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SEND Information

Barnsley Academy is a fully inclusive school. Our aim is to ensure that every student fulfills their academic and social potential, regardless of need. The academy follows the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice (2014) which promotes a positive learning environment where all students have access to high quality teaching and learning.

  • All children and young people are valued equally and have the right to learn, achieve and participate fully in education and in the wider community regardless of their abilities and behaviours
  • All children and young people are empowered so that their voice is heard and heeded in decisions made about themselves
  • All parents and carers are partners in meeting the needs of their children
  • All children and young people are entitled to have access to a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum that is differentiated to meet individual learning styles, recognising personal strengths and needs
  • The diversity of the needs of children and young people is recognised and met through a range of flexible, responsive and varied provision

SENDCo - Emily Thompson-O'Brien emily.thompson-OBrien@barnsley-academy.org 

Emily Thompson-O'Brien
SENDCO
Annette Wilson
Additional Needs Coordinator
What We Do

We provide support for students who have additional learning needs relating to categories of SEND, defined in the DfE SEN Code of Practice document as:

  • Cognition and learning difficulties
  • Communication and Interaction difficulties
  • Sensory and physical difficulties
  • Social, emotional and mental health difficulties

Students requiring additional support have access to a range of interventions and provisions provided between 8am through to 4pm. Teaching Assistants support students throughout the day through interventions and mentoring. Our teaching staff and pastoral team are also a part of the offer of support for SEND students.  

Quality First Teaching

The focus at Barnsley Academy on Quality First Teaching, with teachers, as the experts in their subjects,  being responsible of the progress of all students in their classroom, including those with additional needs. Adaptive teaching may be required to ensure students needs are met in lessons and there is a high expectation that students will achieve in line with their peers.

Inclusive Education

We pride ourselves on being fully inclusive and all students attend mainstream lessons with their peers, to ensure they gain the highest specialist subject knowledge from their teachers. Staff at the Academy are continually receiving CPD on how to support a variety of additional needs, therefore in line with the DfE Code of practice, Quality First Teaching is at the heart of support for SEND students.

Assessment and Monitoring

All students who enter Barnsley Academy are assessed for baseline reading, spelling and complete MiDYAS  testing. This information is used alongside other data to identify students who may require additional support. Intervention sessions are provided to target specific development needs and the progress of each student is monitored closely. The SEN register is reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure that students are moved through the SEN stages of the Code of Practice in an accurate and timely manner. 

Interventions

Interventions may include:

  • Numeracy
  • Emotional Mentoring
  • SALT (speech and language therapy)
  • Motor Skills
  • Regulation support
  • Homework club (afterschool)
External Agencies

We work closely with a range of external agencies who provide specialist support and advice for individual students depending on their needs. These agencies include:

  • SALT (Speech and Language Therapy)
  • Educational Psychologist
  • Paediatrician
  • Occupational Therapist
  • CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service)
  • Physiotherapist
  • Auditory and visual support services
  • Local Authority SEN/ Inclusion Team

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