If your child is transferring to Grove Academy and already has special educational needs, your primary or secondary school will inform the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SENDD) Department at Grove.
There is planning between the schools and with parents/carers in Nursery and Year 6 to support the pupils’ move from primary to secondary school.
On entry to the school, all pupils are screened on key cognitive skills, language skills and certain core academic skills. This system can pick up potential difficulties or areas of excellence at the earliest stage.
Some children find the transition to primary or secondary education more difficult. At Grove Academy, Reception and Year 7 pupils are closely monitored and any concerns are reported to the SEND Department or the Pastoral Team so that support can be coordinated promptly.
Parents are always welcome to contact Grove Academy to discuss any concerns they may have regarding their child.

2. What should I do if I think my child may have a special educational need or disability? Who can I contact for further information?

If you are concerned about your child’s ability or attainment, the school will listen to your concerns, discuss them with you and agree on a plan that might only need light monitoring or might require assessment by specialist staff or external agencies.
You can contact the school by phone, letter or e-mail (please see contact details on the home page of the school website).
It will be okay to contact the school through a family friend or professional translator if you feel more comfortable using a language other than English
If your child is still at nursery or primary school, talk to your child’s teacher there who can help you look at any issues and make links with Grove Academy to help prepare for the next year.

3. What is an EHCP?

An EHCP or an Education, Health and Care Plan is a legal document for children and young people aged up to 25 that describes a child or young person's special educational, health and social care needs. It explains the extra help that will be given to meet those needs and how that help will support the child or young person to achieve what they want to in their life.

Requesting an EHC assessment

You can ask your local authority to carry out an assessment if you think your child needs an EHC plan.

A young person can request an assessment themselves if they’re aged 16 to 25.

A request can also be made by anyone else who thinks an assessment may be necessary, including doctors, health visitors, teachers, parents and family friends.

If they decide to carry out an assessment you may be asked for:

any reports from your child’s school, nursery or childminder
doctors’ assessments of your child
a letter from you about your child’s needs

The local authority will tell you within 16 weeks whether an EHC plan is going to be made for your child.

4. How will I know if the school is supporting my child? How will I know how my child is doing? How is student progress monitored?

All pupils:

The school will either send you a letter or call to let you know if we are proposing to offer your child support that is additional to or different from what is already in place for all mainstream pupils.
Parent Consultation Evenings are opportunities to discuss your child’s progress and needs and to find out about support options.
Parents are always welcome to contact their child’s Form Tutor to make an appointment to discuss particular concerns as they arise.

Pupils with EHCPs:

Your child will have identified needs and an education plan in place from the time they start at Grove Academy. Allocated teaching assistant support and interventions will be in line with their educational objectives.
In addition to Academic Review Meetings, pupils will have an Annual Review of their progress and needs. This comes in the form of a full written school report in advance of a specially arranged face to face meeting between parents, staff and a SEN representative from the Local Authority. During this meeting, pupils, parents, staff and sometimes designated representatives from external agencies will have the chance to express their views about the progress being made and the provision they are receiving at school.

5. How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs? How are the school’s resources allocated to these needs?

All staff are trained, (through a yearly programme of Continuing Professional Development seminars), in adapting lesson plans to increase the use of Quality First Teaching elements known to support pupils who need extra help. For some pupils with lighter needs, this is all that is required to help them make progress.
Teachers also have access to the profiles of pupils known to have specific needs and they can collaborate with the specialist staff to build adaptations to activities especially for those individual pupils.
Many lessons benefit from having a teaching assistant in the class who can identify difficulties and help to give instant support to your child.
You will have opportunities to discuss exam choices in Year 9 with the aim of selecting subjects based on your child’s strengths and interests.

6. What support is available if my child has either a medical need or physical disability?

Medical Needs and Disability policy.

Every child brings a unique pattern of strengths and areas of need to our community and the school aims to fulfil the potential of all pupils.

Support will be personalised to accommodate the individual needs of the student.

7. What specialist services and expertise are available at the school?

All Teaching Assistants receive regular Continuing Professional Development training and coaching for specific issues/ pupils, from the relevant specialists.
The school brings in additional expertise (assessment, staff training and intervention) from outside agencies, including:
- Educational Psychologist
- Occupational therapy
- Speech and Language Therapy
- The Visual Impairment Team
- The Hearing Impairment Team
- Diagnostic Testing for Exam Access Arrangements
- Family Support Workers
- Outreach Family Workers

8. How will the school help me in supporting my child’s learning?

The school provides parents with advice on how to support your child’s homework. Parents are always welcome to contact their child’s Form Tutor or subject teacher for more specific advice.
Parents will be invited to attend other specific events during the year e.g. Open Evening which give further support to parents and pupils.
Annual reports written at Grove Academy often contain advice that will be discussed and developed with you at the face-to-face Annual Review meeting.

9. What support will there be for my child’s well-being?

It is vital that all pupils in our school feel valued, cared for, confident and supported.
Current SEND provision includes:
- Identification of areas of difficulty through Initial screening
- Reading Intervention
- Vocabulary Intervention Programme
- Speech and Language Therapy Support
- Monitoring by external agencies of pupils with hearing impairment, visual impairments and physical difficulties.
- In-class Teaching Assistant Support
- Individual support
- Differentiated Curriculum
- Homework Club for any pupils requiring extra help
- Lunchtime social club for more vulnerable pupils
- Exam Access arrangements
- Input from an Educational Psychologist
Ensuring that the student knows who they can talk to if they have any worries
Screening for well-being
Pupils who have social, emotional and mental health issues or who develop them later are offered additional measures to help them cope and encourage socialisation.

10. How will the school help prepare my child for transfer to post-16 education?

All pupils will have at least one meeting with a member of staff from both the Academy’s Careers Advisor and the local authority careers service. During this meeting pupils will have the chance to talk about different post-16 options.
All pupils will complete a work experience placement in Year 10. This helps to give pupils the experience of a working environment and can help inform them about which course they would like to take, post-16.
Pupils may take part in programmes of work which will help prepare them for life post-16, e.g. Life Skills
Pupils will receive support with completing college applications.
School staff will liaise with work experience placements to ensure that their staff are aware of student needs.

11. Learning and Literacy.

My child has difficulties with learning and literacy.

This can include:

Reading and spelling
Learning new information and concepts
Working with numbers
Working memory
Concentration
Pupils may have conditions such as Specific Learning Difficulties, dyslexia, Autism, general learning difficulties, ADHD, Fragile X, Down Syndrome.
Pupils may present with difficulties that do not have a specific title

What can Grove offer?

Support for targeted groups or individual support of pupils may include

Quality First teaching with appropriate differentiation (including best SEND practice).
Visual aids to support key vocabulary, concepts and themes.
Access to homework support clubs.
Reading Interventions via teaching assistants
Access to assessment for identification of significant needs.
Dedicated and caring staff who value all pupils regardless of ability.

On-going tailor-made interventions led by a specialist teacher or higher-level teaching assistant.
Where needed, help from an external agency (e.g. Educational Psychologist).
Termly testing for pupils with literacy difficulties to review and plan.
Subject-specialist teaching assistants in key subjects to provide on-going support.
External agency advice where needed.
Exam Access Arrangements.
Post-16 transition support.

12. Sensory and/or Physical Needs

My child has Sensory and/or physical needs.

This section covers pupils who have difficulties with:

Vision
Hearing
Gross motor co-ordination
Fine motor co-ordination
Self-organisation for daily living
This includes conditions such as cerebral palsy, physical injury, dyspraxia

What does Grove Academy offer?

Support for targeted groups or individual support of pupils may include

Quality First teaching with appropriate differentiation (including best SEND practice)
Visual aids to support key vocabulary, concepts and themes.
Amplification of sound for aid users where required.
School adheres to guidelines on physical access.
Access to homework support clubs.
Reading Intervention programmes.
Access to assessment for identification of significant needs.
Dedicated and caring staff who value all pupils regardless of ability.
Personalised support plans.
Medical Care Plan
1:1 Outside Agency support from appropriate professional.
Individual handwriting /fine motor/keyboard skills training.
Specialist equipment and materials, such as low vision aids and enlarged adapted resources.
Access to assistive technology, software, audio digital books and other applications.
Targeted support for complex medical needs, including practical support.
Exam Access Arrangements.

13. Speech, Language and Social Communication

My child has difficulties with Communication and Interaction.

This can include:

Understanding language.
Using language.
Understanding how to communicate socially with other people.
Conditions include: Specific Language Disorder, ASD/ASC (Autism), Asperger Syndrome, speech sound disorders/delay.
Stammering – advice given to families about how to access support from outside agencies.

What can Grove Academy offer?

Support for targeted groups or individual support of pupils may include

Quality First teaching with appropriate differentiation (including best SEND practice).
Visual aids to support key vocabulary, concepts and themes.
Access to homework support club
Reading Intervention Programme
Access to assessment for identification of significant needs.
Small group/individual sessions run by teaching assistants who have been trained by the Speech and Language Therapist.
Pre and post Module skills assessment and results in the form of a written report from the Speech Therapist.
Post module feedback to student, parents and staff.
In-class Teaching Assistant support in some lessons.
1:1 session with a speech and language therapist where required.
Annual Review meeting for pupils with an EHCP.
Exam access arrangements.
Transition support between Key Stages.
Post-16 transition support.

14. Social, Emotional and Mental Health

My Child has difficulties with social, emotional health or mental health.

This section includes all those young people who experience short but significant periods of high anxiety, stress, distress or anger that affect their education.

It also includes young people who have a range of longer-term recognised mental health conditions.

For both groups, issues can include:

Forming and maintaining relationships
Bereavement
Attitudes to attainment
Attendance
Self-esteem
Life outside school

What can Grove Academy offer?

Support for targeted groups or individual support of pupils may include

Quality First teaching with appropriate differentiation (including best SEND practice)
In-class support in some lessons.
Intervention groups
Breakfast club.
Lunchtime Social Club for vulnerable pupils
Outside agency input from e.g. Educational Psychologist, CAMHS
Learning Mentor support
Pastoral Team – Pastoral Support Plans
Access to assessment for identification of significant needs.
Whole school Central Reward System.
Whole school policy for behaviour management with graduated response.
Key Stage transition support.
Anti-bullying policy.
Referral to Counselling
Year 11 support with college applications and career paths.

15. Who do I contact about my child’s needs?

Ms Ceceliah Muyah – SENCo cmuyah@groveacademy.co.uk

Miss Danielle Whelan – Assistant Headteacher

Mr Peter Blewitt – Assistant Headteacher

Ms Pooja Sharma – Senior SEND Officer : Secondary and Post 16 Lead (Slough Borough Council) pooja.sharma@slough.gov.uk

Ms Anastasia Krawczuk – SEND Officer: Primary (Slough Borough Council) anastasia.krawczuk@slough.gov.uk

Slough Borough Council Local offer: https://www.sloughfamilyservices.org.uk/kb5/sloughcst/directory/localoffer.page?directorychannel=5

16. How do I make a complaint?

If you want to complain about a school’s SEN support, you should do it while your child is still registered at the school.

This includes complaints that the school has not provided the support required by your child’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.

Make a complaint

Follow these steps in order. Move on to the next step if your complaint is not resolved.

Talk to the school’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO).
Follow the school’s complaints procedure.
Complain to your local authority.

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