SEND

 

Welcome to our Special Educational Needs page

 

An overview:

  • Ancora House School staff are experienced in working with learners with wide-ranging special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
  • Each site has its own Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo).
  • Staff receive regular, in-depth, training on a variety of SEND areas.
  • Where learners have stopped attending their current / previous educational settings or have started to struggle in lessons, the staff team have extensive experience of supporting learners to re-engage with education.
  • Ancora House School staff keep in regular contact with home schools / colleges and / or future education provisions to ensure special educational needs are understood; advice is offered regarding supporting learners’ needs in future.
  • Ancora House School recognises that each learner is an individual with their own strengths and positive qualities and aims to help them reach their potential through bespoke teaching and support.

In detail:

SEND - Our approach and offer:

Ancora House School is experienced in catering for a wide range of special educational needs including those connected to social, emotional and mental health. We recognise that all our learners are different but many are affected by the impacts of ADHD / autism / communication and interaction difficulties / OCD / anxiety and many other complex mental health conditions.  

Our Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Coordinators (SENDCos) at Ancora House School are:

  • Ancora House School - hospital site: Sheila Kennedy
  • Ancora House School - community site: Carli Willis

At Ancora House School, our SENDCos have a pivotal role in ensuring that teaching teams receive appropriate guidance regarding understanding individual learners' needs.

Ancora House School aims to ensure that all staff are familiar with a wide range of special educational needs which impact on learning and general functioning. Staff routinely access information and training in order that they can respond effectively and provide learning opportunities which are personalised through adaptive teaching to help young people reach their potential. Where appropriate, specific interventions are also delivered outside of class teaching.

Our SENDCos offer support and advice both within the Ancora team and beyond. They work closely with our partner schools and colleges to advise on ways of working and the support that could be put in place for our learners when they transition back to their original / next education provision. 

 

Autism:

Ancora House School staff have extensive experience of working with autistic learners and aim to employ methods and strategies which fit with related special educational needs and preferences. The Ancora in-patient site, alongside the Ancora House hospital unit has recently gained accreditation through the National Autistic Society achieving an Autism Specialism Award.

 

Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSA):

ELSA is an initiative developed and supported by educational psychologists; Emotional Literacy Support programmes delivered by ELSAs help to support young people with specific emotional needs. Ancora House School currently has 3 ELSAs; where appropriate, they carry out bespoke emotional literacy work with individual young people. Young people explore the skills needed to manage their emotions / relationships. Areas covered often include:

  • Recognising and understanding your own and other people's emotions
  • Building self esteem / confidence 
  • Social skills
  • Relationship skills
  • Learning to be assertive
  • Learning to manage transition / change

 

The part Ancora House School plays in the Education, Health Care process:

An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is a legal document which describes a child or young person's special educational, health and social care needs; it explains the extra support that will be given to meet those needs and how that support will help the young person to achieve their potential. As part of the observation and assessment process at Ancora House School, staff consider whether students would benefit from a statutory assessment of their special educational needs. If it is considered that an EHCP may be appropriate, our SENDCos can then offer to support the SENDCo in the home school / college or parent/carer or to make a needs assessment request to the local authority. Where appropriate, Ancora House School also facilitates or supports EHCP annual reviews.

 

Independent information, advice and support regarding special educational needs: 

The following organisations can provide useful, independent, information, advice and support concerning the rights of young people in relation to SEND and / or the EHCP process. Young people, parents and carers can contact these services directly. See below for contact details (click on the numbers / links):

FAIR MEME.PNG

Ancora House School, Countess of Chester Health Park, Liverpool Road, Cheshire, CH2 1BQ

Tel: 01244 397598 | Email: [email protected]