Wandle Valley Academy Statement of Provision
Page last updated
Wandle Valley Academy Statement of Provision
Date: September 2022
A. School/base Expertise and Capacity
Student numbers: 80
Number of Classes: 18
• 25.15 hours of teaching 3 hours of alternative education.
• 1 teacher per class (dependant on needs)
• 1 support teacher per class (dependant on needs)
* We have classes 12 main classes, but in order to support the high needs in 6 of them we have an additional support teacher and or a teacher.
Aims and Outcomes:
• For all pupils to have a positive experience of education.
• For all pupils to feel safe in the educational setting, which intern will allow them to access the curriculum.
• For all pupils to have a more positive understanding of their personal difficulties and how to manage them successfully and independently.
• For all Stake Holders including parent/carers to have positive understanding of pupils needs and what strategies are best to support them.
• For parent/carers to have positive relationships with outside support and feel confident in allowing this support to be put in place.
• To have no NEETS and for all pupils to leave with the best qualifications that they can achieve.
• For all pupils to have the life skills that they will require to be able to access post 16 education and to be successful in their adult life
Curriculum adaptations:
• NC related and follows KS4 examination courses.
• Alongside the above additional/alternative qualifications and courses e.g. Princes Trust, NCFE, AQAs, City and Guild, Trampolining and Fishing.
• We provide a broad and balanced through ‘Key Stages’ curriculum that reflects the individual needs of our pupils, giving them the skills to navigate the ‘big, wide world’ when they leave us. Each cohort is considered when GCSE choices are offered in order to best suit individual needs and local employment opportunities.
B. Provision
Although we are a special school we continue to teach a ‘normal school curriculum’ mimicking mainstream, but with the below that allows us to support the challenges that the pupils face daily.
• Where appropriate we teach in ‘vertical classes’ for example they are used to support the learning and when groups are set up for Personal Development and for learning outside of the formal curriculum, these can be in mixed year groups.
• We run personalised learning and targeted interventions for all our pupils, included remote and offsite learning where appropriate.
• Well-being sessions are part of the weekly timetable.
• Our curriculum has well-being built into each day.
• We run a specific SEMH curriculum which allows target sessions to support the pupils areas of need and challenge, these include, groups for both boys and girls. • Specific trips and activities take place for all pupils to support the learning of Basic Skills and to gain strategies to support positive social interaction and confidence in the outside world.
• Therapies are also embedded throughout the school and offered to our pupils where appropriate. These include ELSA, Play Therapy, SaLT, OT, Drama, Lego Therapy and Art. • Stake Holder and parent/carer engagement is a vital part of the school approach and this is supported by a variety of strategies e.g. specific parent/carer groups, weekly communication (in some cases daily) parent/carer pupil supported activities and regular home visits.
• Collaborative work with outside agencies takes place within the curriculum and supported by staff where appropriate. To help build positive relationships for both pupils and parent/carers and offer an understanding of the support that is on offer.
Therapies Provision:
• 3 days Cognus SALT - relating to Sutton pupils attending the school - across the whole cohort - primary to secondary - 2 days per week across the whole cohort - managed flexibly
• 2 days Play Therapy - bought in
• 3 days additional SaLT - bought in - days a week across the school - across the school
• 2 days Art Therapeutic Sessions - bought in - days a week across the school - across the school
• 4 train staff ELSA
• OT 2 days
• 1 trained staff Counselling, also training in PBS
Preparation for Adult Life
• Careers is embedded in our whole school curriculum and in KS4 is a discrete lesson.
• Preparation for the World of Work and Life Skills are embedded in the whole school curriculum and each subject has key basic skills that they focus on.
• Within the curriculum, as part of the key basic skills, pupils learn, for example; how to read and understand bills, budget for fitting out a home, understand the costing of renting or buying properties, how to wash and iron clothes.
• Pupils have the opportunity to visit local colleges.
• Pupils take part in independent travel awareness courses.
• Pupils have an opportunity to experience the college environments via taster session.
• Funding dependant, pupils have the opportunity to take part in Vocational Courses at college during KS4.
• Pupils take part in a variety of visits (see above sections)
Enrichment / social activities:
Horse Riding
• Fishing
• Climbing
• Swimming
• Trampolining
• Gardening
• SILC
• R2S
• Walton Firs
• Well-being Afternoons
• Bikes
• Bike maintenance
• Breakfast Club
• Lunch time sports clubs
• Cooking Club
• Activities and visits off site, including camping and visits into London • Theatre/Museum visits
• Sporting Opportunities
Support staffing (per week per class, on average):
• 12 FTE baseline in ‘core’ budget - e.g. one per class
• Depending on additional needs and additional funding there will be additional support staff employed – 10 approx.
(Please see above)
• 2 days Play therapy
• 2 days additional SaLT
• 1 days additional OT
• 4 trained ELSA staff s
• 1 designated Safeguarding Lead (4 SLT members also trained and two Govs)
C. Admission Process
Who for:
• Pupils with EHCPs with SEMH (as their main diagnosis) related difficulties, either with a full diagnosis of behaviour challenges such as ADHD, ODD or with general behaviour challenges undiagnosed.
• Pupils that have serious social and emotional needs, resulting in behaviours that are of esteem levels at times.
• Pupils that have suffered trauma and as a result demonstrate extreme behaviours, including physical, violent and aggressive behaviours towards all those in their environment.
• Pupils suffering from mental health challenges, that as a result demonstrate extreme behaviours.
• Pupils that are known at times to outside agencies such as the police, YOS who have behaviours that are demonstrated not only in the school environment but also in the community and in the home environment.
• Pupils that as a result of their challenging behaviours are not meeting age related expectations of cognition and learning.
• Pupils that have been excluded from mainstream that have EHCPs
• Pupils that struggle to maintain behaviours in large classrooms and environments. • Pupils that struggle to follow the rigidity of the mainstream environment, due to a number of influencing factors e.g. behaviour challenges, sensory issues (uniform constraints) set environments and systems for delivering the curriculum.
Criteria for Admission:
A pupil will be admitted to Wandle Valley Academy:
If he or she falls within the terms of the current approval for the Academy.
When the child has an EHCP or Statement of Special Educational Needs maintained under section 324 of the Education Act 1996 and Wandle Valley Academy is named.
For the purposes of assessment when the Local Authority, parents/carers and the school and any relevant professionals who are involved in the assessment are all agreed that the child’s needs are such that action should be taken immediately.
D. Review of student provision
Every student will have an Annual review of the EHC Plan with recommendations for any changes as needed.
E. Outreach Commissioned
None commissioned.
F. Funding and moderation processes
The Council will develop and put in place governance arrangements that ensure that the different pathways and numbers within them are part of a moderation process involving specialist provision leaders so that cohort changes are recognised and there is parity across provisions in terms of judgements.