Our Abbey Grange community is diverse with students from many different backgrounds, cultures and academic ability. We pride ourselves on offering inclusive and equitable teaching that promotes high aspirations and expectations for our students.
We are committed to ensuring all students with a Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND) feel valued and make exceptional rates of progress.
We have an experienced and dedicated SEND team working intrinsically with subject specialists, external agencies and parents or carers, as partners in their education to ensure students reach individual aspirations and actively engage in all elements of school life.
Students with SEND at Abbey Grange Academy receive universal help and support, along with a personalised approach and adapted teaching, enabling them to access academic learning and flourish inline with their peers. We have a culture where more complex needs are identified, targeted and evidence-based interventions are implemented as part of a graduated approach response, working in partnership with external agencies.
We strive to ensure individual needs are met and any potential barriers to learning are identified and mitigated. We provide an inclusive, safe and nurturing environment for all students allowing them to flourish into independent young adults that show kindness and respect to others as part of our Christian ethos.
As well as their academic journey with us, students with SEND are actively encouraged to participate in our extensive extracurricular offer. Through active engagement with their peers, life-long skills, passions and interests are developed, with the hope that our students develop passions that will be pursued long after they leave Abbey Grange Academy.
We believe that all students are entitled to a broad and balanced and curriculum. Our students are valued equally and regardless of ability; we are committed to supporting them through their learning. If you are concerned your child is not making the expected age-related levels of progress you can contact your child’s Year Manager or the SENDCO, Miss Hadley to discuss your concerns.
We adopt a child centred and personalised approach to support individual needs. We may undertake screening to identify specific areas of difficulty. Subject specialists will be consulted alongside parents or carers to collate an overall picture, and we may refer your child to external agencies for a diagnostic assessment and more specialist support.
The SENDCo directs and oversees additional support for individual students. This may consist of short-term intervention to re-enforce classroom learning; or a more intensive programme of support dependent on need.
We adopt a “wave of support” approach. Support is delivered in class by subject specialist teachers using quality first teaching strategies (wave 1). Teaching Assistants deliver focussed 1:1 or group sessions of targeted support in class (wave 2) using a “helicopter” approach in line with maximising impact of teaching assistants(MITA) guidance. For students, with acute or complex needs, higher-level or external agency support may be delivered as advised (wave 3). Parents are always informed of any additional support their child is accessing and updated regularly.
The type, extent and duration of support will be discussed with parents or carers on a personalised basis, following meetings with key staff (SENDCo, Head of Year, Line Manager).
Your child will be set in groups according to their ability. They will have access to the National Curriculum with adapted work where appropriate.
Academic performance is monitored to ensure groupings are efficient and to enable students to make academic progress and flourish.
All intervention programmes reinforce classroom learning, are outcome based and specifically designed to support individual needs.
We may write an Individual Learning Plan to outline your child’s SEND, targets, areas of development they are current working towards and strategies for effective teaching and learning. All plans are written in consultation with parents or carers and are reviewed regularly as recommended in the code of practice.
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We hold Parental Evenings for each year group, and regularly report on attitude to learning(ATL) additionally; parents or carers are welcome to contact subject teachers in the interim if they have concerns.
We publish progress data throughout the year keeping parents or carers informed of academic progress.Following each data assessment point, the SENDCO, Subject Leaders, andAchievement Directors analyse the data to ensure SEND students are making progress in line with their peers. If they are not, appropriate intervention is considered.
In addition to normal reporting arrangements, you are encouraged to have open communication with your child’s form tutor, who they see daily. The Student Planner provides parents or carers with regular contact with teachers, as does Class Charts.
We are extremely proud of the pastoral support in place at Abbey Grange Academy; for all students this is primarily given by their Form Tutor and Head of Year. For more complex needs with external agency involvement, the SEND team will oversee and direct support.
Your child will also have access to the Child Protection Team, Learning Mentors, Learning Support Assistants, Inclusion Support Staff, Safer Schools Officer and the School Nurse.
Attendance is monitored by the Heads of Year and the Attendance Welfare Officer for each year group.
For further information, please refer to our school policies.
We have access to many external services, for example Educational Psychologists, Inclusion Workers, Physiotherapists, Speech & Language Therapists, Visually Impaired Team, The Deaf and Hearing-Impaired Team, Counsellors, Careers Advisors, Targeted Services, STARS and the Local Authority Complex Needs Team.
We seek external agency support dependent on individual student need.
All staff in school undertake career and professional development (CPD) training, delivered to meet identified specific needs and work alongside SEND professionals to develop their skills, knowledge and expertise.
Our in-house and trust wide training programme is tailored to reflect the needs of our students. Our support staff receive ongoing training, and most are level 2 TA qualified.
Your child will be offered a variety of activities during lunch time and after school. We also have educational visits and rewards days as part of our extra-curricular offer. Your child will have access to the same support they would normally receive during these times.
If additional assistance is required to enable a student to participate in an activity outside the classroom, we make our best endeavours to facilitate this.
Trip leaders will consider any specific medical or physical needs affecting participation, in their planning, and seek advice from the SENDCo, parents are invited to contribute to this as required.
The ground floors of all buildings are accessible by wheelchair. We have disabled toilets on the ground floor and lifts to some areas of the school site allowing access to upper floors additionally, stairs have handrails and luminous lines.
For parents or carers whose first language is not English, we will make our best endeavours to accommodate this at Parents’ Evenings/meetings.
Any parents or carers who may require such assistance should contact their child’s Head of Year in advance.
If specialist equipment is required such as for hearing, visual impairment or auxiliary aids, we work closely with relevant agencies to ensure our students’ needs are met.
For further information, please refer to our accessibility plan.
We begin transition arrangements in Year 5 and Year 6. The members of staff responsible for transition and the SENDCo liaise with feeder schools regarding students requiring additional support when they start their journey at AbbeyGrange Academy.
This involves staff visiting students at primary school and inviting them to attend a transition day in the summer term. Enhanced transition visits will be facilitated for students as required. Parents are invited to speak to the SENDCo during OpenEvening at the beginning of Year 6 and again in Year 7.
We commence further transition arrangements in Year 9 to prepare students for their post 16 options.
All students with a SEND Statement or EHC plan can receive additional support from the Complex Needs Team (if appropriate) to ensure a personalised and smooth transition.
We carefully consider the type and extent of support needed by students to make academic progress, inline with peers. Interventions are tracked and monitored, with efficacy analysed.
The impact of support for SEND students can vary but generally we judge success by teacher assessment, reading age data, spelling age data, behaviour points, progress feedback from subject specialists. Additional programs of support will run between 6-20 weeks as part of our graduated response.
Any student requiring support that is “additional to or different” (code of practice) will receive funding from the school’s notional budget. Extra top up funding can be applied for through the local authority (by school). There view panel at the local authority will decide whether applications warrant extra funding and individual students’ allocation.
You will receive twice yearly progress reports and will be invited to Parent Consultation Evenings and moving on evenings throughout the year.
Parents or carers are kept informed about teaching and other events via the student planner, email, our website, and social media accounts.
We always welcome the opportunity to speak to our parents or carers; if you are considering joining us, we would encourage you to contact the SEND team for more information regarding our provision or to arrange a tour of the academy.
Concerns relating to a Special Educational Need or Disability, should be directed to our SENDCo Miss Hadley.
For more general queries relating to admissions, pastoral support and welfare, your first point of contact is your child’s Head of Year.
Further advice can besought from Leeds City Council’s local offer. The Leeds Local Offer provides families with information to enable them to make informed choices about services they chose to use. The local offer links can be found below:
Directory (leedslocaloffer.org.uk)
Suggestions (leedslocaloffer.org.uk)
