SEND Information

At Barnsley Academy, we provide tailored support for students with additional learning needs across the four categories of SEND, as defined in the DfE SEND Code of Practice (2014):

1. Cognition and Learning Difficulties

Support for students who may find learning challenging, need additional time to process information, or require adapted teaching and resources.

2. Communication and Interaction Difficulties

Support for students who experience challenges with speech, language, social communication, or interaction with others.

3. Sensory and Physical Difficulties

Support for students with visual, hearing, physical, or sensory processing needs, ensuring full access to the curriculum and school environment.

4. Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) Difficulties

Support for students who may struggle with emotional regulation, mental wellbeing, behaviour, or forming positive relationships.

Students who require additional support have access to a wide range of interventions and provisions available from 8:00am to 4:00pm, including:

• Targeted interventions delivered by trained staff
• 1:1 or small-group support
• In‑class support where needed
• Mentoring sessions to develop confidence, resilience, and skills
• Pastoral support throughout the school day
• Adapted teaching strategies rooted in high‑quality, inclusive classroom practice

Our Teaching Assistants play an active role throughout the day, providing personalised interventions, classroom support, and mentoring. They work closely with teaching staff, the SENDCo, and the pastoral team to ensure every student receives the right support at the right time.

SEND support at Barnsley Academy is a whole‑school commitment. Our teaching staff, pastoral team, and specialist staff work together to create an inclusive environment where every learner can thrive.

At Barnsley Academy, our primary focus is on Quality First Teaching. Teachers are experts in their subjects and are responsible for the progress of all students in their classrooms, including those with additional needs.

High‑quality, inclusive teaching is at the heart of our SEND provision. This means:

• Lessons are designed with varied learning needs in mind.
• Teachers use adaptive teaching strategies to remove barriers and ensure all students can access the curriculum.
• Students with additional needs are supported to achieve in line with their peers, with high expectations for progress, engagement, and independence.

Adaptive teaching may include adjusting tasks, providing models or scaffolding, offering alternative ways to record learning, or personalising resources—always with the aim of ensuring every child can participate fully and succeed.

Quality First Teaching is a whole‑school commitment and underpins everything we do to support students with SEND.

At Barnsley Academy, we pride ourselves on being a fully inclusive school. All students, including those with additional needs, attend mainstream lessons alongside their peers. This ensures every child benefits from the highest levels of specialist subject knowledge delivered by our expert teaching staff.

Our approach is rooted in the belief that students learn best when they are immersed in high quality classroom practice and have access to rich, challenging learning experiences. Inclusion is not a separate strategy; it is part of our everyday teaching.

To support this:

• Staff receive ongoing CPD focused on understanding and meeting a wide range of additional needs
• Teachers continually develop their skills in adaptive teaching, scaffolding and differentiation
• We maintain high expectations for every learner, ensuring that SEND students are fully included and supported to achieve alongside their peers

In line with the DfE SEND Code of Practice (2014), Quality First Teaching remains at the heart of our provision. This means that the first and most important layer of support for SEND students happens within the classroom through expert teaching, thoughtful lesson design and responsive strategies that remove barriers to learning.

Immersive education enables all students to feel valued, included and capable of success.

All students who join Barnsley Academy complete baseline assessments in reading and spelling, as well as MiDYAS testing. This information is used alongside wider school data to help identify any students who may require additional support.

Targeted intervention sessions are provided to address specific areas of development, and the progress of each student is monitored closely to ensure that support remains effective and appropriate.

The SEN register is reviewed on an ongoing basis so that students can be moved through the stages of the SEND Code of Practice in an accurate and timely way. This ensures that every student receives the right level of support at the right time and that provision is responsive to their needs.

A range of interventions is available at Barnsley Academy to support students with specific learning, emotional or developmental needs. These are tailored to individual students and delivered by trained staff throughout the school day.

Interventions may include:

• Numeracy support to develop core mathematical skills
• Emotional mentoring to help students build confidence, resilience and emotional awareness
• SALT support (speech and language therapy) to develop communication skills
• Motor skills development for students who need support with fine or gross motor coordination
• Regulation support to help students manage emotions, behaviour and sensory needs
• Homework club after school offering structured support in a calm environment

These sessions are designed to remove barriers to learning, develop independence and ensure students make strong progress both academically and personally.

At Barnsley Academy, we work closely with a wide range of external agencies to ensure students receive the most appropriate and specialist support for their individual needs. These partnerships help us to provide high‑quality assessment, intervention and guidance so that every child can achieve their full potential.

Depending on the needs of each student, support may involve one or more of the following services:

• SALT (Speech and Language Therapy)
  Support for communication, speech, language development and social interaction skills.

• Educational Psychologist
  Assessment and advice relating to learning difficulties, behaviour, cognition and emotional needs.

• Paediatrician
  Medical assessment and guidance relating to developmental, neurological or health concerns.

• Occupational Therapist
  Support with fine motor skills, sensory processing, coordination and functional independence.

• CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service)
  Specialist support for emotional health, anxiety, mood difficulties and mental wellbeing.

• Physiotherapist
  Support for mobility, physical development and gross motor skills.

• Auditory and Visual Support Services
  Specialist advice and provision for children with hearing or visual impairments.

• Local Authority SEN and Inclusion Team
  Guidance on SEND processes, assessment pathways, statutory support and access to broader services.

These agencies work in partnership with the Academy to ensure students’ needs are understood, properly assessed and supported through effective, joined‑up provision.

Complaints About Barnsley Local Authority

If your complaint relates to the Local Authority rather than Barnsley Academy — for example:

• Admissions
• Education, Health and Care (EHC) assessment requests
• EHC plan reviews or decisions

You should contact the Barnsley Local Authority SEND Service.