School
Information Offer
Featherstone Academy
School Information Report
2022/2023
At Featherstone Academy, we will meet the individual needs of all children entering our school. We will set suitable learning challenges for all pupils and respond to pupil’s adverse needs and overcome potential barriers to learning. All prospective parents and their children are warmly invited to visit to meet staff and pupils and see for themselves the warm environment that we have created.
UWMAT also reinforce our values, and this is evident in their SEND offer.
“We believe that every pupil within our Trust of schools is important to us. UWMAT is committed to supporting all pupils to achieve their potential. Our staff work hard to expand their individual requirements by developing approaches to ensure that the learning needs of all pupils are met. All members of UWMAT make provision for those pupils with additional needs to ensure that all pupils, regardless of their specific obstacles, make the best possible progress in school. The range of support deployed will be tailored to individual need following assessments and provided from the resources offered by the Local Offer from each school in the Trust.
All schools within the Trust are supported to be as inclusive as possible so that pupils can grow and learn with their peers. They work with parents, carers, wider families, professionals and outside agencies to determine the most appropriate provision for pupils with disabilities and additional needs in all aspects of Academy life.”
As a school, we are fully compliant with ‘The Equality Act 2010 /SEND Code of Practice’ and we are committed to supporting children with a range of differing needs. These may include: -
1. Communication and Interaction – children who have speech, language and communication needs and have difficulty in communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them or they do not understand or use social rules of communication.
2. Cognition and Learning – support for those pupils learning at a slower rate than their peers even when they are supported or work is differentiated for them.
3. Social, emotional or mental health difficulties – these difficulties may manifest themselves in many ways including becoming isolated or through challenging and disruptive behaviour.
4. Sensory or Physical Needs – some children require special provision because of a specific disability including visual, hearing and physical needs.
How does the setting know if children need extra help and what should I do if I think my child may have a special educational need?
- If you have concerns about your child’s progress you should speak to your child’s class teacher initially.
- If you are not happy that the concerns are being managed and that your child is still not making progress you should speak to Mr Gatrad the Headteacher.
- If you are still not happy you can speak to the school Chair of Governors Clair Jenkins.
How will Featherstone Academy support my child?
- Each pupil’s education programme will be planned by the class teacher. It will be differentiated accordingly to suit the pupil’s individual needs. This may include additional general support by the teacher or teaching assistant.
- If a pupil has needs related to more specific areas of their education, such as spellings, handwriting, numeracy and literacy skill etc., then the pupil will be placed in a small focus group. This will be run by the teacher or teaching assistant. The length of time of the intervention will vary according to need but will generally be for a term. The interventions will be regularly reviewed by all involved to ascertain the effectiveness of the provisions and inform future planning,
How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?
- Featherstone Academy is a good/ outstanding school which values all pupils equally. We believe that every child should be supported to reach their full potential and that it is the duty of every adult within school to enable this vision to be a reality. Every child’s individual needs are met and the best course of support and intervention is planned. This includes 1:1 support, pair and group work and the involvement of other agencies and specialists to provide structured programmes.
How will I know how my child is doing?
- You will be able to discuss your child’s progress at Parents Evening.
- Your child’s class teacher will be available at the end of each day if you wish to raise a concern. Appointments can be made to speak in more detail to the class teacher or SENCO (Mrs Steatham) by visiting the school office.
And how will you help me to support my child’s learning?
- The class teacher may suggest ways of how you can support your child.
- If outside agencies or the Educational Psychologist have to be involved suggestions and programmes of study are normally provided that can be used at home. Speech and Language therapist also offer strategies to use at home.
What support will there be for my child’s overall well-being and behaviour?
- All information from outside professionals will be discussed with you with the person involved directly, or where this is not possible, in a report. The headteacher or SENCO will also arrange to meet with you to discuss any new assessments and ideas suggested by outside agencies for your child.
What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the setting?
- Speech and language therapist
- Educational psychologist
- Physiotherapists,
- Occupational therapists,
- Physical disability support service,
- Special educational needs support service,
- Autism outreach team,
- Behaviour support team,
- CAMHS
- School Nurse.
- UWMAT SEND Consultant
What SEND training do staff receive?
- Whole school training on SEND issues such as ASD, dyslexia awareness and speech and language problems. Individual teachers and support staff attend training courses run by outside agencies that are relevant to the needs of specific children in their class, for example, from the AOT service and the SALT service
How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips?
- All children are encouraged to fully participate in all activities in and out of school and all reasonable adjustments are made, these include care plans followed, risk assessments, additional staff support and training.
How accessible is the school environment?
- The school is fully wheelchair accessible; we have disabled parking spaces and all classrooms are on one level and easily accessed.
- School ensures that children with specific physical needs are accommodated within the seating of the classroom using specialist equipment if necessary. We ensure that children with poor fine motor control have access to specific pencil grips, pencils, pens, scissors and sloping desks when appropriate and as directed by OT. Individual work stations are provided for children under the guidance of outside agencies.
How will the school prepare and support my child to join school, or transition to a new school?
Several strategies are in place to enable effective pupil’s transition. These include:-
On Entry
- A planned programme of visits provided in the summer term for pupils starting in September.
- Parents/carers are invited to a meeting at the school and are provided with a range of information to support them in enabling their child to settle into the school routine.
- The SENCO meets with all new parents of pupils who are known to have SEND to allow concerns to be raised and solutions to any perceived challenges to be located prior to entry.
- Pupils transferring from another school, the previous school records will be requested immediately and a meeting will be set up with parents to identify and reduce any concerns.
- Your child’s key person may make a home visit and also visit your child if they are attending another provision.
On transition to another school
- The transition programme in place for pupils in Y6 provides several opportunities for pupils and parents to meet staff in the new school. These opportunities are further enhanced for pupils with SEN through additional visits and transition units of work.
- The annual review in Y5 for pupils with a statement of educational need or an Education, Health and Care plan begins the process where parents are supported to make decisions regarding secondary school choice.
- Parents will be encouraged to consider options for the next phase of education and the school will involve outside agencies, as appropriate, to ensure information is comprehensive but accessible.
- Parents will be enabled to consider options for the next phase of education and may like to take advantage of the support offered by the independent Staffordshire School Choice. Information on this service is located on the Staffordshire website at http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/education/schoolsandcolleges/admi ssions/schoolchoice/homepage.aspx
- Accompanied visits to other providers may be arranged as appropriate.
- For pupils transferring to local schools, the SENCOs of both schools will meet to discuss the needs of pupils with SEND in order to ensure a smooth transition.
How are the school’s resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?
- We ensure that all children who have Special Educational needs are met to the best of the school’s ability with the funds available.
- The SEN budget is allocated each financial year. The money is used to provide additional support or resources dependant on an individual’s needs.
- The additional provision may be allocated after discussion with the class teacher at pupil progress meeting or if a concern has been raised by them at another time during the year.
- Resources may include deployment of staff depending on individual circumstances.
How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child will receive?
- These decisions are made in consultation with the class teacher. Decisions are based upon termly tracking of pupil progress and as a result of assessment by outside agencies.
How are the school's resources allocated and matched to children's special educational needs?
- The SEN budget is allocated each financial year. The money is used to provide additional support or resources dependent on an individual's needs. The school also applies for AEN Funding and EHC Plan funding.
- Further support or resources may be allocated to your child following assessments by school staff or outside agencies.
- Funding may be used to buy in specialist support (e.g. Dyslexic assessment).
How are parents involved in the school? How can I be involved?
- All parents are encouraged to contribute to their child’s education.
- This may be through discussions with the class teacher
- During parents’ evenings
- Discussion with other professionals
- Parents are encouraged to comment on their child’s ISP with possible suggestions that could be incorporated.
Pupils with medical needs
- If a pupil has a medical need, then a detailed Health Care Plan is compiled by our SENCo in partnership with parents and our school nurse. Staff who provide medicine administration complete training that is overseen by the school nurse and follow the LA policy/DfE guidelines included within Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions (Statutory guidance for governing bodies of maintained schools and proprietors of academies in England February 2014.
Who can I contact for further information?
- The special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO), Mrs Steatham, can be contacted via the school office or by Email: SENS@featherstone.uwmat.co.uk and visits to the school are always welcome.
There are many SEN terms that are abbreviated which can lead to confusion.
Click here for a glossary of the most used SEN Terms.
Support services for parents of pupils with SEN include
- Staffordshire Connects is a service that connects you with help and support in your community. The Local Offer can also be found on this website link. (click the picture below)
- Staffordshire Family Partnership is now to be known as SENDIASS which is an information, advice and support service.
Hopefully this document has been useful in answering any questions about what Featherstone Academy can provide both you and your child. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01902 734167.
As a school, we operate an ‘open door’ policy and appreciate parents speaking to us if they have any concerns.