It is very important that children with special educational needs are properly identified, assessed and supported and that the support is tailored to each child’s particular needs. In deciding what those needs are and how we can support the child to overcome any ‘barriers to learning’ arising from those needs, we will work closely with the child and their family. This 3-way partnership underpins all our work and is a major contributory factor to our success; it is essential in making sure that all children make the best possible progress whilst at our Academy. Miss Mason, the SENDCO and Assistant Headteacher for Inclusion, leads the provision for children with additional needs at Woodhouse.

For a very small number of children with more complex and specialist needs, we may also call on the expertise and experience of specialists from outside the Academy. These may be people who work for the SEND specialist teams in the Local Authority or specialists in children’s issues in the Health Service. For children who need this extra and more specialist input, we work in close partnership with these external partners as part of an “Education, Health Care Plan”. This provides a detailed and properly coordinated plan of action to provide additional support to the child to enable them to benefit fully from their time at our Academy. The plan is always drawn up in partnership with the child and parents and clearly identifies the contributions that each partner needs to make to help the child to progress in their learning. There are regular reviews of the progress that the child is making and the extent to which the Plan is working. Parents and children have an important role to play in helping us to review and, if needed, improve the Plan.

For the majority of children and for most of the time, we provide support in class, as part of normal day-to-day lessons. As an inclusive academy where every child is valued, we want all children to take a full part in all lessons and in every aspect of academy life alongside their peers. Our teachers plan and deliver quality lessons that are well differentiated, so the needs of all children are catered for and all children can benefit fully from them. Sometimes, however, a child’s personalised assessment shows that they would benefit from working as part of a small group. If this is needed, then it is carefully planned by skilled teachers, and delivered with support from teaching assistants.

There are 42 home languages currently spoken at Woodhouse Primary Academy, as we serve a richly diverse local community. For children who are new to English, we provide a personalised child support plan that identifies their particular needs and details the additional support they will receive to help them improve their English and make progress in their studies. The plan is drawn up in partnership with the child and their parents. It highlights the key strategies that the Academy will use to help the child to learn, any additional activities (and programmes) the child should engage in at home and the way their progress will be monitored.

In drawing up plans for children with English as an additional language (EAL), we draw on the proven approaches we have used and refined over the years and on best practice from other academies and schools.

Some children with EAL benefit from one-to-one tuition or small group work to help them to make more rapid progress in their English language development.  Staff will support these learners through immersion in the English Language and Specialist support.  If needed, we consult with the child and parents to make sure this support is carefully planned and structured, with clear objectives and timescales. This support will continue as the children develop their English Language skills, alongside their full curriculum offer. The partnership with the child and parents is essential in helping children with EAL make the progress we want them to make so that, like all of our children, they achieve their full potential.

We have very high expectations of all our children, staff and parents. We set ambitious progress and attainment targets for all of our children based on their ability and prior attainment. We ensure that Gifted and Talented children are challenged and supported to excel, with stretching personalised targets in the classroom and tailored enrichment activities. This is a key part to our focus on inclusion – ensuring that each child’s individual needs are met. Our approach enables Gifted and Talented children to play a full and active part in the life in of the Academy, taking on leadership roles and experiencing special activities that will excite and challenge them. Miss Mason, our SENDCO and Assistant Headteacher for Inclusion tasks takes specific responsibility for Gifted and Talented provision, which is delivered by a class teacher.

From time to time, children may need access to additional support because of specific short-term issues. For example, if a child has had to deal with the bereavement of a close family member or friend, then they will need special emotional support. In these circumstances, we will work closely with the family and other agencies to make sure that we provide the support the child needs to help them deal with their emotions and to enable them to continue to make progress in their studies.

For some children, issues in the home or other external matters can affect their attendance or behaviour at the Academy. In these circumstances, the Academy provides intensive support to make sure they get the help and support they need to improve in these areas and to continue to succeed in their learning.

Mr Kennedy, the Academy’s Pastoral Manager, Miss Mason, the SENDCO and Assistant Headteacher for Inclusion, and Miss Lavelle, the Attendance Lead and Assistant Headteacher work together to best support children with other needs. They provide specialised, individual guidance for any young person in need. Sometimes the child and family need access to more specialist help. In these cases, we work in partnership with other agencies (the Local Authority, Health Services, voluntary organisations) to plan and provide this specialist support.