All teachers are teachers of students with Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND Code of Practice January 2015) and, as such, take full responsibility for all their students’ learning, progress and well-being.
The teachers at Granville Academy are trained to support students with SEND. They personalise their lessons by knowing the student’s strengths and areas for development and differentiating any work accordingly as all students with SEND carry a Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) of reasonable adjustments and teachers are aware of these needs. The SEND Department provides advice and guidance to teachers to allow them to do this effectively. This supports students to make progress and to meet their full potential.
A small number of students require something more bespoke; something distinct, individual and different. This may take the form of in-class support from a Teaching Assistant, physical support, adjustments to the learning environment or additional tuition or intervention. The SEND Department work in partnership with the student, their family, the teachers and support staff to develop a tailored package of support to deliver. To this aim, the SEND Department at Granville Academy offers a wide range of bespoke Interventions during and after the school day; Interventions can include: small group literacy, numeracy and reading interventions, SEMH Interventions including Art Therapy, Anxiety Gremlin, Anger Gremlin, Exam Stress Gremlin, ASD Social Support and Homework support. We are continually adding to and changing our intervention programme to ensure we can target as many individual students needs as possible in mostly group sessions.
Each Teaching Assistant is linked to individual students as a student champion. They meet with the student to listen to their student voice about what areas they are doing well in and what areas may need more support. This happens termly. The teaching Assistants are also linked to year groups and contribute to the head of year team meeting with support and advice. Again, in partnership with teachers, the SEND team are also responsible for arranging for students to receive access arrangements for external examinations. The process for this begins in Year 9 when evidence of need is collected from teachers followed by rigorous assessment and subsequent application to the examination boards where this is found to be appropriate. The SENDCo is also available to chat to at the year group Parents’ Evenings throughout the year.
The SEND team is made up of the SENDCo, Miss J Gibson, Assistant SENDCo, Miss C Isaac, and a team of Teaching Assistants, all of whom are experienced and well qualified. If you would like to meet with Miss Gibson or one of the Teaching Assistants to discuss your child’s needs and how they may be met, please do not hesitate to contact us by ringing the school reception or by e-mail: jgibson.granville@deferrerstrust.com or cisaac.granville@deferrerstrust.com
Further details of our provision in this area can be found in the SEND Information Report below.
You can find information below about SEND provision and the Academy SEND Policy.
Information on a wide range of activities and services aimed at children with SEND and their families is available on the Derbyshire County Council website:
The site includes information on services commissioned by Derbyshire County Council as well as wider services available, therefore offering a greater amount of choice to families.
The site is regularly updated by providers and is already proving very popular with families.
Please find below a link to the Local Offer from the Derbyshire County Council, Staffordshire County Council and Leicestershire County Council:
https://localoffer.derbyshire.gov.uk/#!/directory
https://www.staffordshireconnects.info/kb5/staffordshire/directory/home.page
SEND Code of Practice:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398815/SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf
Core Subject Nurture Pathway (Year 7, 8 and 9):
The Core Subjects Nurture Provision at Granville Academy was introduced to ensure that the needs of all learners were met throughout their educational journey.
It was recognised that increasingly more students were and are transitioning into senior school that require additional support to aid their transition to secondary school in either academic, social and emotional terms, or in both. The idea of the Core Subjects Nurture Provision (English, Maths and Science) came from a desire to be able to fully meet these students needs whilst maintaining the high aspiration and fulfilment of potential that we have for all students. The idea that they needed a different type of support that can cultivate their basic academic skills in a fully inclusive manner, but ensures they still had access to a curriculum that was broad and balanced in every way led to the development of the Core Subjects Nurture Provision that exists in Year 7 to Year 9 today.
The Core Subjects Nurture Provision provides support in relation to basic academic skills and ‘catch up’ in an inclusive and targeted way, and where applicable, it supports students’ self-esteem and social, emotional and mental health needs. This is especially the case for many of the students, who require additional support to aid in their transition to secondary school, therefore the Core Subjects Nurture Provision has been created to enable these students to thrive.
Please read our Core Subjects Nurture Handbook for more information
Personalised Learning Centre:
We want to ensure all students have the opportunity to succeed in education. As part of our provision, we have developed our bespoke provision offer for students with SEND needs and temporary injury/ illness. The Personalised Learning Centre (PLC) is a specialised intervention for those students who need bespoke support provided for:
● Attendance,
● Accessing the curriculum,
● Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs,
● Cognition and Learning needs.
Students' access to this provision is reviewed regularly to ensure it continues to meet their needs and that their access to mainstream education is not reduced unnecessarily.
As part of our PLC offer, students may be afforded opportunities to access practical activities to develop wider skills, for example Forest School.
Please read our Personalised Learning Centre handbook for more information.
The Bridge:
We want to ensure all students have the opportunity to succeed in education. As part of our provision, we have developed our bespoke Alternative Curriculum. The Bridge is a small, specialised intervention for those students who struggle to access mainstream education. This may be due to safeguarding or additional needs, or they may be at risk of exclusion.
Students who access this provision do so for a maximum of 2 terms. When students are being successful in the Bridge they start reintegration back into mainstream school. These students then have a hybrid timetable with a mixture of mainstream lessons and The Bridge lessons.
As part of our Alternative Provision offer, students may be afforded opportunities to access practical activities to develop wider skills. These opportunities may include; Forest School, gardening or cooking for example.
We also introduce our students to the world of work and the different and exciting opportunities that are available to them by linking lessons to the workplace and working closely with the academy careers advisor.
Please read The Bridge handbook for more information.
Possible Strategies for SEND Students
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Autism - Characteristics and possible Strategies
Moderate Learning Difficulties
Social, Emotional and Mental Health
Specific Learning Difficulties
Speech, Language and Communication Needs
SEND Useful Information
Signs that can suggest a student may have SEND needs (classroom)