SEN & Disabilities
This page contains information on the academy’s provision for students with additional needs. Information about the local authority offer can be found at http://localoffer.southwark.gov.uk/
The work of the Inclusion department caters for those with special needs and also those who arrive at the academy with English as an additional language. Students who arrive with English as an additional language are not automatically deemed to have special needs (unless there is clear evidence to show it) but we do know that these students often need extra support which may need to be intensive for a period of time, dependent upon the level of their English acquisition when they join the academy.
As of September 2014, statutory guidance from the Department for Education relating to provision for Special Educational Needs has undergone significant reform. This is due to the 2014 Child and Families Bill which has passed through parliament.
Special Needs support and intervention now goes from the age of 0-25 for those entitled to it. Statements of Special Educational Needs now no longer exist and have been replaced with EHCs (Education, Health and Care plans). Schools used to categorise students as being at ‘School Action’ or ‘School Action Plus’ on the SEN Register; these groupings have now been withdrawn.
- A copy of our SEN policy can be downloaded below.
- Our SENCO is Katherine Price and our Associate Senco is Chloe Dixon. Both can be contacted at the school: Harris Boys' Academy East Dulwich, Peckham Rye, East Dulwich, London SE22 0AT.
- Please see our governors page for details of the governor with responsibility for SEN.
Our More Able Guidance Policy and Narrowing the Gap Through Quality First Teaching document can be downloaded from our Equalities & Additional Intervention page.
How we identify and assess a specific learning need
This is done in a number of ways, including:
1) Advice from primary schools
2) Referrals from parents who request screening
3) Concerns raised by teachers who teach a student
4) Self-referrals from a student
5) Analysing the varying data we have on a student and looking for anomalies. This would include KS2 data, Lucid (reading test) results, cognitive assessment tests (CATs)
6) If concerns were raised, we would then conduct any further testing that was appropriate and would share the results of this with parents to consider any support that we might agree was needed.
Support
Students who currently have a statement of special educational needs will keep it until the point of a forthcoming annual review. At that point, we will meet with parents and the student and seek to transfer this across to a new EHC. We operate on the basis of four ‘tiers’ of support:
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Tier 1 |
In-class support provided by class teacher |
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Tier 2 |
Students who are underperforming in English and/or Maths and need additional support to address this |
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Tier 3 |
Students with more complex needs which are impacting on their learning |
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Tier 4 |
Students with an EHC/statement |
Parent and student involvement in a decision to offer additional support is critical. If we decide that we need to offer this at Tier 2 or 3, we will write to the parent and set out our views. Parents have the opportunity to engage with this decision and be part of the process of deciding upon additional support if they so choose, as does the student concerned. Parent and student views throughout are of extreme importance.
The new Code of Practice sets out four headings under which a student might be considered to have special and additional needs:
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Communication and Interaction |
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Cognition and Learning |
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Social, mental and emotional health |
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Sensory and/or physical |
The academy will have evidence for considering a student to have additional needs in one or more of these areas and this can be shared with parents.
Further support and information
You may find the following organisations helpful too.
Southwark Local Authority provides full information and support around its local offer and attached services. See their website: http://localoffer.southwark.gov.uk. Telephone 020 7525 5000
The Southwark Information Advice and Support team (SIAS – formerly known as Parent Partnership) offers parents impartial support, training and advice on such topics as: Special Educational Needs; transition to secondary school; how to request an Education Health Care plan; understanding tribunals and SEND exclusions. Telephone: 0207 525 3104 sias@southwark.gov.uk
ADDISS The National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service provides information and resources about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder to parents, sufferers, teachers or health professionals. Telephone: 02089522800 www.addiss.co.uk
The ADHD Foundation supports achievement, educational attainment, mental health and employability. The Foundation works in partnership with those living with ADHD, enabling them to understand and manage ADHD. Telephone: 01512372661 www.adhdfoundation.org.uk
Southwark Autism Support is a project set up by The National Autistic Society to provide information, advice and support to the parents and carers of children and young people with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) living in Southwark. The service provides advice, information and suggestions to help with the behavioural, emotional and practical challenges that living with a child or young person with an ASD can present. Telephone: 020 7771 3491 Email: southwark@nas.org.uk
Dyslexia Association of London offers support and information to parents, teachers and adults on dyslexia/specific learning difficulties. It also offers a befriending service. Telephone: 020 8870 1407
Dyspraxia Foundation is for parents of a child with dyspraxia who want to talk with other parents/carers in the same position. Telephone: 01462454986 www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk Information: dyspraxia@dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk
National Autistic Society is the UKs leading charity for autistic people and their families. Autism.org.uk
Ambitious about Autism is a national charity for autistic children and young people. ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk
YoungMinds is a mental health charity for children and young people. youngminds.org.uk
Dyslexia Action is a leading provider of accredited training. dyslexiaaction.org.uk
Autiism Education Trust offers education professionals training, practical tools and a wealth of free resources to better support autistic children and young people aged 0 to 25. autismeducationtrust.org.uk
Local offer
Both local authorities and schools need to publish a ‘local offer’ which sets out what a student can be offered if they attend our school/live in a certain borough. It is from this ‘offer’ that we will be selecting the appropriate support that we are able to offer your son. Our current local offer can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.
How we monitor provision and review progress towards outcomes
Governors monitor the provision for students with additional needs through monitoring visits, governing body meetings and through the data analysis provided by the academy and through the data analysis that the Department for Education does on us, as every school and academy.
We analyse behaviour, attendance and performance for all students, including those who are categorised as needing additional help.
On a termly basis, the academy will review the support each student is receiving and assess whether it is having impact, whether it should continue, whether it can be discontinued as it is no longer needed. Parents will be consulted over any changes.
Students who have an EHC would also have an annual review of the provision being made for them and their progress against targets.
The academy will send home 6-weekly reports to parents for all students. If we feel that a change in provision is required, we will write and communicate this with parents. Should parents wish to discuss this, we will organise a meeting to do so.
The academy will organise termly open mornings for parents whose students are being supported so that they can drop in and see key staff, should they choose to do so, to discuss the progress of their children in more detail.
Support between phases/preparing for adulthood
The academy will ensure that students with identified special needs get an early opportunity to have 1:1 information, advice and guidance from a careers adviser.
EHC reviews will include someone with careers experience wherever possible.
The academy will engage with other educational providers to ensure the best provision is accessible to families looking for something non-mainstream.
The academy constantly reviews the curriculum offer we make for students; if we feel that our mainstream curriculum is not the most appropriate for a young person, we would discuss an alternative curriculum for a student with them and their family.
Model of SEN support at Harris Boys’ Academy East Dulwich
Staffing
The Academy's SENCO is Katherine Price k.price@harrisdulwichboys.org.uk and the Associate SENCO is Chloe Dixon c.dixon@harrisdulwichboys.org.uk.
Other staff include a Specialist SEN/ Dyslexia Teacher (three days a weeks), a Counsellor (four days a week), a Speech and Language Therapist (one day a week, plus additional days for staff training and development), seven teaching assistants, who support work within class and deliver out-of-class interventions, and a DSEN Coordinator.
The academy has strong expertise as listed above; however, if we need specialist provision for any student, we will assess each case on an individual basis and consider whether we can provide or access other external support within the constraints of the budget. We are able to access services including educational psychology, occupational therapy, specialist hearing or sight impairment teachers and the Autism Outreach Service.
Partnerships
The academy works with a range of professionals to support all its students. These include Words First, the organisation which provides our speech and language therapeutic support, counsellors, an Educational Psychologist where necessary, social workers, health professionals, CAMHS and the NHS.
Access
Access for students with physical needs is good in all areas. There are ample disabled toilet facilities and all areas have been designed to accommodate wheelchair users or those with the need for other adjustments.
Where appropriate, the academy will use delegated funding to provide resources such as differing chairs, keyboards etc for those in need of such amendments.
Preventing bullying
In our experience, it has been very rare for any students with a particular need to be bullied at the academy. However, should this happen, we have a very clear Behaviour policy which includes anti-bullying policies and makes our approach to this fully transparent. We do not accept bullying in any form and will always deal with it. The ultimate sanction for bullying could be permanent exclusion if other measures failed.
Working with the young person being bullied, staff would seek to educate, mediate, build awareness and understanding/tolerance of others and of difference, explain the consequences of unacceptable conduct towards and emphasize our common values in this community. Ultimately, sanctions will be taken if bullying does not cease.
Complaints
The Federation has a very clear complaints policy which is available to all parents. If a parent has a complaint about the provision being made by the academy, it will be dealt with in line with this policy.
