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The Bridge

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Academy SEND Co-Ordinator & The Bridge Faculty Leader

Ms. K Giermaniuk

Academy SEND Governor

Matthew Barnes

Our Vision

Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do at ESSA Academy. We serve a vibrant and diverse community; rich with different cultures, languages and a varying range of academic, communication, social, emotional, physical and sensory needs. We embrace the fact that every child is different and make every effort to meet the needs of any child, regardless of aptitude, ability or special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), or whether they speak English as an Additional Language (EAL).

 

We strongly believe that each student should be given equal opportunities to quality education and have access to a full curriculum. Therefore, as a team, our aim is to facilitate these opportunities. We are fundamentally committed to inclusion and advocate it through our ethos. We promote and encourage personal growth of each student and support them on their journey; as we believe that each student, regardless of their individual differences, has the capacity to achieve.

We offer structured support throughout the each students time at the Academy, but also during the most essential transition between Key Stages to ensure they are well prepared and are able to grow, develop and become valuable members of the community and wider society. We recognise the need for some students to have an extended, supported transition time between Year 6 and 7, when they join our Academy, as it can be a very stressful time. What is more, we work closely with our students, their parents or carers, our Careers Officer and outside agencies to embrace our students’ ambitions and support them during their next steps to adulthood.

We do our utmost to ensure that students' needs are met through support in the classroom wherever possible. Staff in The Bridge faculty work closely with teachers and colleagues in all subjects, to ensure that work set is differentiated and appropriate. Staff are given strategies to support each individual student, providing materials and training to assist progress and attainment where necessary. Teamwork is at the core of our practice and it is our responsibility to maintain good relationships with all parties involved in order to meet the common goal: celebrating the success of SEND and EAL students.

We prioritise our students’ wellbeing and use a various of methods to ensure they are happy, feel safe and are able to form and maintain positive relationships with peers. Through a range of interventions, clubs and our Nurture facilities available to students during unstructured school times, we are able to develop and strengthen the communication needs of our SEND and EAL students. This is all achieved with the belief that we are supporting and enhancing their abilities to transfer these skills into the wider community.

We also recognise that some students need to be appropriately challenged, especially those for whom English is not their first language. We understand that languages are not a barrier to learning and ensure our students receive excellent support from the very start to ensure that by the time they leave the Academy, they can communicate in English effectively, but have also had multiple opportunities to celebrate their cultural and language heritage.

Furthermore, our team also works closely with a range of professionals and external agencies to provide informed SEND support, and to support learning, based on students’ specific, individual needs. Our Team has very clear procedures on engaging with outside agencies and other professionals to ensure our staff are best prepared to meet the unique needs of our learners.

We work tirelessly to listen to our students and to work with their parents and carers, ensuring that everyone has a voice. It is a key priority of ours to listen to their aspirations and those of their children, to ensure that we achieve the most appropriate provision to meet their needs. Our Team is in regular contact with parents and carers and address any concerns they may have with the view that this enables The Bridge team have a more holistic view of each student that they are then able to share with staff.

Send Local Offer

You can find the send local offer here https://mylifeinbolton.org.uk/send.aspx

ICT to support SEND Blog

Keep one step ahead with our 'ICT to support SEND' blog.  Click  here to view the blog.

What processes are involved for students with complex needs?

Students with SEND needs may be assessed for an Education Health Care Plan.  Oxfordshire County Council have produced an excellent video, to explain the pathway that students and their families would experience if this was the case.  Similar resources that are referred to throughout the video are available through the ESSA SEND Faculty, or through SENDAS at Bolton Local Authority. 

 

SEND Terminology

This section of our website aims to help students and parents have a greater understanding of key terminology that you may come across in the SEND area. It can be found by clicking here

How do I contact the SEND Support Team?

The named Governor for Special Educational Needs is Ivan Wadeson, and the Special Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCo) is Ms K Giermaniuk.

 

Should you have any further questions about Special Educational Needs at ESSA Academy, please feel free to contact our team by telephone, email or by using our contact form below:

t: 01204 333 222

e: sendco@efatrust.org

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Contact the SEND Team

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New: Join our Autism Mailing List

Students and parents of students with Autism diagnoses, or Autistic traits are encouraged to join our Autism Support Group mailing list.  Find out more by clicking here. 

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