Our SEN Provision

At St. Margaret’s C of E Primary School, we have experience of supporting children and young people with a wide range of need including:

• General Learning Difficulties – children whose learning progresses at a slower pace
• Speech and Language Difficulties
• Dyslexia (difficulties with reading, writing and spelling)
• Dyspraxia (problems with motor skills, organisation)
• Dyscalculia (difficulties with number work)
• Autism
• ADD/ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder / Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
• Down Syndrome
• Cerebral Palsy
• Other Physical/Medical Needs

The school provides data on the levels and types of need to the Local Authority. This is collected through the school census.

Inclusive education means supporting all pupils to learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of school life alongside their peers. Our curriculum includes, not only the formal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum / National Curriculum, but also a range of additional opportunities to enrich the experiences of all pupils.

The Curriculum also includes the social aspects that are essential for lifelong learning, personal growth and development of independence.

At St Margaret’s Primary School we pride ourselves in being inclusive, which means supporting all pupils to learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of school life alongside their peers. Pupils will access the National Curriculum at a level and a pace that is appropriate to their abilities. Alongside this, we also provide additional experiences to enrich the learning experience of our pupils, encouraging children to become life-long learners and promote the development of independence at all ages and ability levels. By encouraging independence at all age and ability levels we endeavour to develop confidence, improve self-esteem and promote enthusiasm in all our pupils.

Some of the actions we may take to achieve this are:

• Modify the curriculum to meet individual needs so that they are able to fully develop their abilities, interests and aptitudes and gain maximum access to the curriculum.
• Ensure that teaching staff are aware of and sensitive to the needs of all pupils, teaching pupils in a way that is more appropriate to their needs.
• Work in partnership with parents/ carers, pupils and relevant external agencies in order to provide for children’s special educational needs and disabilities.
• Identify at the earliest opportunity, all children that may need special consideration to support their needs (whether these are educational, social, physical or emotional)
• Ensure that all children with SEND are fully included in all activities of the school  (including enrichment/after school activities) in order to promote the highest levels of achievement.

All pupils have the entitlement to a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum. All teaching and support staff are aware of the National Curriculum Inclusion Statement, and with advice from and the support of the SENCO, teachers match the learning to the needs and abilities of the pupils. They use a range of strategies to develop the pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills including the use of ICT. Where appropriate, materials are modified or support is provided to enable pupils with SEND to access the learning or the assessment processes.

The school and SENCo regularly review issues related to pupils with SEND to include classroom organisation, teaching styles and methods, materials and tasks to determine how these could be improved. Children are supported in a variety of different ways as appropriate to their needs, which include individual support, in small groups and in class. Withdrawal sessions are used judiciously to support pupils carefully with specific academic, behavioural and/or emotional difficulties. Withdrawal sessions are timetabled in consultation with the class teacher to minimise the impact of withdrawal on delivery of the curriculum, actively seeking to ensure curriculum needs are met.

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The Wider Curriculum

In addition to the statutory curriculum the school provides a wide range of additional activities. These include a range of musical, creative and sporting activities/ clubs etc. Pupils with SEND are actively encouraged and supported to join in and benefit from these activities.

Children learn and develop in different ways and may need extra help and support at various points throughout their time at school. During their school career, many children will face barriers to learning that will require support. These needs can be met in various ways.

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Quality First Teaching  (QFT)

Most children receive their support through good classroom practice (QFT).

This will include:

• Changing the way lessons are planned and delivered
• Matching activities to the ability / need of your child (differentiation)
• Adapting learning materials such as worksheets, books and activities to suit your child’s needs
• Small group support.

A child may require SEN Support, if the quality first teaching and specific interventions used to help overcome their barriers is found to be insufficient in meeting their needs.

Our SENCO, (currently Mrs Nikki Durie) working alongside class teachers, oversees all SEN provision, different approaches to teaching and monitors progress of any child requiring additional support across the school to ensure the right support is put in place for each child. The SENCO will advise staff on how to help each child, arrange additional training if necessary and well as liaising with other professionals. Children’s needs will be frequently reassessed regularly in order to ensure that the provision is suitable and supports every child’s development.

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The provision for pupils with SEN across the four Broad Areas of Need may include some of the following interventions;

Support for children with physical needs:

• Quality First Teaching, accessing a broad and balanced curriculum
• Gross Motor Skills interventions.
• Fine Motor Skills interventions.
• Specialist  support from outside agencies e.g. Occupational Therapy
• Specific physical therapy planned for by specialists

Support for children with speech, language and communication needs:

• Quality First Teaching, accessing a broad and balanced curriculum
• Daily Speech and Language interventions.
• Specialist group support from outside agencies e.g. Speech and Language Therapy

Support for children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties:

• Quality First Teaching, accessing a broad and balanced curriculum
• Children in Key Stage 2 engage in an Anti-Bullying programme.
• Participation in the Thrive programme
• Specialist support from outside agencies e.g. CAMHs and Ewel team
• Counselling
• ‘Drawing and Talking’ for one to one intervention

Support for children with cognition and learning needs:

• Quality First Teaching, accessing a broad and balanced curriculum
• Maths and English specific interventions
• Specialist  support from outside agencies e.g. Educational Psychology Service
• Specific individual support for children whose learning needs are severe, complex and lifelong and what this means for your child e.g. Dyslexia, Dyspraxia
• Range of teaching and learning styles;
• A broad range of extra-curricular activities, including After-School
• Differentiation
• Magical spelling intervention

Children with SEND have a Support Plan. Parents are invited into school to review and discuss support and progress with staff every term. The effectiveness of the support and interventions and their impact on the pupil’s progress will be reviewed. The class teacher, working with the SENCO, will revise the support in light of the pupil’s progress. If a pupil does not make expected progress over a sustained period of time, school will consider involving specialists.

More details on how we adapt information, our environment and curriculum can be found in the Accessibility Plan which you can find in the School Policies section of our website.

Early Identification of Need 

Most children and young people in mainstream schools will have their special educational needs met through good classroom practice. This is called Quality First Teaching.

In deciding whether to make special education provision to support educational, social, physical or emotional needs, we:

• Work in partnership with parents/carers and pupils
• Consult with relevant external agencies
• Use assessment tools & materials
• Use observations
• Use Short Notes
• Other

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SEN Support Plan

The identification of SEN is built into the overall approach to monitoring the progress and development of all pupils in school. Termly, pupil progress meetings support the early identification of pupils who may have SEN. Where concerns are identified this is discussed with the SENCO. They may then decide that a SEN support plan is appropriate. Where a pupil is identified as having a special educational need we follow a graduated approach which takes the form of cycles of “Assess, Plan, Do, Review”

The Four Part Cycle:

Assess

The class teacher, working with the SENCO, will carry out a clear analysis of a pupil’s needs. This assessment will be reviewed regularly. Where appropriate, professionals will help to inform the assessment. Parents will be asked to contribute to the assessment.

Plan

Parents will be formally notified, through meetings with the class teacher and SENCO of any planned interventions or support. Adjustments, interventions, support and a review date will be agreed with staff, parents and the pupil. As part of this approach, every child with SEN will have an individualised SEN Support Plan that describes the child’s needs, outcomes & provision to meet those needs.  Parents/carers and child views are integral to this process.

Do

The class teacher will remain responsible for working with the pupil on a daily basis and retain responsibility for their progress and outcomes. The class teacher and SENCO, will plan and assess the impact of support and interventions with any teaching assistants or specialist staff involved.

Review

The effectiveness of the support and interventions and their impact on the pupil’s progress will be reviewed on the agreed date. Reviews will be held with parents at least three times per year. The class teacher, working with the SENCO, will revise the support in light of the pupil’s progress.

If a pupil does not make expected progress over a sustained period of time, school will consider involving specialists. The next steps may require the involvement of specialist support or advice for example, Educational Psychology, SENDIASS (Parents Advice and Support Service) or another of education health and social care professional. It is important to understand that the involvement of professionals does not always seek to label or diagnose but to seek advice and strategies to enable a child/young person to reach their full potential.

A small percentage of children and young people with significant and/or complex needs may require an assessment that could lead to an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

The purpose of an EHCP is to make special educational provision to meet special educational needs of the child or young person, to secure the best possible outcomes for them across education (SEND Code of Practice p.142). It is a legal document that describes a child or young person’s special educational, health and social care needs. We currently have four children with EHC Plans.

For more detailed information see the Local Offer.

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Details of Identification and Assessment of Pupils with SEN

When your child enters our school, their current attainment is assessed to give us a ‘baseline’ from where they will progress. In addition to the assessments that all children take part in  and depending upon their needs, other assessments may be needed. If your child has SEN, we may carry out further assessments in order for us to identify any needs they may have accurately. This will be done through a range of methods including classroom observations, in school assessment materials or in conjunctions with outside agencies such as the Educational Psychologist.

These may include;

Communication and interaction (SLCN, ASC) 

• Speech and Language Link Assessment
• Blanks assessment from Elklan
• Speech Therapy Assessments – which may focus on sound production, language understanding, or other relevant assessments of your child’s needs

Cognition and learning (MLD, PMLD, SLD, SpLD) 

• Subject specific assessment
• Test of visual perception (TVPS) assessment tool
• Education Psychology visits – which may include assessments of memory, understanding, reasoning, logic, and general skills assessment.
• Descriptors from the Cognition and learning team

Social, Emotional and Health Difficulties 

• Assess through observations of pupils
• Self-esteem assessment (CBT resources)

Sensory and/or Physical Difficulties 

• Movement Programme baseline assessment
• Handwriting assessment using OT referral

Children are assessed against age-related expectations within the National Curriculum or they may be assessed against other measures for children who are not ready to work on National Curriculum Levels (i.e. the steps before the National Curriculum).  Aspirational targets are set for all children to ensure that all children make good progress, including those not ready to access the National Curriculum.

The class teacher, alongside the SENCo will discuss the child’s needs and what support would be appropriate. Teachers use assessments and observations of children on a regular basis to review their needs and what provision is most appropriate. Different children will require different levels of support, in order to bridge the gap to achieve age -related expectations, which could be on a one to one basis, within a group, support by a teacher or teaching assistant or through peer support and in or out of class. Throughout the process, we keep an on-going dialogue with yourselves as parents.

We are committed to working with parents and carers to identify their child’s needs and support. Parents and carers will be involved throughout the process. We operate an ‘open-door’ policy, where parents and carers are welcome to come into school to discuss any concerns they may have.

For further information please view or download our Accessibility Plan which can be found in the School Policies section of our website.

We enable all children to engage fully in all aspects of school life. To do this, we:

• Ensure that all children with SEN are fully included in all activities of the school, in order to promote the highest levels of achievement. For example; ensuring that children with language delay are supported with visual aids and prompts.
• Ensure that all pupils have access to the school curriculum and all school activities. For example; additional adult support to model and support learning.  We are prepared to seek advice, resources, equipment and we continually invest in training when needed in order to provide quality-learning experiences for our children.
• Ensure every child has the entitlement to a sense of achievement. We celebrate achievements throughout school, such as weekly achievement worships where academic and non-academic progress is celebrated. We also employ a reward system (using both class dojos and a stamps towards school ‘Values Card’) that encourages children to embody our school values to be kind, caring and considerate towards others.
• Plan activities such as visits and trips, with consideration for children with SEND so that they can fully participate, for example; staff will visit places and complete risk assessments.

We continuously ensure the provision has a positive impact on the outcomes for all of our children/young people. St. Margaret’s, including the Governing Body, is committed to regular and systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of its work. In this respect, the Headteacher will report termly to Governors upon the quality of education provided for and the achievements of pupils with SEN.

We do this in a variety of ways, including:

• Robust evaluation of policy and practice
• Book scrutinies
• SENCo/SLT/Governor monitoring
• Learning walks
• Questionnaires and feedback from parents
• Regular observation of teaching by the Head-teacher and other senior teachers and subject leaders.