SEND
Special Educational Needs and Disability
Our SEN policy and information report aims to:
- Set out how our school will support and make provision for pupils with special educational needs (SEN)
- Explain the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved in providing for pupils with SEN
At CAN, our ethos is ‘Every Child, Same Chance’. This highlights our aim to support every student and offer them every chance of success whilst they are studying with us. We have a dedicated Learning Support Team whose primary focus is to enable students with SEND to reach their full potential. For this to be achieved, we believe the partnership between the academy, parents, carers, governors, our feeder schools, external agencies and the students themselves, is crucial.
Mrs Aldred is our SENCO (Special Educational Needs and Disability Coordinator) and is responsible for coordinating the provision of all SEND students, and Alternative Provision at City Academy Norwich. If you would like to speak to her regarding a concern your child might have in regards to SEND support then please get in touch on: 01603 452628 or email: SENDCO@canorwich.org
The SEND department is a key part of City Academy, Norwich and we are proud of the inclusive practice that runs throughout all we do.
The SEND Team works collaboratively with our Pastoral Team and Leaders of Department to provide targeted intervention and support.
We work closely with our feeder schools to ensure that all SEND information is collated during the Transition phase from Year 6 to Year 7, in conjunction with our own testing.
At City Academy Norwich:
• Every Teacher is a Teacher of SEND; and
• Every Leader is a Leader of SEND
Our motto is 'What is good for SEND is good for all!'
We ensure that all learners can access the curriculum through excellent teacher training and development, combined with the use of evidence-based high quality teaching approaches. This includes the provision of reasonable adjustments and additional support, where needed, to meet the needs of all learners and bring about the best possible outcomes for children and young people from their individual starting points.
SEMH Base
The Social Emotional Mental Heath (SEMH) Base is a supportive space that SEND students can access during the school day when they are facing emotional dysregulation. The Base operates using the Thrive Approach and all staff members are trained in Norfolk Steps de-escalation strategies. We value the positive relationship that we have with the students that access our space above all else and they form the foundation of our work.
The school has an SEMH base for pupils to access interventions and support using the Thrive approach and ELSA to meet their SEMH needs. In addition to this, the Cognition and Learning base runs interventions to support numeracy, literacy, memory and social communication needs to name only a few.
In addition to the above, there is a Year 7 Nurture classroom, accessible for a capped number of students to provide a blended approach to learning and support with transition to high school. In addition, a Year 7 SEMH classroom is also accessible to provide the same blended approach to returning full time to mainstream; the Nurture classes provide scaffolded English and Maths alongside the Thrive approach, ELSA and Forest School, with the aim for the students to reintegrate back into their mainstream lessons by the end of Year 8. We also look to review the provision we provide in line with EHCPs (Education, Health and Care Plans) and SEND and in some cases, will apply for specialist provision long term when the complexity of need is above our whole school, SEND and ESP (Enhanced Specialist Provision) offer.
All of our support is trauma informed and heavily based in creating secure and positive professional relationships with our students.
For more information about Special Educational Needs and Disability at City Academy Norwich please view our SEND Information Report.
Here's what our students think of this provision:
"I really like the Base. The staff in there are really helpful if I am upset or angry" Y7
"Without the Base I would struggle through the school day. This gives me a space to go and be quiet and breathe" Y9
Useful documents and links:
SENDCo & SEND TEAM
Email: SENDCo@canorwich.org
Assistant Head - SENDCo & Inclusion - Mrs K Aldred
B Ed English (Hons)
Specialist Leader in Education - SEND & Literacy
NASENCO
CPT3A AAC Level 7 Psychometric Assessor
Accredited by the British Psychological Society
Autism Level 2 accredited
Deputy SENDCo & Specialist SEMH Nurture Teacher - Mrs R Read
BA (Hons)
NASENCO
CPT3 AAC Level 7
Accredited by the British Psychological Society
Specialist Cognition & Learning (C&L) Teacher - Mrs A Pinnock
BA (Hons)
PGCE
NASENCO
SEND Admin Network Lead - Mrs J Bowgen
Sapientia Trust and City Academy based.
Our specialist teachers oversee our Enhanced SEND Provision (ESP) for Year 7 & Year 8 for 60% of the timetable - student numbers are capped at 10 and 12 per class respectively for both SEMH and C&L.
We are also lucky enough to have highly trained staff in our Bases for SEMH and C&L Interventions. We have a Lead Psychometric Assessor, Level 7 for exam access arrangements, a Therapeutic Counsellor, Emotional Literacy Practitioner (ELSA), Thrive teachers (Art and Sewing) and a Forest School accredited lead.
Our LSA team are predominantly based in our ESP classrooms with the remaining 3 LSA's in Year 9, 10 and 11 to support within the classroom.
