What is the Bournemouth SEN and Disability Local Offer?

Bournemouth Borough Council is working with services to provide more comprehensive information on what each of these services specifically provide for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities. This offer will include provision from birth to 25, across education, health and social care.

Bournemouth’s Local Offer and other information on the changes in SEN can be found at:

|

Tregonwell Academy’s SEND information report is part of the Bournemouth Local Offer:

How will Tregonwell Academy know if my child needs extra help, and what should I do if I think my child has special educational needs?

Students who attend Tregonwell Academy display a range of social, emotional and mental health needs;however, the behaviours displayed by some of our students can also be a result of additional communication and learning difficulties.Students diagnosed with ASC are also educated in units on both the Nigel Bowes Campus(‘NBC’) and the Petersfield Campus (‘PC’).

We have a clear approach to identifying and responding to additionalSEN. All teachers are responsible for understanding existing SEN needs of individual students but alsoidentifying students with additional SEN and, in collaboration with the Special Education Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo), will ensure that those students requiring different or additional support are identified at an early stage.

On entry to the Academy your child’s attainment is assessed to provide a baseline assessment and to ensure continuity of learning. This may flag up students who require additional class based interventions and/or further assessment. We also gather information from your child’s previous school and other professionals already involved if relevant. If your child remains on another school’s roll, we will work very closely with their mainstream school for the period he/she stays with us.

If you think your child may have additional special educational needs you are very welcome to discuss this with the class teacher (NBC), tutor (PC) or Lead Teacher (TLC) in the first instance. If further support is required, then this will be discussed with the most appropriate staff (SENCo/Vice Principal, Head of Key Stages and Assistant Vice Principal). We will involve you at all stages.

How will Tregonwell Academy support my child?

Our students have a wide range of needs including social, emotional and mental health difficulties, and sometimes additional communication and learning difficulties. The patterns of behaviour exhibited by the students vary greatly, therefore support, responses and provision is differentiated according to these needs. Class sizes are very small: there are on average 8 pupils with 2 members of staff (there are sometimes slightly more students in the KS4 group at TLC).Due to this high adult to student ratio, students’ needs are generally expected to be met within the classroom through high quality teaching (effective differentiation, engaging lessons, deployment of adults, understanding students’ different learning styles and planning for these, continuous assessment of progress).

Students are supported by all members of the school community.

How will the curriculum be matched to my child's needs?

When planning lessons, staff follow national guidelines but also endeavor to make lessons relevant to the students and as engaging as possible due to small class sizes, work can be differentiated to individual students’ needs.

Where a student is making less than expected progress despite high quality, differentiated teaching,it is sometimes decided that they would benefit from a more personalised curriculum for a period of time. Students are identified via pastoral and academic tracking meetings where attendance and behaviour data are considered alongside academic progress. Students can also be identified via a referral from teaching staff who have raised a concern. A personalised timetable can take many forms: in addition to class lessons, students’ timetables might include one or more of the following: individual or paired literacy or numeracy intervention, booster sessions, pastoral support intervention , ELSA , 1-1 lessons, off-site provision, use of sensory resources, Speech and Language support, yoga andsessions with off-site coaching mentors.

If a more personalised curriculum is required for your child in addition to the support that can be effectively provided in the classroom, then this will be planned for in discussion with parents/carers, teachers, Head of Key Stages and SENCo. Your child’s progress will be carefully monitored to ensure that the personalised timetable has a positive result on your child’s learning.

How will both the school and I know how my child is doing, and how will staff help me support my child's learning?

At Tregonwell Academy, teaching staff are continuously monitoring and reviewing your child’s progress. Information regarding your child’s understanding and knowledge is assessed informally during the individual lessons but also through work produced and formal assessments. A sample of student books are scrutinised on a half termly basis and levelled or graded work moderated by a larger staff team across the Academy to ensure consistency in assessment and marking. Any concerns around a student's progress are always discussed within a staff group who work with the student in order for solutions to be found,and shared with parents/carers as well as the student themselves. In this way, we can all work as a team to support your child.

Every student will receive written reportson either a termly or bi-annual basis so you are kept up to date with progress in individual subjectsincluding your child’s behaviour and overall effort in these subjects. Your child’s progress will be discussed in termly parents evenings or academic review days. Data around progress and other information which might be affecting academic progress (such as attendance and behaviour) is closely monitored and analysed by subject teachers, Heads of Key Stages and subject departments (PC) and the Senior Leadership Team. Regular meetings between these groups ensure all of our students are closely monitored and provision for them is under constant review.

In addition to this, if relevant to you or your child’s circumstances, his/her progress will be discussed with you during meetings which involve other agencies and professionals. In this way we can all work closely together to support your child. If your child has a Statement of Need or an Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP) they will also need an Annual Review; it is important that you and your child attend this review as we will be discussing the year’s progress and what outcomes you and your child want in the year ahead and future goals. We will then be able to plan how all the services around your child can support these personal outcomes.

Most importantly however, if you have any concerns or questions regarding your child’s progress, academically or otherwise, you are always very welcome to phone the school so we can ensure the best person able to answer your queries is available to have a chat with you.

What support will there be for my child's overall wellbeing?

We work tirelessly to ensure all our students leave us happy, self confident and able to engage with the world around them positively and successfully. Due to high ratio of staff to pupils we ‘get to know’ our students very well and can generally identify quickly when a student requires extra support with their personal wellbeing. In PC, your child has a tutor and a pastoral Head of Key Stage whom he/she can go to for support and other members of staff who might support your child include: the Support and Guidance team, ELSA , and our Educational Social Workers. We also have a school nurse allocated to the students of the academy.Some of our students work with external coaching mentors to help raise self-esteem. However, every member of staff is always willing to discuss issues and concerns with you or your child.

We also celebrate your child’s achievements through a merit reward system as well as through certificates and end of term awards assemblies.

A way you can help support us with your child’s overall wellbeing is to keep us informed if there is anything happening outside school that might affect their behaviour and progress during the school day. If we know that your child is arriving at school particularly unsettled, we can be ready to help them on arrival. Equally, we will inform you if something significant has happened during the day which might affect their behaviour on their return home. With close communication between home and school, we can support your child’s wellbeing in the best way possible.

What specialist services and expertise are available at, or accessed by, the school?

Tregonwell Academy caters for students with social, emotional and mental health needs. Therefore, all our staff support the students with their special educational needs. However, we have staff who specialise in specific areas to meet your child’s needs, these include, the SENCo, ASC staff, the Support and Guidance team, ESWs, speech and language support.

Where appropriate, we liaise with other professionals and specialist services to meet the needs of individual students within this Academy. We act upon their advice and monitor and reviewprogress and supportregularly, with parents/carers and the child concernedbeingcentral to this process.Services we regularly work with include: Learning Support Service, Speech and Language Service, Educational Psychology, the local authority SEN team, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service (EMTAS), Social services, Turnaround, Hearing and Vision Support Services, personal coaching mentors including PACAMS, Onwards and Upwards, and Keehan2Achieve.

Access arrangements: In order to enable equal access to formal, external exams, access arrangements may be applied for where this has been the students’ normal way of working. A referral will be made to the Educational Psychologist or Learning Support Service to assess the student and results used to apply for access requirements to the board by the examinations officer. Parents and students will be informed of the board’s decision. Access arrangements can be for one or more of the following:

  • Extra time during the exam
  • A reader
  • A scribe
  • Visually altered papers
  • Use of a laptop for extended written exams

For those students with the highest level of need it may be appropriate for the SENCO to request an Education, Health and Care (EHC) assessment. Students and their parents are strongly encouraged and supported to be active participants in this process. We have an expectation that parents and the young person are fully included in the EHC assessment process from the start, are fully aware of their opportunities to offer views and information, and are consulted about the content of the plan.

What training do the staff supporting children with special educational needs & disabilities have?

Tregonwell Academy is an SEN school, therefore all staff are trained to support students with special educational needs. However, it should also be remembered that all teachers in all schools are teachers of children with special educational needs.

All staff have opportunities for professional development and take part in training in-house, across the multi academy trust, as part of our training school as well as external courses. Specific Examples of training participated in in the last 24 months include:

  • Supporting literacy workshops - delivered by the Learning Support Service.
  • Supporting numeracy workshops - delivered by the Learning Support Service.
  • Understanding Attachment Disorder – delivered by CAMHS.
  • 'In-house' staff meetings and INSET across Tregonwell Academy covering all areas of teaching and learning within the classroom in general and also special needs specific.
  • Maybo - a positive approach to supporting behaviour and de-escalating challenging situations. Positive handling.
  • TA training to support SEN in the classroom.
  • SALT
  • ASD related training for ASD unit staff
  • SEN reforms – delivered by local authority staff then disseminated to all staff of the Academy.
  • Individual consultations and post assessment meetings - learning support service, educational psychology, Speech and language Service
  • ‘Talk Less Teachers’
  • CAF training & lead professional training
  • ELSA - Emotional Literacy Support Assistants
  • Basic Health and Hygiene
  • Allergy awareness
  • Safeguarding
  • Specific first aid training..

How accessible is Tregonwell Academy’s environment?

The physical environment at NBC and TLC is fully accessible. Both buildings are fully ground level.The PC site is on two floors with no access to the first floor. Only part of the ground floor is on one level so has full access.

  • There are disabled washroom facilities on all sites. These are made accessible for staff, students and visitors. NBC also has a wet room.
  • There are disabled parking spaces allocated in the car parks of all sites.
  • Any equipment provided which supports a child in their access to the learning environment is used as appropriate, and as directed by specialists, e.g. hearing packs, sensory equipment such as wobble cushions. Advice is followed concerning the size of font used on resources and IT equipment; to aid visually impaired students.
  • NBC and PC have ASC units with specialist resources and equipment.
  • Relevant training has been taken by specific staff including allergy awareness (We are a nut free school), epi pen training, first aid, and all staff have received health and safety training.

How will my child be included in activities outside of the classroom, including school trips?

There are many occasions when your child might be taken on off-site activities. These might include educational visits, as part of their personalised curriculum, as part of the lesson where learning is planned for outside the classroom, courses at other institutions or run by commissioned groups, sports events and reward trips. All students where the activity is planned for should be ableto attend, unless risk assessment due to behaviour is too high or permission from parents/carers hasn’t been given if relevant.

How will Tregonwell Academy prepare and support my child to move on to another school?

All our students have either transferred from another school or are still on their roll but educated at Tregonwell Academy. As we understand how difficult transition is for our students we try and prepare both the student and the next school as much as possible to ensure that it as successful as possible.(Sometimes the student is returning to their own mainstream school). Some ways we support the transition process include:

  • Discussions take place between the relevant members of staff of both schools. We will provide the receiving school with all the information and records necessary to aid a smooth transition.
  • You and your child should visit the new school.
  • A member of staff from Tregonwell will attend a meeting with you, your child and staff at the new school.
  • If felt necessary, staff support is put in place for a short period of time at the new school to aid transition.
  • If your child is going to be supported by a TA in the new school, then he/she will be invited to spend time with your child in Tregonwell Academy.
  • If your child is transferring to a new school mid-academic year he/she will have the opportunity (and will be encouraged) to take part in a gradual integration over a period of weeks.
  • Some students have benefited from taking part in a transition programme with the ELSA to prepare them for the move to a new school.
  • If your child is transferring to a new school at the end of year 6 or between Tregonwell sites at the end of year 6, he/she will have the opportunity to take part in a transition day at the end of the summer term.

How are Tregonwell Academy’sresources allocated and matched to children's special educational needs?

The planning starts with looking at the curriculum we feel is most appropriate for all pupils’ to be able to meet their potential and gain the highest level of achievement at the Academy. Once the curriculum is in place we then allocate teachers and TA’s accordingly to each lesson taught. Alongside the taught curriculum in school we also have provisions within the Academy such as ASC specific classes and unit and a Pupil placement service. It is essential we ensure the correct resources are in place for these to run effectively.There are budget allocations for every area of the school and resources are developed by staff identifying a need and requesting to purchase resources to ensure that wherever possible accelerated progress and the highest achievement is made by every pupil.At the Academy we constantly review our provision ensuring there is everything in place to meet every childs’ needs.

How are decisions made about what type of support, and how much support, my child will receive?