SEN Team:
Special Educational Needs co-ordinator (SENCO): Mrs N Anderson. Deputy Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinators (DSENCOs): Mrs N Fraser & Mr S Reain-Adair
Specialist SEN teaching staff:
Miss N Fennell, Mrs N Fraser, Miss M Moody, Miss F Rafferty & Mrs S Reid.
Classroom Assistant Team:
School currently employs a team of classroom assistants, with a wealth of experience. Their role ranges from assisting in the teaching and learning of pupils who present with medical, behavioural and literacy needs. Classroom Assistants work with their designated Statemented pupil/s in minimising barriers to learning. Good practice includes – assisting in developing independence of the pupil, monitoring pupils’ progress, promotion of self-esteem and emotional wellbeing, as well as facilitating classroom learning.
Our Vision : Bangor Academy and Sixth Form College staff are committed to providing equal access for all our pupils, to a broad and balanced educational experience based on the Northern Ireland Curriculum. We recognise that some pupils during their school career may have special educational needs and/or a disability. We endeavour to make every reasonable adjustment to provide for their individual needs, with high and realistic expectations, that are necessary, for our SEN pupils, to enable them to reach their full potential, while working towards independence too.
Our Aims: To ensure full entitlement and access for SEN pupils; to high quality education within a broad, balanced, and relevant curriculum, so that they can reach their full potential and enhance their self?esteem. Also, early intervention is key so school can fully involve both pupil and parent/guardian in the assessment and delivery of high-quality teaching and learning. We also strive for close co?operation between all agencies concerned and, in a sense, ‘a multi?disciplinary approach’ to the resolution of pertinent SEN issues. In doing this, we meet the needs of all pupils who present with SEN by offering continual and appropriate forms of educational provision by the most efficient use of all available resources.
SEN Support:
Although meeting the needs of pupils with SEN is a whole school issue, the overall responsibility for managing SEN provision resides with the Board of Governors and the Principal of the school. However, to facilitate the day-to-day running of the provision, the Board of Governors has delegated responsibility to co-ordinate the provision for pupils with special educational needs to Mrs Nicola Anderson (Assistant Principal/SENCo), Mrs Nicky Frazer (Deputy SENCO – Key Stage 3) and Mr Stephen Reain-Adair (Deputy SENCO – Key Stage 4/5).
The SEN Team are responsible for the co-ordination of SEN provision. Some of the responsibilities include: liaising with outside agencies, sharing strategies and suitable resources with teaching staff, organising and providing training for teachers, collating and gathering information about pupils’ progress, contributing to and monitoring Individual Education Plans/ PLPs, arranging suitable multi-disciplinary approaches for SEN pupils, as well as responding to requests for advice from teaching staff.
All teachers are responsible in the delivery of SEN learning and Teaching : All children have the right to a broad and balanced curriculum, taking into account the entitlement framework. This involves all staff in utilising a range of teaching strategies and classroom management styles designed to take account of the differing abilities, interests and experiences of pupils. In order to facilitate this:
• the classroom environment should be inclusive, stimulating and attractive, featuring as much pupil work as possible on display;
• lessons should be structured in a series of simple clearly defined steps;
• work tasks and activities should be stimulating and differentiated so that pupils experience success yet challenging enough to promote progression in learning;
• pupils should be set work to allow them to progress at their own rate;
• encouragement should be given to pupils to take responsibility for their own learning;
• sensitivity should be shown by staff to pupils’ literacy and numeracy difficulties and how this impacts on communication. This needs to be taken into consideration when giving instructions; and
• positive feedback should be provided by staff and the achievements of pupils with SEN celebrated.
The SEN Code of Practice: In Bangor Academy, we adhere to the three stages of the Code of Practice. These stages focus on the level of intensity of the special educational provision required for a child to make adequate progress commensurate with their abilities and improve their outcomes. Responsibility for pupils with SEN at each stage lies with the school, given the day-to-day role of the school in a pupil’s teaching and learning, with increasing EA involvement when required.
The 5 SEN categories:
Cognition and Learning (CL) – language, literacy, mathematics, numeracy
Social, Behavioural, Emotional and Well-being (SBEW)
Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)
Sensory (SE)
Physical Need (PN)
Nurture Setting: We have specialist SEN teachers who deliver the curriculum at Key Stage 3 for our SEN pupils. One specialist teacher, teaching core subjects, helps to ease the transition in to secondary school, especially for some pupils who may be anxious or concerned about their transition. Pupils will have a consistent approach, yet still enjoy the new & practical subjects in other areas of the school. A smaller class of pupils with similar abilities does work well. The specialist teacher delivers across a number of the key subject areas with the emphasis being developing literacy and numeracy skills and promoting self-esteem and well-being. Working with the same teacher allows for a developing relationship and effective differentiation of activities, suited to the individual abilities and needs of the pupils. This naturally allows for an ease of transition from Primary school to post- primary and helps pupils settle in and feel secure.
Reading support – Those pupils who require additional literacy support can benefit from individual, as well as group withdrawal. Provision includes: working with numbers, working memory, visual aids, High frequency words, Accelerated Reader Programme.
Cubbie Sensory Room: The Cubbie is a safe and personal space for our pupils and helps to support social inclusion as well as meaningful participation in their school life. The sensory management pod is designed to help pupils regulate their sensory experiences. It is a customised space which can be tailored to meet the pupils’ specific needs by using adjustable lighting, sounds and visuals.
Pupils who present with SEN: Additional Support :
1: In-class support system put in place by individual classroom teachers
2. Individual Education Plans/ PLPs
3. Access Arrangements (where applicable)
4. Outside agency support (where applicable/available)- (Educational Psychology, CAMHS, EA advisors, Behaviour Support)
5. Differentiation within the classroom, teaching strategies to complement pupils’ individual learning styles-specialist SEN teachers who teach pupils in smaller class setting-focusing on developing literacy and numeracy skills
6. Weekly Literacy Support in small group setting
7. Coping strategies
8. Assistive Technology (ICT support)
9. Time out cards/ De-escalation strategies/ tools
10. Counselling
