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SEND & Inclusion
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Inclusion Team Structure
SEND
At Neale Wade Academy we support each individual learner, within a safe and secure environment, where they can reach their full protentional and become confident young adults, well-equipped and well-prepared academically, socially and emotionally for their lives beyond school.
We are fully committed to supporting learners with a range of Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities. We strive to accurately identify their needs and remove any barriers to learning so that they have every possible opportunity, achieve success, gain confidence and have pride in themselves as their community.
Our support is person-centred, and we value the work we do in partnership with parents and professionals so that we can ensure that the provision we put in place will meet our learners’ needs and will cultivate confidence and pride, enabling learners to achieve success in their future ambitions and confidently reach their potential.
Contacts
Ms Hammond – Vice Principal – Inclusion & SENDCo
Miss Rippington – Assistant SENDCo (Quality of Education)
Miss Johnson – Assistant SENDCo (Administration)
The Team
We have a team of specialist teachers and teaching assistants who offer academic, social and emotional support. The team works in close partnership with both curriculum and pastoral colleagues across the Academy so that knowing each child is a priority.
An Overview of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
The SEND Code Of Practice (January 2015) identifies four broad areas of Special Educational Need:
- Communication and Interaction
- Cognition and Learning
- Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Physical and Sensory
Communication and Interaction
The profile of every child with communication and interaction needs is different and their needs may change over time. They may have difficulty with one, some or all of the different aspects of speech, language or social communication and different times of their lives (Code of Practice: 6.28)
Autistic Spectrum Disorders
Young people with ASD are likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction. They may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination, which can impact on how they relate to others (Code of Practice: 6.29
Cognition and Learning
General Learning Difficulties Support for learning difficulties may be required when young people learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. Learning difficulties cover wide range of needs, including moderate learning difficulties (MLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD) where children are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associate difficulties with mobility and communication, through to profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), where children are likely to have severe and complex learning difficulties as well as a physical disability or sensory impairment. (Code of Practice: 6.30).
The Neale Wade Academy uses the benchmark as pupils working at a standardised score of <85 to start investigations of MLD
Specific Learning Difficulties
Specific learning (SpLD), affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as: (Code of Practice: 6.31) Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia.
Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties
Young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self- harming, substance misuse, eating disorder or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or attachment disorder (Code of Practice: 6.32)
Behavioural difficulties do not necessarily mean that a child or young person has a possible mental health problem or a special educational need (SEN). Consistent disruptive or withdrawn behaviours can, however, be an indication of an underlying problem, and where there are concerns about behaviour there should be an assessment to determine whether there are any causal factors such as undiagnosed learning difficulties, difficulties with speech and language or mental health issues.
Only medical professionals should make a formal diagnosis of a mental health condition. Schools, however, are well- placed to observe young people day-to-day and identify those whose behaviour suggests that they may be suffering from a mental health problem or be at risk of developing one. This may include withdrawn pupils whose needs may otherwise go unrecognised.
Sensory and/or Physical Disabilities
Some young people require special educational provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. These difficulties can be age related and may fluctuate over time. Many young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (VI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning, or habitation support. Some young people with physical disability (PD) require additional on-going support and equipment to access all the opportunities available to their peers.
- Hearing Impairment
Hearing impairment can range from mild through to severe and profound. They may be temporary or permanent and become apparent in many different ways.
- Visual Impairment
Visual impairment is the consequence of functional loss of vision which cannot be corrected by glasses. There can also be temporary or permanent loss of vision.
- Physical Needs
Physical needs can include fine and/or gross motor skills, mobility and spatial awareness.
- Sensory Processing Difficulties
Hypersensitivity (over responsiveness) or hyposensitivity (under- responsiveness) to a wide range of stimuli.
NWA SEND Information Report - 2025-26
Adapted Pathways
The Bridge and core
We recognise that some learners experience challenges when accessing the mainstream education. Some may experience Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs and may have become disengaged from learning; some may be experiencing emotionally based difficulties with attending the setting (Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)). They may have struggled to access learning and to see the value in education. For some they have seen gaps in their learning impacting their knowledge and understanding. They often exhibit a wide range of both emotional and educational needs which impact on their progress.
Because The Bridge and Core are highly bespoke, referrals are made from within the school and students must fulfil appropriate entry criteria.
The Bridge is a focused provision to support students who experience social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) difficulties and present externalised challenging behaviour.
The Core is a provision which supports students who are experiencing Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA), who have medical conditions affecting mainstream participation or who have low attendance associated with anxiety
Our aim with our Alternative Pathways is to provide a high-quality provision for all and to try and fill the gaps that some have experienced during their learning journey. Learners experience a ‘fresh start’ and a more personalised learning experience, providing them with confidence and knowledge to access the next stage in their educational journey.
In Key Stage 3 the aim is to support learners in providing them with the skills and knowledge they need to successfully reintegrate back into mainstream lessons.
For KS4 the aim remains to reintegrate students back into mainstream lessons as much as possible but to also provide an alternative, inclusive curriculum to allow students to
become confident individuals who can thrive and remain part of the school community.
We aim to equip learners with the skills needed to live a safe, healthy, and fulfilling life once they leave school.
We do this by providing a positive learning experience in a safe, nurturing and supportive environment, where learners are motivated and challenged whatever their ability.
Staffing Structure
Assistant Principal – Adapted Pathways – Mr Abbey
Department Lead – Ms Wilson
Alternative Pathways Instructors – Miss Bicknell, Miss Green, Miss Cosans
Mainstream Teaching Specialists
Learning in The Bridge
Due to the needs of the students, learning may at times look different from that which you would expect to see in mainstream classes.
Some students have become disengaged with learning or may have not attended school for some time. There is therefore the need to re engage the students and break down barriers to learning. An example of this is that when a student first joins an Adapted Pathway they may spend a number of lessons observing the group before they join in.
Students in both environments are expected to complete all classwork to a high standard and take pride in their presentation
Learning Outside of The Bridge and Core
A number of lessons take place outside of The Bridge classrooms due to the specific requirements of that subject e.g. PE, DT and Catering. For these lessons students will be escorted to and from the subject. Students should display a high standard of behaviour during this transition. It is essential that this behaviour will continue to be displayed while in the subject area. Failure to do so may result in the student not being able to access the subject.
Curriculum
The curriculum in The Bridge and Core follows the same schemes of work as mainstream as the aim is always for reintegration. Students have their lessons complemented by a range of interventions, designed to fill gaps in learning and to develop their confidence and emotional development.
Subjects Studied - Bridge
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+ Work Experience |
Subjects Studied - Core (15 hours per week)
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