Corley Academy is a secondary special school for students with complex communication and interaction difficulties. All students at Corley Academy have an Education Health and Care Plan.

Students arrive at Corley Academy following a programme of transition. Within this process needs are identified in conjunction with previous provision, parents and the Education, Health and Care Plan already in place. Students undertake a series of baseline assessments so that they can be correctly placed in the most appropriate teaching group in order to meet their individual needs. 

A formal meeting is held three times a year with teachers and senior leaders to monitor progress. These meetings are:

• Annual Review/Transition Review
• Parent/Teacher Progress Meetings
• Pastoral Mentor Meetings

The school works closely with external agencies where appropriate to support the needs of students.

We have a robust system of self-evaluation using the Ofsted Framework. This includes looking at:

• quality of education
• behaviour and attitudes
• personal development
• leadership and management

Governors are involved in this process and receive regular reports through the Performance and Standards Sub Committee. Governors will also receive reports at Full Governing Body Meetings. We also operate a programme of Governor Monitoring Visits with identified governors responsible for a particular area of provision. Any additional interventions, such as literacy and numeracy support, and use of additional funding such as that received for disadvantaged children are monitored for effectiveness.

Corley Academy was inspected (November 2017) and received Good in all areas.

We meet with you as parents/carers on three occasions over a school year to hold a structured conversation about your child.

Annual /Transition Review: we discuss progress against Education Health and Care Plan Outcomes and we may set additional targets to be monitored over the year.

Parent Teacher Progress Meeting: you are invited to school to meet with your child’s teachers to review their schoolwork and discuss progress and areas for further development. These will take place from 4.00pm-5.30pm on a date provided at the start of the school year.

Pastoral Mentor Meeting: a 30-minute appointment will be arranged for parents and carers to meet with their child’s Pastoral Mentor to discuss their personal development and well-being, and their academic and personal progress. The Pastoral Mentor will have available a range of data and information to enable them to discuss all aspects of your child’s development and progress. These will take place during a school day.

You can also communicate with us by telephone or email. At the start of each school year, you will be provided with email contact details of the senior member of staff who oversees your child’s Mentor Group.

You will be able to contact your child’s Pastoral Mentor to discuss any issues and they will keep regular contact with you as necessary.

Through regular whole school meetings and information sharing systems, every student’s needs are shared and understood. Discussions take place to identify successful strategies thus creating a consistent approach to your child’s needs. Teaching and Learning Assistants support curriculum areas. Students will be taught in a whole class environment with small groups and 1:1 intervention when necessary.

All lesson planning, both medium term and short term is differentiated within each class.

School may be supported by Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Educational Psychologists, the School Nurse and specialist teacher advisors where and when appropriate.

The curriculum is regularly reviewed to meet the individual needs of students at Corley Academy. Our aim is to provide a broad, challenging and varied curriculum, which provides the opportunity for individual learning both inside and outside the classroom, along with links to vocational experiences and the wider community.

Your child will initially have their needs identified through their Education Health and Care Plan. The Outcomes are shared with all staff and reviewed throughout the year. Regular progress pastoral meetings may indicate any additional support your child may require.

At Corley Academy, every student has the opportunity to access educational visits, including a residential visit to Plas Dol-y-Moch in North Wales. No student is excluded from activities at Corley Academy, we will ensure each child can take part in a reasonable and safe manner.

Clubs take place during the lunch hour, students are given a choice of clubs to attend.

All students take part in Enrichment on Wednesday afternoons, where they can follow courses in a range of activities, such as Drama, French and Outdoor Learning. All of these activities are accredited.

Students also have the opportunity to participate in Forest School activities.

We have a robust Safeguarding Policy and protocol in place. Students’ health and well-being is paramount. We work closely with external agencies, other schools and the Local Authority. We also work closely with Social Services in particular the Children’s Disability Team.

We work closely with CAMHS, if your child requires that level of support.

All staff receive on-going training, including in all aspects of Child Protection and Safeguarding. All staff work towards standards set out by the Autism Education Trust.

Staff also undertake Protective Behaviours training.

All of our teachers have Qualified Teacher Status and have undertaken specialist further professional development. Our Teaching and Learning Assistants also have a range of expertise and receive ongoing professional to ensure staff they remain informed and skilled.

All staff follow a programme of autism awareness training to ensure a base line level of understanding. Individual staff continue this to various levels.

Our school is located just over the Coventry border within the Warwickshire countryside. We will make every reasonable adjustment in order to accommodate the needs of disabled visitors, students and parents.

We hope to meet new parents at the stage when you are deciding which school is your preferred choice for your child. When a decision has been made and a place has been provided, we hold a new parents’ evening for Year 6 transition students prior to your child starting our school. Parents are invited to arrange a visit with their child, prior to them transferring here. Parents and carers will receive a Monthly Bulletin from the Headteacher with current updates in relation to various aspects of school life. Parents and carers will also receive a half termly Newsletter.

Parents can access information via our website and Twitter and will receive contact details of key staff involved in the wellbeing of their child.

Our Attendance and Pastoral Manager can be contacted through the school office with any parent concerns.

Each year we hold a structured conversation with you, where we discuss your child’s wellbeing at our school. We hold two Parents’ Evenings. One for Key Stage 3 and one for Key Stage 4 and Post 16, where we discuss individual student’s progress. In Key Stage 4 and Post 16, students’ progress towards target grades is monitored on a half-termly basis and results shared with students and parents.

In Key Stage 3, parents receive termly updates on their child’s academic progress and approach to learning.

Parents and carers are expected to attend their child’s Annual Review. Please let us know if our location or transport is a barrier to attending.

We also arrange coffee mornings/evenings if we have information which we need to share. This is also a chance to meet other parents for coffee and cake.

We also hold events such as Christmas/Spring Fairs and drama productions to which you are warmly invited. A Celebration Day is held for Year 11 leavers together with an Awards’ Evening in the following November.

For further information, our website and Twitter is regularly updated with upcoming events or alternatively please contact our school office.

We keep you informed of your child’s progress through the Annual Review, Annual Reports, half termly monitoring and by sharing targets and progress through the structured conversation. We also write to you or ring you if needed and we hope you will also keep in touch with us that way as well.

The children are involved in the running of the school through the Student Council. They are also involved in setting and discussing their own targets for the week ahead and during their Annual Review. We hold regular Student Barazas whereby students are encouraged to air their views about life in school and how we can adapt our practices to improve students’ experiences.

In the first instance, we encourage you to contact your child’s Senior Link. If you still have concerns then please contact the Deputy Headteacher or the Headteacher. In the unlikely event that your concern is not resolved then please contact our Chair of Governors.

We work closely with a range of services to support your child’s needs, including Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Educational Psychology Services and CAMHS. Your child will need an Education Health and Care Plan before being considered for admission to our school. Your point of contact to discuss this is the Local Authority SEN (Special Educational Needs) Team.

We offer a structured induction programme once our school has been named on your child’s Education, Health and Care Plan. Our SENCo and/or Higher Level Teaching Assistant responsible for transition will contact you and your child’s current school to arrange this. If the time comes for your child to move on from Corley Academy, we will liaise with the receiving school or college and follow their transition process.