to ensuring every child is supported to flourish, with a strong focus on inclusion, identity and belonging. We hold high expectations for all pupils and support their individual aspirations. Through the graduated approach (a continuous, four-part cycle used by educators to assess, plan, deliver, and review support for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities), we identify needs and provide targeted support that enables children to access a broad and balanced curriculum. Our provision is enhanced through a range of enrichment (extracurricular and out-of-classroom experiences that go beyond the basic academic curriculum) opportunities. We access the Lincolnshire local offer, ensuring pupils with SEND can fully participate in school life. We strive to create an environment where every learner feels supported, confident, and able to succeed.

Which kinds of SEND are provided for?

Our Academy currently provides additional and/or different provision for a range of needs. The range of needs supported are:

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and learning
• Social, emotional and mental health difficulties
• Sensory and/or physical needs

Arrangements for identifying students with SEND and assessing their needs:

Students with SEND, including those who are CiC (Child in Care), are identified in a number of ways:

• Regular internal assessment (1 x in-class assessment & 1 x examination) and scrutiny of results by subject leaders
• Key Stage 2 data
• SENDCo attendance at Year 6 Annual Reviews
• SENDCo participating in the SEND local network meetings
• Liaison with primary school to support student transition and information
• Concerns/information received from a parent/carer/student
• Concerns/information received from a teacher and support staff through the SEND referral form
• Annual reading tests
• Use of graduated approach (assess-plan-do-review)

Arrangements for consulting parents/carers of children with SEND and involving them in their child's education:

In addition to normal reporting arrangements, parents/carers are able to discuss their child's progress in a number of ways:

• New Intake Parents' Evening
• Contact with form tutor/pastoral manager
• Formal request for meeting with Pastoral Manager
• Discussion/meeting with SENDCo
• Parents' Evening (annually)
• Options Evening (annually)
• SEND coffee morning (annually)
• Students with an EHCP have an annual statutory review
• Progress is formally reported to parents twice a year
• Single Page Profile (for students on the SEND register)

Assessment data is scrutinised after each progress point measure. These results are used to inform teacher planning. The Academy has a data assessment system in place which records, monitors and predicts outcomes for each individual student.

Parents/carers are able to contact the Academy at any time if they wish to discuss the progress of their child. The Academy also issues each child with a Student Planner which parents/carers can use as a form of communication. This ensures that parents can contact their child's form tutor or class teacher easily and directly. Parents/carers can discuss any concerns with the Academy SENDCo.

Arrangements for consulting students with SEND and including them in their education and enrichment:

• Children's views are taken into account through questionnaires and student voice
• Children are always given the opportunity to discuss their progress or any other concerns they may have with their teachers, pastoral staff and support staff
• Online forms are completed by all SEND students to gather their views
• Intervention programmes
• Student voice is apparent in a student's Single Page Profile

Arrangements for assessing and reviewing students' progress towards outcomes:

• Monitoring by the SENDCo (throughout the academic year following teacher feedback)
• Reviewing pupils' progress through formative and summative assessment
• Pupil questionnaires
• Holding annual reviews for pupils with EHC plans and communicating with caseworkers
• SISRA (software used to track pupil performance, grades, attendance and observations of teaching & learning support staff)
• Providing targeted feedback to learning support staff
• Tracking impact of targeted intervention

Arrangements for supporting students moving between phases of education and in preparing for adulthood:

The SENDCo attends Annual Reviews (SEND/EHCPs) of Year 6 students.

Year 5 taster days are offered to our feeder Primary Schools.

Pre-visits are delivered to Year 6 students identified by primary schools who may benefit from additional transition. Students could have SEND needs, but may also need additional reassurance before joining the Academy. A team of senior staff visit every feeder school prior to students joining in Year 6. This ensures that all relevant information is shared. The academy also completes open and closed tours of the site as well as providing extra transition time when moving between upper and lower site.

Year 9 onwards - the SENDCo liaises with an external Careers Advisor prior to annual reviews for all students with an EHCP or students who are a CiC.

Year 10 students carry out a week of work experience; the SENDCo communicates with the Careers Advisor to facilitate placements. During Year 10 and 11, students are advised and supported on an individual basis to help in their post-16 choices. An independent Careers Advisor is employed by the Academy to support students making career choices.

Arrangements for supporting students with SEND needs:

Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all the students in their class. High quality inclusive teaching is our first step in responding to pupils who have SEND. We provide a broad and balanced curriculum (an educational framework that offers a diverse array of subjects, blending academic rigor with physical, creative, and personal development). This will be differentiated to ensure that individual students' needs are met and that all students achieve their academic potential.

The Academy's banding and setting structure ensures any student who requires additional support receives this through normal timetabled provision. In addition to this, there is a team of support staff who provide individual or small group support to students.

The Health and Well-Being Practitioner (mental health professional who provides early intervention for students experiencing mild to moderate emotional or behavioural difficulties, such as anxiety and low mood) supports students with a variety of issues. Medical support is also available at the Academy throughout the day.

The Academy's behaviour policy is explicit in terms of systems and support in place. See 'Behaviour Policy' on our website.

Student views are gathered regularly through questionnaires, PASS (Pupil Attitudes to Self and School) surveys and student voice.

Additional support is provided from learning support staff with both emotional and behavioural support.

Senior Leadership Team regularly discuss issues relating to SEND. The Academy SENDCo will provide regular updates to all staff regarding any adjustments for students. SEND is reported to Governors. The Governor with specific responsibility for SEND meets with the SENDCo.

Arrangements for supporting students' overall wellbeing:

The Academy's pastoral system is organised into seven or eight tutor groups per year. Each tutor group has a Pastoral Manager and a team of form tutors. The pastoral team hold meetings where individual students are discussed, appropriate strategies are implemented and outcomes are assessed regularly.

The pastoral team regularly analyse and evaluate the local context (the unique physical, cultural, social, and political conditions of a specific geographical area) to ensure any issues prevalent in the community are addressed. Assemblies are held regularly to educate and inform students how to support their own wellbeing.

The Academy has a first aid room on both sites which is run by trained staff. All medicines are kept securely locked in the first aid room. IHCPs (Individual Health Care Plan) are created for students with medical concerns which can impact daily life. Risk Assessments are completed for students when needed.

The Academy has a number of support systems in place for addressing behaviour concerns, including Daily Report, Pastoral Support Programmes and outside specialists in behaviour management.

The Academy has an attendance team who support students with their attendance. Good attendance and punctuality are recognised and celebrated in year group assemblies and attendance prize draws each half term.

Arrangements for teaching students with SEND:

All students in the Academy are placed into bands and sets according to their ability profile. Students are not set on entry allow time for further assessment rather than relying solely on Key Stage 2 data. They will be placed in mixed sets initially and then set following an assessment period. All teachers are expected to adapt their teaching to match individual needs. A team of learning support staff provide additional support across all years, bands and sets to ensure that all students progress well.

The Academy's SEND budget is allocated by the Chief Executive Officer. Responsibility is held by the Principal and Senior Leadership Team. The curriculum is adjusted to suit the needs of individual students. Physical resources are available to support students with SEND.

The Academy directly employs an Educational Psychologist, Specialist Teacher, attendance team, Careers Advisor and children's mental health specialist. In addition to this, the Academy has well-established working relationships with many other outside agencies and the local offer. The Academy utilises external screening tools (Specialist Teacher, Educational Psychologist and an external assessor for GCSE examinations) which are used to identify any unmet learning needs.

Arrangements for accessibility within the Academy environment:

Accessible toilet facilities are available on both sites (students with physical disability or gender neutral). All areas on the ground floor, both inside and outside, are fully wheelchair accessible. If necessary, student timetables can be facilitated solely in ground floor rooms; visits and reports from an Occupational Therapist can support this. All classrooms on the Upper site are ground floor and only a small proportion at the lower site are above ground level. Further information is available in the Academy Accessibility Plan. All students with SEN and/or disabilities are able to access school activities and trips. If necessary, additional TA support is allocated to ensure SEND students are able to take part fully.

Arrangements for the training of staff to support students with SEND:

The SENDCo attends all relevant, up-to-date training, including Child Protection on a regular basis. Training needs are identified through regular SISRA observations by the extended leadership team. The SENDCo will organise both internal and external training to meet the needs identified. All learning support staff are expected to attend five days' training per year. Specialist teachers in dyslexia and behaviour management provide regular training to the learning support staff. All staff receive training for supporting students with SEND through an annual professional development timetable.

Arrangements for parents to contact for further information:

The first point of contact for a parent to discuss general concerns would be the child's Pastoral Manager. A parent/carer can also contact SENDCo, Mrs M Hammond, or another member of the Senior Leadership Team.

If a parent/carer is considering sending their child to the Academy, contact should be made through Louth Academy admissions.

Parents/carers who may be dissatisfied should put their concerns in writing to the principal. Please refer to the 'Complaints Policy'. 'Liaise' is an independent service available for parents to contact if they so wish. Details can be obtained from the Academy.

More information on the Local Offer (an online resource detailing support and services for children and young people (aged 0-25) with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and their families) is available at https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/send-local-offer