Special Educational Needs

What is SEND?

A child has a special educational need or disability (SEND) if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:

1. have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
2. have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.

The SEND Code of Practice 2014 (updated January 2015) sets out four broad areas of special educational need that include a range of difficulties and conditions:

Academy SEND Intent Statement

We believe that all students, regardless of starting point or prior ability, should experience a high-quality curriculum and have access to the most highly trained and qualified staff. Our SENDCo will provide day to day support in addition to training to support all teachers in ensuring that no student gets left behind. We believe that real inclusion and effective differentiation is invisible to the eye, that teachers should have an in-depth knowledge of their students and can adapt and support fluidly and sensitively in the classroom. Wherever possible we seek to include and not exclude our most vulnerable learners from the experiences of their peer group.​

Our SENDCo is Oliver Harrison.
Please email: oharrison@leeds.trinitymat.org

Click to read our SEND Graduated Response

Identification and Assessment of Children with SEND

As set out in the SEND Code of Practice, the school follows the Graduated Approach to Assessment, which follows the four stages of Assess, Plan, Do and Review. This allows for a more personalised approach to the identification, planning and assessment of SEND.

Where appropriate, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) will be created for students and shared with teaching and pastoral staff. An IEP will outline key information about the student’s needs, the recommended strategies and reasonable adjustments that will be made in class, as well as an outline of any additional, targeted interventions the student is in receipt of. IEPs are reviewed regularly and informed by teacher feedback and assessment as well as student and parent voice.

 

Golden Toolkit

At TAL great emphasis is placed on ensuring that all aspects of the school day are accessible to all students regardless of their individual needs. Lessons are informed by evidence-based research and individual learning activities are sequenced and delivered to make success inevitable for all students. To support students to overcome common barriers to learning, staff utilise aspects of the “Golden Toolkit”. The Golden toolkit encompasses 5 key areas where adaptations to the learning materials and delivery of activities are utilised to support students. These areas are:

• Talk – Using structured activities to develop answers verbally before producing a written response.
• Phonics – Breaking down unfamiliar or challenging vocabulary into individual syllables or sounds to support correct pronunciation and spelling.
• Scaffolding – Helping students to plan and structure written answers by providing support such as sentence starters or word banks.
• Dual Coding – Supporting written information with images or graphics to improve understanding and retention of information.
• Memory Movements – Using simple physical movements to support retention and recall of new vocabulary or complex processes.

Specialist Support at TAL

As part of the graduated response in meeting the needs of the students at TAL, the academy enlists the support of various external professionals and agencies. To meet the demands of two key areas of need, Speech, Language and Communication and Social Emotional and Mental Health, the school has specialist external support, based on site at TAL.

Speech, Language and Communication Needs

The academy employs a qualified speech and language therapist for one day a week, to provide support and staff to students, staff and families. In most instances once a referral has been made, the speech and language therapist will carry out an assessment to determine the specific nature of the need or barrier to learning for the student. This may then lead to the delivery of targeted intervention and support or may highlight further adaptations that could be made within the classroom setting to support the young person’s learning. In some instances the therapist may also make further referrals to additional external support agencies.

SEND Clinics

At Trinity Academy Leeds we place a great importance on ensuring all students are supported to achieve their full potential and receive the best education available.

A key part of this is ensuring that all students get the individual support they need to access both the learning and extracurricular activities on offer.

Where a student has an additional need which may require extra support or adaptation from the school, it is important that this is planned together with parents and carers to ensure all needs are accounted for and families are fully informed of the support their child receives. As a result, the school offers regular “SEN Clinics” during the academic year which provide an extra opportunity for parents and carers to discuss any concerns or queries they may have about their child’s needs and provision. The SEN clinics also provide an extra opportunity for parental input and review of IEPs.

Staff Training

All staff take part in regular in-house training looking at how to support our most vulnerable learners. All staff have completed an online training course through STARS (Specialist Training in Autism and Raising Standards) with a focus on supporting students with ASC.

Please view our Policy page to look at our SEND Policy, SEND Information Report and our Accessibility Statement.

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