• We are a mainstream academy for young children aged 4 - 11.
• We provide support for all types of SEND and Disabilities, and some of our students have Education Health and Care Plans.

• Our SEND policy sets out clearly what our process for assessing needs are.  It is the role of teachers, supported by the SENDCO, to assess the needs of the young person in the classroom, and to identify those who may need further support because of a learning difficulty or disability.  This will routinely be done through regular ongoing in class assessments, but may involve more specialised assessment from our SENDCO.
• Some students have a Statement of Educational Need, which clearly set out the needs of the young person.
• The SENDCO is Charlotte Magee, and can be contacted by phone on 01462 629000 or by email lva-SEND@bestacademies.org.uk 

• We work in partnership with parents to support each child/young person’s well-being, learning needs, progress and aspirations.
• We operate an open-door policy to allow parents to contact their child’s class teacher with ease.
• Parents are invited to become involved in school-life through a number of means e.g. the PTA, hearing children read and ongoing invitations to school events throughout the year.
• We send home annual reports to parents.
• Parent Consultation Evenings are held twice a year, to discuss children’s progress with their class teacher.
• Each term, parents are invited to a planning and review meeting to discuss their child’s Support Plan or Statement of Special Educational Needs.
• Our Governing Body includes Parent Governors/representatives.

• We meet with a child before beginning any specific support and explain what we are doing, and why.
• We ask students for their views on their needs and record this on their Support Plan.

• The class teacher monitors each child’s progress and discusses this with the SENDCO and the parent/carer.  The class teacher considers each child’s targets as agreed with the parent/carer and records these on a Support Plan. This will happen each term.
• We measure children’s progress in learning by measuring against National expectations, age related expectations and by considering a pupil’s  targets.
• We have pupil progress meetings each term which involves the SENDCO and contributions from any other member of staff who have supported the child.

• We want everyone in our school to make excellent progress, and to achieve the very best that they can, in all aspects of their all-round education, regardless of any Special Educational Needs or Disabilities that they may have.  We have high aspirations for all of our children.
• This means that there is complete equality of opportunity in the curriculum that is offered to students.
• We believe that high quality teaching will ensure high quality outcomes for students, so it is essential that students with SEND have access to the same high quality teaching as everyone else in the school.
• It also means that we will work really hard with young people with SEND to put in place extra provisions to ensure the best possible outcomes for them, and to remove any barriers to learning that they may be facing. These may include barriers related to the child themselves, and also those in the learning environment.

• All teachers are provided with information on the needs of individual pupils, so that they can plan the learning within our curriculum, to ensure that all pupils are able to make good progress.
• Differentiation is planned for groups and individuals according to need: for example, for a child who has Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN), teachers will use simplified language and/or pictures to support them to understand new vocabulary.
• A Teaching Assistant may sometimes work with your child either individually or as part of a group; if this is seen as necessary by the class teacher.

• Our SENDCO is a qualified and experienced teacher and receives ongoing SEN training in specific areas.
• Our SENDCO, organises SEND training, and works closely with any external agencies that we feel relevant to individual children’s needs.  These may include: Educational Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists, Health Visitors, Occupational Therapists, Social Services, Outreach teachers and GP’s.
• We access specialist training as part of staff’s ‘Professional Development’, to ensure that we can support children with SEND individual needs.

• As part of the normal school development and self-review cycle we will carefully examine the data from exam results, student surveys and teacher observations to evaluate the effectiveness of the provision
• Every year, the government produces a document called “Raiseonline” which is a booklet of data all about our school. This is used as a key tool to examine how effective the provision is.

• There are no barriers for any students with SEND for our activities in school.
• We actively encourage students with SEND to take part fully in the life of the school.
• We are a fully inclusive, comprehensive school.

• Our provision map (see here) shows clearly the provision in place for those young people with emotional and social needs.
• Our anti-bullying policy (see here) sets out our approach to bullying.

We draw on a range of local providers such as:

• NHS, Union Street Clinic, local GPs, School Nurse.
• CAMHs
• Children’s Social Care
• Early Help Intervention from CBC
• Education Psychology Service
• CHUMS

• The school has a Parental Complaints Policy which can be found here on our policy page. 

• We have very good relationships with our feeder settings and the settings that most of our pupils move onto; we share information to support pupils’ learning and well-being at transition
• Further support is provided as necessary for those with SEND including additional visits to the new setting, both individually and as part of an enhanced transition programme for identified pupils.

Click Here for the Central Bedfordshire Council Local Offer For children and young people with disabilities and special needs.

Are you a parent or carer of a child or young person identified with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) in Central Bedfordshire, or do you know someone who is?

If the answer is yes, then did you know that the Council’s Children’s Services team has a suite of resources to support people in Central Bedfordshire, called the Local Offer? A Local Offer gives children and young people with SEND and their families a wide range of information about the support services that are available in their local area.

The information covers education, health and social care support and services for people aged between 0 and 25 years. The Central Bedfordshire Local Offer describes the provision offered in the area but also includes services outside of Central Bedfordshire which are provided jointly by neighbouring local authorities.

We would like to hear your feedback on the content to help us make it clearer, more comprehensive, more accessible and up to date. If you have any feedback, then please email local.offer@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk 

You can also follow the Local Offer on Facebook and Sign up to our SEND news email service to receive fortnightly SEND news updates.

Michele Geddes School Improvement Advisor 

Tel-03003006867

Email-michele.geddes@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk

We support students for whom English is an additional language.  All staff are made aware of the need and adjust plans accordingly.  We monitor their progress carefully and provide learning support and mentoring for those students who are not making expected progress. 

Please contact our SENDCo, Charlotte Magee, if you feel that your child needs more help in this area.

The link for our local SENDIASS can be found here: https://cbsendiass.org/

Central Bedfordshire SENDIASS (Special Educational Needs and disability Information, Advice and Support Service) is a statutory service, provided by but working at arm’s length from the Local Authority which offers a free, confidential support service for young people with SEND and their parents and carers.