Special educational needs

At Bolingbroke Academy we have a three-tiered, graduated approach to supporting students’ learning needs. The graduated approach at each tier involves:

• Assessing the pupil’s needs by considering all of the information gathered from within the academy about the pupil’s progress, alongside national data and expectations of progress.
• Planning the most effective and appropriate short term intervention, based on evidence of what works
• Providing this intervention and training staff to deliver it to a high standard
• Reviewing the impact on the pupil’s progress towards individual learning outcomes at shorter intervals, depending on the type of intervention

It is our firm belief that pupils’ needs are best met in the classroom and that, therefore, every teacher is responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all pupils they teach, including those with SEND. At this universal level, we train our teachers to deliver high quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils. We review the progress of all pupils at least three times per year and make rapid adjustments to support strategies and, where necessary, teachers’ understanding of the needs of individual pupils they teach. In addition, we talk to students and their parents to gain as full an understanding of their learning needs as possible. The information we gather in this way is shared with teachers in a Pupil Profile. The Pupil Profile is a document that outlines pupils’ strengths and difficulties, with suggested strategies for teachers to best support their learning.

We provide targeted support when we consider it appropriate to make additional short term special educational provision to remove or reduce any obstacle to a pupil’s learning, or to help them catch up when termly data analysis shows they have fallen behind their peers.

Such specific, targeted one to one or small group interventions may be run outside the classroom, limited to a number of weeks to minimise disruption to the regular curriculum. This may include assessment and / or support from:

• Garratt Park Advisory service (ASD outreach)
• Mentoring / Youth Workers
• School nurse
• Fresh Start reading intervention
• Lexia reading intervention
• Counselling

We provide specialist support when we consider it necessary to seek specialist advice and/or regular long term support from a specialist professional outside the academy in order to plan for the best possible learning outcomes for those pupils who fail to make progress in spite of high quality teaching and targeted intervention. This may include assessment and / or support from:

• An educational psychologist
• A speech and language therapist
• Specialist sensory advisory teachers for students with, for example, hearing or visual impairments
• CAMHS (Child and adolescent mental health service)