Co-op Academy Brierley SEND Information Report 2024/25

We have a legal requirement to complete a SEND Information report. Our report will be updated annually to reflect our changes and plans. More information about the academy can be found on our website where you can also find our key policies. These are also available from Reception.

What are the kinds of special educational needs and disabilities for which provision is made at Co-op Academy Brierley?

Co-op Academy Brierley is a special academy providing education and care for pupils aged 4-16, with a capacity for up to 250 pupils. Our pupils have a wide range of special educational needs in the areas of Cognition and Learning, Communication & Interaction and Sensory & Physical difficulties and disabilities. Children who are admitted to the academy have an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP). As an Academy, places at Co-op Academy Brierley are currently commissioned by the Local Authority in Leeds. Sometimes a child may have a place at the academy whilst an EHCP is being prepared.

How does our school know if children need extra help?

The Education Health & Care Plan identifies the extra help needed. They are reviewed at least annually, or every 6 months for new plans. A review of the plan can be requested at any time.  In addition to this, we know that children require extra help through:

• Admission to school on an assessment placement which will identify any extra help needed.  

• Liaison with external agencies as necessary to meet the child’s and family’s specific needs.  

• Concerns raised by parents/carers, external agencies, teachers, or the pupil themselves  

• Screening, such as that completed on entry or as a result of a concern being raised might indicate gaps in knowledge and/or skills.  

• Tracking of progress indicates lack of expected progress; termly and annually in pupil progress meetings and the annual review of the EHCPs.  

• Observation of the pupil indicates that they have additional needs  

• Observations and teaching observations can identify extra help needed  

• Sharing of information and /or concerns with other settings, professionals, parents and carers  

How do we consult with parents and involve them in their child’s education?

For the purpose of this report, we consider parents to include any person fulfilling this role, including carers. We welcome contact with parents because we know that children make the best progress when they, their parents and the academy work together.

Each pupil’s Education Health Care Plan is reviewed every year and a meeting is held to discuss a child’s progress and consider any changes to the plan. These meetings are held during the academy day as parents have told us this is the most convenient time for them to attend. Before the meeting, parents are invited to complete a questionnaire about their views and submit any questions or concerns.

We will always contact parents if we are concerned about any aspect of a child’s welfare, progress or behaviour. We try to include parents in a positive, welcoming environment. Some of the ways we engage with parents are as follows:

● Initial introductory visits to the academy and an individual meeting with the Deputy or Assistant Headteacher 

● A planned programme of transition for all new pupils

● A home/school communication agreement that shares information in your preferred format    eg Class Dojo

● Parent workshops and training

● Informal coffee mornings for parents

● Parents’ evenings

● Regular text service to keep families informed

● Letters inviting parents to respond to informal consultations about proposed changes to the Academy

● Invitations to academy events, such as sports day, sing-alongs and other community events ● Parental representation on the Academy Governing Council

How do we consult with young people and involve them in their education?

The ethos of the academy means that ideas and suggestions from comments are responded to in an appropriate way and we have examples of how these have been introduced over the years. Opportunities for pupils to be involved in making comments and decisions include:

● The School Council involves pupils in giving ideas and making decisions  about some aspects of academy life

● A person-centred approach where children are invited to contribute to their Annual Review ● Pupil Voice questionnaires for students

● Informal discussions with pupils regarding academy life

How do we assess and review pupils’ progress?

Every term teachers meet with their extended leadership team and discuss the progress of pupils in their class. Any pupil who is not making the progress we would wish to see, is identified and interventions put in place where necessary.

Pathway leaders conduct ‘Pupil Progress’ Meetings to discuss each pupil and ensure targets are appropriate and progress is being made. Support and guidance is provided if progress is not adequate to ensure this is improved immediately.

Here at Brierley, our chosen assessment platform is Evidence for Learning (EfL). We use this to record, track and analyse progress at key assessment points throughout the year. EfL allows all stakeholders to capture a young person's learning, within school we use EfL to gather evidence towards EHCP outcomes and our key skill frameworks through photos, videos and observation comments. By doing so, we can build a comprehensive picture of each young person's learning journey.

Insights runs alongside EfL and provides us with valuable information regarding a young person’s attainment which allows for effective conversations around teaching and learning and the quality of provision.

Pupil progress meetings are held termly with teachers, pathway leaders and SLT. These meetings give opportunities to discuss the holistic view for each individual learner's progress. Where progress is not adequate, strategies and interventions are put in place to remove barriers to learning where possible.

Parents and carers can access evidence of their young person’s learning at any time to see how their child is progressing through observations that are shared with them and they can also view EHCP and Annual reports linking to progress. Parents and carers can also share their young person’s achievements at home.

Each child has an annual meeting to review their Education Health Care Plan. This follows a person-centred approach in line with national guidance, and their annual targets are set in consultation with the child and their family.

Half termly pastoral meetings are led by the school leadership team and are an opportunity for class teachers to refer pupils who are not making progress despite quality first teaching. These meetings are attended by other professionals including Speech and language and support multi-professional planning.

How are adaptations made to the curriculum and the learning environment?

Our curriculum is all the planned experiences we offer to pupils during the academy day and as part of our external visit provision.

We provide our learners with an ambitious and inspiring, knowledge-rich curriculum filled with opportunities for new experiences, retrieval of prior knowledge and questioning of the world around them, to help pupils make connections in their learning. Our expert teachers offer irresistible learning experiences through predictable and highly scaffolded lessons in which communication and personal well being are core.

Show you care 

At Co-op Academy Brierley, relationships and restorative practice are at the core of our school and underpin school life for our children, their families and our staff team. Our ambition is to create a ‘Brierley Best’ learning experience for every child and to support them in achieving their ‘Brierley Best Self’.

We want to create a personalised learning experience for every child and we recognise this is achieved through supportive relationships with our families, nurturing relationships with our learners and the expert teaching of our passionate and dedicated staff.

We want to work with our children restoratively, building trusting and predictable relationships which offer high challenge and high support. Every learner is actively taught ‘Brierley Best behaviour’ expectations for different situations and supported to repair relationships, understand how to keep themselves safe using a total communication approach.

We want emotional and physical well being to be integral to the planning and delivery of every learning session, with Physical Development and Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) woven through our curriculum. to ensure every learner has a voice, feels safe and builds their independence towards adulthood.

We want every moment at Brierley to be a learning moment and our timetables are carefully structured to support learners emotional regulation, well being and readiness for learning. We are developing all environments in school to engage our learners interests and physical literacy including; the Brierley Farm and Gardens, Sports and sensory integration resource (rebound, sensory integration rooms, outdoor sensory playground) and our learners nurture in nature through our Forest school.

We value and support our learners in the context of their families and communities and we want Brierley Best for all our families which is achieved through strong daily communication with class teachers and outreach support from our pastoral team.

As a brand new school, we are designing our bespoke curriculum as a school team, with staff at every level within the academy contributing to the design process and holding the developmental needs of our pupils at the forefront of this process.

Be yourself always 

Across all our Pathways we want our Brierley Best learners to be:

• Effective emotional and social communicators, able to communicate consent
• Independent and resilient learners
• Healthy in body and mind
• Able to form healthy and safe relationships
• Happy and contributing members of their families and community
• Achieving personal potential in core skills, including Literacy and Numeracy

We want personalisation to be a key driver for our curriculum and we therefore split into four Pathways to best support the learning needs and holistic development of every learner. This ensures provision is tailored to support their development towards the next stage of learning in small steps of progress (Personalised Learning Goals- PLGs) and towards their preparation for adulthood.

Pathway model:

• Foundation- Children enter Co-op Academy Brierley from Reception to Year 2 in our Foundation Pathway to begin their learning journey. We want early play and development to be cherished and valued to enable our youngest children to explore the world around them, build early communication skills and to assess their unique learning needs.

• Informal

Learners in the Informal Pathway thrive with high levels of predictable routines and sensory exploration of the world around them. Pupils in this pathway follow the outcomes of the EYFS, closely matched to the National Curriculum to ensure we are both developmentally appropriate and aspirational in our provision planning.

• Semi formal

Learners in Semi-Formal Pathway access highly adapted formal sessions using visual communication supports and opportunities for movement and sensory integration through continuous provision. Pupils in this pathway follow the National Curriculum, with Literacy, Phonics, Maths and PSHE taught daily Foundation subjects are ‘blocked’ across year into subject weeks.

• Formal

Learners in Formal Pathway access Literacy, Maths and foundation subjects with Physical Literacy and Wellbeing integral to all sessions. Pupils in this pathway follow the National Curriculum, with Literacy, Phonics/spelling and Maths taught daily and foundation subjects ‘blocked’ across the year into subject weeks, along with a strong focus on enterprise and careers.

Do What Matters Most

As a school we celebrate our differences and talents, nurturing our children’s self esteem and building their resilience to take on new challenges through predictable and irresistible learning experiences. We want our learners to experience a range of hands on learning opportunities through technology, the arts, sports and nature so they are able to make connections in their learning and live full and enriched lives.

We offer a wide and inspiring curriculum that is aspirational for all of our learners; fosters communication, develops independence, and is personalised to individual pupil needs. Our curriculum is planned in half term topics and themes are selected carefully to take into consideration our locality, global issues, learners interests and wherever possible, role models from diverse backgrounds.

Through Pathway ‘Yearly overviews’, each EYFS/ National Curriculum subject is mapped progressively through a three year rolling programme, with spaced retrieval opportunities across the topics for learners to re-visit knowledge and make connections in their learning. Daily shared stories are selected within the theme to build subject specific vocabulary and build core Literacy skills in cross curricular learning.

Unit plans for all subject areas are planned by subject leaders and adapted by class teachers, with subjects blocked into weeks to support ‘over learning’ and short term retrieval. Opportunities for spaced retrieval are mapped across themes through knowledge organisers, working walls, continuous provision and subject weeks.

Each Pathway has created a bespoke timetable with consistent and predictable sequence to learning. We apply our Brierley pedagogic principles to every session and each Pathway follows a ‘model lesson’ in crafting progressive sessions which offer challenge and build learners resilience to know ‘they can do hard things’. This is underpinned by the SCERTs domains of Emotional Regulation, Social communication and scaffolded through transactional supports.

‘Progression steps’ for each curriculum area have been rigorously plotted by subject leaders, creating small steps of progress to map pupil attainment, monitor progress over time and plan for next steps in development as a class.

Communication is at the heart of all we do and vocabulary development is taught systematically through subject specific, core and functional language to build learners oracy and understanding of language in context. Language development is both planned to be progressive and responsive to pupils interests. We use a total communication approach through  ‘say it, see it, sign it’, using visual communication for learners at all stages of communication and visual scaffolds appropriate to their stage of development.

Personal Social Emotional Development is taught daily through subject specific sessions and woven into every learning experience and session in school. Zones of Regulation are embedded into every session with adult attunement to pupils regulation needs, scaffolded by the SCERTs framework. Physical literacy and movement are integral to every aspect of the school day from the daily mile, sensory circuits, sensory integration, movement breaks, PE sessions and outdoor learning environments.

We create low sensory, visually clear and immersive learning environments both indoors and out and we find the best teaching resources to enhance the curriculum. Classrooms are streamlined and have clarity of visual learning expectations to support communication and create predictable routines. Continuous provision is clearly organised across each Pathway, giving learners opportunities to consolidate knowledge through independent application and build social skills through collaboration with adults and peers.

Succeed together

We want to inspire in pupils a love of learning and of school. We  build our pupils’ cultural capital through a wide range of coherently planned, first-hand experiences, including educational visits and using our developing learning environments to secure knowledge in context.  Every topic begins with a ‘Spectacular Start’, an experience which introduces the language and concepts to be explored within the topic. We end with a ‘Fabulous Finish’ where children celebrate their achievements with parents and trusted adults. Enrichment activities are planned into our exciting topics and we are working with partner organisations to bring Hyde Park Source, Catch, Phoenix Dance, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, West Yorkshire Play house to name a few.

We want our pupils to make sustained and significant progress and recognise that this is individual to every learner as their starting points and learning needs are all unique. We use Evidence For Learning (EFL) to assess termly against rigorous progression steps which enable teachers to track individual pupil progress, plan for their next steps and target support and intervention.

Individual targets are described in individual Pupil Passports which are reviewed termly and a robust programme of monitoring ensures teachers respond to pupils holistic learning needs. Pupil and parent voice is also integral to our passport reviews, with passports shared with parents at each review point. Reports and communication to families are shared via Class Dojo.

At Co-op Academy Brierley we are proud of our growing team of expert and dedicated staff. Continuous professional development and training ensures all our staff have the knowledge and expertise to support the needs of all learners in school. Our learners also benefit from bespoke programmes developed by our Occupational Therapy and Speech and language therapy teams.  

Preparation for Adulthood

Our definition of careers is 'preparing students for the next steps and a meaningful life beyond Brierley'. School staff work co-productively with agencies, families and students to ensure that they have access to relevant labour market and destination information. Alongside this we offer a CEIAG curriculum in all key stages, and as our young people transition into adulthood, we develop links with the PfA team who also offer support and guidance.

Trips and Visits

Coop Academy Brierley has a full and active outdoor and community education programme of trips and visits that allow us to prepare our pupils with the essential life skills for their ongoing education and life after school.

Risk assessments are carried out and procedures are put in place to enable all children to participate in all school activities. The school ensures it has sufficient staff expertise to ensure that no child is excluded from any school provided activity. Outdoor learning is promoted and all classrooms have their own outside spaces.

All classes access educational visits at least once a year, many every term and community visits weekly.  These support spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and community cohesion & citizenship, economic development and independence.    

Accessibility

Coop Academy Brierley is a purpose built school for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, moderate and severe learning difficulties and autism.  All classes are reasonably small, usually between 8 and 12 pupils in each class, with a high level of adult support from our team of Learning Support Assistants. Some pupils require individual support for most of the day.

The following adaptations have been made to the school environment to ensure that it is more accessible to our pupils:  

• Tracking and hoists are available in the hygiene suites
• Adapted Fire alarm system to minimise sensory overload
• Enclosed but inclusive play area in all foundation, informal and semi formal pathways
• Black out blinds around school to enhance learning environments and reduce temperatures and support with sensory issues.
• Specialist equipment such as specialised chairs, flexible seating etc have been purchased to provide access to learning  
• CO2 and air ventilation system to maintain regulated temperature and air quality
• Low stimulus environment including widened corridors and visually clutter free
• Acoustic panels in large areas of school: Sports hall and main hall.
• Break out rooms available throughout school for regulation
• Lifts facilitate easy access to anywhere in the school

Our Accessibility Plan describes the actions the school has taken and plans to take to increase access to the environment and the curriculum. The Accessibility Plan Information is available via the school website or on request.

Children's Mental Health/Wellbeing Support

Well-being and mental health support are fundamental to all we do at Coop Academy Brierley and our Mental Health Lead works alongside our pastoral team to ensure that all pupils, as well as families have the support required to ensure a safe, happy learning environment.

The embracing of the Coop Trust’s core values ensures that staff always have the pupil’s wellbeing at the centre for all they do.

The school offers a wide variety of pastoral support for pupils. This includes:

• Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education (PSHCE) and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) curricula, which aim to provide pupils with the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to enhance their emotional, social, cultural, moral and spiritual relationships, knowledge and well-being.  

• The Personal and Social Development (PSD) curriculum supports wellbeing, through our Co-op Academy 4 Core Values (which delivers British values and prepares pupils for life in modern Britain, at an appropriate level for the pupils).

• Be yourself always
• Show you care
• Do what matters most
• Succeed Together

• Pathway assembly celebrates success at any level in any subject or personal development, and a range of religious and cultural festivals and events are enjoyed throughout the school
• Good attendance is promoted rigorously and celebrated with families and pupils  

• Pupil and Parent voice mechanisms are in place through PTA, regular coffee mornings; student council meetings and regular surveys.

• Pupils benefit from positive Behaviour Support Plans/Risk Assessments and the very positive ethos in the school to help them feel valued and able to contribute as responsible citizens.

List of Specialist Services the School Can Access

• Speech and Language therapy
• Occupational Therapy
• Educational Psychologist
• SILC Cluster services including Northpoint Counselling
• SENIT
• Positive behaviour management and Team Teach tutors
• Specialist teaching and environments for different needs
• Sensory and multisensory learning
• Sensory integration therapy
• Family Support Workers to support families both individually and running parent coffee mornings and workshops on a variety of topics

Staff Training List

The Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme is extensive, and covers all areas of school life and delivers good and better outcomes for children and overall effectiveness.  The school Annual Monitoring and Evaluation calendar (AME) drives staff development towards the School Development Plan. CPD is delivered annually, termly, and weekly  or as required by external providers and internal experts, to all school staff. Staff also benefit from individual CPD, to support high quality delivery of their role. The programme is driven by the Academy Development Plan, staff performance and professional development priorities, to meet any new initiatives or gaps in skills. CPD is evaluated rigorously to ensure value for money and impact on improved practice.  

CPD in the following areas includes:  

• STARS training (Autism Education Trust) Level 1 Autism Awareness and Level 2 Good Autism Practice; Strength based approaches to Complex support
• SALT training: Colour coding, Intensive interaction,
• Maths Mastery
• Talk 4 Writing
• Read, Write Inc.
• Subject leader networks
• ECT Bright Futures
• ITT assessment only via Bright futures
• SCERTS
• Intimate Care
• Welfare & Medical needs
• Designated Safeguarding leads and deputy refreshers Keeping children safe in education for all staff who work within the school.
• Teach like a Champion
• PREVENT, Safer Recruitment, Pupil and adult mental health, Online Safety
• Key trainers for Moving and handling and annual & termly Moving and Handling refreshers for all staff
• Intensive Interaction, and sensory processing
• GDPR
• Health and safety, Risk Assessments, Evacuation, in-vacuation.
• Behaviour annual Team Teach for all staff and Team Teach Tutor refreshers, and Behaviour for learning  
• Restorative Practice
• Emotion Coaching
• Zones of Regulation
• Clicker software

The CPD delivers good and better outcomes for children and overall effectiveness.  

How do we evaluate the effectiveness of our work?

There are many ways that we evaluate what we do and we try to never think that what we do is good enough. Some of the things we do are:

• Half termly learning Walks that drop into lessons
• Performance management lesson observations for all teachers, three times each year  
• Review peer observations
• Work scrutiny and monitoring of EFL
• Moderation of pupil progress
• Pupil progress meetings and quality assurance case studies
• Look at home-school books and take a note of responses to questionnaires from parents
• Take part in an annual DAP Review with external professional reviewers from Ofsted and our partner special schools
• Listen to pupils and try to respond to what they tell us about their lessons and what is going well
• Collect information about each child’s progress and take action if a child is not making the progress we thought they would
• Review the impact of our improvement work

How do we include health and other professionals in supporting our pupils and their families?

We work closely with health professionals and therapists.We have a named Healthcare Supervisor, who is a Registered Children's Nurse and responsible for a team of Educarers and the  Key First Aider team. All medicine administration procedures adhere to Department of Education (DfE) guidelines included within Supporting Pupils at School with Medical Conditions (DfE) 2015 which includes policy on Administration, storage and disposal of drugs (including controlled drugs) and guidance from the Inclusion Nursing Team. Peripatetic staff provide support for individual children with hearing and visual needs.  We commission Speech and Language and Occupational Therapy provision for additional days on top of those provided by the NHS. The academy may hold clinics on site as requested by paediatricians. This means that our pupils do not always have to miss time away from the academy due to external appointments. We host multi-professional meetings at the academy and offer a base for professionals to meet with children and their families.

Family support

As a member of our Brierley family, you will be able to access a wider team of support. Our family support workers and health care supervisor work all year round and are available during the school holidays to support families and signpost should you need any help or just want to speak to someone about your child. Our health care supervisor can support with all things medical as well as emotional wellbeing, toileting and sleep.

Our family support workers can support with a range of issues such as Direct Payments, housing adaptations, Early Help plans, behaviour concerns, transport difficulties, school attendance challenges along with many other services.

How are the school’s resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?  

The school receives funding to respond to the needs of pupils with SEND from a number of sources that includes:  

• An amount per pupil from LA.  
• An additional amount per pupil from the LA High Needs SEN Funding allocation according to severity and complexity of need.  

This funding is then used to provide the staffing levels, equipment and facilities to support our pupils as well as:  

• Specialist equipment  
• Specialist teaching  
• Small group tuition  
• Home visits.
• Specific support to parents and families.
• Partnership working with other settings.  
• Access to community facilities  
• Access to healthcare and wider health professional support.  
• Implementation of strategies from support agencies.  

In addition:  

• The Pupil Premium and Early Years Pupil Premium funding provides additional funding for pupils who are claiming Free School Meals, who are in the care of the local authority or whose parents are in the Armed Services. The deployment of this funding is published on the school website.

• PE and Sports Grant. The deployment of this funding is published on the school website.

How do we respond to concerns and complaints from parents?

We welcome feedback from parents and will always try to resolve any concerns as quickly as we can. If a parent has a particular concern, we hope that it will usually be possible to resolve this through an informal meeting with a member of senior leadership or the Headteacher. If this is not possible, then our Complaints Procedure outlines what parents need to do to take their complaint further. A copy of our Complaints Policy is available on our website.

How do we involve pupils in our decisions?

Our learners are able to communicate in a variety of ways, and we will always consider the pupils in our decision making and consider their thoughts and ideas, which may be communicated verbally, in writing or using signs and symbols.

We have an active School Council who have representative learners from across our Pathways. The School Council meet half termly and then run projects based on aspects of school our learners would like to improve. At this early stage of school development, they have already developed the ‘Time for Change’ team, developing our outdoor provision with local community groups. School Council are also taking an active role in the summer enterprise fair and have a crucial voice and role in developing this project.

Contact Details for SENCO

Our SENCO Mel Boffey, can be contacted at info.brierley@coopacademies.co.uk.

Support Provided for Transition

Transition depends on the individual needs of the child. We anticipate that a phased approach may be the most supportive way to transition pupils initially.  We endeavour to make visits to all new pupils in the Summer term (whether at their setting or their home) to gather additional information and speak to parents and staff about pupil needs and strengths.For pupils where attendance has been affected by illness, unmet needs or other exceptional circumstances, we can work with families to plan a more bespoke transition plan.

We understand that many pupils will need preparation for the new school and will need time to process information about the new site. We will support this process as best we can with a parent transition pack containing a social story, images of our existing staff, transport and classrooms and a selection of useful communication symbols.

What you need to know about the Local Offer?

The Local Offer has been created to provide a central point of contact to help parents of children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities access the right services and support.

It is hosted by Leeds City Council and can be found at this link - https://www.leedslocaloffer.org.uk/

SENDIASS supports parents and carers of children or young people who have special needs and/or disabilities (SEND) AGES 0 - 25 YEARS living in Leeds. Children and Young people can also access the service independently. The service supports with: Exclusions, Transfers, Admissions, Transport, Appeals, Mediation, Complaints, Personal budgets, EHCP's SEN support and can be found at this link: https://sendiass.leeds.gov.uk/