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Ormiston Denes Academy

Ormiston Denes Academy is situated in the coastal town of Lowestoft, about 110 miles north-east of London. The most easterly secondary school in the United Kingdom, it lies just 22 miles south-east of Norwich, and has a train route to London Liverpool Street via Ipswich which is 50 miles to the south.

The academy is located on the A47, centrally within the catchment area and just over a mile from the centre of Lowestoft. The grounds include a sports centre which serves a focal point for the community.

Located in the historic parish of St Margaret’s, the academy’s history dates back to 1910 when it was founded as a replacement for a secondary fee-paying day school established in 1904. Built by Brown and Kerr its main building is a Grade II listed building with a Queen Anne façade. The school was originally designed to accommodate 320 pupils with the site comprising eleven acres, of which seven were playing fields. For the first nine years the school was called the Lowestoft Municipal Secondary School and its aim was to provide a ‘sound education for boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 18’. In 1914 the first school magazine, The Lowestoftian was published, detailing the events of the school.

Lowestoft Municipal Secondary School, in a painting from 1912

From 1920 the school was renamed the Lowestoft Secondary School before becoming known as Lowestoft Grammar School from 1945 under the changes of the 1944 Butler Education Act.

In June 1940, soon after the start of the Second World War and as a result of the danger from air raids on Lowestoft, 327 pupils together with the Head Master and 21 members of staff were evacuated to Worksop. The return to Lowestoft commenced in 1943 with eventually all returning by July 1944.

After the end of the war there was a population boom, which caused a rapid rise in the number of pupils attending the school. This necessitated a utilitarian building programme in order to accommodate the new pupils. This expansion of the school buildings continued intermittently for the next 30 years.

Lowestoft Secondary School

Lowestoft Secondary School, c. 1935

The school became a comprehensive in 1971 and was renamed The Denes High School. In September 2004 it was designated by the Department for Education and Skills as a specialist centre for business and enterprise.

In September 2011 the age range changed from 13–18 to 11–16 as part of the reorganisation of all schools in the area. Students in years 7 and 8 joined the school after the closure of eight middle schools in Lowestoft and the opening of Lowestoft Sixth Form meant that the Lowestoft sixth form consortium, which had operated as a shared sixth form between the high schools in the town, was dissolved.

As a result of these changes and the consolidation of other local providers, Ormiston Denes Academy is now the largest secondary school in the area with approximately 1,000 students on role, primarily feeding into the school from one of the eleven primary schools in north Lowestoft.

Ormiston Denes Academy, today

In 2013 the school joined Ormiston Academies Trust, converting to academy status and into its present form as Ormiston Denes Academy. Under new leadership from September 2016 the academy recently celebrated the highest ever student outcomes in its history, confirming its position as the top performing secondary academy in north Lowestoft, alongside its established reputation as a centre for sporting and creative excellence.

Who to contact

Name
Kate Williams
Position
Principal
Telephone
01502 574474
Email
info@ormistondenes.co.uk
Website
http://www.ormistondenes.co.uk/
Social Media
 Find us on Facebook
 Follow us on Twitter
Address
Yarmouth Road
Lowestoft
Suffolk
Postcode
NR32 4AH

Additional contact

Additional Website
Suffolk County Council website

Where to go

Name
Ormiston Denes Academy
Address
Yarmouth Road
Lowestoft
Suffolk
Postcode
NR32 4AH
View NR32 4AH on a map
Area served
Lowestoft, East Suffolk
Venue Email
info@ormistondenes.co.uk
Venue Website
http://www.ormistondenes.co.uk
Parking available
Yes

Days & Times

Time of day
Morning
Afternoon

Other details

Age Groups
Young people
Accessibility
Disabled Parking, Wheelchair Access, Lift, Adapted Toilet
School Transport assistance
Find out more about home to school transport
Notes

 

 

School Type
Secondary
School Status
Academy
Academy Sponsor/Trust
Ormiston Academies Trust
Ofsted
View the latest Ofsted Inspection Report
DfE Number
4032
Chair of Governors
Tina Ellis

Support for people with disabilities

Experience of including people with special educational needs and disabilities

Information report 2023/24

Introduction

All proprietors of academy schools have a legal duty to publish information on their website about the implementation of the governing body's policy for students with SEND. The information published must be updated annually.

At Ormiston Denes Academy we are committed to closely working with all members of our school community. This local offer has been produced with students, parents/carers, governors, and members of staff. If you would like to become involved in the review process, please contact us. Key personnel include:

  • Name of SENDCo: Mrs Kerry Ellison (Mrs Karen Hillier Maternity Cover)
  • Name of Principal: Ms. Kate Williams
  • SLT lead for SEN: Mrs Sarah Read
  • Name of Governor: Mrs Catherine Craig

If you have specific questions about the Suffolk Local Offer click on the link to the local offer website https://infolink.suffolk.gov.uk/ Alternatively, if you think your child may have SEND please speak to their form tutor or contact Karen Hillier on 01502 574474 or khillier@ormistondenes.co.uk (maternity cover until September 2023). Kerry Ellison SENCo kellison@ormistondenes.co.uk (on maternity leave until September 2023).

Our Approach to Teaching Students with SEND

At Ormiston Denes Academy we believe in participation and attainment for all. We want all adults and children to participate in learning and we celebrate all members of our community. We have an inclusive culture and are responsive to the diversity of children's backgrounds, interests, experience, knowledge and skills. We value high Quality First Teaching for all students and actively monitor Teaching and Learning in the Academy. We have established a learning environment which is flexible and meets the needs of all members of our academy community. We monitor progress of all students, and the continuous assessment implemented by staff ensures that progress is maximized.

How we identify students with SEND

At different times in their life, a child or young person may have a special educational need. The Code of Practice (2014) defines SEND as: 

"A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. A child of compulsory school l age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:

a) Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age:

or b) Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools."

If a student is identified as having SEND, we will plan and implement provision that is 'additional to or different from' the normal personalised curriculum, intended to overcome the barrier to their learning. At Ormiston Denes Academy we are committed to ensuring that all students have access to learning opportunities. This does not mean that all vulnerable students have Special Educational Needs. Only those with a learning difficulty that requires special educational provision will be identified as having SEND. Students are identified as SEND in a number of ways. These include:

  • Transition meetings with primary schools or previous education setting
  • Staff can refer a student to the SEND team via a referral form if they have concerns regarding a student
  • Conversations and meetings with parents
  • Concerns raised by the students themselves
  • External agencies
  • Using progress data
  • Observations by the SEND team
  • Formal and informal information gathering

Our SEND profile for 2023/24 shows that we have 21.11% of students at SEND support (K). National average is currently 12.6%. More than one fifth (25.73%) of students at Ormiston Denes Academy have some level of special educational needs and there are above the national average number of children with statements/EHC Plans (4.62%).

Teachers, support staff, parents/carers and in many cases, the student themselves will be the first to notice a difficulty with learning. At Ormiston Denes Academy we ensure that screening for educational needs, directly involves the student, their parents/carers and their teacher. In order to support some students we may seek advice from specialist teams. We have access to services universally provided by Suffolk County Council, which are described on the Local Offer website.

We also employ Learning Support Assistants who deliver additional intervention such as LEXIA and Catch Up. Learning Support Assistants also support and maximize learning in lessons. In addition, the Raising Achievement support mentors (RAMs) are able to offer additional support for students with SEND.

How students with SEND are supported

Every Teacher is required to personalise the curriculum to ensure all students are able to access their learning. The Teaching Standards 2012 detail the expectations on all teachers, their personalisation information is reviewed as part of our quality assurance process. Teachers will use various strategies to personalise access to the curriculum, including:

  • Information from ILSPs to support individual strategies to achieve outstanding progress
  • Visual timetables
  • Writing frames
  • Adapted learning materials
  • Chromebooks or other alternative recording devices
  • Praise
  • Additional structured support for unstructured times

Each student identified as having SEND is entitled to support that is ’additional to or different from’ a normal personalised curriculum. Progress towards individual targets will be monitored and reported to parents half termly through Go 4 schools data that can be accessed electronically. The type of support is dependent on the individual learning needs, and is intended to enable access to learning.

Funding for SEND

Ormiston Denes Academy receives funding directly to the school from the Local Authority to support the needs of students with SEND. The academy can apply for funding from the Local Authority to 'top up' funding for students who require further support that would enable them to access the school curriculum.

Evaluation

A responsive and adaptive approach relies on clear and accurate assessment. Parents/carers, students and staff are involved in reviewing the impact of interventions for students with SEND. We follow the 'assess, plan, do, review' model and ensure that parents/carers and students are involved in each step. Before any additional provision is selected to help a child, the SENDCo, teacher, parent/carer and student (where appropriate), agree what they expect to be different following this intervention. A baseline will also be recorded, which can be used to compare the impact of the provision. Children, parents/carers and their teaching and support staff will be directly involved in reviewing progress. This review can be built in to the intervention itself, or it can be a formal meeting, where we all discuss progress and next steps. If a student has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC plan) or a Statement of Special Educational Needs the same termly review conversations take place, but the EHC plan will also be formally reviewed annually.

Assessment data is collated by the whole school and monitored by teachers, Senior Leaders and Governors. A full SEND report is provided to the governing body annually.

Other Opportunities for Learning

All students should have the same opportunity to access extended learning activities. At Ormiston Denes Academy we offer a range of additional clubs and activities. A list of these is available on the Academy website. All staff at Ormiston Denes Academy have regular updates on the Equality Act 2010. This legislation places specific duties on schools, settings and providers including the duty not to discriminate, harass or victimise a child or adult linked to a protected characteristic defined in the Equality Act and to make 'reasonable adjustments.'

The Equality Act 2010 definition of disability is:

"A person has a disability for the purposes of this Act if (s)he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to day activities.” Section 1(1) Disability Discrimination Act 1995

This definition of disability in the Equality Act includes children with long term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, and cancer. Children and young people with such conditions do not necessarily have SEND, but there is a significant overlap between disabled children and young people and those with SEND. Children and young people may therefore be covered by both SEND and disability legislation.

Preparing for the next step

Transition is a part of life for all students. This can be transition to a new class in school, having a new teacher, or moving on to another school, training provider or moving in to employment. Ormiston Denes Academy is committed to working in partnership with students, families and other providers to ensure positive transitions occur.

Planning for transition is a part of our provision for all students with SEND. Students with SEND transferring at the end of Year 11 will be given some taster sessions at their new provider in preparation for transition and information is shared to ensure planning and preparation is in place. For all other students with SEND transition from primary to secondary education will be discussed in the summer term of their Year 6, to ensure time for planning and preparation.

Have your say

Ormiston Denes Academy is a part of the Ormiston Academies Trust (OAT). We shape and develop provision for all of our students ensuring achievement for all. The SEND report declares our annual offer to students with SEND, but to be effective it needs: ▪ Views of all parents/carers, students, governors and staff. Please contact us to express your views via email at send@ormistondenes.co.uk

Contact
Mrs Kerry Ellison
Telephone
01502 574474
Email
info@ormistondenes.co.uk
Conditions Supported
Autistic spectrum conditions
Communication difficulties
Health conditions
Learning difficulties
Mental health conditions
Physical disabilities

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