The Bridge at The Portsmouth Academy is a specialist centre for children with complex Cognition and Learning difficulties aged between eleven and sixteen, who have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
The Inclusion Centre is a resourced provision for students who have an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) or are currently undergoing assessment and are awarded placement by the Inclusion Support Panel (ISP), which is run by Portsmouth City Council’s Special Education Needs (SEN) Team. The students receive quality first teaching from the highly trained staff in The Bridge and are also expected to integrate into mainstream education for some learning. Students are offered support from the team to meet their specific needs in these mainstream lessons.
Our curriculum centres on each student as an individual, looking at their starting points and next steps. We do not directly follow the national curriculum. Instead we use each student’s EHCP outcomes to plan a highly bespoke curriculum with a strong link to the Preparing for Adulthood outcomes. To complement lessons in The Bridge, students have the opportunity to participate in many local trips, work experience and visits to a local farm.
We work closely with the mainstream part of The Portsmouth Academy to ensure that there are meaningful opportunities for children to integrate and learn where appropriate. Where appropriate, we offer a ‘shadow curriculum’ which mirrors main school topics or units of learning but is adapted to best suit the needs of the students we support. However, these topics are a vehicle for individualising learning for students within the inclusion centre; as their learning will be highly personalised.
To ensure that our curriculum is student-centred, we work with a range of other professionals, including speech and language therapists, educational psychologists, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists, to ensure that each child’s holistic needs are being met as part of our curriculum.
Students will have the opportunity to gain a range of qualifications bespoke to them including Entry Level Certificates in Maths, English, Science and Digital skills. BTEC awards in Land Based studies, Personal Growth and Wellbeing and Home Cooking. Where appropriate students can also work towards Level 1 and GCSE’s in a range of subjects too.
The Bridge Inclusion Centre currently has four class teachers, two HLTAs and four student engagement workers, led and managed by our Head of Inclusive Provision.
We aim to foster strong relationships and work closely with parents and carers. We have regular contact with parents and carers using whichever method is best – in person, via telephone, or via email so that parents are kept informed about their child’s progress. We invite parents and careers to attend Pupil Progress sessions, Meet the Tutor evenings and Annual Review meetings where we can share updates and discuss next steps together with the student.
If you would like more information about our inclusion unit or would like a tour, please call The Portsmouth Academy’s main office at the number found here or email ckt03@tsatrust.org.uk.
