Oak Academy

Special Educational Needs and our local offer

Introduction:

Our SENDCo is Mrs S Buxton (Assistant Vice Principal)

Our SEND Department comprises of a team of specialist staff who support students across the Academy. Our main resource is the Student Support Centre.

Policies and Statutory Information:

Oak Academy Policies and Statutory Information relating to SEND can be found here.

What we do:
We provide support for students who have additional learning needs relating to categories of SEND, defined in the DfE SEN Code of Practice document as:

  • Cognition and learning difficulties
  • Communication and Interaction difficulties
  • Sensory and physical difficulties
  • Social, emotional and mental health difficulties

Students requiring additional support have access to a range of interventions and provisions. The team support students throughout the day through small group interventions and in class support. Our teaching staff, pastoral team and all Oak staff are also a part of the offer and support with provide SEND students.

Our Interventions include

  • Reading: Lexia and Phonics Interventions
  • Numeracy support
  • ELSA (emotional literacy)
  • Learn to Move, Move to Learn
  • Thrive Programme 
  • Social Skills
  • Meet and Greet
  • Exam Access Arrangements

Agencies:

We work closely with a range of external agencies who provide specialist support and advice for individual students depending on their needs. These agencies include, but not limited to:

  • SALT (Speech and Language Therapy)
  • Educational Psychologist
  • Paediatrician
  • Occupational Therapist
  • MHST (Mental Health for Schools Team)
  • CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service)
  • Hearing and Vision support services
  • Local Authority SEN/ Inclusion Team

Assessment and monitoring:

All students who enter the Academy are assessed for baseline reading, spelling and complete CATs testing. This information is used alongside other data to identify students who may require additional support. Intervention sessions are provided to target specific development needs and the progress of each student is monitored closely. Students who do not make progress in light of interventions are placed on the SEN register and further interventions may be offered. The SEN register is reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure that students are moved through the SEN stages of the Code of Practice in an accurate and timely manner.

Inclusive education:

We pride ourselves on being fully inclusive and all students attend mainstream lessons with their peers, to ensure they gain the highest specialist subject knowledge from their teachers. Staff at the Academy are continually receiving CPD on how to support a variety of additional needs, therefore in line with the DfE Code of practice, First Quality Teaching is at the heart of support for SEND students.