Introduction

Welcome to Eastgate Academy SEN page. Please find our full SEN Information Report at the bottom of this page. It is part of the Norfolk Local Offer for learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). All governing bodies of maintained schools and maintained nursery schools and the proprietors of academy schools have a legal duty to publish information on their website about the implementation of the governing bodies’ or the proprietor’s, policy for pupils with SEND. The information published must be updated annually. The required information is set out in the SEN regulations which can be found  here.

At Eastgate Academy we are committed to working together with all members of our school community. This local offer has been produced with pupils, parents/carers, governors and members of staff. We welcome your feedback and future involvement in the review of our offer, so please contact us. The best people to contact this year are:

• Linda Hothersall Principal
• Andrew Stratton SEND Co-ordinator (SENDco)  - Contactable Via Eastgate Academy, Littleport Terrace, Kings Lynn. PE30 1QA  

If you have specific questions about the Norfolk Local Offer please look at the frequently asked questions here. Alternatively, if you think your child may have SEND please speak to their class teacher, or Mr Andrew Stratton (SENDCo) or Mrs Hothersall (Principal) on 01553 773088.

Our Approach to Teaching Learners with SEN

At Eastgate Academy we believe in participation for all. We want all adults and children to participate in learning and we celebrate all members of our community. We want to create an inclusive culture in our academy and we aim to be responsive to the diversity of children’s backgrounds, interests, experience, knowledge and skills.

We value high quality teaching for all learners and actively monitor teaching and learning in the academy.

We aim to create a learning environment which is flexible enough to meet the needs of all members of our academy community. We monitor the progress of all learners, and staff continually assess to ensure that learning is taking place. Our whole school system for monitoring progress includes regular pupil progress meetings, and staff engage in coaching and supervision.

Kinds of SEND & How we identify SEN

At different times in their career, a child or young person may have a special educational need. The Code of Practice defines SEN as:

“A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. 

We refer to the term  'Special educational needs' if a child/young person

• Has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age.
• Has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.

The Difficulty or Disability may relate to the broad areas of need:

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition & Learning
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health (this includes behavioural issues)
• Sensory and /or Physical

Please click here for further information

If a learner is identified as having SEN, we will arrange provision that is ‘additional to or different from’ the normal curriculum, intended to overcome the barrier to their learning.

At Eastgate Academy we are committed to ensuring that all learners have access to learning opportunities, and for those who are at risk of not learning, we will intervene. This does not mean that all vulnerable learners have SEND. Only those with a learning difficulty that requires special educational provision will be identified as having SEND.

Our SEND profile for 2024-25 is as follows:

SEND is identified in 4 broad categories:  Cognition and learning; Communication and interaction; Social, Emotional & Mental Health (SEMH); Physical and/or Sensory.

At Eastgate Academy, 21% of our total pupils currently have SEND (at School Support or EHCP level) 2.6% of our total pupils have an EHCP and 18.6% of our total pupils are at School Support.

As a primary need, the breakdown of the different types of SEND are as follows:

Cognition and Learning = 6.5% of our total pupils and 33% of our SEND cohort. 

Communication and Interaction = 7.3% of our total pupils and 37% of our SEND cohort. 

SEMH = 2.6% of our total pupils and 25.9% of our SEND cohort. 

Physical/and or Sensory = 0.7% of our total pupils and 3.7% of our SEND cohort.

It is important to note that pupils can have multiple secondary needs that are not included in this data.

 

Assessing SEND at Eastgate Academy           

Class teachers, teaching assistants, parents/carers and the learner themselves will be the first to notice a difficulty with learning. At Eastgate Academy we ensure that assessment of educational needs, directly involves the learner, their parents/carers and, of course, their teacher. The SENCo will also support with the identification of barriers to learning.

For some learners we may want to seek advice from specialist teams. In our school, we have access to various specialist services. We have access to services universally provided by Norfolk County Council which are described on the Local Offer Website available here.

This academic year 2024-25 Eastgate Academy has also commissioned support from:

• Educational Psychology Service 
• The SEND and Inclusion Team
• Speech & Language Specialists from the NHS
• Child Development Team
• Sensory Support
• The Mental Health Support Team
• Specialist Learning Support Teachers from the ASD and SEMH teams

How we use our Teaching Assistants

Teaching Assistants of Eastgate Academy are used to:

• Assist the teacher in providing ‘quality first teaching’
• Support the teachers in enabling children with SEND to have access to an appropriate curriculum
• Encourage and promote independence in the children
• Liaise with the Class Teacher
• Help to prepare resources and adapt materials
• Lead interventions to close the gap for children experiencing difficulty
• Promote the inclusion of all children in all aspects of life at school.
• Specialist TA’s for Speech and Language, Dyslexia, Lego therapy, Meditation, Restorative Practices, Sensory room

INTERVENTION:

Intervention is carried out by the school and is ‘additional to or different from’ the usual differentiated curriculum. It can take the form of:

• Using different learning materials in the classroom
• Making reasonable adjustments within the physical environment
• Making reasonable adjustments to routines
• Support Staff in the classroom
• A more focused level of support in a small group withdrawn from the class
• Focused work to be completed at home

What We Do to Support Learners with SEN at Eastgate Academy

Class Teachers have responsibility for enabling all pupils to learn.

To achieve this they:

• Plan appropriate work/activities for their pupils
• Ensure that support is available for all children (inclusive ‘quality first’ teaching) differentiate the curriculum to take account of different learning styles, interests, abilities
• Ensure that all children can be included in tasks/activities
• Monitor individual progress
• Celebrate achievement