Montem Academy

Local Offer

Montem Academy is a well-established, four form entry, mainstream primary school with over 900 pupils aged 3 – 11 on roll and a small number of rising 3 year olds in the Nursery.

Who to contact

Contact name
Ann Probert
Contact position
Executive Principal
Telephone
01753 528050 01753 528050
E-mail
maoffice@theparkfederation.org
Website
Montem Academy
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Where to go

Name
Montem Academy
Address
Chalvey Grove
Slough
Berkshire
Postcode

SL1 2TE

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Time/date details

When is it on
Open Monday to Friday during term time only from 8.50 until 3.30.
Session information
Limited Breakfast club spaces are available from 8.00a.m. Limited after school clubs are available on some days from 3.30 until 4.30.

Costs

£1 per day  Before School

Availability

Other notes

Montem Academy provides mainstream education for pupils within the Chalvey and east Cippenham catchment area. The school can meet the needs of pupils with moderate additional needs.

Childcare information

Funded places

3/4 year old funding
Yes
2 year old funding
No

Local Offer

Description

Please visit the school website for the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Policy

Contact name
Rebecca Dunning
Contact telephone
01753 528050
Contact email
rdunningma@theparkfederation.org
Local Offer age bands
Primary (4-10 years)

Schools extended Local Offer response

Special Educational Needs policy

Montem Academy aims to provide pupils with special educational needs with the same quality of education and access to learning and activities as for all its pupils so that they are able to meet their full potential.  The Ofsted inspection of November 2016 affirmed that ‘Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities achieve well.’ 

Our Special Educational Needs Policy can be found on our school website. 

Policies linked to the SEN policy – Equality Policy and Accessibility Plan, Equal Opportunities, Behaviour and Anti Bullying, Intimate Care Policy, Positive Handling Policy and Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy.

We are able to support pupils with a varying degree of difficulty over a range of needs from: 

  • Speech and Language and Communication Needs
  • Moderate Learning Difficulties
  • Sensory and Physical Impairments e.g. hearing and visual difficulties
  • Physical Disability
  • Social and Emotional Difficulties
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
  • Attachment difficulties
Teaching and learning

Children learn and develop at different rates and have their own particular strengths and difficulties. We aim to meet the needs of all our learners by delivering outstanding teaching and classroom practice.  

A variety of strategies and systems are in place to support those pupils who are at any time finding it more difficult to achieve and succeed with their learning. These strategies often include, differentiating the lessons and adapting the resources so that all children can access the curriculum. Additional adult support or alternative interventions are often available to ensure that the children develop their confidence and are able to make steps of progress towards meeting their targets.  

Ofsted recognises the superb planning and outstanding teaching which takes account of pupil’s starting points, makes good use of assessment and ensures that the right amount of challenge is provided to enable all pupils to make at least good and sometimes better progress.  

Our pupils including those with special educational needs are encouraged to ‘show persistence, work productively and attack tasks with vim and vigour’.  

For those children who have been identified as having special educational needs which may hinder their learning the school is able to draw up on its own expertise or that of specialist outside agencies to provide extra provision via:

  • Differentiated planning and teaching of the curriculum.
  • Small group work during the lesson with the teacher or a learning support assistant.
  • Small group work outside the lesson to focus on specific and targeted areas of learning
  • Individualised learning support
  • Support with behavioural needs
  • Support for health needs
  • Support for physical or sensory needs
  • Speech and Language development
  • Individual tutoring in a specific subject area
  • Support with social or emotional needs
  • Support through our break out space – The Garden Room
  • Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSA)
Identifying and assessing Special Educational Needs

At Montem Academy, we believe that early identification of a pupil’s needs is crucial to being able to offer the help the child needs to overcome their difficulties and to make progress with their learning as early support can often help children to succeed. 

Children may be identified as having a special educational need by:  

  • Concerns raised by parents/carers
  • Concerns raised by teachers/staff, including previous schools
  • Lower than expected levels of achievement
  • Information shared by professionals such as health professionals, speech and language therapists or educational psychologists etc.  

In the early stages teachers are best placed to assess the child’s progress and highlight areas where support may be needed.  

Pupils who are not making progress and for whom teachers are concerned, are discussed with Senior Leaders and their progress is monitored at regular inclusion meetings.  

Interventions and or support are put in place and the impact of the support is reviewed after 6 weeks. Next steps are discussed and put in place as appropriate.  

The special needs support staff have regular meetings with professionals such as Educational Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists and health services where the needs of pupils are discussed and information is shared. The professionals can offer advice or more direct support.

Involving parents and children/young people in planning and reviewing progress

At Montem Academy we respect and value children’s views. We aspire to develop children’s confidence to enable them to have a voice and share their opinions. Children are able to communicate their feelings and opinions by whichever medium they feel most comfortable with e.g. using visual aids, drawing pictures, signing, writing, or using speech.  

Parent’s views, their knowledge and experience of their child are invaluable to us in providing a fuller picture of their child’s abilities and needs. Parent’s views and opinions are sought at every step.  

Interpreters can be provided for any parent needing this facility to enable them to take part in discussions and meetings about their child’s special educational needs.  

When a child has been identified as having particular difficulties in making progress or accessing the curriculum an Individual Educational Plan (IEP) may be used. These plans set out small achievable targets which help the child to reach their end goals. These plans are shared with both parents and the child, and the progress towards meeting the targets is reviewed once each term.  

Provision maps are also used to demonstrate any additional support the pupil requires in order to make progress.  

Parents of pupils with special educational needs are also invited to regular parent’s evenings but are welcome to request a meeting at any time to discuss their child’s progress.  

Parents may be asked to attend meetings with outside agency professionals who might be supporting the school or working directly with their child to discuss the impact of the support and the child’s progress.

Additional support

For some children with special educational needs the involvement of specialist outside agency support will be needed. Parents will be involved in the referral process and referral will only proceed with parental permission. This support may be sought from any of the following agencies who support schools in Slough:

  • Speech and Language Therapy Service
  • Educational Psychology Service
  • School Nursing Service
  • Social and Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties Outreach Service
  • Littledown School Outreach Service
  • Autism Outreach Service
  • Learning Difficulties and Disabilities Team
  • Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Services
  • Sensory Consortium Service
  • Children and Adolescents Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
  • Parent Partnership
  • Children's Services - Social Care
  • Children Looked After service
Extra activities

Children at Montem Academy are encouraged to attend Extra Curricular activities and trips regardless of any disability or difficulty they may have. The school will make reasonable adjustments to include all its pupils in the extra activities and trips on offer.

Thorough risk assessments are carried out to identify any areas of risk or potential difficulty before the trip or activity takes place. Individual Risk Assessments are carried out for those pupils who may require additional support to access an extra activity or trip.

Additional funding for additional support to enable pupils with Education Health Care Plans to participate can be sought.

Meeting social and emotional needs of children/young people

One of Montem Academy’s main aims is to develop the self-esteem and confidence of all of its pupils and to promote wellbeing. All staff are responsible for the emotional and social development of the children in their care.

The school has an Anti-Bullying Policy and a positive Behaviour Policy and we promote and maintain high expectations at all times.

During lessons such as PSHE and R Time (whole class social skills session) and through assemblies pupils are encouraged to be kind and considerate towards each other, to be well mannered and to treat all the school users with respect and courtesy.

Children are taught about bullying (what it is, what causes it and how to deal with it if it occurs).

Ofsted has recognised that Montem Academy is a cohesive school community with pupils who are courteous and polite and that they show high levels of respect for each other.

For those pupils who need extra support to manage their feelings, anger and social skills we are able to offer support from our learning mentor, child and family support workers, youth mental health first aiders and other members of the SEND team who are trained to teach and manage social and emotional needs. Learning mentor, child and family support workers, youth mental health first aiders are able to spend time talking and listening to the pupils to identify ways in which the school is best able to help them. Where this level of support is not sufficient and the school requires more advice we are able to draw upon one of the outside agencies e.g.

  • Educational Psychology
  • Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties Outreach Service
  • Child and Adolescents Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
  • Children’s Services - Social Care
  • Children Looked After service
Keeping up to date with knowledge and skills

At Montem Academy all staff are welcome to attend any of the regular staff INSETs where staff can develop their skills and knowledge.

Where children have been identified with specific conditions every attempt is made to provide training specifically for the teacher and support staff responsible for the child as well as whole school training where it is considered to be beneficial.

Members of the SEND team at Montem Academy attend training to further develop their own areas of expertise.

Our Educational Psychologists are able to deliver bespoke training for the whole school or specific groups of staff tailored to our particular needs. 

Transitions

At Montem Academy we make every attempt to make the transition points through a child’s school career as smooth as possible. For some children detailed transition plans are required over and above the schools usual transition procedures listed as follows:

Entering into Nursery: –

  • Home visits from Nursery staff
  • Introductory visits
  • Phased entry
  • Liaison with Children’s Centres
  • Liaison with Early Support Agencies (including Early Help/Front Door)

Nursery into Reception : -

  • Home visits from Reception Staff
  • Introductory visits
  • Liaison with Nursery staff
  • Phased entry

Between Year groups : -

  • Half day transition visit to new class to meet new teacher

Moving on to Secondary School: -

  • Year 7 Heads of year visit Year 6 classes
  • Secondary SENDCo meets with primary SENDCo
  • Transition day visit to new secondary school
  • Transition group work for 4-6 sessions
  • Extra transition visits as required

For pupils with special educational needs extra meetings to share information between teachers, parents and the SENDCo can be arranged. Other additional arrangements might include:

  • Transition books
  • Transition photo albums
  • Transition focus groups
  • Pupil profiles shared with new teacher
  • Additional visits to new class prior to or post transition day
  • Additional visit to secondary school prior to transition day with staff from primary school e.g. Learning Mentor/SENDCo
  • Transition plan outlining strategies and timeline of support
Helpful contacts

Where parents or pupils have concerns the key members of staff at the school to support with this are:

  • Mrs A Probert – Executive Principal
  • Mr S Hamid – SEND Academy Council Member
  • Mrs R Dunning –SENDCo, Deputy Designated Safeguarding and Mental Health Lead
  • Mrs J Hassan – Vice Principal, Designated Safeguarding and Child Looked After Lead
  • Mr I Turab  – Learning Mentor
  • Mrs R Aldridge – Child and family support worker (Maternity Leave)
  • Ms T Dickson – Child support worker and KS2 Speech and Language Assistant
  • Mrs G Tiwana – Wellbeing and Early Years Speech and Language Assistant
  • Mrs S Chaggar – KS1 Speech and Language Assistant.

Last updated

Last updated - .

Disclaimer

This information has been collected from third party providers. Slough Information and Services Guide and Slough Borough Council cannot accept responsibility for the accuracy of this information and recommend that parents, carers, young people, residents and professionals check with providers regarding DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service), OFSTED and CQC registrations.

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