WOOD END PRIMARY SCHOOL
SEND Policy and Information Report 2024
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
Wood End Primary School is proud to be an inclusive school. We are committed to achieving the best for all students. Inclusive education means removing barriers to learning and giving children the best start in their lifelong learning. We believe it is good for all children to be educated together.
If a parent or carer has a concern about their child they should discuss this in the first instance with the class teacher. If concerns persist, parents or carers may make an appointment to meet Mrs. Luisa Counihan, our school SENDCo (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator).
Identification of Special Educational Needs
How we know if a child has special educational needs:
- Identification from data
- Teacher observation
- Parental concern
- Student concern
Where a pupil is identified as having a SEND, we will act to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place. This SEND support will take the form of a four-part cycle through which earlier decisions and actions are revisited, refined and revised with a growing understanding of the pupil’s needs and of what supports the pupil in making good progress and securing good outcomes. The cycle is as follows:
Assess: When a child is identified as needing SEND support the class teacher, working with the SENDCo, will carry out an analysis of the pupil’s needs. This will draw on the teacher’s assessment and experience of the pupil; their previous progress and attainment; the individual’s development in comparison to their peers and national data; the views and experience of parents/carers; the pupil’s own views and, if relevant, advice from external support services.
Plan: The teacher and the SENDCo will agree in consultation with the parent and the pupil the adjustments, interventions and support to be put in place, as well as the expected impact on progress, development or behaviour.
Do: The class teacher is responsible for working with the child on a daily basis. They will work closely with any teaching assistants or specialist staff involved, to plan and assess the impact of support and interventions and how they can be linked to classroom teaching.
Review: The impact and quality of the support and interventions will be evaluated, along with the views of the pupil and their parents/carers. This will feed back into the analysis of the pupil’s needs. The class, working with the SENDCo, will revise the support in light of the pupil’s progress and development, deciding on any changes to the support and outcomes in consultation with the parent and pupil. Where a pupil has an Education Health and Care Plan, the local authority will review that plan every twelve months as part of an Annual Review meeting run by the SENDCo.
The Assess, Plan, Do, Review process can be repeated as many times as it is needed, but one cycle would normally take around 12 weeks/a school term to ensure interventions and extra provision have been implemented and reviewed appropriately.
Some areas of SEN (in alphabetical order):
- Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Autism
- Social, Emotional and Mental Health difficulties (SEMH)
- Hearing Impairment (HI)
- Gross/Fine Motor Skills difficulties/impairment (MOT)
- Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD)
- Multiple Sensory Impairment (MSI)
- Medical Conditions (OTH)
- Physical Difficulties (PD)
- Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD)
- Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)
- Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD)
- Specific Learning Difficulties (e.g. dyslexia) (SpLD)
- Visual Impairment (VI)
Some of these areas of need are only addressed within specialist schools or provisions. An open dialogue between parents or carers and the school is encouraged.
Class teachers ensure that children’s individual needs are catered for appropriately within their classroom, whilst the SENDCo provides information on which strategies and/or intervention programmes may be appropriate, and specialist advice.
The SENDCo makes referrals to external agencies if this is agreed to be appropriate because of the complexity of a child’s difficulties. Referrals are only made with parental support. Children with an identified need are placed on the SEN register, a document recording the type of need, support offered, agencies involved and targets to measure progress.
Levels of SEN
SEN Support (previously known as School Action and School Action Plus): where the needs of children are met through the use of school-based resources and external agencies when necessary.
Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP, previously called a Statement of Special Educational Needs): where the needs are significant enough for a plan and additional funding to be necessary for multiple agencies to work with a child to overcome their barriers to learning.
Supporting children with SEN
Each child is unique and individual, but some interventions we use to enable a child to achieve their potential are:
- In-class adaptations by the class teacher, either by level of work or by breaking down tasks to make learning easier and aid understanding.
- In-class support from the class teacher or our teaching assistants, who might work with small groups inside and outside the class room.
- Specialist resources to aid learning.
- Specialist intervention, e.g. from Speech and Language Therapist, physiotherapists, Specialist Teaching Service.
- Referrals to other agencies for assessment, advice and intervention, including the Educational Psychology Service (EPS), Specialist Teacher Service (STS), Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), Speech and Language Therapy (SALT), Visual Impairment Service, Hearing Impairment Service. Some of these agencies work in the school, to access other services children have to go with their parents or carers to see the specialists.
A core principle is to provide support in class, while accepting that some interventions have to happen out of class. We aim to keep withdrawals from lessons to a minimum.
Children with an EHCP and some children with SEND Support require a personalised education programme due to the complexity of their additional needs. This is planned by the SENDCo, the class teacher and external experts as appropriate.
Parents or carers and teachers of children who are on the school’s SEND register meet with the SENDCo/class teacher to compose targets for an Individual Education Plan (IEP), to review progress and provisions and to identify next steps. Outside specialists may support the needs of some children if this is deemed appropriate.
How we adapt our teaching
- Where necessary, learning objectives may be simplified in order to accurately match a child’s stage of development, so as to ensure they can make progress within every lesson.
- Children with specific learning difficulties may record their learning using alternative methods. This can include the use of ICT.
- Additional resources and/or scaffolds may be provided. For example, a number square may be provided to help with calculation and writing frames with sentence starters to structure extended writing.
- Appropriately pitched questions are directed at children, so that all can be actively involved in whole-class teaching sessions.
How we allocate resources
- The school’s Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND) budget is used to fund additional adult support in class and at playtimes, so intervention, enrichment and mentoring programmes can take place; to buy any specialist support, and/or resources that are necessary to ensure access to the curriculum; to cover the cost of training in order to build staff skills.
- Resources are allocated in line with each child’s needs, as identified on the provision map. The provision map is evaluated annually in order to judge the level of impact on pupil learning and progress to ensure value for money.
- The SENDCo liaises with the school’s School Business Manager and Head Teacher in order to ensure that the SEND budget is spent appropriately to support children with additional needs.
- Children who have an EHCP will have their own allocated budget. This is spent on meeting the child’s needs directly and indirectly through resources and staffing.
How we check whether a child is making progress
- Teachers mark and assess each child’s learning and achievement towards targets in order to check they are making progress.
- Children are assessed three times a year. The SENDCo analyses this data to ensure that children with a SEND are making progress compared with their expected benchmarks.
- Children involved in intervention programmes are assessed at the start and end of the programme in order to measure impact. The benchmarks used depend on the objectives of that intervention.
- The SENDCo will be available at Parent Evenings to discuss progress of children on the SEND register. The parents or carers of children who are not on the SEND register are also welcome to come and discuss any concerns they may have.
Children with health needs
Parents or carers of children who have a medical condition must notify the school, so our medical register is accurate.
Children who have serious or chronic medical needs must have a medical care plan, identifying what their condition is and what care needs to be provided as a result. If your child has a serious medical condition you must ensure that you make an appointment with the SENDCo, so that a plan can be drawn up.
If your child has an asthma pump or an Epipen you must ensure that these are labelled (child’s name and class) and handed to the school office, so that they can be stored appropriately.
If your child needs prescribed medicines these should, where possible, be administered at home. If medicine needs to be administered during the school day you must request a form from the school office and ensure that this is filled in and returned to school. Medicines will not be administered if this procedure has not been followed.
External Agencies
Specialist external services we use when we think extra help is needed.
- We have access to an Educational Psychologist who can help with the identification of specific learning difficulties and barriers to learning; provides support and advice to parents or carers and school staff with regard to ensuring provision is appropriate and needs are met for children with additional needs; and may work directly with children as part of their personalised support package.
- We also have access to the Specialist Teacher Service (STS) who come into school to assess, observe and work with our children identified as having a SEND. They are able to offer specialist support for pupils and advice for teachings staff focusing on a child’s specific area(s) of need.
- An NHS Speech and Language Therapist supports us in school. She helps to identify children who have a specific difficulty with speech, language and communication. She can also work directly with children, providing blocks of speech and language therapy, if this is what the child needs.
- The Warwickshire School Nurse Team advises on medical issues and assesses medical needs in school, such as hearing and sight tests.
- Other external services are commissioned when needed.
Preparing for children joining and leaving our school
Parents or carers of children with additional needs are encouraged to meet with the SENDCo prior to their child starting, in order that the school has a good understanding of the child’s needs and can ensure that appropriate support and provision is in place.
The SENDCo liaises with colleagues in nurseries, pre-school settings and secondary schools in order to ensure that appropriate transition arrangements are in place.
Year 6 teachers plan lessons during the summer term in order to prepare children for secondary school.
Visits to local secondary schools are arranged for children who will be transferring to them. Students with additional needs may visit more often so they can prepare for the transition to secondary.