Identified concern:

Access to appropriate educational provision for all students

Objective:

Increase capacity in Southfield to create an additional 50 places.

Aim:

To increase the school pan so that we can offer more places to those that need the most specialist provision

Action:

• convert space within the building to increase classroom capacity (5 additional classrooms)
• Increase staffing across the year to accommodate 5 extra class groups
• Increase other resources; including care and pastoral resources, to meet the increased needs

Responsibility:

Head of School and SLT

Timescales:

By the end of academic year 23-24

Success criteria:

Additional classroom space

5 new teachers

A minimum of 10 LSAs

Review:

Termly by AGC

Identified concern:

All staff and pupils have a voice and are able to contribute to the development of the school

Objective:

To ensure that staff and pupils are provided with the opportunities to have their say

Aim:

Ass students will have the appropriate communication tools to share their views and all staff and students will be provided a range of formal opportunities to have their say

Action:

• Staff are appropriately trained and school is appropriately resourced to enable all students to communicate
• The student council will be representative of the school community and will include students who need AAC tools/devices to share views
• staff will have forums to provide feedback to SLT and support decision-making

Responsibility:

Head of school, SLT and Pastoral Team

Timescales:

By end of academic year 24-25

Success criteria:

Staff will have had training in Augmentative & Alternative Communication and students will be able to effectively communicate.

There will be a clear and planned process for staff and student forums to share views and have impact upon how Southfield runs.

Review:

AGC

Identified concern:

The profile of leadership within the school reflects the communities we serve

Objective:

Attract and upskill teachers that represent different ethnicities and communities.

Aim:

Have a more diverse group of staff leading the school; including the members of the AGC

Action:

• Review how and where jobs are advertised
• work with existing staff to upskill and motivate
• Provide taster opportunities

Responsibility:

Head of School

Timescales:

By end of academic year 25-26

Success criteria:

School leaders are made up of a diverse range of people from differing communities that better represent the community the school serves.

Review:

Annually by AGC

Identified concern:

That all pupils have the opportunity to contribute to their own learning and EHCP targets/outcomes; and can contribute to their Education Health Care Plan review and successes.

Objective:

To ensure that all students, irrespective of their special educational needs are given a voice, and are allowed to communicate through a range of appropriate ways to level of needs, comprehension and understanding.

Aim:

To ensure all pupils EHCPs reflect their involvement through showcasing their achievements and making their wants and needs known.

Outcome:

The majority of our students, due to their individual learning and complex needs do not have the capacity to contribute to their own outcomes and targets and these are drawn up with information, advice and guidance from all stakeholders involved with the young person. All students do contribute, through appropriate means specific to their needs, towards their annual review and Education and Health Plan (EHCP.) This is captured in the ‘student views’ section at the beginning of the cycle of the review. This is where they can reflect on achievements, express any wants and needs and set goals for their future.

Some students who do have the cognitive ability to contribute towards outcomes and targets are encouraged to drive their learning towards their own goals and aspirations.

The progress sections within the annual review paperwork and the strength section within their EHCP are completed at the end of each cycle. To complete this the school uses student evidence gathered throughout the year, these are based on the young person's specific and personalised outcomes and annual targets from their areas of need.

Identified concern:

That attendance issues are tackled fairly with no discrimination and equal expectation, to enable all students to make progress.

Objective:

To ensure that all students have the equal opportunity to access learning.

To monitor attendance weekly ensuring school is aware of any potential long term absence (5 days).

Aim:

To ensure that a range of ways of supporting attendance are implemented to facilitate improved attendance and punctuality for students identified as having a low attendance percentage (excluding medical absences).

To ensure that those students who are medically unable to attend school are having appropriate learning.

Outcome:

5 day absence tracking is now thoroughly embedded into the attendance process at Co-op Academy Southfield.

Collaborative working with families and partner agencies, alongside a strengthened system of attendance warning and concern letters is now in place at Co-op Academy Southfield.

Each term within the 22-23 academic year shows a significant reduction in persistent absence (<90%) from the same term within the previous two academic years, and significantly below pre-Covid levels.

Severe absence (<50%) in the 22-23 academic year shows a termly reduction when compared to the previous two academic years, and significantly below pre-Covid levels.

All but one pupil now have an in-school learning offer and for the individual identified by consultants as too medically unwell to attend there is a dual offer from the MNHES service, alongside regular welfare input from the school, ensuring their learning continues.

Identified concern:

An increase over time in consultations from the Local Authority for student places for students with increasingly complex medical care plans needing more health and therapy provision, which NHS services struggle to support adequately

Objective:

To appropriately meet need in both special educational and health care needs as the number of students with complex needs increases, and the complexity of care plans continues to rise.

Aim:

To ensure that the classroom and school environment is designed to best meet the needs of students with complex health care needs, and that staff are properly trained and clinically supervised to ensure that all standards of care are fulfilled to the required standard.

Outcome:

Significant work has been undertaken to transfer onto the new LA paperwork for EHCPs, enabling a higher level of QC to be done on EHCPs at review. Missing contributions from the NHS services are being monitored and followed up.

The next stage of building development has now been completed, and students will be occupying this space fully from October half-term 2023. The next tranche of students for the increased numbers are predicted to join the school in January 2024.