At Coop Academy Delius we provide

All students

Most students

Few students

Assessment

Through the revision of the 2019 Ofsted framework which puts the curriculum at the centre of a school’s provision, pupil assessment will be more formally linked to programmes of learning related to subject areas.

The Education Health Care plan will also lay out the learning ambitions for individual pupils, mapping out pupil learning intentions.

EHCP

• Broad learning objectives (which set an ambitious learning journey based on pupil need and related to pupil, parent and teacher expectations.) These are written in to the 4 areas of Cognition & Learning, Communication & Interaction, Social, Emotional and Mental Health and Sensory and Physical
• End of Key Stage milestones in each of the 4 areas.
• Annual targets (personalised to pupil learning journey)
• Personalised learning goals (3 times a year) which breakdown the annual target in progressive personalised learning intentions.  

How do we assess?

At Coop Academy Delius school assessment is ongoing throughout a pupil’s education, staff will observe pupils and track progress daily against their PLGs (Personalised Learning Goals), through photos, videos and written annotation of what your child is doing to support and build up a picture of the experiences, progress and achievements that they are making. We also assess subject specific learning for our Astronauts pathway and use the Early Years areas to assess pupils in all other pathways. Assessments and incidental learning is happening every day and all staff are involved in recording and celebrating achievement, no matter how small. Assessment is captured on ‘Evidence for Learning’. Assessments shared with parents at Annual Reviews, consultation and progress meetings which are held throughout the year.

The engagement model is also used in conjunction with existing systems for some pathways, helping to add

value and provide a flexible, holistic assessment for pupils.

End of Key Stage Assessment:

Pupils in years 2 and year 6 will be assessed on Pre-Key Stage Standards for pupils engaged in subject specific study (P5-8), and for those pupils functioning at P4 & below on aspects of engagement model.

Communication

Communication is a key focus for us at Coop Academy Delius and underpins everything we deliver.

At Coop Academy Delius we use a range of communication methods and resources which are incorporated into all areas of the curriculum. We use sign language (Makaton), Objects of reference, Touch cues and symbols to support understanding and to enable pupils to make choices and communicate their ideas and feelings. We use a range of low and high tech communication aids from talk buttons and Big Macks to complex communication devices such as Accent devices and Eye gaze. We also incorporate Intensive Interaction into our learning approaches and TacPac to encourage positive and pupil led interaction. All of the above increase access to learning, support behaviour and allow our pupils to become more independent.

Grouping for teaching

Pupils within Co-op Academy are placed within a pathway which best suits their needs. The pathways are:

• Rockets Curriculum Intent  
• Galaxy Curriculum Intent
• Meteors Curriculum Intent
• Comets Curriculum Intent 
• Astronauts Curriculum Intent 

The pathway model which has been implemented has ensured that all pupils access a curriculum which is both ambitious and challenging. At Co-op Academy Delius we believe that every school day counts and we strive to ensure that all of our pupils have irresistible opportunities to engage both in the classroom and also when accessing the wide range of specialist provision around school.

Safeguarding and behaviour

The aims and principles of our Behaviour & Discipline Policy and Safeguarding Policy are to provide Safe, Happy Learning and to promote positive behaviour to both our pupils and their families.

Our safeguarding and behaviour policies ensure, each child is healthy, safe, enjoys and achieves and is valued for his/her contribution to the school community. Everything we do is seen as part of the child’s journey through life.  

Coop Academy Delius is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all its pupils. We believe all staff and visitors have an important and unique role to play in child protection.

We believe:

• Schools can contribute to the prevention of abuse.
• School will support and sign post early help referrals for families in greater need of assistance.  
• All children have the right to be protected from harm.
• Children need support which matches their individual needs. Including those who may have experienced abuse.
• “The child has a right to protection from abuse and neglect” (United Nations Convention Article 19).
• Keeping children safe in education is our paramount concern.  (Statutory guidance September 2023)

Curriculum and teaching methods

The curriculum at Co-op Academy Delius has been developed to meet the wide ranging needs of all pupils within the school. This bespoke curriculum has been designed by the school team staff working at every level within the academy, and all have been encouraged to contribute to the process.

At Co-op Academy Delius, we use topics to provide exciting and engaging learning opportunities. The topics are selected carefully to take into consideration the locality of both sites. Wherever possible, role models from diverse backgrounds are selected for pupils to learn about.

Each phase of the academy accesses the same topic, regardless of the pathway. However, differentiation and challenge is provided by the Programmes of Learning which have been written to meet the specific needs of the learners within each pathway. As pupils move through the phases of the academy, the topics become more challenging and complex. However, retrieval opportunities are written into the Programmes of Learning which allows for pupils’ learning to be consolidated and for any misconceptions to be addressed.

At Co-op Academy Delius, our curriculum choices are always strongly influenced by our aim of developing pupils’ communication skills. This is a main priority for all of our pupils so that their safeguarding vulnerabilities are reduced and their development in all learning areas is optimised. By placing such a focus on communication, we give our pupils the best opportunity for future success. Books are at the heart of our curriculum and are linked to the themes. The themes provide a main vehicle for all aspects of communication. We have carefully selected themes which lend themselves to support communication for pupils working within each pathway.

All of our pupils based at the BD3 site, receive a bespoke curriculum offer which is based upon the EYFS areas of learning. The curriculum has been designed to be ambitious for all pupils and subject leads ensure that progression within each area phase and pathway is planned for. Pupils at the BD7 site access all of the National Curriculum subjects.

Based on the Co-op value ‘Do what matters most’, much of our curriculum content is selected specifically to prepare pupils for the next stage of education; develop their life skills and their independence. The educational experiences they have at our academy will enable many of our pupils to live independently as adults. We build in frequent opportunities for pupils to practise and consolidate key knowledge.

Building communication skills is an integral part of the curriculum at Co-op Academy Delius. All pupils are treated as intentional communicators and we follow an ‘assume competency’ way of working. This principle means that we believe everyone has something to say and everyone can learn.

As well as the emphasis on developing pupils’ communication skills, safeguarding is a strong feature of all areas of our curriculum. We focus upon teaching pupils appropriate behaviours for different situations. We have developed a ‘commitment to communicating consent‘ which is to highlight the importance of developing an understanding of consent for all of our pupils. SMSC is planned within each subject area and this is woven into all of the work that the school does in order to support our pupils as they progress throughout their school life.

We are keen to inspire in pupils a love of learning and of school. As such, our curriculum content is also chosen to motivate pupils. Our themes are designed with a ‘stunning start’ and a ‘fabulous finish’ . These strategies provide an exciting ‘hook’ into a theme and a purpose for learning. Our curriculum is enhanced through a wide range of coherently planned, first-hand experiences, including educational visits. In this way, we also build our pupils’ cultural capital.

Our curriculum is designed to give pupils a sense of belonging in the academy and the wider community. We are passionate about pupils building relationships with their peers, as well as having commonality with children in mainstream schools.

Accessibility

The pathway model that has been implemented by the senior leaders ensures that all pupils are able to secure their full potential via a purposeful, bespoke and ambitious curriculum. The knowledge and skills which have been developed allow all pupils to have access to a rich and exciting curriculum. Subject leaders differentiate topics to suit the needs and learning styles of pupils within each pathway; ensuring that each pupil has access to a strong cultural capital offer.

The provision that has been developed within school allows pupils to have access to a wide range of opportunities, for example the immersive room allows pupils to be able to pretend that they are going on a journey to space.

Community visits and trips are woven into the curriculum to support pupils’ to have a deeper understanding of the topics that they are being taught. These experiences are enhanced by the implementation of the stunning start and fabulous finish which are whole school events designed to further enhance the concepts taught within the curriculum.

Academy policies which have been produced to enable pupils to safely access school. These include ‘manual handling’, ‘behaviour’ and ‘supporting pupils with medical conditions in school’ policies.

The building is fully accessible to meet the physical needs of pupils; including tracking and hoists, hygiene suites and showering facilities. The shower facilities also support the wider social needs of families as they wait for home adaptations.

Pupils have access to a range of multi-agency teams including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses and speech & language therapists, all to support access to education at Co-op Academy Delius.

Inclusion

Inclusion is an important part of our children’s learning and Coop Academy Delius is fortunate to be co-located with mainstream primary schools, Lapage and Dixons Marchbank Academy at the BD3 site, and Co-op Academy Princeville at our BD7 site. We value the diversity of our children’s needs and encourage safe, inclusive practice within our school by class groups joining up for a range of activities including play, PSHE, and citizenship projects. We have when needed developed a number of partnerships with mainstream schools such as Bradford Academy and Belle Vue Girls’ High School.

As part of our assessment cycle, we also identify individual children for academic or developmental inclusion in our mainstream neighbour schools. This might include accessing curriculum lessons at a relevant cognitive level or accessing an inclusive subject with age-matched peers to develop social skills with mainstream peers.

Engagement with parents/carers

Parental Involvement  

Coop Academy Delius has the ‘Engaging Families’ award, and pride ourselves on our provision for our families.  We have a Parent Involvement Officer at Delius.  Coop Academy Delius offers a range of parental activities including academic and social activities such as English and Maths keyskills, makaton training  beauty and keep fit.  The academy also host a toy library half termly.  Medical appointments/consultations take place in school. If you have any problems and need a translator in Urdu or Punjabi then do not hesitate to contact us. You are always welcome to pop in just for a chat. See our school website

Our unique provision

At Coop Academy Delius we have extensive extracurricular provision:

• Swimming Pool: Our new pool is heated to allow the maximum benefits and comfort for all pupils. In this facility we can work 1:1 with pupils in developing communication, in developing water confidence and fine and gross motor skills development and accredited swim activities.
• Magic carpet: The magic carpet technology projects interactive apps that children can engage with simply by moving on or over the projected images. It allows the children to interact visually, physically and in auditory ways. It is engaging and stimulating for all pupils across all levels of ability and learning. It provides a fully inclusive and fun way to learn. It encourages awareness of others, hand eye coordination and social interaction with each other
• The Courtyard: A new multi-functional learning space which incorporates learning through explorative play
• Road Safety Provision: fully functional safety zone to encourage road safety and crossing
• Rebound - Coop Academy Delius has a purpose-built Rebound room with a sunken trampoline at floor level for ease of access for all.
• Sensory and Soft Play Rooms - The value in having a sensory and soft play provision is to extend our work on intensive interaction, communication and the development of both gross and fine motor skills in a relaxing and supportive environment. The supportive equipment within the sensory room allows pupils to get both a visual and auditory stimulation in a relaxing environment and encompasses the use of switch technology to support physical interaction between the child and the source of stimulation, whether it is sound, heat, light or a physical experience.
• Sparkle Suite - Sparkle Suite is our space for children with complex medical needs. It’s calming and clutter free, where we can offer a different kind of curriculum. It’s also the perfect retreat when children are feeling unwell or anxious. It allows us to work closely with specialist therapists to offer our pupils the additionality of a personalised approach to meeting their needs. Such as time to talk and share knowledge and skills with parents, for personal massage therapy and OT support.
• Immersive learning environment: We have future plans to incorporate an immersive learning environment to allow a next generation sensory learning experience for special needs pupils. The flexibility of an immersive environment means that scenarios can be controlled in a variety of ways for pupils of all abilities to enjoy. Whether the environment needs to be soothing or stimulating, the space can be adapted to suit the individual needs of our pupils. The interactive learning environment is fully inclusive and accessible for all learning abilities.
• Horticulture area and Science garden:  As an inner city academy we recognise the importance of our pupils having opportunities to take part in hands on learning in the outdoors and this newly developed area has been designed to promote this.
• Inclusive playground:  Our inclusive playground enables the pupils at the academy to develop a range of skills and make progress in academic and also social situations.

Arrangements for specialist expertise from outside school

Multi Agency Services

In order for our pupils to access education we at Coop Academy Delius have to work very closely with our multi agency services. These include a medical team of school nurses, a Physiotherapy team, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists and the cChildren's community support team. We also work well with other agencies to offer where appropriate ‘early help support and referrals. Such services ensure that all the welfare needs of our pupils are met whilst in school. The opportunity to have these services allows parents/carers to have peace of mind that their child’s health needs are being met.

Working alongside these professional services the majority of our school staff are trained to support pupils in a range of medical needs, positioning, moving and handling, speech and language and physiotherapy programmes. Our staff are also highly skilled at supporting and delivering communication across school.

After/out of school enrichment activities

Extra curricular provision

At Coop Academy Delius we offer a range of extra-curricular clubs which extend our pupils’ learning in a fun and engaging manner.

After School Clubs including dance, music and multi-sports clubs. Our pupils also benefit from the wider curriculum opportunities of swimming, rebound (trampolining), horse riding and visits to the community. All these extracurricular opportunities add value to the pupils’ learning.

Educational Visits

Educational visits and community activities are crucial in developing our pupil’s life skills. As part of the school’s exciting and engaging curriculum, we make regular visits to the community to extend and enliven our pupils' learning.

We actively encourage our teaching staff to offer the experience of our local community to enrich the pupils’ learning. Year 6 pupils have the opportunity to take part in an overnight residential visit to an outdoor adventure experience at Nell Bank Ilkley each year. All of our educational visits are integral to interacting in the local community. Coop Academy Delius provides community services in their pool through after and during school provision.