The SENCo at Ormiston Bridge Academy is Ruth Sargeant.
Email: [email protected]
Please contact the school main office on telephone number 020 3108 0345 and request to speak to Ruth Sargeant.
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 require the academy to publish certain information regarding our provision for children with SEND. We hope parents of current and prospective children find the following information helpful and we encourage all interested parties to contact the academy for more information.
The SEND policy is available to view on our policies page.
Click the link below to view the Ormiston Bridge SEND Information Report
The Ormiston Bridge Academy is an Alternative Provision (AP), which is a specialist provision, and can only be accessed through the SEN consultation process, or referral from a school or Local Authority. All children have experienced Social, Emotional and Mental Health difficulties and many also have significant barriers to learning. Almost all of our children have been permanently excluded or are at risk of permanent exclusion from mainstream schools. Most of our children are SEND Support and fall into the needs category of Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties. Some children come to us with diagnosed/undiagnosed conditions such as ASC and ADHD and additional learning needs. We strive to support any additional needs a child may have in any area of SEND: Communication and Interaction, Cognition and Learning, Sensory and/or Physical Needs, and Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties.
At induction, all children take the following assessments:
Parents/ carers are asked about SEN needs and previous support at induction, and we sometimes receive SEND information from previous schools. If there are needs which have been identified, the Senco contacts the previous school to ask for information including assessment reports, lists of interventions and a one-page profile, if available.
If parents or teachers raise concerns about dyslexia or dyscalculia, we screen for those using GL assessment screeners. If the screening indicates that there may be a need, then we refer to the Educational Psychologist for formal assessments.
All Primary children are screened by the Speech and Language Therapist when they start at the school. Key Stage 3 children are screened by the Speech and Language Therapist before the Language for Behaviour and Emotions lessons begin. Parents, referring schools, school leaders, teachers or other members of the staff team may raise concerns that a child might have a particular SEN need. Needs are also sometimes identified through induction testing or tracking of progress. After feedback is collected and parents contacted, a referral might be made to one of the following for assessment: Occupational Health, Speech and Language Therapist, Educational Psychologist, CAMHS, Cheyne or the School Nurse.
We provide a safe, stimulating learning environment and each child will be valued as an individual. Personal learning plans are implemented as necessary and reflect our individualised approach. We will provide a broad balanced curriculum which enables the children to progress academically, socially and emotionally according to their potential. No children will be discriminated against in studying any subject area within the academy’s curriculum on the grounds of their SEND. Children are taught in small teaching groups and receive high quality inclusive teaching across the curriculum with a consistent and supportive approach to learning, progress and attainment.
We use the following to evaluate the effectiveness of our SEN provision:
We formally feedback on SEN provision in the OAT SEND Self Evaluation Form, the Academy Self Evaluation Form and Academy Development Plan, and in Strategic Progress Board and Local Governing Body reports.
Feedback is given to parents at Structured conversations, during phone calls and meetings with the Senco, EP and SaLT reports, and at Annual Review meetings (for children with an EHCP).
The Senco and Assistant Principal (Primary) are responsible for ensuring that children with SEN are making progress; held to account by the Principal.
We use the following to measure impact:
As an Alternative Provision school, we are inclusive by our very nature. Our school population is transient, with children moving in and out of the Academy throughout the school year. Our whole school approach prioritises the Senco and Leadership Team sharing information about children with all staff, through an up-to-date SEN register and daily staff briefings. Induction slides, My Passports (one-page profiles), and Class Reasonable Adjustment sheets (at Secondary) contain teaching strategies and targets for each child and are these are updated regularly.
Children are taught is classes with a maximum of 8 children per class; classes often have fewer children than this. With fewer pupils, teachers not only differentiate work, but can also teach children different aspects of topics as needed, so that children in a class may be working on three different things. This is particularly the case in year 11.
Our main approaches to teaching our SEN children are:
Within the classroom teachers use the following strategies:
In addition to the above, the following are used in different Key Stages:
Slides have Dyslexia friendly text on grey background
The curriculum at Ormiston Bridge Academy aims to be purposeful, aspirational and to support children to be successful whatever their previous barriers.
Votes for Schools (KS3), Humanities (KS3), Citizenship (KS4), Enterprise (KS3), Business (KS4) and Literacy (KS3) are included to prepare children for reintegration. In 24/25 Spanish has been introduced to further broaden the offer.
Sessions with the speech and language therapist in social communication are also timetabled (with support) for the Key Stage 3 classes
KS4 has a curriculum that focuses on core but is supported by two options blocks which include Business, Art, PE, and Spanish.
GCSE Citizenship is offered to all KS4 children to develop cultural capital.
PSHE (Personal, Social, Health & Economic) is delivered to all year groups as timetabled lessons to support personal development and develop the pupils’ ability to stay safe outside of school.
CIAG is delivered to KS4 (with lessons explicitly timetabled for year 11) with the aim to offer vocational taster sessions on a 6-weekly rota throughout the year.
Enrichment is offered to KS3 and Year 10 throughout the year and explicitly built into the timetable. These opportunities are linked to cultural capital objectives.
Additional opportunities for accreditation are offered from induction and every child can achieve at least 5 GCSEs. Prior knowledge is included in the Curriculum Plans for each subject area so that gaps in knowledge can be assessed and addressed.
Our focus on relational approaches fosters a sense of belonging, and staff know children well. This fosters a sense of belonging for children and with it, an ability to re-engage with education and aspiration. A high staff to child ratio means that all children can engage in activities, enrichment trips, workshops and sports. Most of our children have Social, Emotional and Mental Health difficulties, and those who do not want to engage are able to attend lessons or have 1:1 time instead.
We also provide the following to ensure that all children can access activities:
We have a school mental health lead, and a member of support staff will be training as an ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) during Autumn term 2024/ Spring term 2025. Our whole school ethos and trauma informed approach supports and understands children’s individual pastoral, social and medical needs. Staff receive regular training linked to social emotional, mental health and behavioural needs and difficulties
Universal provision for children with SEMH includes:
Targeted support:
Specialist support:
Listed below are the anames of staff members possessing expertise related to SEN. Contacts can be found at the end of this document:
Name: Keziah Raphael – Role: Principal – Expertise: Key Stage 3 and 4
Name: Matthew Daws – Role: Student Services Manager – Expertise: Mental Health Lead
Name: Faye Peckham – Role: Assistant Principal – Expertise: Early Years, KS1 and KS2
Name: Ruth Sargeant – Role: Senco – Expertise: SEND
Section A (the child’s voice) is usually completed at school with the Senco or another trusted member of staff before Annual Review meetings.
Often a child wll not want to stay for an entire SEN/ EHCP review meeting, and we regularly change the order of sections to be reviewed so that the child’s views are heard before they leave the meeting. Children are also able to take a break from the meeting and then return.
We encourage the children/ young people to contribute their views by:
We hold an induction meeting with parents and child before admission. We send formal written reports to parents once a year, and hold structured conversations three times a year, when parents meet with one of more members of staff and review their targets and strategies. All staff make regular phone calls to families and meet in person when needed. The Senco speaks to and meets with parents as needed. Children with an EHCP have a review meeting with the Senco three times a year which includes one EHC Annual Review meeting. The DSL and DDSLs attend meetings with other professionals, services, and families.
We work closely with all parents/carers and professionals involved with a child from induction to our school. We are clear about our expectations and the support that any child will receive. To this end, in the past 5 years there have been no complaints from parents at our school. In future, should any concerns arise, we would try to meet in an informal and supportive way to explore alternative routes to ensure every child in our school is heard and receives the support that is needed.
Hammersmith and Fulham INSPIRE (Inclusion and Specialist Outreach Service)
‘The Family Hub’, provides advice for families including those of children and young people with SEND. It can be found using the following link: The Family Hub | London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (lbhf.gov.uk)
www.barnardos.org.uk – information for parents around Special Educational Needs advice.
www.ipsea.org.uk – information for parents around Special Educational Needs advice.
www.specialneedsjungle.com – general resources for parents around Special Educational Needs advice.
www.talkingpoint.org.uk – site to support parents and children with speech and language difficulties.
www.cerebralpalsy.org.uk – site to support parents and children with cerebral palsy.
www.autism.org.uk – site to support parents and children with autism.
www.ADHDfoundation.org.uk – site to support parents and children with ADHD.
www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk – site to support parents and children with dyspraxia.
www.bdadyslexia.org.uk – site to support parents and children with dyslexia.
www.downs-syndrome.org.uk – site to support parents and children with downs syndrome.
www.rnib.org.uk – site to support parents and children with sight difficulties.
www.ndcs.org.uk – site to support parents and children with hearing difficulties.
www.youngminds.org.uk – site to support children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.
www.pdnet.org.uk – A network for those supporting learners with a physical disability
Induction process
Transition to a new school
More information on SEND can be found in the OAT SEND Policy:
| Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Contacts and Responsibilities This document should be viewed in conjunction with the SEND Policy [insert hyperlink to current SEND policy on academy website] Last updated: 13/09/24 | ||
| Academy roles | ||
| Role | Designated person | Contact Details |
| SENCO | Ruth Sargeant | [email protected] |
| Principal | Keziah Raphael | [email protected] |
| SEND Governor | Fiona Mylchreest | [email protected] |
| Other senior leader with responsibility for SEND | Keziah Raphael | [email protected] |
| Pastoral support lead | Matthew Daws | [email protected] |
| Designated safeguarding lead | Keziah Raphael | [email protected] |
| Designated teacher for looked after children | Ruth Sargeant | [email protected] |
| Mental Health Lead | Matthew Daws | [email protected] |
| External agencies | ||
| Role | Information | Contact Details |
| Educational Psychologist | Dr Hannah Lichwa, Senior Practitioner Educational & Child Psychologist Dr Orla Kenny, Senior Practitioner Educational & Child Psychologist | [email protected] [email protected] |
| Local SEND Information & Support Services | Hammersmith and Fulham SEND Information and Advice Support Service (IASS) Hammersmith and Fulham Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and local offer | https://www.hfsendiass.org.uk/ https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/children-and-young-people/schools-and-colleges/special-educational-needs-and-disabilities-send-and-local-offer |
| Local Authority SEN Team | Hammersmith and Fulham Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) service | Email: [email protected] Tel: 020 8753 1021 Postal address only: 145 King Street (3rd Floor), W6 9XY |
| Behaviour Support Team | ||
| Sensory Impairment Service | Hammersmith and Fulham Sensory Impairment Team | Address: H&F Advice, Ground Floor, 145 King Street, London, W6 9XY Tel:020 8753 4198 Email: h&[email protected] |
| IPSEA | Independent Provider of Special education Advice | https://www.ipsea.org.uk/ |
| Council for Disabled Children | Advice & resources for professionals and parents | https://councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/ |