SEND Department

Introduction to the SEND Department at The Milton Keynes Academy

The Milton Keynes Academy is an inclusive setting which aims to maximise the potential of all students regardless of learning needs or disability.

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Department operates as part of the wider inclusion framework to ensure that young people with special educational needs or disabilities are identified, supported effectively and monitored for progress during their time at the Academy. In order to facilitate this the Department works closely with the pastoral and subject teams as well as outside agencies and other settings.

The Department is led by the Director of SEND who is a qualified Special Educational Needs Coordinator and consists of a team of 10 members of staff which include:- the Director of SEND, Deputy SENDCO, Pastoral Administrator for SEND, two Lead for SEMH (Social Mental and Emotional Health and Cognition and Learning), two Senior Intervention Assistants and three Teaching Assistants.

The Academy understands that support for young people with Special Educational Needs is the responsibility of all staff as ‘Every Teacher is a teacher of SEND and Every Leader is a leader of SEND’, therefore much of the support is delivered by subject teachers under the guidance of the SENCO and the SEND department. Support via intervention is given to young people with more severe identified needs. The Academy has a number of designated areas where support is available for intervention support.

Young people who have been identified with Special Educational Needs and who need additional support are placed on the SEND support register and are provided with a ‘Pupil Passport’ which is accessible to all staff and is reviewed annually. Parents / carers as well as the young people themselves are encouraged to contribute to the Pupil Passport.

The Special Educational Needs department welcomes comments and suggestions from parents and carers which will enable us to provide the very best support for our students. If you would like to discuss your child’s support requirements, please do not hesitate to contact the Academy’s Inclusion Team at MKA-Inclusion@miltonkeynesacademy.org.uk

‘While the Academy expects all students to abide by the Code of Conduct, we do accept that in exceptional circumstances, where a young person’s behaviour may be judged to be a direct result of their needs or disabilities, discretion should be exercised regarding the implementation of sanctions. In such circumstances, the Director of SEND, working with the pastoral team, will use their discretion and will discuss the matter with parents / carers as well as with the student, with the intention of avoiding a re-occurrence.’

Links with Other Services 

Effective working links will also be maintained with other local services including the Educational Psychology Service and other Local Authority services. 

1. The Milton Keynes Local Authority local offer is available on its website by following this link: https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/schools-and-lifelong-learning/SEND

2. Impartial advice is available from SEND Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIAS) through this link:- https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/sendias