Additional Educational Needs

The SEND information report (below) details the provision that The Sutton Academy offers to students with special education and disability needs. To find out more about the new SEND code of practice, please refer to the SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years on the Department for Education website.

Total number of students on roll	1464
Number of EHCP students Number of students with Provision Agreements	47 24
Number of students identified as SEN Support	267

Percentage of academy population with SEN provision: 21%

In line with the New Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years from September 2014, we are constantly reviewing and developing the provision in place for students with Special Educational Needs at The Sutton Academy.

Students are placed on the Special Educational Needs (SEND) register if they:

• Have significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age.
• Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in schools in the area.

We classify Special Needs within the following four categories:

• Communication and Interaction
• Cognition and Learning
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health
• Sensory and/or physical

We identify students within 3 levels of classification and support. If a student requires a level of special support equating to more than 15 hours a week we apply for a Provision Agreement and funding from the LA, or for those with more complex cases we work with St Helens and coordinate an Education Health Care Plan - EHCP - (this replaces the old system of Statements). For students who need less than 15 hours of special support to make progress, but do need special interventions beyond quality first teaching, we classify them as having SEN Support. Other students may have a diagnosed learning difficulty, for example Autism or Dyslexia, but if we assess that they are making steady and appropriate progress then they will be flagged to staff, but will not be placed on the SEND register. Most students' needs will be met through quality first teaching in the classroom.

All staff at The Sutton Academy, in both teaching and support roles, are aware and fully versed in the Special Educational Needs of the student on the SEND register and are fully committed to supporting these, and all students, to make the best possible progress.

At The Sutton Academy we are currently providing support for students with the following SEND:

• ADHD
• ASD
• Dyslexia
• Cerebral Palsy
• SEMH
• Dyslexia
• Dyspraxia
• MLD
• Hearing Impairments
• Tourette's
• Visual Impairments
• Spina Bifida

Specific provision, for student with SEND, is made through:

• Quality first teaching in the classroom.
• In-Class support, by trained Learning Support Assistants (LSA).
• Small groups, led by LSAs, delivering a variety of interventions tailored to the needs of the students.
• Teaching and support from outside agencies.

All students on the SEND register are allocated a Key Worker, who is a useful special point of contact within the academy. Your child's keyworker will call home once a term offering an opportunity to share information about their progress academically, socially and emotionally – we review student’s provision termly through consultation with parents/carers and students themselves. Keyworkers will also be able to advise parents and carers about who to contact if issues arise in school.

Please contact The Student Development if you would like to schedule an appointment with Mrs Anne Herron, Assistant Principal.

SDC@thesuttonacademy.org.uk

The Student Development Centre is the base for all of the Specialist Teachers who visit the academy to provide extra help for student with Hearing Impairment, ASD, Speech and Language Difficulties & those who speak English as an special language. There are also dedicated Level 3 LSAs who work with students in small group interventions ranging from social skills, motor skills, literacy and numeracy; we pride ourselves in being able to provide a wide range of support for the varied needs of students at The Sutton Academy. In addition to this there are a variety of rooms to cater for different group sizes and we have access to ICT equipment to support learning.

The team also supervise and provide a quiet place during break and lunch times for students who require this. 

Learning Support Assistants are trained in different areas of SEND depending on the current needs of the cohort. Currently we have LSAs who focus on working with students who have dyslexia, Autism, SLCN, Tourette’s and supporting students with high levels of anxiety.

Within the Special Needs Team we aim:

• To ensure that all students have access to a broad and balanced curriculum.
• To provide up to date information, in the form of Student Profiles, in order to help teaching staff to provide a differentiated curriculum appropriate to the individual's needs and ability.
• To identify students' SENDs as early as possible, the SENCo is trained to use British Psychological Association recognised assessments.
• To apply for all examination access arrangements to which our students are entitled.
• To enable students with SEND to take as full a part as possible in all school activities.
• To ensure that parents of SEND students are kept fully informed of their child's progress and attainment.
• To offer student with SEND the chance to be involved, where practicable, in decisions affecting their future SEND provision.
• To maintain a range of resources to support students, e.g. keyboards for loan to injured students, specialist computer and online study programmes, appropriate reading materials for students with specific literacy difficulties, and other learning aids such as Dictaphones and coloured overlays.
• To liaise with other agencies such as Inclusion & Disability Support Service and NHS (including the Dyspraxia Clinic, Occupational Therapists, Speech & Language Therapists and Audiologists) BIT, SALT, Educational Psychologists and CAMHS

In order to achieve our aims the Department has invested in a wide and increasing range of resources to help with Reading, Handwriting, Spelling and Maths. As a team we regularly liaise with all departments in the academy and work closely with Achievement Leaders and the pastoral team.

The Learning Development Centre (LDC)

The recently refurbished LDC caters for students who may need a more bespoke package of support.  At KS3 students who will benefit from a more phased transition from KS2 are provided with a more primary based model on our Gold curriculum pathway. Students follow the Academy wide curriculum, but have their core subjects taught by SEND specialist teachers via differentiated, accessible sessions in one consistent classroom.  These students also access more specialist facilities for practical subjects and may have access to special support when navigating the wider academy. At KS4 technical qualifications are taught in the LDC as part of the White and Double White Pathway provision.

Other Information

Accommodation at The Sutton Academy has been modified and new building projects are ongoing. Students with disabilities are at the forefront of this planning and The Sutton Academy prides itself in being accessible to wheelchair users. Where any issues are identified, the department works with the site maintenance team to make reasonable adjustments. A new programme of works and development of facilities in the SDC have just been completed, and provide students with a more nurturing environment and access to computer facilities. The LDC has recently been upgraded and provides a sensory area and more specialist equipment depending on the physical and learning needs of the current cohort of students.

You can find St Helens Local Authority Local Offer here.

You can find a more comprehensive overview of The Sutton Academy SEN Report and Offer below.