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Kirklees Local Offer KIAS

Vision

Our vision is simply to maximise every child’s potential to ensure we can confidently say we gave every student his or her GCSE passport to success. Our motivation is to ensure that positive relationships are at the core of what we do every day, along with high quality teaching and pastoral care overseen by strong and passionate leadership.  Our ambition for students with SEND is the same for all students. We want to ensure students identified as SEND have the same equal access to high quality teaching, enrichment opportunities, educational visits and trips, and where required provided with bespoke tailored support. 

Our ambition is to: 

1. place students at the centre of all practice, understanding their needs and ensuring their voices influence our practice  
2. create an ‘everyone's responsible’ approach to SEND through high quality professional development 
3. provide tailored approaches by applying reasonable adjustments for identified students to enable students to maximise their potential. 
4. provide high quality tailored teaching linked to powerful and impactful strategies (RADs) 
5. develop the effective use of ETAs to offer additional tailored support linked to carefully implemented intervention 
6. use the EEF research to underpin our strategy

Meet the team

SEND

 

EAL Intervention

Additionally Resourced Provision for Visual Impairment

Academy address: Dryclough Road, Crosland Moor, Huddersfield, HD4 5JA
Email: office@moorend.spacademies.org
Telephone: 01484 222230
Age range: 11-16

“The very strong promotion of students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development ensures that they thrive in the supportive and highly cohesive learning community. High aspirations, outstanding teaching and the rich curriculum result in outstanding achievement” OfSted June 2012

Areas of Need Explained

The SEND Code of Practice 2015 states that there are four main areas which cover additional needs:

Communication and Interaction
Children may have a delay or disorder in one or more of the following areas:

Attention / Interaction skills:
•  May have difficulties ignoring distractions.
•  Need reminders to keep attention.
•  May need regular prompts to stay on task.
•  May need individualised motivation in order to complete tasks.
•  Difficulty attending in whole class.
•  Interaction will not always be appropriate.
•  May have peer relationship difficulties.
•  May not be able to initiate or maintain a conversation.

Understanding / Receptive Language:
•  May need visual support to understand or process spoken language.
•  May need augmented communication systems Frequent misunderstandings.
•  Repetition of language and some basic language needs to be used to aid their understanding.

Speech / Expressive Language:
•  May use simplified language and limited vocabulary.
•  Ideas / conversations may be difficult to follow, with the need to request frequent clarification.
•  Some immaturities in the speech sound system.
•  Grammar / phonological awareness still fairly poor and therefore their literacy can be affected.

Cognition and Learning:
May have difficulties with the skills needed for effective learning such as use of:
•  Language
•  Language, memory and reasoning skills
•  Sequencing and organisational skills
•  An understanding of number
•  Problem-solving and concept development skills
•  Fine and gross motor skills
•  Independent learning skills
•  Exercising choice
•  Decision making
•  Information processing

Children may have a specific learning disability such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia or dysgraphia.

Social, Mental and Emotional health
May have difficulties with social and emotional development which may lead to or stem from:
•  Social isolation
•  Behaviour difficulties
•  Attention difficulties (ADHD)
•  Anxiety and depression
•  Attachment disorders
•  Low self esteem
•  Issues with self-image

Sensory and/or Physical
These pupils may have a medical or genetic condition that could lead to difficulties with:
•  Specific medical conditions
•  Gross / fine motor skills
•  Visual / hearing impairment
•  Accessing the curriculum without adaptation
•  Physically accessing the building(s) or equipment.
•  Over sensitivity to noise / smells / light / touch / taste.
•  Toileting / self-care.

Access Arrangements

For some students additional arrangements and adjustments can be made to enable them to fully access a range of tests. This is might include:

•  additional time
•  a reader
•  a prompt
•  rest breaks 
•  use of a scribe 
•  word processor
•  provision for practical assistance for students with a physical disability at the time of the exam or test.

Key staff assess eligibility when students are in Year 9 and will make the necessary applications for these arrangements where appropriate.  A letter is sent home to parents/carers explaining if any Access Arrangements have been granted for their child.

Access Arrangements replicate the way in which a pupil normally works in class, and fully reflect an established need. Access Arrangements do not offer an advantage to any pupil, and are only put into place when there is a clear and established barrier to learning which can be evidenced through assessment and intervention in usual working practice.

Medical Support

Moor End Academy is an inclusive community that welcomes and supports students with medical conditions and needs.

Miss H Ashcroft, ensures that all staff and members of the governing body, understand their duty of care and are informed and regularly trained about medical conditions. All supply and temporary staff are informed of their responsibilities to support students with identified medical needs.

Miss Ashcroft works closely with the following stakeholders, to support all students with health and medical needs.

• Parents and carers
• School/community nurse
• The Executive Principal and the Head of School
• Teachers
• Special Educational Needs Coordinator
• Student support team
• Members of staff trained in first aid
• All other staff
• Local healthcare professionals
• School Governors
• Transport provider
• Catering provider

This support includes the following:
•  Meeting with parents/carers to discuss their concerns within a confidential environment
•  Making sure staff are updated on student’s medical needs
•  Prepare Healthcare Plans
•  Organising training and obtaining advice from relevant health professionals to meet student’s individual needs
•  Arranging for school nurse referrals
•  Oversee the administering of medication including asthma inhalers
•  Meeting with students with various medical conditions

Additionally Resourced Provision - Visual Impairment

An Introduction

Kirklees Council supports children and young people with autism, physical impairments, speech language & communication needs, hearing or visual impairment through a group of Additionally Resourced Provisions. These are additionally resourced bases within mainstream schools that make sure children who need it get extra support and help from specialist teachers and support staff.

Moor End Academy is proud to be the host of one the Additionally Resourced Provision for visual impairment within Kirklees. The Academy has 12 permanent places for secondary aged students with severe visual impairment. In addition, the provision provides outreach support for secondary aged students who have a visual impairment in their local mainstream schools.

At Moor End Academy we believe that all students should be respected and valued as an individual and achieve their potential. All students within the Additionally Resourced Provision are included in mainstream lessons with additional support from a specialist team of staff. As for all students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities they receive a creative, varied yet balanced curriculum which is differentiated to meet individual needs so that they can learn and make progress.

Through appropriate assessments and knowledge of the children and young people within the Additionally Resourced Provision, we are able to provide modified resources and interventions.

Visual Impairment

The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2014) says that there are four main areas, which cover Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
•  Communication and Interaction
•  Cognition and Learning
•  Social, Mental and Emotional health
•  Sensory and/or Physical

Visual Impairment (VI) is included as part of Sensory. Many children and young people wear glasses prescribed by their local optician, but do not require additional support within school and so would not need additional support from the Additionally Resourced Provision.

The children and young people that are supported by the Additionally Resourced Provision have a medical diagnosis of a visual impairment from a specialist doctor called an ophthalmologist.

This may lead to:
•  Difficulties accessing the curriculum without adaptations.
•  Moving around the building.
•  Difficulties in their learning and understanding.
•  Social difficulties.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has some excellent advice and support for parents and carers of children with a visual impairment. Their website can be found here.

 
Additionally Resourced Provision Staff

- Your Lead Teacher for Additionally Resourced Provision:

Ms Laura Foden
I oversee and lead the support to all Secondary aged students with a visual impairment who attend a mainstream school.

My job includes:
•  Organising the teachers and support staff within the Additionally Resourced Provision to make sure we give the best support to the students who need it.
•  Advice and support to teachers on how to plan and adapt work for students with visual impairments.
•  Working with outside agencies e.g. Ophthalmology, Careers Services and Educational Psychologists.
•  Assessment of students’ visual impairment needs to help us to plan for them.
•  Meeting with parents and carers to discuss how we can work to support their child or for formal meetings such as Annual Reviews.

As the lead teacher I have studied the following qualification;
•  Mandatory Qualification for Teachers of Children with Visual Impairment (BPhil)

- Teachers of Visual Impairment   

Teachers have a variety of roles; some work in a dual role working within the provision and as part of our specialist outreach across Kirklees.

• Assessment of functional vision
• Advice and support to teachers on how to plan and adapt work for students with visual impairments in line with quality first teaching and the graduated approach. 
• Working with outside agencies e.g. Ophthalmology, Careers Services and Educational Psychologists.
• Assessment of students’ visual impairment needs to help us to plan for them.
• Meeting with parents and carers to discuss how we can work to support their child or for formal meetings such as Annual Reviews.

- Educational Teaching Assistants (ETA)

They will work with your child supporting them in lessons. Or they may work 1:1 with your child on a specific programme of work e.g. touch typing, braille or towards a specific outcome on their Education, Health and Care Plan.

- Braille and Visual Resources Technicians 

The technicians modify resources and adapt technology. They may work with your child to teach them how to use software or technology to help them to do their work.

- VI Break/Lunchtime Supervisor

The role of the VI lunchtime supervisor is to provide lunchtime support to students with visual impairment.

- Habilitation Officers

They will work with your child outside of the school grounds to teach them additional skills to help them to get around. E.g. how to catch a bus, for children who are blind they teach cane skills. When your child starts a new school or goes to College, they will help them to learn how to get to and around the new building.

If your child needs additional mobility work they will get in touch with you to get your permission and discuss what mobility skills you think your child might need and explain what they are going to do.

Parents are highly appreciative of the guidance offered by the visual impairment team. This support has helped children and young people to develop confidence and independence.

Joint area SEND inspection in Kirklees (May 2022)

 

Additional Support and Interventions

All the students that are part of the Additionally Resourced Provision require things that are different or additional to their friends to help them to achieve.

Things that might help them;
•  Specialist teaching from a Teacher of Visual Impairment.
•  Support in lessons from a specialist Educational Teaching Assistant.
•  Training in use of Low Vision Aids (e.g. magnifiers).
•  Access to Specialist Technology (e.g. CCTV, ipads, modified laptops).
•  Provision of modified large print or braille for all lessons.
•  Access to Mobility/Habilitation Officers.
•  Additional support for exams (Access Arrangements e.g. readers, scribes, practical assistants).

We use an ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ to look at what is working well and where your child may need more help. You are welcome to attend these interventions to talk about how your child is doing.

FAQs – Visual Impairment

How will you know if children or young people need extra help?
If you think, your child is having trouble seeing things you should take them to see your local optician. Signs that your child may be having problems with their sight could include;  sitting too close to the TV, rubbing their eyes a lot, holding objects very close to the face, blinking a lot or one eye turning either in or out. The NHS recommends that all children have their vision checked every 2 years. More information can be found on their website here.

Your child may just need glasses to help them to see things. This does not mean they will need support from the Additionally Resourced Provision. If your optician thinks they may have an underlying visual impairment which needs further investigation they will advise you what you will need to do next.

The children and young people that are supported by the Additionally Resourced Provision need to have a medical diagnosis of a visual impairment by a specialist doctor called an ophthalmologist. We also support secondary aged students in their local mainstream schools who have a visual impairment through outreach. Referrals are taken from Ophthalmology and SENDCos in schools.

If you have concerns about your child in Moor End Academy or their local school in this area you could speak to;
•  Your child’s form tutor.
•  Your child’s SENDCo.
•  The Teacher for VI that supports your child.
•  The Lead Teacher for VI.

If your child needs extra support in school due to their visual impairment speak to their SENDCo can make a referral for outreach support.

What is the entry requirement for a place within the Additionally Resourced Provision?
A young person will be considered for a permanent place within the provision at Moor End Academy if they meet the following criteria:

• The young person has an EHCP and has been assessed as having exceptional or profound visual impairment (VI) identified as a primary need, typically with level A or B top-up funding.

AND

• Is registered as sight impaired or severely sight impaired.

 OR

• requires a transitional/assessment place due to:

The young person has a sudden onset visual impairment or deterioration which requires intensive support for a period of time delivered by specialists in visual impairment

They have moved into the area with significant visual difficulties and require more detailed specialist assessment in order to determine provision

All Students in the provision will:

• need to access specialist VI knowledge, skills, technology or resources not usually available in a mainstream school due to their visual impairment.

• be able to access some areas of the mainstream curriculum but will need it presented in a highly personalised and flexible way due to their visual impairment.

• require ongoing specialist support relating to their exceptional or profound visual impairment provided by qualified, specialist staff.

• require a specialist environment, a significantly differentiated curriculum and a high level of specialist VI intervention that would be difficult to maintain in a mainstream school without an additionally resourced provision

• need access to a high level of VI specialist equipment, technology and resources on an ongoing basis, beyond what a mainstream setting can be expected to provide.

• benefit from working with a peer group that includes learners with similar profound VI needs.

• be able to benefit from some access to a mainstream curriculum and peer group as part of person centred personalised provision which fully takes into account their individual needs.

How will children and young people with visual impairments be supported?
As for all students at the Academy, their lessons are planned and delivered by the teachers in the Academy for the majority of their timetable. It is important that the teaching your child receives is good teaching from a subject specialist. The Additionally Resourced Provision staff give advice and support and additional help your child may need in their lessons.

Students with visual impairments often receive support from different staff. How often they are supported depends on their specific needs. We make sure they have modified large print or braille and specialist technology if needed to make sure they can be as independent as possible.

Sometimes to help children and young people with a visual impairment they need part of additional curriculum teaching to help them. Your child may receive some extra teaching or training by a member of staff from the Additionally Resourced Provision in things that they need help with because of their visual impairment e.g. independent travel skills or specialist careers advice.

Every half term we do interventions with all the students in the Additionally Resourced Provision. We use an ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ to look at what is working well and where your child may need more help. You are welcome to attend these interventions to talk about how your child is doing.

 

For students with needs in addition to their visual impairment bespoke arrangements and curriculum delivery will be considered as a way to meet their individual needs.

How will the curriculum be matched to my child or young person’s needs?
The curriculum in all schools is planned so that every student can learn and understand what they need to do in all their lessons. Teachers change and adapt lessons to make sure everyone in the class can achieve and learn at their own levels. Work is designed to raise aspirations and develop confidence in their ability to learn.

Children and young people with visual impairment often need extra support; this will be planned by the teachers of visual impairment, other teachers and regularly discussed with you.

This could include:
•  Specialist teaching from a Teacher of Visual Impairment.
•  Training to Staff.
•  Support in lessons from a Specialist Educational Teaching Assistant.
•  Training in use of Low Vision Aids (e.g. magnifiers).
•  Access to Specialist Technology (e.g. CCTV, ipads, modified laptops).
•  Provision of modified large print or braille for all lessons.
•  Access to Mobility/Habilitation Officers.
•  Additional support for exams (Access Arrangements e.g. readers, scribes, practical assistants).

How will both you and I know how my child or young person is doing and how will you help me to support their learning?
We regularly look at how students are doing in their lessons as well as the levels they are achieving. By doing this we can make sure, they are getting the right support to help them.

Every half term we do interventions with all the students in the Additionally Resourced Provision. We use an ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ to look at what is working well and where your child may need more help. You are welcome to attend these interventions to talk about how your child is doing.

Where students are not making expected progress we:
•  Speak to parents and carers.
•  Meet with teachers to discuss and plan ways to support you child.
•  Consider the need to involve outside agencies.

All the students in the Additionally Resourced Provision have a Education Health Care Plan which means that a formal Annual Review will take place to discuss progress and a report will be written at least once a year. Parents are invited to attend these meeting as well as staff from the Additionally Resourced Provision and other staff from the Academy or outside agencies e.g. Careers.

What support will there be for my child or young person’s overall wellbeing?
All staff appreciate the importance of young people having high self-esteem in order to achieve positive wellbeing. Each year group is led by a Learning Leader. Your child will also have a form tutor who should be your child’s first point of contact for any worries or concerns.

The form tutor can liaise with the SENDCo if they feel your child requires additional intervention or support; this may then involve working with outside agencies where appropriate.

If your child has a recognised medical need, a health care plan will be created to ensure this need is managed effectively.

What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the setting, school or college?
Moor End Academy is proud to be the host of one the Additionally Resourced Provisions for Visual Impairment within Kirklees.  The Academy has 12 permanent places for secondary aged students with severe visual impairment. In addition, the Additionally Resourced Provision provides outreach support for Secondary aged students in their local mainstream schools who have a visual impairment.

The Additionally Resourced Provision has staff that specialise in visual impairment. They receive extra training in VI to help them to support your child.

The academy has a specially resourced provision for students with special educational needs, managed by the local authority. Twelve students with a visual impairment are supported by this unit and are fully integrated into the Academy.

 Ofsted (2012)

The academy has a specially resourced provision for students with special educational needs, managed by the local authority. Twelve students with a visual impairment are supported by this unit and are fully integrated into the Academy.

A higher than average proportion of students gain five or more GCSEs at grades A* to G. This enables almost all students, including disabled students and those with special educational needs, to progress to education, training or employment at age 16. For example, all four visually impaired students in Year 11 have progressed to A level courses post-16. The high- quality and extensive provision of modified learning resources using enlarged print, Braille and tactile graphics makes an invaluable contribution to the progress made by visually impaired students. These students receive sensitively tailored support for their individual needs which develops their skills and confidence to live more independently.

Moor End Academy Inspection report June 2012

In special provision, and in some further education provision, children and young people are making very good progress. They are securing relevant qualifications and gaining self-confidence. They are supported to learn how to manage their feelings and behaviour. There is a focus on next steps with effective careers advice to prepare young people for the experiences of a work environment.

Joint area SEND inspection in Kirklees (May 2022)

 

What staff training is in place to support children and young people with visual impairment?
The Additionally Resourced Provision has staff that specialise in visual impairment. They receive extra training in visual impairment to help them to support your child.

The Additionally Resourced Provision team have offered training for teaching and support staff. Training varies from school to school. It will depend upon their previous knowledge of visual impairment and how much training they have had before.

At Moor End Academy, all staff receive annual training and updates throughout the year. Staff are supplied with ways to help information sheers for individual students. For new teachers an additional training session is held as part of their induction to the Academy.

Typically, training is customised to teach staff about your child’s specific eye conditions and needs. It will help staff to understand how they can best support your child to achieve.

We also deliver peer awareness sessions, to help your child’s friends understand the difficulties your child may have because of their visual impairment and how they can help them.

We work closely with the Ophthalmology Services at both Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and Dewsbury District Hospital. The medical staff who work specifically with people with visual impairment share information about your child’s eye condition and vision. This helps us to make sure that the advice and support we are giving to your child is up to date and accurate.

How will my child or young person be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips?
The students with a visual impairment at Moor End Academy are a full part of an inclusive Academy community. They are welcomed to attend and be a part of all extra-curricular activities and opportunities offered by the Academy, including visits. All students are accompanied by a member of staff who has experience in working with young people with a visual impairment. Most often this is an educational teaching assistant from the Additionally Resourced Provision.

Students have taken part in;

• Skiing trips - residential
• Trip to Germany - residential
• 3D day trip to NG Bailey – local businesses
• Regular visits to local Colleges
• Accessible sporting events
• Helping to coach the school football team
• Supporting at open evening
• Working in the school garden
• DJ workshops
• Goalball courses and events
• Whole school reward trips
• Musical performance at local care home
• Trip to local attractions – Thackray Museum, Yorvik and
• Accessible theatre trips – panto and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Audio described theatre performances at MEA

All students are welcome to attend enrichment clubs, but please be aware student transport cannot be rearranged to accommodate this if it is after 3pm.

We currently have students who are Student Leaders and have extra responsibilities around Academy.

How accessible is your environment for children and young people with a visual impairment?
All students who join the Additionally Resourced Provision at Moor End Academy work closely with a habilitation officer as part of their transition. They have regular visits to learn their way around the Academy to make sure they can move around the building safely before they start.

The habilitation officers also work closely with the Academy to advise on appropriate adaptations to the building, for example markings on stairs and blind or curtains in classrooms.

How will you prepare and support my child or young person to join the setting, school or college, and how will you support them to move on the next stage of education, or move on to adult life?

Students who join the Additionally Resourced Provision have many chances to come and visit Moor End Academy as part of their transition from primary school. They will meet all the staff and other students and look around the base. All students will have extra visits with a mobility or habilitation officer to help them to learn how to get around the building.

Students work closely with a Careers Advisor to make sure your child knows all the choices they can make for choosing their next steps in education or work. Parents and carers are welcome to attend these meetings. They will get the opportunity to visit colleges as part of the Academy visits and often, additional visits are organised when they have chosen their courses. Students will have extra visits with a mobility or habilitation officer to help them to learn how to get around their new building.

How are decisions made about what type and how much support my child or young person will receive?
We use the NatSIP Eligibility Criteria to band children according to their level of need. This detailed list of questions considering what a child may need. For example, level of visual impairment, the training a school might need or if the child uses print or braille to read. We use the same criteria for children and young people within the Additionally Resourced Provision and those who are supported through outreach.

This then helps us to make sure the support and resources we give to your child matches their individual needs. We can make sure our resources and staff are shared in the way that helps all children and young people with a visual impairment.

Below are some examples of children in different bands.

Student 1 – Band 1 (Outreach)
Student 1 was born blind, but Doctors do not know why. His parents chose for him to attend his local secondary school with his friends from primary school. He has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for his visual impairment. He uses braille and a laptop which has specialist software on it that speaks everything he types or clicks on.

The teacher of visual impairment works closely with his parents, teachers and his teaching assistant to make sure that he can access the curriculum. The school have received lots of training on how to support Student 1. The teacher of visual impairment goes into his school weekly to teach him braille. He works regularly with a habilitation officer to practice using his cane and he is learning how to use buses to get into Huddersfield.

Student 2 – Band 2 (Additionally Resourced Provision)
Student 2 is in Y10 has Oculo-Cutaneous Albinism which means she has a severe visual impairment, for which she has an ECHP. She uses size 24 font and an ipad in lessons. When she uses the computers in the Academy she has modified settings which make the icons bigger and she uses a magnifying mouse.

The teacher of visual impairment supports her in geography lessons as Student 2 finds this subject very difficult due to her visual impairment. In other lessons she has support from specialist ETAs. The Lead Teacher has worked closely with the Exams Officer in school to make sure all the access arrangements Student 2 needs are in place ready for her GCSE exams.

Student 3 – Band 3 (Outreach)
Student 3 is in Y11 and has retinitis pigmentosa which affects his peripheral vision. He does not need larger font as long as his teachers make sure worksheets are clear and not cluttered. He has been practicing touch-typing to help him in case his vision gets worse.

The teacher of visual impairment monitors Student 3’s vision and meets with him and the SENDCo every term. He has been working with the habilitation worker to practice his routes to and from his new college.

Student 4 –Band 4 (Outreach)
Student 4 has Nystagmus, which means that her eyes move side to side, this can make her vision blurry and gets worse when she is tired or stressed. She does not need large print and can use a computer with a normal setup. Student 4 finds it difficult to keep up in class when she has to write or read things quickly.

The teacher of visual impairment visited Student 4 at the start of term, observed her in class, and had a meeting with her teachers. All the staff know what they need to do to help Student 4, if they need anymore help they know how to contact the teacher of visual impairment.

Staff from specialist provision work with teachers in mainstream schools to help them to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with sensory impairment and/or physical disabilities. This expertise is helping teachers in mainstream schools to improve the support available for children and young people with these needs.

Joint area SEND inspection in Kirklees (May 2022)

 

Who can I contact for further information?
If you have concerns about your child in Moor End Academy or their local school, you could speak to;
•  Your child’s form tutor.
•  Your child’s SENDCo.
•  The Teacher for VI that supports your child.
•  The Lead Teacher for VI.

For specific information about the Additionally Resourced Provision for Visual Impairment (Secondary) you should contact:

Laura Foden (The Lead Teacher for VI)
Lfoden@moorend.spacademies.org
01484 222230

For information about Kirklees Additionally Resourced Provision support please visit this Kirklees Local Offer page.  For information on specialist outreach please visit this Kirklees Local offer page

Or contact:

Clare Burdett (Strand Lead for Sensory and Physical Impairment)
clare.burdett@kirklees.gov.uk

Kelly Smith (Specialist Outreach Provision Administrator)
kelly.smith@kirklees.gov.uk
01924 483744

Lynne Hopkins (Specialist Outreach Provision Administrator)
Lynne.hopkins@kirklees.gov.uk
01924 483744

EAL Department

At Moor End Academy we welcome students from all over the world. Many of our students speak a language other than English and some have English as a second/additional language. The EAL department offers English language support to those who are not yet competent in English. The key aim of the department is to ensure students have full access the full curriculum and supporting their personal development and welfare.

The EAL department strive to ensure students:
• feel welcome, motivated and supported by the department and the Academy,
• enjoy learning English,
• become increasingly confident, competent and independent listeners, speakers, readers and writers,
• make good progress in English, setting challenging and achievable targets,
• have access to the curriculum in all subject areas,
• have opportunity to develop skills in their heritage language.

EAL Provision

The EAL provision at Moor End Academy has been developed to help students to settle in as quickly as possible. This includes:

On arrival and prior to admission:

• Students have an induction meeting with parents and their Head of Year where key documentation will be shared. Translators may be available if required.
• They will have a short assessment of their English skills and non-verbal reasoning so that we can see how best to support them. Students will try to be placed in classes according to their academic potential and previous educational experience.

On admission and welcome packs:

• Key information is provided to new arrivals containing useful school and subject information
• Essential classroom equipment can be provided if necessary.
• Students are provided with a bilingual dictionary and a vocabulary book to note key subject specific vocabulary which can be translated into their heritage language.
• New students are introduced to a student buddy who will look after them while they settle in. Where possible this will be a student who speaks the same heritage language. The buddies show their new friends around the Academy and take care of them during breaks and lunchtimes.
• Key staff who will be working with the students will be introduced to them. As well as developing and improving their use of English, we attach a great deal of importance to the students’ well-being.

Ongoing support:

• Support is offered at a range of levels and is tailored to the student’s individual needs. Depending on their level of English, students may receive weekly individual, or small group sessions to develop fluency in reading, writing and/or speaking. More advanced EAL learners are usually supported in mainstream lessons such as English, Maths and Science. All students are encouraged to attend afterschool homework clubs and subject booster sessions.
• Heritage languages of EAL students are valued and where possible the students are encouraged to sit GCSE exams in their first language.
• We encourage EAL students to take part in the variety of extra-curricular activities which happen every day after school. This is an excellent way for students to practise their English outside of the classroom and make new friends.
• If a student has been in England for less than two years they may be able to have 25% additional time in GCSE exams.

EAL Grading and Learner Codes

We use the Department for Education’s English proficiency scale to assess student’s level of language:

English proficiency   A: New to English: May use first language for learning and other purposes. May remain completely silent in the classroom. May be copying/repeating some words or phrases. May understand some everyday expressions in English but may have minimal or no literacy in English. Needs a considerable amount of EAL support.   B: Early acquisition: May follow day-to-day social communication in English and participate in learning activities with support. Beginning to use spoken English for social purposes. May understand simple instructions and can follow narrative/accounts with visual support. May have developed some skills in reading and writing. May have become familiar with some subject specific vocabulary. Still needs a significant amount of EAL support to access the curriculum.   C: Developing competence: May participate in learning activities with increasing independence. Able to express self orally in English, but structural inaccuracies are still apparent. Literacy will require ongoing support, particularly for understanding text and writing. May be able to follow abstract concepts and more complex written English. Requires ongoing EAL support to access the curriculum fully.   D: Competent: Oral English will be developing well, enabling successful engagement in activities across the curriculum. Can read and understand a wide variety of texts. Written English may lack complexity and contain occasional evidence of errors in structure. Needs some support to access subtle nuances of meaning, to refine English usage, and to develop abstract vocabulary. Needs some/occasional EAL support to access complex curriculum material and tasks.   E: Fluent: Can operate across the curriculum to a level of competence equivalent to that of a pupil who uses English as his/her first language. Operates without EAL support across the curriculum.   N: Not Yet Assessed is also available for use where the school has not yet had time to assess proficiency.