SEND News
Link Newsletter October 2020
Launch of New Site at The Orchards
Delamere School Honoured in UK Celebration of Teaching
NASEN Inclusive Setting Project
Level 3 Early Years SENCO Award
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Launch of New Site at The Orchards
As schools re-open to all pupils it’s an especially exciting time for The Orchards as they prepare to move into their new site.
Opened in September 2016, the special school for children from nursery up to age 11, serving the north of Trafford, has been at a temporary site at Acre Hall since then.
The new, purpose built site in Stretford boasts state of the art facilities including:
- A hydrotherapy pool
- 4D immersive space
- Soft play
- A range of specialist spaces for activities such as food tech or art
- An occupational therapy room.
There are three videos available on YouTube that give you a virtual tour around what the new site is proposed to look like. See the vision for:
School entrance video on Youtube
School hydrotherapy video on Youtube
Headteacher, Helen O’Brien says,
"This is such an exciting time for our whole school community. It will be my privilege to receive the keys for our new school building and finally give the school the home it deserves. Our staff are excited to continue to provide high quality and accessible learning opportunities for the SEND community in the North of Trafford. I would like to extend my thanks to all who have worked so hard to help us achieve our vision!"
Delamere School Honoured in UK Celebration of Teaching
Award for Making a Difference - Primary School of the Year
Delamere School has been selected from thousands of nominations, we are one of just 76 Silver Award winners across the country. We have been presented with a Silver Award in The Award for Making a Difference - Primary School of the Year for our outstanding commitment to changing the lives of the children we work with every day.
We are now in the running for one of just 14 Gold Awards later in the year, in a programme which will be broadcast on the BBC. This is a great opportunity to celebrate the exceptional school staff who have worked wonders during incredibly challenging time for educators across the country. Fingers crossed we win GOLD!
About the Award:
The Pearson National Teaching Awards is an annual celebration of exceptional teachers, founded in 1998 by Lord Puttnam to recognise the life-changing impact an inspirational teacher can have on the lives of the young people they work with. This year marks its 22nd year of celebrating, award-winning teachers, teaching assistants, headteachers and lecturers across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Delamere School offers an outstanding education for young children with a range of learning difficulties. In addition, they work with local parents to run a series of different classes to help with life outside of school, as well as running inclusion projects with local mainstream schools to help form positive relationships with each other. The school was judged as Outstanding by Ofsted in 2017, it was awarded Centre of Excellence status in 2018 and recently was awarded Investors in People Gold Award in February 2020.
Michael Morpurgo, celebrated author and former Children’s Laureate, and President of the Teaching Awards Trust, said:
“Over the past year, we have, all of us, come to appreciate and respect the value of teachers. They have so often been taken for granted. Not anymore. Parents know now what it takes to teach, and teach well, and how much commitment, dedication and enthusiasm and knowledge and understanding, yes – and patience.
“Children know it too, if they didn’t before. So many missed their teachers as well as their friends. We all honour them today. Let’s now praise them, wish them well and above all, thank them.”
Rod Bristow, President of Pearson UK, said:
“Congratulations to all of our Silver Award winners for their commitment, dedication and passion for their work. Despite the incredible challenges they have faced over the past few months, school staff have risen to the occasion time and again.
“It is so important to recognise and celebrate teacher, teaching assistants and lecturers for the impact they have on our young people every year, and that is why Pearson is delighted to support these Awards.”
Lorraine Langham, Chief Executive of Future First, the education charity sponsoring this award, said:
“Making a difference is what our work at Future First is all about. That's why we sponsored the Making the Difference Award. Delamere School has shown just what can be done and our heartfelt congratulations go to all concerned. A young person’s start in life should not limit their future and through our alumni programmes with schools, students can be motivated and inspired to make the difference themselves and transform their own lives."
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said:
“My warmest congratulations go to all this year’s silver award winners. They should be proud to receive this recognition of their commitment to the profession, and the outstanding education and guidance they provide for their students.
Teachers and school staff up and down the country consistently go above and beyond for their students, and this is especially true over the past few months. It is down to their hard work that schools have been able to open their gates to all pupils again for the start of the new term, and I cannot say thank you enough for everything they have done.”
NASEN Inclusive Setting Project
Trafford Council are pleased to announce that they have been successful in a bid to be part of NASEN’s Inclusive Setting Project for Early Years (EY). This is an exciting project which will be running from December 2020 to March 2021. At the end of the project there will be 23 EY SENCOs from across settings within Trafford who are accredited SEND Reviewers.
Each EY SENCO will attend training delivered by specialist consultants from NASEN. They will then carry out a whole setting review of their policies and practices with regards to Special Educational Need and Disabilities (SEND), with a particular focus on leadership and management and working effectively with parent carers. Following their SEND Review, each setting will then produce a bespoke action plan detailing their setting’s specific areas for improvement.
This project is being supported by Trafford’s two Area SENCOs and the Early Years Educational Psychologist, who will support each setting to complete their SEND Review and quality assure action plans.
Level 3 Early Years SENCO Award
Trafford Council are currently offering the Level 3 Early Years Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator (EY SENCO) Award accreditation. We currently have 34 EY SENCOs working towards this accreditation and on track to qualify before Christmas. Despite the disruption to the delivery of the course due to Covid-19, including a switch to virtual training sessions, we have been impressed with the continued dedication and passion shown by all the SENCOs enrolled on the course.
Having an accredited EY SENCO in place within numerous settings across Trafford will play an integral role in ensuring that settings are promptly identifying and effectively meeting the needs of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).