SEND
SAFE, HAPPY, SUCCESSFUL
Special Educational Needs Department
About the SEND Department
We provide every possible opportunity for each individual young person to be safe, happy and successful. We aim to offer excellence and choice to all young people. We have high expectations at Winterton Community Academy and we want the best possible outcomes for all students. A flexible approach is taken to meeting a student’s needs on an individual basis.
We believe in recognising all achievements, both academic and beyond, providing an inclusive learning environment which meets the needs of all our young people.
The Inclusion facility within school comprises the Junction and the Student Support Centre. This facility is used to support students who, for a variety of reasons are not in their lessons because for example, they need sensory breaks, extra pastoral support, rest breaks etc. We assess all year 7 and newcomers to ensure their needs are catered for. CAT testing and literacy levels are assessed using the GL Assessment programme. In addition to this, dyslexia screeners are completed by all year 7 students during the first few weeks of the Autumn term. Students also complete the PASS survey during their time in school; this enables us to gauge their wellbeing, happiness and opinions of themselves as learners, intervening where a need is identified. We provide appropriate curricular and extra-curricular provision and support, tailored to each young person’s needs. Our dedicated team are approachable, nurturing and apply their wealth of knowledge and experience to the whole range of special need issues, including:
- Communication and interaction, including ASD and speech, language and communication needs
- Cognition and learning, including dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia
- Social, emotional and mental health, including ADHD
- Sensory and /or physical including visual and hearing
The SEND and wider Inclusion teams provide a caring support network for our young people and their families. We adopt a positive approach, identifying strengths as well as difficulties and believe that the young person is central to the decision making that affects them. Our strength is in providing bespoke support programmes and intervention sessions as well as a Sanctuary for lunchtime. Two members of the learning mentor team are trained ELSAs (Emotional Literacy Support Assistants) and work with students on a weekly basis. We work closely with a range of Carer Support Service, Educational Psychology, Time Out Drum Therapy, With Me In Mind (WMIM) providing further expertise to support our students.
Meet the Team
Miss Emma Forman – SENCO: As Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator, I aim to ensure that as a school we provide the best possible support to aid the learning and development of all our students. This involves working with other staff, outside agencies and families. I am responsible for providing the information needed by classroom teachers in order to equip them to meet individual needs through quality first teaching.
I also endeavour to make the transition process between our feeder primary schools and further education colleges as smooth as possible for all our young people with SEND. I am passionate about working with young people and enabling them to overcome their difficulties and become confident, independent adults. I am also the Designated Teacher for Looked After Children. Please feel free to contact me either by telephone or email if there is anything you would like to discuss.” forman.e@wintertonca.com
Each year group has a Learning Mentor assigned to it:
- Miss Claire Cummings and Mrs Bev Thompson – Year 7
- Mrs Julie Davey – Year 8
- Miss Lisa Windle – Year 9
- Mrs Dawn Bishop – Year 10
- Mrs Sharron Sibson and Mrs Rachel Tomlinson – Year 11
In addition Mrs Andrea Balderson – Inclusion Mentor – based in the Junction