At Walsgrave Academy we believe in the individual. All children are valued for their unique contribution to a whole school ethos of inclusion. Alongside the teaching and learning of academic skills required for adult life, we work hard to ensure everyone has opportunity to discover their own strengths and develop these to feel successful and fulfilled.

“Everyone is a genius. But of you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree; it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

Albert Einstein

Children need to try new and exciting opportunities in order to learn about themselves and discover interests and talents. We are always looking for new innovative ideas to excite children. Trips out of school are an important aspect of developing the whole child. We endeavour to give every child the opportunity to join the Year 6 residential to Dol-y-Moch. Here children often experience time away from the family home for the first time. They try different outdoor challenges like orienteering, rock climbing and kayaking. We try to remove all barriers and obstacles to attending this trip, whether it is money, family circumstances or a physical disability. This has made a huge impact to a great many of children who have been able to articulate just how important this holiday was to them at a crucial time of their development particularly independence.

QUOTES

“It gave me the confidence to try new things. I hate mud and ad to go through a muddy cave. You also step in poo! I climbed on a rope and had to be careful not to fall in the muddy lake. At least I didn’t fall in. I thought I was going to drown when we did Kayaking but it was really easy. Dol-y-moch is really fun!” Saif Y5 “Dol-y-moch gave Eleanor the self-belief and confidence to be independent. It also made her feel an important part of a team and allowed her to enjoy outdoor activities and experiences in the same way as everybody else. Returning from Dol-y-moch gave Eleanor a different outlook on life and made her believe she could achieve goals she once thought were out of her reach”.

Parent- Jodi Thompson (Eleanor’s mum)

We also have an extensive variety of clubs where children can try new interests and develop skills outside of classroom learning.

Along with developing the whole child we are very mindful that children need to gain certain key skills to give them the best opportunities in life. We are committed to children reaching their academic potential.

Not every child finds learning easy all the time. At Walsgrave Academy we understand that effective provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs is vital to ensure all children achieve and reach their full academic potential. The SEN Code of Practice (2014) describes a child or young person as having SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. A person has a learning difficulty if he or she;

*has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or

*has a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind

generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.

This provision is defined as any education or training provision which is additional to or different from that generally made for other of the same age in mainstream schools, or Post-16 institutions in England (C&F 2014 20)

The persons responsible for SEND at Walsgrave are:

• Head of Education, Primary – Mr Rob Darling

• Headteacher – Mr Damien Sowerby

• MAT SEND Lead – Vicky Prudham

• Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator – Amy Charles

• Inclusion Governor – Dawn Keeling

• All Teaching staff, in their provision for all children

The Inspire Education Trust has developed an SEN information report to help parents understand how we support children with SEND. This report forms the “School Offer” which is part of the Coventry Local offer for Special Educational Needs (SEN).

Here at Walsgrave we know the best possible outcomes for children are achieved when everyone works together. We are part of the ‘Achievement for All’ program and have recently been accredited with “Quality Mark”. The partnership between school and parents is very important to ensure children reach their potential. We have collaborated in the production of this offer and we are also keen to continue to get parental feedback, please look out for ‘Tea and Talk’ sessions or alternatively contact the school SENCO directly.

Arrangements for handling complaints

In our Inspire Schools, we aim to provide the right support each child needs. We work with parents/carers and professional agencies to ensure the right provision and support is provided for children with additional needs.

Where parents have concerns about our school’s SEND provision, they should first raise their concerns informally with the class teacher and/or SENDCO. We will try to resolve the complaint informally in the first instance. If this does

not resolve their concerns, parents can submit their complaint formally. Formal complaints about SEND provision in our school should be made to the SENCO/headteacher in the first instance. They will be handled in line with

The Trust’s complaints policy:

If the parent or carer is not satisfied with the school’s response, they can escalate the complaint. In some circumstances, this right also applies to the pupil themselves.  To see a full explanation of suitable avenues for complaint, see pages 246 and 247 of the SEN Code of Practice. 

To find out about disagreement resolution and mediation services in our local area, please visit the Coventry Local Authority complaints department: Comments, compliments and complaints – Coventry City Council 

You can request mediation by contacting Coventry Local authority SEND department: Coventry Family Hubs (coventryfamilies.co.uk)

Parents can also contact SENDIASS who can also offer support and advice: https://www.covsendiass.co.uk/

Star Thrower Story

“Once, on ancient Earth, there was a human boy walking along a beach. There had just been a storm, and starfish had been scattered along the sands. The boy knew the fish would die, so he began to fling the fish to the sea. But every time he threw a starfish, another would wash ashore. “An old Earth man came along and saw what the child was doing. He called out, ‘Boy, what are you doing?’ “‘Saving the starfish!’ replied the boy.” ‘But your attempts are useless, child! Every time you save one, another one returns, often the same one! You can’t save them all, so why bother trying? Why does it matter, anyway?’ called the old man. “The boy thought about this for a while, a starfish in his hand; he answered, “Well, it matters to this one.” And then he flung the starfish into the welcoming sea.”

Loren Eiseley, The Star Thrower

Remember…

Vision without action is merely a dream.

Action, without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.