Special Educational Needs – Information Report 2024
The following information is provided in a “Question & Answer” format and contains information correct in January 2022.
| 1) How does our school know/identify that children have special educational needs (SEND)? |
| School works closely with feeder pre-school groups and other professionals if a pre-existing issue has been identified. In school, observation and assessment, is a core part of our daily work. Where issues are suspected, school refers to the existing Gloucestershire Code-of-practice to identify specific difficulties. We will use screening software when appropriate and dialogue with parents and other professionals to confirm any needs which require a different approach, either in class or around the school day. |
| 2) What are the first steps our school will take if special educational needs are identified? |
| If special educational needs are identified the school will arrange an appointment between parents, the class teacher and the school’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) to discuss ways forward. This may require seeking the permission of parents for the school to engage professionals from outside the school (such as Speech and Language Therapists). Information about the children currently on the school’s SEND Register is circulated at regular intervals to all teachers and teaching assistants. Where the need is appropriate, mid-day staff are also informed. |
| 3) What should parents/carers do if they think their child has SEND? How can they raise concerns? |
| In the first instance Parents should discuss their concerns with the class teacher and/or the school’s SENCO. Resources are also ‘signposted’ from the school’s website. |
| 4) How will our school include parents and children in planning and reviewing support? |
| Parents are invited to share their views at regular appointments with the class teacher, and additional meetings with the SENCO are also available, so that all parties can be made aware of developments. As children become old enough to understand their role in this partnership, specific targets become part of their daily (or weekly) experience. The regular class targets set by teachers should reflect the ‘next steps’ required for success. In our small school, all staff are able to maintain a dialogue with Parents and Carers. Key messages, progress statements and information about difficulties should come though the Class teacher, SENCO or Head Teacher as appropriate. |
| 5) How will our school teach and support children with SEND? |
| School uses ‘Quality First’ teaching “ by which we mean that lessons are already differentiated to account for different levels of need within our lessons. Within our planning, teachers must identify specific learning intentions for children appropriate to the need. This approach includes pupil groupings, timetabled support from Teaching Assistants and access to tools or materials to support learning. This may also include access to other resources, including software, which meets a specific need. Children on the SEND register will have a “My Plan” (or “My Plan Plus”) which will detail need, planned support and small-step targets for pupil progress. Small-group and individual sessions are timetabled, sometimes in the classroom but often in other learning spaces around the school, where the focus of taught sessions is to help the children reach their next curricular target. For children with an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP), there is the added involvement and advice of additional professionals (typically Health and Care workers) which is taken on at an early stage. |
| 6) How does our school plan the support? How are our resources allocated and matched to needs? |
| The SENCO will liaise with the class teacher, teaching assistants, parents and Head Teacher to agree the support available. This includes a discussion about the levels of staffing required and any additional resources which school does not carry ˜as standard’. Support Plans are shared with parents. |
| 7) How is the decision made about the support your child will receive? |
| Our school aims to reach these decisions in partnership with parents and, where appropriate, with the children themselves. This discussion occurs at the time of identification or review. |
| 8) How will the effectiveness of our SEND provision be assessed and reviewed? |
| Progress is assessed by class teachers and moderated between class teachers and teaching assistants. Where “My Plan” (or “My Plan Plus”) targets are reached, new targets are put in place (or the child may be removed from the register). Where targets are not met, those responsible for the implementation of the plan will discuss alternative approaches. Children are involved as appropriate to their age and levels of understanding. The Head Teacher and SENCO review the progress of children on the register, as individuals and, where numerically significant, as a group. Anonymous progress data is shared with the School Governors 3 times each year. Parents are invited to complete a survey about the effectiveness of the SEND provision, and the results of this are shared with the staff, head teacher and Governors as appropriate. |
| 9) Who will be working with your child? |
| Each child’s Class Teacher is the ‘key worker’ for that individual, and is responsible for the progress each child makes. Targets for progress are set by the Head Teacher in discussion with the class teacher. Intervention work happens with the class teacher’s knowledge and understanding. Feedback from each intervention must be passed to the class teacher in the first instance, and the SENCO and Head Teacher as appropriate. The class teacher and SENCO in partnership plan the work and agree the expected outcomes for children receiving support. Where the implementation of the support is carried out by teaching assistants, the successes of each session are shared back to the class teacher, and the next steps are planned. Teaching Assistants often work 1:1 and in small groups, both within and outside the classroom, to support children on the SEND register. In our small school ‘all relevant staff’ typically number 5 or less adults. The SENCO maintains a register of those with SEND and this is circulated appropriately. The SENCO plans and monitors the delivery of the interventions. Each staff meeting starts with a discussion about vulnerable individuals. |
| 10) Which other services do we use to provide for and support our pupils? |
| Our school works with the following services to provide support: Health, Social Services, Local authority support services, voluntary organisations specialist support teachers, educational psychologists, teachers for hearing and visual impairment, ASD advisory teachers, behaviour support etc. |
| 11) How do we meet the needs of children with SEND? |
| Assessment of current abilities provides an important starting place for need identification. This may include ‘academic’ learning, physical abilities and social or behavioural capabilities. From here ˜next steps’ are planned and these form the basis of the targets which appear on a child’s “My Plan” (or “My Plan Plus”). In working closely with individuals we also gain a good understanding of how they feel and respond to the provision they receive. Interventions, resources and software used in the past include: Dancing Bears, Apples and Pears, Rapid Reading Rapid Maths Precision Teaching Social Stories 5-minute Maths Behaviour Plans Stile boxes Springboard Maths Clicker Sumthing beads |
| At North Nibley we remain open to exploring new materials and approaches if they are possibly a greater help to a child than the interventions we know well. We have policies in place to support children with medical needs, such as administration of medicine policy, anti-bullying policy and behaviour policy. We will always sensitively adjust our practise to meet the needs of individual children. Staff work one-to-one with children, and the traditional ‘Primary School’ model of class teachers with pastoral responsibility works well. Through ‘circle work’ and PSHE lessons children are encouraged to share their opinions and concerns. Children take part in school-based surveys and ‘worry-wallets’ are available in class. All teaching and learning areas within the building are accessible to all children, including those with SEND. This includes wheelchair users. All parts of the current curriculum are accessible to all our children. Where aspects of the new National Curriculum present a challenge, school will endeavour to modify activities, resources and facilities to ensure full inclusion. All extra-curricular activities are available to all children, though some activities are restricted to specific year groups for logistical reasons. School would review this if the need arises. Our school believes that ‘enrichment’ opportunities, such as visits out, are an important part of our core curriculum offer. Where needs, such as physical disability, are an issue, school will find ways to ensure that the offer is inclusive for all pupils as far as is reasonable. For example, wheelchair users have successfully accompanied their peers on the school residential to London. |
| 12) How else do we support families of these pupils? |
| In addition to the meetings mentioned above, school makes available, or ‘signposts’, supportive literature and online support. Meetings may equip parents with practical skills and understanding of techniques being used, for example how to support a child with a support activity, intervention or homework which helps children make progress. |
| 13) How does our school measure outcomes and impact of the support provided to the children? |
| Those leading an intervention monitor the progress of children within a supported session. This information is passed to the class teacher. The Class Teacher monitors the progress of the children over a (traditional, ‘long’ term, using the assessment criteria adopted by the school) and this information is made available to parents and the Head teacher. “My Plan” (or “My Plan Plus”) plans are updated and successes and difficulties are shared. The Head Teacher and SENCO review the progress of children on the register, as individuals and, where numerically significant, as a group. This in turn provides information about the effectiveness of any intervention. Allowances are made for the small numbers of children in any ˜group’ Anonymous progress data is shared with the School Governors 3 times each year. From this staff implement, or reject, intervention strategies according to their recent success. When we feedback to you, either at Parent’s Evening consultations or at “My Plan” (or “My Plan Plus”) review meetings, we will be making judgements about the provision we have arranged. This includes information from parents about their views and experiences of the intervention offered. The Head Teacher and SENCO review the progress of children on the register, as individuals and, where numerically significant, as a group. This in turn provides information about the effectiveness of any intervention. Allowances are made for the small numbers of children in any ‘group’ Anonymous progress data is shared with the School Governors 3 times each year. From this staff continue to implement, or reject, intervention strategies according to their recent success. |
| 14) When and at what interval will this happen? |
| All parents are informed at least 3 times a year, in person or via written reports. Additional meetings are offered to parents of children on the SEND register. “My Plan” (or “My Plan Plus”) plans are reviewed at least three times a year, and where targets are achieved at a faster rate, new plans may be put in place more regularly. The success of an intervention strategy is reviewed termly and on an annual basis, at the end of the school year. |
| 15) How will our school involve children with SEND in their education? |
| Along with all children, those with SEND will be aware of their targets and their progress towards them. Increasingly we are adapting our mid-term planning to take account of pupil interest in a topic/theme, for example children might identify something of particular interest when starting a topic, which the teacher will return towards the end of the topic. Children are always informed of their progress in a supported session. This may refer to short-term or long-term targets. Along with all children, progress is celebrated through ‘certificates’, team points, stickers and marking. |
| 16) What special arrangements are made for statutory tests (SATS)? |
| Where a child is found to be eligible, children can be dis-applied or given additional time to complete a statutory test. In certain circumstances children can be supported with a ‘reader’. The Year 6 teacher will have further information for you if you require it. |
| 17) How do we welcome children on entry/transfer into our school? |
| All Reception children are carefully ‘paired’ with a Year 6 buddy (who they will have met as Year 5 on various induction days before September). Other joiners will be introduced specifically to a named ‘friend’ (or friends) in the same class. These buddies and friend will ensure that the new child finds playmates during the breaks, knows where the toilets are and attends lunch at the appropriate times. If SEND needs are known in advance, information will be shared with appropriate staff. If needs are behavioural or social in nature, information will also be shared with mid-day staff. |
| 18) What arrangements are in place when our SEND pupils transfer? |
| For a child leaving us early, school co-operates fully with the receiving school, sharing all appropriate information, including attendance and progress data as well as information about SEND targets and the history of interventions, together with their outcomes. This may require a meeting with a representative of the new school. On transfer to Secondary, our staff always meet with the Year Group tutor or liaison officer, and discusses all pertinent issues. Our school has no experience of managing a transfer to another school following an exclusion. However, a County protocol exists and we would conform fully with it. |
| 19) What role do the governors have? What does our SEND governor do? |
| Governors have a responsibility to hold the school to account for the effectiveness of the education provided. They review anonymous attainment and progress data, which is filtered to include the data for identifiable groups, including those with SEND and Looked After Children (those children in the care of Social Services). Governors review policy, visit the school, meet with teachers and teaching assistants and oversee the publication (on-line) of SEND information (amongst other information). The SEND Governor meets with the SENCO and monitors the implementation of the policy. Appropriate to their own level of knowledge and experience, they might also suggest additional strategies or areas of support to reflect the school’s current areas of development. |
| 20) What can you do if you are not happy? |
| The Class teacher is the first point of contact if you are concerned. The SENCO and/or the Head Teacher would be the next. The school’s complaints procedure is available online if you are still unsatisfied. |
| 21) Where can you find our SEND policy? |
| Please click the link below to our Policies page. Policies are listed alphabetically. Our SEND Policy is entitled “Special Educational Needs Policy” |
| 22) Who can you contact for more information? |
| The SENCO, Ms Surridge, would be pleased to provide more information. School is very happy to encourage visitors. Please contact the school on 01453 542600 to arrange a visit. |