Pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) – Right Support, Right Time, Right Place

Sharples Primary School is a mainstream school incorporating a specialist resourced provision for children with visual impairments, with a clear approach to meeting the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and is supported by the Local Authority to ensure that all pupils, regardless of their specific needs, make the best possible progress and achieve their aspirations in our caring and inclusive school.

1) What kind of special educational needs do we have provided to support at Sharples Primary School?

As an inclusive school, special educational needs and provision can be considered under four broad areas:

1)Cognition and Learning

2)Communication and Interaction

3)Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)

4) Sensory and Physical – incorporating resourced provision for children with visual impairments

2) How does Sharples Primary School identify and assess pupils with special educational needs?

Classroom or subject teachers working with the SENCO assess where a child is not making adequate progress, despite high-quality teaching targeted at an area of weakness. They draw on evidence from a clear analysis of pupil’s needs such as

• teacher’s assessment and experience of the pupil

• information on pupil progress, attainment, and behaviour

• individual’s development in comparison to their peers

• the views and experience of parents

• the child’s views

• advice from external support services

3a) How do we evaluate the effectiveness of our provision for pupils with special educational needs?

We evaluate the effectiveness of our provision by using the following criteria:

We ensure that any child’s SEN is identified early. We exploit “best practice”. We take account of the views of the parents and the child. We ensure that progress is monitored and reviewed regularly. We ensure that there is a co-operation between agencies and feedback is positive.

3b) How do we assess and review the progress of our pupils with special educational needs?

Your child’s progress is continually monitored by their teacher, subject leaders, SENCO and SLT. Their progress is reviewed formally every term sometimes using a standardised test that gives a score that can be interpreted at age expectation. The progress of children with an EHC Plan is formally reviewed at a person-centred Annual Review with all adults involved in your child’s education. The class teacher will also check that your child is making good progress within any individual work and in any group that they take part in.

3c) How do we teach pupils with special educational needs?

Teachers plan lessons according to the specific needs of all groups of children in their class and will ensure that your child’s needs are met. The support staff will support your child’s learning in the classroom. Specific resources and strategies will be used to support your child individually and in groups. Planning and teaching will be adapted daily if needed to meet your child’s learning needs.

We ensure that the equipment used is accessible to all children regardless of their needs. Keywords, visual timetables, visual overlays and literacy resources are used across the school to support learning. The visually impaired pupils have all their resources adapted as necessary either enlarged or brailed. They also have all the necessary equipment relating to their visual needs. The school corridors are kept tidy and clear to ensure the accessibility of the visually impaired pupils and the wheelchair user. We have a sensory garden and sound equipment in the playground.

3e) What additional learning support is available?

Class teachers provide support including targeted classroom teaching also known as Quality First Teaching. Your child’s teacher will have carefully checked on your child’s progress and will have decided that your child has gaps in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress. The teacher will plan intervention sessions for your child with areas of development identified to help your child make more progress. A teaching assistant/teacher or outside professional will run these intervention sessions using the teacher’s plan and the progress and content of interventions are monitored by the headteacher, deputy and SENCO.

Specific intervention work with a smaller group of children. This intervention:

·  may take place in the classroom or outside

·  will be delivered by a member of staff who has had the training to run these groups.

·  will ensure that the teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and pupils in their class.

·  will ensure that all teaching is based on building what your child already knows, can do and can understand.

·  will ensure that we utilise different ways of teaching so that your child is fully involved in learning. This may involve things like using more practical learning, ICT etc.

·  will put in place specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENCO or outside agency staff) to support your child to learn.

Identification of need If your child has been identified by the class teacher/SENCo (or you will have raised your worries) as needing more specialist input instead of or in addition to excellent classroom teaching and intervention groups. You will be asked to an complete an Early Help Assessment to discuss your child’s progress and help plan possible ways forward. At this meeting, information will be discussed by yourself and the SENCO. This assessment will allow the school to access the relevant specialist support from an outside agency. Your input at this meeting is very important as it gives good background information about your child. The school (or you) can request that the Local Authority carry out a statutory assessment of your child’s needs. This is a legal process, and you can find more detail about this in the Local Offer. After school has sent in the request to the Local Authority (with a lot of information about your child, including some from you), they will decide whether they think your child’s needs (as described in the paperwork provided), seem complex enough to need a statutory assessment. If this is the case, they will ask you and all the professionals involved with your child to write a report outlining your child’s needs. If they do not think your child needs this, they will ask the school to continue with the support already in place. After the reports have all been sent in the Local Authority will decide if your child’s needs are severe, complex and lifelong and that they need more than 20 hours of support in school to make good progress. If this is the case they will write an Education, Health and Care Plan. If this is not the case, they will ask the school to continue with the support and set up a meeting in school to ensure a plan is in place to ensure your child makes as much progress as possible. This form requires your signature which permits the school to refer your child to a specialist professional e.g., a Speech and Language Therapist, Educational Psychologist & medical professional etc. This will help the school and you understand your child’s particular needs better and be able to support them better in school. The specialist professional will work with your child, yourself and school staff to understand their needs and make recommendations, which may include:

Make changes to the way your child is supported in class e.g., some individual support or changing some aspects of teaching to support them better.

Support to set better targets which include their specific expertise.

A group run by school staff under the guidance of the outside professional e.g., social skills group etc.

A group or individual works with an outside professional.

The school may suggest that your child needs some agreed individual support in school. They will tell you how the support will be used and what strategies will be put in place.

Specified Individual Support

This is usually provided via an Education, Health and Care Plan. (EHCP) This means that your child will have been identified by the class teacher/Inclusion Lead as needing a particularly high level of individual or small group teaching (more than 20 hours a week), which cannot be provided from the budget available in school. Usually, your child will need specialist support in school from a professional outside the school. This may be from:

  • Local Authority central services such as Ladywood Outreach Team and Bolton Behaviour Support.
  • Outside agencies such as Speech and Language service.

3f) What activities are available for pupils with special educational needs in addition to those by the curriculum?

Sharples Primary School follows the statutory National Curriculum, and we also have additional curriculum activities to supplement what we believe to be right for our children. All children are planned into the activities and adaptations are made on an individual basis.

3g) What support is available for improving the emotional and social development of pupils with special educational needs?

Initially, we will support your child in school. If needed, we can work with other agencies to make referrals to CAMHS (Child and Adolescence Mental Health Service), counsellors, Ladywood Outreach, Educational psychology and Aspire Behaviour Management.

Who are the best people to talk to at Sharples Primary School about my child’s difficulties (SEND)?

StaffSummary of responsibilities
Class teacher• Focus on outcomes for the child: Be clear about the outcome wanted from any SEND support. • Be responsible for meeting special educational needs: Use the SENCO strategically to support the quality of teaching, evaluate the quality of support and contribute to school improvement. • Have high aspirations for every pupil: Set clear progress targets for pupils and be clear about how the full range of resources are going to help reach them. • Involve parents and pupils in planning and reviewing progress: Seek their views and provide regular updates on progress. • Be proactive in identifying SEND and fill in an Initial concern sheet and discuss concerns with SENCO for further consideration.
Mr Slater – SENCo.
Mrs F Davies – Teacher in Charge of Resourced Provision for Children with Visual Impairments
• overseeing, co-ordinate and liaising day-to-day operation of the school’s SEND policy; • coordinating provision for children with SEND; • liaising with the designated teacher where a Looked after Child has SEND; • advising on the graduated approach to SEND Support; • advising on the use of delegated budget/ other resources; • liaising with parents of children with SEND; • links with other education settings and outside agencies; • liaising with potential next providers of education; • working with head and governors on Equality Act; and • ensuring that SEND records are up to date.
Teaching Assistants• TAs are part of the whole school approach to SEND working in partnership with the classroom/subject teacher and the SENCO to deliver pupil progress and narrow gaps in performance. • It is for schools to decide how they deploy teaching assistants depending on their level of experience. To be most effective the support they give should be focused on the outcomes within the graduated approach to SEND. This support will be agreed upon with parents in the context of high-quality teaching overall. • TAs can be part of a package of support for the individual child but should never be a substitute for the teacher’s involvement with that child.
Subject Leaders/SLTThey are responsible for: Checking on the progress of your child and working with the class teacher in identifying, planning and delivering any additional help your child may need. Ensuring that the school’s SEND offer/policy is followed in the classrooms.
Head teacher – Mrs Partington• Should take overall responsibility for implementing the SEND policy • Ensure that the SENCO can influence strategic decisions about SEND. • Ensure the wider school community understands the SEND policy for whole school improvement (from governors to classroom teachers and teaching assistants). • Put in place arrangements to ensure parents are regularly engaged in discussions about the progress of their child (at least three times a year). • Ensure a process is in place for involving parents and young people in reviewing provision and planning for those currently on school action/plus and any newly identified pupils with SEND.
SEND Governor – Mr Babariya• Must have regard to the SEND Code of Practice and should oversee the implementation of the reform and provide strategic support to the headteacher • Must publish information on the school’s websites about the implementation of the governing body’s policy for pupils with SEND. • Must ensure that there is a qualified teacher designated as SENCO. • Must cooperate generally with the local authority including in developing the local offer and when the school is being named in an EHC plan. • Must ensure that arrangements are in place in schools to support pupils at school with medical conditions. • Must also publish information about the arrangements for the admission of disabled children, the steps taken to prevent disabled children from being treated less favourably than others, the facilities provided to assist access of disabled children, and their accessibility plans.

5) How are the teachers in school supported to work with children with an SEND and what training do they have?

The SENCO’s role is to support the teachers in coordinating provisions for children with SEND. The school has a training plan for all staff to improve the teaching and learning of children including those with SEND. This includes whole school training on SEND issues such as ASC, Dyslexia etc. Individual teachers and support staff attend training courses run by outside agencies that are relevant to the needs of specific children in their class e.g. from Ladywood Outreach etc.

6) How are equipment and facilities allocated to support children with special educational needs?

The school budget, received from Bolton LA, includes money for supporting children with SEND. The Head Teacher decides on the budget for Special Educational Needs in consultation with school governors, based on needs in the school. The Headteacher and the SENCO discuss all the information they have about SEND in the school, including, the children getting extra support already the children needing extra support. The children who have been identified as not making as much progress as would be expected. And decide what resources/training and support are needed. All resources/training and support are reviewed regularly, and changes are made as needed and identified on the provision map. The Governors review the Accessibility Plan every year and we work with the LA to make adaptations when necessary.

7) How will the school let me know if they have any concerns about my child’s learning in school?

·  When a teacher or a parent has raised a concern about your child’s progress, and targeted teaching has not met the child’s needs, the teacher must raise this with the SENCo.

·  At Sharples Primary School, there are half-termly assessments and subsequent meetings between class teachers and members of the Senior Leadership Team to ensure all children are making good progress

·  If your child is then identified as not making progress the school will set up a meeting to discuss this with you in more detail, for example;

– to listen to any concerns you may have too – to plan any additional support your child may receive – to discuss with you any referrals to outside professionals to support your child’s learning.

8) How will you consult with my child and involve them in their education?

As part of our approach to teaching and learning for all pupils, we discuss with our children their progress and attainment via pupil conferencing, giving verbal feedback and writing comments in their books. The child is at the centre of what we do.

9) How can I let the school know if I am concerned about my child’s progress in school?

If you have concerns about your child’s progress you should speak to your child’s teacher initially.

  • If you are not happy that the concerns are being managed and that your child is still not making progress you should speak to Mr Slater
  • If you are still not happy that the concerns are being managed and that your child is still not making progress you should speak to Mrs Partington (Head teacher)
  • If you are still not happy you can speak to the SEND governor Mr Slater.

10) How does the governing body involve other people in meeting the needs of pupils with special educational needs and in supporting the families of such pupils?

Directly funded by the schoolTeaching Assistants, additional Educational Psychology input to provide a higher level of service to the school.
Paid for centrally by Local Authority but delivered in school.Visually impaired Resource Base & Ladywood Outreach Team
Provided and paid for by the Health Service but delivered in schoolSchool Nurse/Community Paediatric Nurses Occupational Therapy/Physiotherapy Advanced Practitioner Paediatricians Health Visitors/SALT01204 463569 01204 463407
11) Contact details of other support services
Inclusion and Statutory Assessment01204 332016

12) How will we support your child when they are leaving this school or moving to another year?

School Admission Arrangements Our school is a Local Authority School and as such, we follow the criteria for the LA. Please look on our website under Parents and Admissions for further details.

We recognise that “moving on” can be difficult for a child with SEND and take steps to ensure that any transition is a smooth as possible. If your child is moving to another school:

  • We will contact the school SENCo and ensure they know about any special arrangements or support that need to be made for your child.
  • We will make sure that all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible

When moving years in school:

Information about your child will be shared with their new teachers if your child would be helped by a personalised passport and learning plan for moving to another year, we will put this in place.
Please also see the Local authority’s SEN offer.
http://www.localdirectory.bolton.gov.uk/send.aspx

Disabled Access

Disables access is available through the school’s Main Entrance. All areas of the school building are accessible via ramps and lifts where needed.

Disabled parking is avaiable in the school’s carpark in clearly marked bays. Please ensure your Blue Badge is displayed. In order to gain access to the carpark it is advisable to contact the school office prior to your visit on 01204333077.