The inaugural National Special Educational Needs Awards were judged in the summer term of 2015. Here are the winning entries.
Best use of external special needs professional
The Lyndon School, Solihull
Judges comments: Well presented and clearly represented above and beyond practice for all schools. The entry showed good rigour and demonstrated the collaborative partnership approach the school have taken.
Entry introduction:
Lyndon is a happy, caring school with high expectations for all students. We want every child to become a success and to achieve their very best. We believe that success can be captured by hard work, perseverance and partnership. Lyndon is a Trust school, working together in partnership with higher education providers, as well as successful businesses and community partners. These partnerships provide students with a wealth of experiences and opportunities that are unique to Lyndon. Within school and through these partnerships we encourage our students to have high aspirations and to become positive, disciplined and respectful role models.
Over the last 12 months, Lyndon has been working hand in hand on a Speech and Language pilot with one particular Trust Partner, a local University. As a school we identified a gap in our provision and we were feeling some of the same difficulties other schools in the authority were feeling with regards to access to Speech and Language therapy. As a result, and with the support of our link Governor for SEN, we met with the University Speech and Language faculty to embark upon a joint project that would benefit both parties. In short, the Speech and Language faculty would provide us with Speech and Language therapy support to work with students, families and staff at Lyndon and we would provide placement opportunities for undergraduates training in this field who were hoping to fulfill a career within schools or supporting school aged clients.
Most innovative special needs intervention
Pool Academy, Redruth
Judge comments: Well evidenced and made it obvious how the school go above and beyond, there was clear rigour and structure. It was clear from the start that they have a broad base of meeting different needs and are driven by a leader who understand and shows clear direction.
Entry introduction:
We have chosen to put forward our Academy’s Unique Disability Sport Intervention programme. Due to our locality and limited local resources we have found that sporting opportunities for SEN and Disability students is very limited. We also felt that the sporting programme within our own Academy was geared more towards able bodied students and this needed to adapt due to the current cohort of SEN students.
When taking part in competitions we have had to travel vast distances to facilitate our students being able to fulfill their potential. We strongly felt that the students with SEN would benefit from the ethos of competition, social inclusion and self-confidence building.
Most inclusive practice across a school
Foxwood School, Hythe
Judges comments: Well evidenced and made it clear how the school go above and beyond. It was clear from the start that the school encourage individuality and recognise achievement for the individual, not just evidencing the impact for the children, but also guiding outreach too.
Entry introduction:
Foxwood is an all age school (3-19 years) for pupils with Profound and Severe Learning Difficulties, based in Hythe, Kent. Our Federated partner school, Highview has a designation for Complex needs and is based in Folkestone, Kent. Our pupils have a wide range of disabilities, including, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Physical and Sensory impairments.
Learning is personalised to meet the needs of individual pupils with an emphasis on Communication, Independence and Social skills. The school forms part of a “hard” federation with another special school, Highview in Folkestone, and there is a joint Governing Body. We are currently waiting a new build.
