The Holgate Academy aims to support students with special educational needs by seeking to remove barriers to learning and participation, ensuring that all our students have access to an appropriate education that affords them the opportunity to achieve their personal potential and move on to the next steps in life.

Our SEND aims

  • To ensure that all students have access to a broad and rich curriculum.
  • To provide an adapted curriculum appropriate to individual needs and ability.
  • To ensure the identification of all students requiring SEND provision as early as possible in their academy career.
  • To ensure that SEND students take as full a part as possible in all academy activities.
  • To ensure that parents of SEND students are kept fully informed of their child’s progress and attainment.
  • To ensure that SEND students are involved, where practicable, in decisions affecting their future.

We work collaboratively with outside agencies ensuring specialist advice and provision support effective teaching and learning.

The academy’s ‘Climate for Learning’ structure ensures that any student who requires additional support receives this through normal timetabled provision. In addition to this, there is a large team of experienced teaching assistants who provide individual and small group support to students.

Teaching staff all practice quality first and adaptive teaching to ensure that individual students’ needs are met and that all students achieve their academic potential.

What is the Local Offer?

In September 2014, the government made many changes to the way that children and young people aged 0 to 25 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are supported. This included making Local Authorities produce a ‘ SEND Local Offer’.

The SEND Local Offer aims to bring together helpful and useful information for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their families. It is a comprehensive guide to services and support all in one place.

Find out more on the SEND Local Offer in the video below

You can find Nottinghamshire’s Local Offer here.

You can find our Extended Local Offer Response here.

Other local authorities:

Nottingham City Council Local Offer

Derbyshire County Council Local Offer

Derby City Council Local Offer

Our SEND offer

How we support a child with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in the academy.

If your child has been identified as SEND, it will be determined which of the following four areas will be their main area of need: Communication and Interaction (C&I), Cognition and Learning (C&L), Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) and Sensory and/or Physical.

Wave 1

Quality first provision across the academy.

We aim to ensure that all learners, including those with SEND, have an inclusive learning experience.

 
  • In-class support from the specialist teacher.
  • Differentiated support when needed.
  • Pastoral support
  • Extracurricular
Wave 2

Short-term interventions.

Students may be identified at primary school, or when they join the academy, for additional/specific support.
  • Small intervention groups – literacy/maths catch-up
  • In-class support
  • Access to The Hub/RR
  • SEMH support
  • Subject surgeries
  • Key worker
Wave 3

Individual provision across the academy.
  • A student identified as requiring SEND support will have a keyworker assigned to them and will receive three review meetings (from key worker) throughout the academic year.
  • ARNA (anxiety-related non-attendance) officers may be assigned to students when required.
  • EHCP

 

As part of the assess-plan-do-review process that we follow, we will undertake regular student reviews. We will also organise parent/carer forums, providing you with the opportunity to ask questions and provide us with any information relating to your child which you feel is relevant. This will enable us to ensure that your child is appropriately supported to access learning within our inclusive academy.

Alternatively, please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time should you have any questions or wish to provide us with further/updated information (see key contact information below).

Please check on the Holgate news feeds for dates of upcoming parent forums and events.

Policies and reports

You can find our SEND policy on our dedicated policies page and a copy of our SEND report below.

We recognise that many students will have special needs at some time during their academy life. In implementing this policy, we believe students will be helped to overcome their difficulties. Whilst many factors contribute to the range of difficulties experienced by some children, we believe that much can be done to overcome them by parents, teachers and students working together.

SEND Information Report Sept 2023

SEND offer 

Special Educational Needs And Disabilities – academy appendix

Key contacts and meet our team

For further information about the support we provide, please contact our SENDCO and Designated Senior Person for Child Protection, Miss M Berry, and her team at: senadmin@holgate-ac.org.uk or by contacting the main office on 0115 9632104.

Our SEND Team

  • Michelle Berry, SENDCO
  • Sarah McLaughlin, Assistant SENDCO
  • Elaine Makin, SEND Admin
  • Lisa Gregory, HLTA (Higher Level Teaching Assistant)
  • Sarah Gillott, HLTA (Higher Level Teaching Assistant)
  • Sonia Young, HLTA (Higher Level Teaching Assistant)
  • Kerry Patterson, HLTA (Higher Level Teaching Assistant)