Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
At Lincoln Carlton Academy we are “Creating a haven in which children flourish”; the word children means all children regardless of ethnicity, background needs or disabilities. The word flourish means that children at Lincoln Carlton Academy will be supported to meet their goals and to experience success in whatever form that takes for them as individuals. The information below has been set out under some key headings
Children are admitted to Lincoln Carlton Academy according to our Admissions Policy. The admission of pupils with disabilities is the same as those applied to pupils without disabilities. The school complies fully with the Equality Act 2010 and the School Admissions Code 2012 in relation to the arrangements for the admission of disabled pupils. Where the school is oversubscribed all children are admitted in accordance with the published oversubscription criteria. Where a child is disabled the school will make reasonable adjustments and provide auxiliary aids or services to ensure that no disabled child is placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to other pupils.
Parents of children with disabilities are advised to speak to us prior to admission to discuss any reasonable adjustments required so we can plan accordingly.
1.Raising a concern or making a referral.
2.Provision – what can Lincoln Carlton Academy offer to support my child with SEND?
3.How accessible is the school environment?
4.How can parents and carers stay informed and involved?
5.What next? How will LCA prepare my child for their next step in education?
6.Where else can I access support and information about special educational needs?
7.Who can I contact for further information?
1.Raising a concern or making a referral.
If your child already has an identified special educational need or disability…
- Make sure that the class teacher is aware.
- You may want to make contact with the SENDCo to discuss a transition or integration plan.
- If your child has an Education, health and Care plan in place the local authority will have already consulted the school. You may want to speak to the SENDCo to discuss transition. If your child already attends a setting you may want to ask the setting to make contact with the school SENDCo to coordinate a transition plan.
If you are concerned that your child may have an additional need…
- In the first instance talk to the class teacher – they work with your child every day and will be able to talk to you about their strengths and what they may be finding difficult.
- You may want to make contact with the Special Educational needs coordinator (SENDCo)
- Pleas click here to see our additional support referral pathway.
2.Provision – what can Lincoln Carlton Academy offer to support my child with SEND?
SEN support…
All schools have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. These adjustments may reasonably include:
- Use of visuals to support processing of instructions, timetables, routines and expectations. This may include use of the 5 point scale to support communication and develop emotional regulation.
- A differentiated curriculum that targets the pupil’s individual next steps in learning.
- Some access to enhanced adult support that targets their next steps academically and/or with social and emotional aspects of learning. This may include small group work or individual programmes of support.
- Access to targeted resources such as pencil grips, sloped writing boards, enlarged resources, individual or group scaffolds that provide prompts and support access to learning materials and tasks.
- Access to an individual work station or a safe space that provides access for brain breaks and supports engagement or other reasonable adaptations to the environment such as access to sensory resources or a sensory diet.
Education, Health and Care Plan…
If a child’s needs cannot be reasonably met at SEN support with the resources readily available to us as a mainstream school they may require an Education, Health and Care needs assessment. Or your child may already have an EHCP. In this case, the school will consult with families and the local authority to ensure that the needs of the child can be met within school. Provision may include the same approaches outlined above. In addition the school will work with other agencies and may offer some of the provision outlined here…
- Enhanced adult support will be carefully planned and targeted to ensure that individual strategies and interventions are delivered as prescribed or advised by specialists.
- Access to a parallel curriculum that outlines a bespoke learning pathway adapted to the child’s individual profile of need.
- Access to a sensory diet that is planned alongside and with the support of the school’s Occupational therapist.
- Access to enhanced provision in the Explorers room. Our Explorers provision is led by a qualified teacher and provides a specialist classroom for a small number of pupils accessing bespoke curriculum. For pupils accessing Explorers in KS1 they will learn in their Year 1 or Year 2 classroom in the morning and access Explorers in the afternoon. For pupils accessing Explorers in KS2 (year 3-Y6) they will access Explorers in the morning and will join their main class in the afternoons. The Explorers curriculum is designed entirely around the needs of the pupils and has a heavy focus on total communication and sensory diets.
Who we work with…
- Health: Speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, Mental health support team (education mental health practitioner)
- Behaviour/Social communication specialists: Needbright Solutions (weekly contact with behaviour consultant) Working Together Team (social communication specialists)
- Specialist teachers: The Specialist Teaching Team, The Sensory Education Support team (Visual impairment specialist teacher, specialist teacher of the deaf)
- St-Francis Outreach support.
Staff expertise…
- Special educational needs and disabilities coordinator Ruth Clark: National SENDCo award, Young person’s mental health First Aider, completed 2 day training on the attention Autism Programme.
- Head teacher Becky Malam: Mental Health first aider, deputy designated safeguarding lead.
- Pastoral Assistant head teacher Emily Burford: Designated safeguarding lead, mental health first aider.
- Special educational needs teacher Emily Price: Post Graduate Certificate in Emotional Factors in Learning and Teaching: Counselling aspects of education.
- Pupil premium provision manager Hannah Holland: ELSA (Emotional literacy Support assistant)
- Occupational therapist Helen Casey: Registered Occupational therapist with specialism in sensory integration.
- 2 TAs have British Sign language training.
- Several members of staff have been trained in the use of Makaton.
- 1 TA has completed PECs training (Picture Exchange Communication System)
- 2 TAs are ELKLAN trained
- Many staff have received training in de-escalation and positive handling techniques (use of restraint)
- Some staff have previously accessed training in the use of hoists and moving and handling.
- All staff have accessed Tier 1 Autism awareness training. Several members of staff have accessed Tier 2 Autism training from the autism education trust and the SENDCo has completed Tier 3 training with the autism education trust.
3.How accessible is the school environment?
Equipment and the environment…
- The school is all on one level and has no stairs.
- All classrooms have access to outside areas.
- Explorers enhanced provision – specialist classroom set up for small numbers of pupils accessing bespoke curriculum, with additional access to an outdoor learning space.
- Sensory room – clinical space with specialist equipment for sensory assessments and specialist sensory input.
- Ceiling track hoist fitted to hygiene suite. Mobile hoist in school.
- Some specialist seating and sensory equipment purchased for individual children.
- Further breakout spaces are being developed.
- Please also click here to see our accessibility plan.
4.How can parents and carers stay informed and involved?
How we communicate with you…
- We have 2 formal parents evenings every year.
- We review SEND profiles 3 times a year. For pupils with an EHCP there will be an annual review every year – more if needed. These reviews can now be carried out over the telephone, via zoom or on Microsoft teams.
- Members of staff can make contact with parents and carers via parent hub which is an online portal for secure communication between school and families.
- We require contact details for parents and carers of all children this will always include a contact telephone number and may include an email address so that we can contact you in a way that is accessible for you.
- Even in lockdown we maintain contact through phone calls, email, and parent hub and can set up meetings via zoom or Microsoft teams.
How you can contact us…
- Since lockdown we have made the decision to share class teacher’s email addresses so that parents and carers can get in touch when needed. The class teacher can then read and reply when they are able to.
- Parents and carers are encouraged to call the school if they have any queries or want to discuss anything.
- Prior to lockdown we had an open door policy and we hope that this will be the case again at some point. With lockdowns in place we have ensured that there are always senior leaders standing on the gate to greet children and families in the morning and to see the children out at the end of the day. Parents and carers are welcome to approach any of us if there is something they wish to discuss.
- Parents and carers can contact the school office via the enquiries email address or can call the school office and request an appointment to see a class teacher or a member of the senior leadership team and this includes the SENDCo.
5.What next? How will LCA prepare my child for their next step in education?
Transition for new pupils…
- We liaise closely with any previous settings attended by the child. As a result of this we will discuss the provision that has been successful and what we can implement before the child starts with us, when they start and what their start to school will look like.
- It may be appropriate to put an integration plan into place. This may mean that your child starts on a part time basis and we increase the timetable gradually. If it is agreed that this approach is necessary it will always be done in consultation with parents and carers and with the aim that the child attends school full time as soon as they are able and ready to do so.
- If your child has not previously attended any setting we will want to talk to you about your child and what they need. If you are concerned about them starting school you can contact us as outlined above.
- We will usually send out to families a social story about starting school that will show pictures of the school, the gate, their classroom, teacher, teaching assistants and toilets.
Transition to the next year group or key stage…
- Transition for pupils with SEND is carefully planned and coordinated around each child’s individual needs.
- Teachers spend time in the summer term discussing each child, their needs and the provision that has been in place.
- Social stories will help the children to understand and process the transition and to prepare for the changes.
- If we are able to, the new teacher will spend time with the pupils moving into their class so that they begin to build relationships and become familiar with each other.
- The aim will always be to keep provision and strategies as consistent as possible but will also take into consideration the children’s individual progress and development as they move through the school.
Transition to secondary school…
- We make links early in Year 6 with secondary schools and as soon as children know the school they will be moving on to we will make sure that information is shared and plans are put in place to support that transition.
- We will discuss with the secondary school the strategies and interventions that have been used at Lincoln Carlton Academy. This will not always mean that provision will look the same when they start year 7 but gives the secondary SENDCo the information they need to plan appropriate provision.
- If you are concerned about your child moving on please in the first instance talk to the class teacher or make an appointment to speak to the SENDCo. It may be appropriate for you to make contact with the secondary school to see what they are able to offer.
Transition to another setting…
- If your child has a special educational need or disability and they move onto a different school for whatever reason, information will always be shared with that school to ensure that provision can continue as consistently as possible.
- If your child has an EHCP and it is agreed through annual review that it is appropriate to request a more specialist setting the SENDCo will discuss with you and with the caseworker what the options are. If it is agreed and a place is offered the SENDCo will coordinate a transition plan with the specialist setting with the support of the SEND caseworker and with support of any specialists involved.
6.Where else can I access support and information about special educational needs?
Some useful websites and support groups:
Provides information on support available locally, local schools and information for parents including links to support groups. Find links via the local offer for 4all – a magazine with up to date information on SEND and activities for children, young people and families. Also find links here for short breaks for children and young people with SEN.
Lincolnshire parent carer forum
Recognised and supported by the Department for Education (DfE) under the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice (2015)
LPCF is specifically tasked with working alongside the Local Authority and Health to help ensure that the services they plan, commission, deliver and monitor meet the needs of children with Disabilities and Special Educational Needs.
Lincolnshire Parent Partnership
Offers free confidential advice, information and support to parents and carers about special educational needs.
Liaise is the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Information Advice and Support Service for Lincolnshire. We provide information and advice relating to SEN and disabilities to parents, children and young people (0 – 25) which is free, confidential and impartial.
Independent Provider of Special Education Advice (known as IPSEA) is a registered charity (number 327691) operating in England. IPSEA offers free and independent legally based information, advice and support to help get the right education for children and young people with all kinds of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The voice for young people’s mental health and wellbeing
Young minds Parent Helpline: 08088025544
To provide advice and support to the families and carers of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
7.Who can I contact for further information?
Key members of staff (and order of contact):
- Class teacher
- SENDCo – Mrs Ruth Clark - RClark@lincolncarlton.anthemtrust.uk
- Head Teacher – Mrs Becky Malam
Please book an appointment by calling 01522 522633 or emailing SENDco if you need to discuss any concerns or worries related to Special Needs Education.
Links to relevant policies:
Behaviour and discipline policy
Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy