SEN & Disabilities

Thank you for taking the time to visit the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) section of our website. Information on the local authority’s local offer can be found at: http://www.croydon.gov.uk/education/special-educational-needs/. or https://localoffer.croydon.gov.uk/sencostaff

All students have the right to achieve their maximum academic and social potential. At the Academy we believe that all students have learning differences rather than learning difficulties and it is our policy to identify and assess these differences and ensure that learning is supported and differentiated to ensure outstanding progress is made by all students.

We offer a range of support to develop teachers’ expertise and additional support within the classroom. This includes drop-in sessions, in class training, and observations from the SENDCO and specialist advice/input within the classroom.

If you have any additional questions, concerns or worries, currently contact Ms D.Cannicott, who is leading our SENDCO team. You can do this by email D.Cannicott@harrisinvictus.org.uk or call 0203 371 3002

Harris Invictus Academy visions for students with SEND

Harris Invictus Academy Croydon is committed to providing an appropriate and high quality education for all children. We believe that all children, including those identified as having Special Educational Needs as well as every other student, have a common entitlement to a broad and balanced academic and social curriculum. This curriculum should be accessible to them, and they will be fully included in all aspects of Academy life.

The Academy uses the Sounds-Write Phonics Programme. Sounds-Write is a sound-to-print approach which means that it is based on and structured around the sounds of speech. Sounds-Write provides a phonics curriculum. This means teaching explicitly the essential phonemic awareness skills, conceptual knowledge, and code knowledge needed for students to learn to read and spell. Sounds-Write relies on explicit instruction and is a highly structured, cumulative, multisensory programme, and we teach both reading and spelling in every single session.

We recognise that students learn at different rates and that there are many factors affecting achievement, including ability, emotional state, age and maturity. We are particularly aware of the needs of our students, for whom maturity is a crucial factor in terms of readiness to learn. We believe that many students, at some time in their Academy career, may experience difficulties which affect their learning, and we recognise that these may be long or short term. At the Academy, we aim to identify these needs as they arise and provide teaching and learning contexts which enable every child to achieve to his or her full potential.