How does a child get a place at Harry Watts Academy?

New admissions to our school will have an Education Health and Care Plan, with a diagnosis of Autism and a Complex Learning Disability. Sunderland Local Authority is the Admissions Authority for Harry Watts Academy and parents/carers interested in a place for their child should consult with the SEN Office at the Civic Centre in Sunderland. Harry Watts do not commission or offer places themselves.

Prior to commencing at Harry Watts Academy, we endeavour to set up a transition plan appropriate to the child/young person’s needs.  The transition plan may include: a home visit, a visit to the child’s current placement, the child visiting Harry Watts Academy and a phased admission where appropriate.

How much support will my child receive?

All pupils are taught in small classes with the usual class size being eight pupils.  Each class has a teacher and usually two teaching assistants.  This helps to ensure that all pupils receive a balance of whole class, small group and individual teaching.

At Harry Watts, there are three pathways; Engage, Explore and Discover. Each pupil is assessed looking at their profile of strengths and needs, the way in which they learn best, and are then identified on a pathway. Each pathway has it's own classes, and pupils are grouped loosely on age, with a stronger focus on their needs, strengths and compatibility, than in 'year groups'.

Engage and Explore are based at our Redhouse site; Discover is based at our Harraton site. Pupils may move between pathways and sites, dependent on their needs.

 The class teacher ensures that all staff that work with pupils in their class enjoy positive relationships and the staff meet regularly to ensure that they are using consistent and effective approaches for the education and care of each pupil.

If a child’s needs are assessed as exceptional, even within our specialist school setting, the School Leadership Team will ensure that appropriate strategies and support is available to them.

How accessible is the school?

Our buildings are light and spacious with large well equipped classrooms and a number of specialist teaching rooms.

 The sites are safe and secure.  All external and many internal doors have ‘maglocks’ that are unlocked using a fob.

Redhouse is based at Ramilies Road, in Redhouse.

Harraton is based at Fir Tree Avenue, in Harraton.

What resources are available to the school?

All classrooms have high quality ICT facilities to support pupils’ learning including interactive whiteboards and personal computers (PCs).  Pupils also have access to laptops and I Pads.

Most classroom has a small ‘quiet’ room that can be used when pupils need somewhere that is distraction free, and some have designated quiet areas.

Pupils have regular access to specialised teaching rooms such as sensory, soft play, Speech and Language Therapy, food technology, music, art.

Small and large outdoor spaces and play equipment is available to all pupils.

How do pupils travel to school?

The majority of pupils of statutory school age are eligible for free home to school transport which is provided by Sunderland Local Authority.

Pupils may travel on a minibus or a taxi with other children.  In addition to a driver all home to school transport have an escort who is employed to support the children throughout their journey.

At an appropriate time in the secondary department we discuss with parents/carers whether their child may benefit from Independent Travel Training.  This will depend on the individual child and can range from learning how to cross the road or experience different modes of transport to travelling from school to home independently.

What specialist services are available at the school?

A number of professionals work at the school to support our pupils’ health and education including; Speech and Language Therapists; School Health Advisor.

Specialist musicians, artists and sports coaches visit school in order to enrich the curriculum.

Our curriculum is based on the subjects of the National Curriculum and a broad and varied curriculum which offers Functional Skills (English, Maths ICT), Personal and Social Development, Creative Arts, Sport and Leisure, enterprise and work related learning.

What will my child learn at school?

All pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education and life.  There is a strong emphasis on giving the pupils the skills and knowledge that will allow them to contribute to society and live a good quality of life as young adults and in the future.

Specialised approaches are used to support pupils’ individual learning needs:

• Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)

• TEACCH (Autism specific teaching and learning environment)

• Visual supports such as timetables to aid understanding of concepts in lessons.

• Intensive Interaction

• Makaton Signing by adults to support a pupil’s understanding of spoken language

• Speech and language programmes as advised by the speech therapist

• A sensory based curriculum for some pupils

How will I know what progress my child is making at school?

Teachers assess pupils’ progress three times per year, in October, March and June, using a combination of tools to ensure they are able to see progress across all areas of learning and development, not just academic targets. Teachers use programmes and methods such as BSquared, IDL, the Engagement Model to assess the progress, and monitor this through a Pupil Progress report. All targets and outcomes are directly from the individual EHCP outcomes, as this is the main driver of each pupil's curriculum.

SCERTS (Social Communication, Emotional Regulation and Transactional Supports) is an autism specific approach that we use across the school. The SCERTS® Model is a research-based educational approach and multidisciplinary framework that directly addresses the core challenges faced by children with ASD, and their families. SCERTS® focuses on building competence in Social Communication, Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support as the highest priorities that must be addressed in any programme, and is applicable for individuals with a wide range of abilities and ages across home, school and community settings.  At Harry Watts Academy, SCERTS targets are set once per year, at the EHCP review.  Each target is worked on at home and school.  Progress towards the achievement of the target is monitored daily.  A multidisciplinary team set targets.

These processes allow us to monitor the progress of pupils, which in turn informs the setting of new targets for pupils.

A pupil’s progress is discussed with parent/carers.