SEN Provision

At Horizons Academy Bexley we make provision for every kind of frequently occurring special educational need without an Education, Health and Care Plan. All  pupils are added to our SEND Register (K-coded) and will receive support via our Student Success Framework (SSF). These needs, although not exclusive, include Cognition and Learning Needs (C&L), Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs, Communication and Interaction (C&I) needs as well as Sensory and/or Physical needs. 

Typically, young people who are referred to Horizons would have been known to their home school SEND department and would have been supported through the Graduated Approach (also known as the Assess, Plan, Do and Review process) or are in the process of being assessed through the EHC process. However, this is not always the case and some young people come to us due to difficulties with boundaries and social issues which have impacted on their ability to engage appropriately in school.

Our admission arrangements for pupils do not discriminate against or disadvantage disabled children or those with special educational needs.

During their placement with us, all students will be asked to complete a bank of screening assessments within the first week of them attending. These screening assessments are completed on a one-to-one basis with our SEN team and will include the YARC Reading Assessment, Speech and Language Link, BKSB Functional Skills Diagnostic tool (English and maths) as well as a SEMH screening tool. Based on these screening assessments, our SEN team will work collaboratively with the young person’s home-school to set specific targets linked to the Bexley Quality First Teaching and Special Education Needs Support Toolkit.

A review of the pupil’s progress towards their targets will be shared during our individual 5 week, 10 week and final review meetings. During these review meetings we may identify additional unmet needs and in cooperation with the home-school SENCo the necessary referrals to community paediatric at Acorns, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) or Speech and Language Therapists (SALT) specialists may be made. We will also support the home-school SENCo with data that may be applicable for their EHC applications. The ultimate responsibility for any referral or EHC application rests with the home school and Horizons will offer support via our Student Success Framework (SSF). For more information on our SSF, please read the SEND policy and SEND information report.

Once a pupil has an EHC Plan it is the responsibility of the Local Authority to name an appropriate school within a reasonable timeframe. 

Where a pupil is permanently excluded, again the responsibility lies with the excluding school to initiate any  referrals to community paediatric at Acorns, CAMHS or SALT specialists, or follow through on those that are in existence. We would always support the home-school SENCo with data that may support their referrals.

For more information around SEND and what services are available, please visit the Bexley Local Offer website by clicking here.

The SEND Team