At Thurcroft Junior Academy, we are committed to providing high quality learning and teaching, which supports all of our young learners and enables them to reach their full potential, whatever their age, ability, gender or ethnicity. We believe that every child and young person is unique and we work together to create inclusive, stimulating learning environments, where children feel safe, are valued and respected. Through our partnerships with the local and wider community, we aim to support all of our young people in successfully taking their place in society as they grow up.

We welcome your feedback and future involvement in the review of our offer.

Please contact any of the following:

Principal - Ruth Stone – ruth.stone@thurcroftacademy.org 

SENDCO - Lorna Bell – lorna.bell@thurcroftacademy.org

Assistant Vice Principal - Helen McDonald - helen.mcdonald@thurcroftacademy.org

Inclusion Manager – Sarah Hosier – sarah.hosier@thurcroftacademy.org

ACET CEO – Rebecca Scutt – rebecca.scutt@astoncetrust.org

SEN Governor - Catherine Kinsella – contact via the academy through info@thurcroftacademy.org

The school telephone number is 01709 543194.

The SEND Code of Practice defines SEND as: -

A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:

• Has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
• Has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.

If a pupil is identified as having SEND, the academy will make provision that is ‘additional to or different from’ a differentiated curriculum intended to overcome the barrier to their learning.  There are four broad areas of need, which are:

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and learning
• Social, emotional and mental health difficulties
• Sensory and physical needs

If you have any concerns about your child’s special educational needs:

• Speak to your child’s class teacher either before or after school
• Discuss your concerns with the Principal (Ruth Stone) or SENDCo (Lorna Bell) – an appointment is not usually necessary

Pupils are identified as being in need of extra provision in a variety of ways:

• Monitoring of a child’s progress and attainment

From the moment child join us in either Foundation Stage or Key Stage 2, children’s progress is rigorously monitored through teacher assessment, termly tests and pupil progress meetings. Pupil progress meetings are held each term; this is a meeting where the class teacher discusses the progress of each child in their class with the Principal and Vice Principal/SENDCO. This shared discussion highlights any child who is ‘falling behind’ their peers and/or age-related expectations, for whatever reason, and an appropriate pathway is planned, be it extra support within the classroom, or more focussed, targeted intervention. On entry to the academy, all children are baselines to ensure needs are identified at the earliest possible stage.

• Feeder Schools

There are formal transition meetings with parents/carers and the feeder school primary SENDCOs.  The Inclusion Team within the Academy is invited to Y2 Annual Reviews and other relevant reviews. The Academy makes numerous visits to feeder schools prior to transition and offer enhanced transition packages as appropriate.  All relevant documentation is collated by the Academy and discussed with the Inclusion Team and class teacher. 

• Screening

Key Stage 1 information regarding SAT levels is collated and distributed to teaching staff. All pupils on entry to Y3 and each subsequent year complete standardised assessments in single word reading, reading comprehension, spelling, handwriting and mathematics. Some pupils may require further assessment to support progress. Support for developing literacy and numeracy is then determined.

• Class Teacher Request

Staff who have concerns regarding a student may pass concerns on to the Inclusion Manger/SENDCO. 

• Parent/Carer Request

Parent/Carer requests can be made at any time by contacting the SENDCO by phone, e-mail or letter

Context 

Proportion of pupils with SEND support - 19.6% (national average – 15.9%)

Information correct as of 09/10/2022

Each pupil’s education programme will predominantly be planned by the class teacher, with support from the Inclusion Team as required, and will be underpinned by the following information:

• The teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all pupils in their class and meets all children’s needs in the first instance through Wave 1, quality-first teaching.
• All teaching is built on what your child already knows, can do and can understand.
• Different ways of teaching are in place, so that your child is fully involved in learning in class. This may involve things like using more practical learning activities in order to support your child’s understanding
• Specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENDCo) are in place to support your child to learn.
• Your child’s teacher will have carefully checked on your child’s progress and will have decided that your child has a gap or gaps in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress.

It may also include Intervention which may be:

• Run in the classroom or a group room.
• Run by a teacher, a teaching assistant (TA) or a member of the academy inclusion team

If a pupil has needs that are related to a more specific area of their education, they will receive extra support via an appropriate Wave 2, targeted intervention, which may be carried our individually or in a small group. School staff are continually updating their training in a variety of interventions (with support from the Specialist Inclusion Team, Speech and Language Therapy Team or the Educational Psychology Service to name a few) and are always on the ‘look-out’ for new initiatives to support the children with special educational needs. The lengths of interventions vary, but their success will be measured at least termly through an evaluation of set SMART targets, which form part of Thurcroft Junior Academy’s graduated response (assess, plan, do, review).

After Wave 1 and Wave 2 support, a pupil may need further expert support from an outside agency. A referral will be made, with your consent, and forwarded to the most appropriate agency.

The Academy maintains strong links with other bodies including;

• Educational Psychology Service
• Specialist Inclusion Team
• Hearing Impaired Service
• Visually Impaired Service
• Speech, Language and Communication
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health
• Health and Social care
• LA Support Services
• SENDIASS - Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service (Formerly Parent Partnership) can be contacted on Rotherham 01709 823627.  The role of the services is to give impartial advice to parents.

If your child requires significant additional support, beyond that already provided by the academy and/or outside agencies involved with the academy, the academy may need to begin the process of applying for an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP). This is a plan of care for children and young people aged up to 25, who have more complex needs. The academy and/or parents/carers themselves may apply for an EHCP to the Local Authority (LA) for the child.

• All teachers have high expectations of student with SEND, including a commitment to ensuring they can achieve their full educational potential.
• All teachers deliver high quality provision to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND.
• Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the pupils in their class, including where pupils access support from teaching assistants or specialist staff.
• All staff to develop their awareness of special educational needs and focus on inclusive practice to remove barriers to learning with access to a broad, balanced yet relevantmainstream curriculum which is differentiated to ensure continuing progress.
• The school regularly provides training and support to enable all staff to improve the teaching and learning of children, including those with SEND. This includes whole school training on SEND issues, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), literacy or maths difficulties and social, emotional and mental health issues (SEMH)

Positive involvement with parents/carers is seen as an important part of our work with pupils.  At its most effective the education of young people is a collaborative enterprise involving teachers, parents/carers and the pupils themselves.

The Inclusion Team review SEND provision at least three times a year by communicating directly or indirectly with parents/carers by means of: -

• Attendance at parents/carers evenings
• Review meetings – including statutory, non-statutory and multi-agency reviews
• Telephone calls
• Parents/carers consultation evenings
• Parental request for a meeting
• Pupil planners
• E-mail

All expressions of concern will trigger a further investigation of the pupils’ needs.  Parents/carers will be informed of the outcome and invited to contribute and make comment. When changes are agreed to SEND status parents/carers will be informed in writing. The Academy will inform parents/carers and children about the LA’s information, advice and support service.

Children will be involved from an early stage in making decisions, choices and expressing their views at an appropriate level, according to their age and understanding. They will be involved in talking about their progress and celebrating their success. Positive involvement with pupils is seen as an important part of our work. At its most effective the education of young people is a collaborative enterprise involving teachers, parents/carers and the pupils themselves. We consult with and involve children in planning support for their education as part of the SEND review process.

The SENDCO informs the new school of any pupils with SEND who are transferring so that complete records can be sent to the SENDCO of the new school.  The Academy will inform the designated person for any child looked after by a local authority if a change of school takes place.

All pupils at Thurcroft Junior Academy have a right to participate in a broad, balanced and relevant mainstream curriculum appropriate to their needs.  Strategies include; setting within the curriculum, enhanced staffing, specialist provision and equipment within the Academy including the commissioned services of Educational Psychologist, Education Welfare Officer and other specialist bodies as required e.g The Virtual School (looked after children). SATs access arrangements are reviewed and implemented as required.

The Local Governing Body remains committed to improving provision for pupils and adults who find access to and movement around the site difficult. The SENDCO works closely with appropriate agencies to service the best interests of the pupils, for example, the Hearing Impaired Service and the Visually Impaired Service which assist by providing specialist equipment and training for our pupils as and when required. They monitor the progress of pupils with impairments through the school.

Monitoring progress is an integral part of teaching and learning within Thurcroft Junior Academy. Parents/carers, pupils and staff are involved in reviewing the impact of support for students with SEND. Following the ‘assess, plan, do, review’ model, we ensure that parents/carers and pupils are involved in each step. In order to determine the effectiveness of provision expectations of how the support, which is additional to or different from that available to other pupils, will impact on progress to agreed outcomes and a baseline is recorded which can then be used to compare the impact of support.

Half-termly rigorous analysis of monitoring data allows for timely review and amendment of SEND support. Parents/carers, pupils, Teaching Staff, Middle Leaders and the Academy’s Leadership, along with the SENDCO and the Inclusion team, regularly contribute to the evaluation of this support and its effectiveness.

School staff work with specialists to improve the emotional and social development of pupils. Provision includes a breakfast club and safe areas for vulnerable pupils before, after and during the school day. The school council, together with the prefects, works to ensure that pupils are listened to and any concerns regarding bullying are effectively dealt with.

Parents/carers should register any complaints about their child’s SEND provision initially with the class teacher, who will liaise with the Principal and SENDCO. It is hoped that any problems can be quickly solved at this stage. If not, parents/carers may feel they need to take matters further by discussing their issue directly with the SENDCO, Principal or beyond that, the local governing body.

The local governing body will make efforts to ensure that anyone who wishes to make a complaint including a complaint in relation to children with SEND, whether they have EHC plans or not, is treated fairly, given the chance to state their case, provided with a written response, and informed of their appeal rights.

Any parent/carer who wishes to discuss or make observations about the Special Needs provision for their child at Thurcroft Junior Academy should: -

1. a) Telephone or make an informal appointment to see the SENDCo (Lorna Bell) who will review the situation and arrange for it to be discussed within 5 working days of the complaint being made.
2. b) If the parent remains dissatisfied the complaint should be submitted formally in writing to the Principal (Ruth Stone) who will investigate the complaint and arrange a discussion within 5 working days.
3. c) Parents/carers have the right to complain: -
4. i) To the Chairperson of the Local Governing Body via the school (Tel. 01709 543194) or the Principal.
5. ii) To the LA, SEN Assessment and Placement Team (Tel. 01709 382121)
6. d) If a parent/carer is still not satisfied they can complain to the Education Funding Agency acting on behalf of the Secretary of State.

Ofsted can consider complaints about the educational provision of the Academy (not individual cases) when a complainant has tried to resolve the complaint through the Academy’s own complaint's procedure.

If the complainant remains concerned following the local complaint's procedure, he or she could ask the Department for Education’s School Complaints Unit to take up the matter.