Lansdown Park is an Early Intervention Base and Pupil Referral Unit offering a learning provision to support students who are finding mainstream provision challenging and have been permanently excluded or are at risk of exclusion.
Importance of SEN at LPA…impact…guides
Lansdown Park provides a learning environment in which belonging is a focus of what we do, and the expertise of staff ensure that student’s needs are identified and met through a range of interventions alongside a curriculum to support reintegration back into mainstream.
Lansdown Park Academy will work to achieve the best possible outcomes for all young people and will ensure their opportunities for inclusion and promote equality of opportunity for all. We believe we provide a safe and supportive learning environment where students belong, grow and succeed.
Students with special educational needs have a significantly greater difficulty in learning that the majority of children of the same age.
There are 4 main areas of need:
| Communication and interaction | Cognition and learning |
| Social, emotional, and mental health | Sensory and/or physical needs |
Special educational needs can affect a child or young person’s ability to learn. They can affect their:
Students who attend Lansdown Park will be coded on our SEN register and through induction and ongoing observations and assessment, their specific needs will be identified.
This is the title of the person responsible for the strategic overview and day to day coordination of SEND provision for the students at Lansdown Park Academy.
Our SENCO is: Hannah Scott
Our Assistant SENCO is: Jordan Anstey
The SENCO works closely with the principal to coordinate the provision at LPA and promote inclusive practice. The SENCO works collaboratively with parents/carers, mainstream schools and other agencies to ensure the SEND code of practice is effectively embedded.
For students attending Lansdown Park on dual registration with their mainstream school, the SENCO will work with agencies to pursue the process of gaining an EHCP to identify needs and provision for this student to go on to experience success. The mainstream school will apply for the ECHNA as soon as possible following a commissioned place.
For students attending Lansdown Park following an exclusion, Lansdown Park will assess and observe their needs and pursue getting an (EHCP) Education, Health Care Plan in place for each individual student needing it.
Inclusion is the responsibility of all staff and the principal and SENCO ensures that this is monitored and that training and support needs of staff are in place.
Lansdown Park follows the 2014 Code of practice, the equalities Act (2010) and the Children and Families Bill (2013) when carrying out its duties towards all students with SEND.
Students attending Lansdown Park will go on to the SEN register. Lansdown Park will ensure that parents/carers are aware of the SEN provision being made available for their child.
LPA will ensure that the necessary provision is made for each student and that their needs are made known to all staff who are likely to teach them. Lansdown Park teachers are able to provide excellent support for students with a range of SEND needs as they have regular and relevant training.
Places for students at Lansdown Park are commissioned by two local authorities: Bristol and BANES. Students will be referred by mainstream schools for intervention placements, or be allocated a place with us following a permanent exclusion.
A student on an intervention placement will be on dual registration with their mainstream school. A student who has been issued with a PEX (permanent exclusion) will be solely registered with Lansdown Park Academy.
The SLT will collaborate with stakeholders to ensure that any already identified areas of need (from previous setting) are provided for. Lansdown Park will continue to collaborate with agencies and stakeholders to help screening for undiagnosed needs (e.g. speech and language, educational psychologists, autism support team etc)
When a student goes on role, Lansdown Park will open a pupil passport for each student. This will be a working document, regularly reviewed by all staff working with the student, to ensure that needs are quickly identified, and strategies and the right support are in place. Student and parent/carer voice plays a key role in identifying student’s needs.
The SEN code of practice approaches identifying SEND through a needs assessment. Mainstream school or Lansdown Park will apply for a needs assessment where they have identified that need is beyond the ordinary available provision. This process will then confirm whether we gather evidence to gain an Education, Health Care Plan (EHCP) for the student.
On entry to Lansdown Park, we use the following to help us assess and identify needs:
Each student is given a bespoke timetable to support their identified needs. This can change over time as we monitor their progress and needs.
Assessment and identification of student’s needs is an on-going process. Any member of staff may make a request to the SLT for additional support for a student as the result of:
| Observations | Pupil Voice | Information from parents
|
Lansdown Park assessments |
| Progress against National Curriculum (phonics, reading, writing, maths)
|
Information from dual registered school
|
Information from other agencies who have observed or engaged with the student |
Every student has a timetable designed to meet their needs. This is reviewed regularly and aims to support the student to engage with and access learning as well as increase attendance. For dual registration cases, mainstream schools are kept informed of their timetables.
If during their placement at Lansdown Park, it is identified that their needs would be better met with a different provision, Lansdown Park will discuss with commissioners to find the best solution for each student. On some occasions, students will have a combination of provision on site and off site.
Through the appraisal process, the leaders ensure that staff are equipped with what they need to support students and offer an exceptional provision. Staff have a range of expertise, and this is shared with other staff through training. Lansdown Park also ensure that the whole staff team receive regular training to improve their knowledge and understanding in supporting social, emotional and mental health needs.
Specialist staff training includes:
| Neurosequential model of education training (NME) provided by Sussex psychology. | Mental Health First Aid
|
| Drawing and Talking
|
Thrive practitioners |
| ELSA (Emotional learning support assistant)
|
Lego Therapy
|
| Zones of Regulation
|
Attachment aware and trauma informed practice |
Lansdown Park will ensure that all learners have the best opportunity to achieve their potential through our inclusive, trauma informed and attachment aware practice throughout the school. We will endeavour to ensure all learner needs are met and will engage with additional specialist expertise where necessary.
We will continue to observe and review pupil passports to support the student to make progress socially, emotionally, and academically.
An intervention is a bespoke session for a student, which may be delivered 1:1 or in small groups. These are in response to identifying student needs and putting in additional provision outside of the ordinary available class provision at Lansdown Park. These sessions are planned in collaboration with the SENCO and are added to the Pupil’s Passport.
Lansdown Park support the transition from their school to begin their intervention placement through induction visits and a graduated start. Lansdown Park liaise with mainstream and parents/carers to plan a transition timetable to meet the needs of the student.
On return to Mainstream, Lansdown Park provide advice and support through end point review meetings, end point reports and pupil passports. Lansdown Park also offer outreach to support the reintegration. The SENCo from Lansdown Park offers support to the SENCo from their mainstream school to plan a timetable to help meet the student’s needs on their return.
Lansdown Park supports each student to start successfully through an initial visit and induction sessions before their timetable in class begins.
Lansdown Park ensures that pupil and parent/carer voice is taken into account when finding the student their
As well as the Principal and SENCo regularly reviewing the SEND provision at Lansdown Park, the effectiveness of our SEND provision is reviewed regularly by different bodies:
-BANES commissioners
– Bristol commissioners
– Cabot Learning Federation
– Academy Council
-Evaluate My School (self-evaluation)
Lansdown Park works with stakeholders and external services to ensure the best outcomes for our students. These include:
Partnership plays a key role in enabling students to access the right provision for them and achieve their potential. Student and parent voice is paramount in ensuring that teaching and learning strategies are identified that work for them. These views will be considered in day-to-day provision as well as the longer-term outcomes for each student.
Lansdown Park encourages parents/carers to give any help they can at home and provides support and guidance through phone calls, coffee mornings, parent drop ins and signposting. Staff make themselves available to discuss any concerns that parents might have, and offer advice on what might help their children.
Lansdown Park Academy uses, and stores data related to the student’s SEND needs. All data use is in line with CLF Data Protection Policy.
Complaints about SEND provision in our school should be made initially to the person responsible. For example, the class teacher, tutor, or SENDCO in the first instance.
If you are not satisfied that your concerns have been addressed informally, please refer to the Complaints Policy. (Add link). The XXX Academy Complaints Co-ordinator is XXX who can be contacted directly.
The parents of students with disabilities have the right to make disability discrimination claims to the first-tier SEND tribunal if they believe that our school has discriminated against their children. They can make a claim about alleged discrimination regarding:
| Social, emotional and mental | |
| Cognition and Learning needs | |
| Communication and interaction | |
| Sensory and/or physical |
| Young Carers | |
| Looked after children | |
| English as an additional language | |
| Medical needs | |
| Disabilities | |
| School absence | |
| Gifted and Talented |
