SEND Provision

Overview

SEND Team

• SENCo: Mr J. Woodcock
• Headteacher: Mr D Dennis
• SLT Link for SEND: Miss V Stabler
• Link Governor for SEND: Mrs J Walker

SENco Contact Details

• Mr J. Woodcock, West Lakes Academy, Main Street, Egremont, CA22 2DQ
• woodcockj@changinglives.education
• 01946 820356

SEND Provision at West Lakes Academy

Our academy is fully inclusive and students with additional needs are included in all aspects of life here.

All staff, including the learning support department, work with those students who need additional support within school either academically, socially, emotionally or physically.

This support is largely offered within mainstream classrooms to ensure that all students are able to access inclusive learning at an appropriate level. Tasks may be modified or differentiated for individual students. Students are also supported at social times if appropriate.

The students’ needs cover all four areas of the SEND Code of Practice: Communication and Interaction; Cognition and Learning; Social, Emotional and Mental Health; and Physical and/or Sensory.

Some students may have the protection of a Statement of Special Educational Need or an Education, Health and Care Plan – legal documents which the school has to honour. Others may be identified by the school or by their parents as requiring extra support.

Please refer to our full SEND Policy  and SEND Information Report for more information.

Key Stage 3

Most support is provided within mainstream classes by learning support assistants who work closely with the class teachers. The curriculum may be modified or differentiated for these students. Some 1 to 1 and small group work is also carried out when this is thought to be appropriate and is led by our senior LSAs.

Some students are withdrawn from some classes to work on basic learning skills in a small group. A variety of interventions are available to develop these skills. It is expected that all students will acquire independent learning and working skills which they will then carry on into the future.

Dyslexia Support

At West Lakes Academy our dyslexic students are supported through high quality first teaching in mainstream classrooms.  We also share student passports with staff which detail students’ strengths/interests, weaknesses and directs staff towards strategies to help.  For example, strategies to support reading, working memory or reduced processing speed.

Access Arrangements

Access Arrangements are the reasonable adjustments that can be made for an exam candidate.  Access Arrangements should neither advantage those with them or disadvantage those without them.  All students should have equal access to exams.

The Equality Act 2010 requires awarding bodies to make reasonable adjustments where a candidate would be at a substantial disadvantage in comparison to someone who is not disabled.

The examination boards will not consider applications in respect of long-term conditions that are submitted only weeks before the exams. It is essential therefore, that we are informed of existing circumstances that might justify Access Arrangements as soon as possible, preferably on joining the school. Arrangements can then be made to accommodate the particular needs of students in internal exams. This will allow us to test the effectiveness of such arrangements, and will provide grounds for their implementation at GCSE and A Level.

When applying for Access Arrangements we are obliged to work within the framework laid down by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ).  These regulations are very complex, and are updated for each academic year. The current guidance for can be viewed on the JCQ website.

Sometimes the academy will be provided with a private report from a specialist teacher, an educational psychologist or/and a letter from a GP.  It should be noted that none of these on their own is a guarantee that a student will be eligible for an Access Arrangements requested.

The overarching principle behind arrangements in exams is that they should reflect the students practice in the classroom.  This is described as ‘Normal Way of Working’.  These arrangements should be established as routine in classrooms and assessments for (at least) the two years leading up to the students’ exam entry.  It is on this pre requisite that the arrangements are formalised.

Access Arrangements Assessments

WLA Learning Support Department carries out assessments of students in all year groups in consideration for Access Arrangements. This will also involve the gathering of information from teaching staff to check the student’s normal ways of working in lessons.

Testing is carried out at the end of year 9 or start of Year 10 in order to ascertain whether students meet the criteria in their year 11 GCSE/ BTEC examinations.  If eligible and appropriate evidence is available, an online application will be made. Any application is only valid for 26 months and it is for this reason that applications are not made earlier.

When making an application the academy utilises evidence of the student’s difficulties as well as being able to demonstrate the normal way of working within the classroom and during test situations, which is a JCQ requirement. Any application we make requesting Access Arrangements needs to include school based evidence of need.

JCQ set specific guidelines regarding a student being eligible for Access Arrangements, these are not set by WLA.  A student may find that they are not eligible for Access Arrangements if they do not meet the criteria set out by the JCQ.

Additional Services

The Local Authority has produced The Local Offer where parents/carers and young people can find out about more specialist provision available. Please follow the link below to find out more information:

Families Information | SEND Information Hub (Local offer) (cumberland.gov.uk)

Cumberland SEND information, advice and support service

Complaints Procedure

If you are unhappy with the way West Lakes Academy is managing your child’s learning needs you should:

1. Contact your child’s form tutor, subject teacher, or head of year with your concerns by telephoning the academy on 01946 820356 to talk about your concerns on the phone or to arrange a meeting at the academy.
2. If you still have concerns, please contact the academy’s SENCo who will try to help resolve the problem. Mr Woodcock can be contacted on 01946 820356 or via his email address: woodcockj@changinglives.education.
3. If you are still unhappy then you should ask for a meeting with the vice principal responsible for SEND, Miss Stabler to talk about the issue. Miss Stabler can be contacted on 01946 820356 or via her email address: stablerv@changinglives.education
4. If, after completing these steps you remain unhappy with the responses then you should ask for a meeting with the Headteacher, Mr Dennis to discuss the issue.

If you feel the problem has still not been resolved by the academy, you may then contact the academy’s governing body by emailing governors@changinglives.education