Fittleworth C of E Village Primary School
Special educational needs Information Report-Sept 2020-21
The SEND Information Report is reviewed annually. Along with the school’s Local Offer it contains information about SEND procedures at the school.
The people with specific responsibility for SEND provision are:-
Debbie Burnett- Headteacher with overall responsibility for ensuring adequate SEND provision and expenditure.
Kathy Allum-school SENDco with responsibility for managing SEND provision and supporting colleagues-part time 1.5 days a week.
We have a designated governor with responsibility for monitoring SEN provision We are a mainstream church of England primary school. We value all children within the school community equally and are committed to providing a high quality education to all children who attend our school. We believe all children are entitled to a broad and balanced curriculum which is fully accessible. We work in partnership with children, parents and carers to ensure that all children achieve their best, become confident individuals and make a successful transition to the next phase of their education.
Policy Objectives and Principles
Fittleworth C of E Primary School aims to give every child the chance to develop his/her potential in every area – educationally, morally and socially. The Governors, Headteacher and staff are aware that some children will need extra help in some areas in order to enable them to reach their full potential. At Fittleworth C of E Primary School we will endeavour to:· Promote the dignity and self-esteem of all children, whatever their individual needs.· Ensure that we have realistically high expectations of all our children.· Use a variety of assessment procedures to ensure that children’s progress is recognised and develop effective and manageable procedures for recording and monitoring their development.· Have involvement of parents/carers and clear communication concerning special educational provision for their children.· Foster effective relationships with support services and external agencies.
What is Special Educational Needs and Disabilities?
A child has a learning difficulty or disability if
‘A child has SEND if they have a learning difficulty which calls for educational provision to be made for them.’
The 2014 SEN Code of Practice defines Special Educational Needs as follows:
OUR SCHOOL
They can be contacted through the school office on 01798 865419 during school hours.
Special educational needs falls under four broad areas:
Governors
Roles and responsibilities
How do we coordinate SEND provision in our school
How do we identify a special need?
The school’s system for regularly observing, assessing and recording the progress of all children is used to identify children who are not progressing satisfactorily and may have additional needs. Class teachers are responsible for the learning and progress of all the children in their class. Children may already have an identified learning difficulty on entry to school or develop a need requiring special educational provision at any time throughout their school career. If a child already has an identified need on entering school, this information should be transferred to the SENDco and classteacher.
Any concern about a child’s learning or development should in the first instance be raised with the classteacher. If a concern is raised which the class teacher judges to be beyond the scope of class based intervention, the SENDco will be informed and will decide whether SENDco involvement is necessary at this stage.
The SENDco will then explore the results of national curriculum teacher assessments as well as standardised tests administered in school. The parents, class teacher and SENDco will use this information to identify areas of difficulty and the further needs of the child. Appropriate support and strategies are then implemented as agreed by the classteacher, parent and SENDco. A date is set for review and progress monitored.
With the parent’s permission, the SENDco may refer a child to an outside agency to receive further advice, support or assessment. If a special educational need is identified the SENDco will place this child on the SEND register.
How do we evaluate SEND provision?
SEND support takes the form of a four part cycle outlined in the code of practise 2014-Assess, plan, do review.
Assess
In identifying a child as needing SEND support the class teacher with the SENDco should carry out a clear assessment of the pupils needs. This will draw on the teacher’s assessment and experience of the pupil, previous progress and attainment and their development in comparison with their peers, the views of the parent and pupil and advice from external agencies if relevant.
Plan
Following assessment, the SENDco and class teacher work together to plan the support that a child needs to reach their full potential. This is put together in an Individual Learning Plan and a class and/or individual provision map. The plan is then discussed with the parent to add further targets or support. The support or interventions put in place for a child are reviewed at least termly by teachers and SENDco and the ILP’s are reviewed termly with the child, parent, SENDco and class teacher.
Do
The class teacher will remain responsible for working with the child on a daily basis. Where the interventions involve group or one to one teaching away from the class the class teacher and SENDco will work closely with support staff to advise on the effective implementation of support. Children’s progress towards targets is recorded on an intervention evaluation form.
Review
Class teachers and SENDco review the effectiveness of interventions by recording children’s progress towards their targets through the ILP and set new targets together. Adaptations and changes are made to the support for a child as necessary.
Involving specialists
Where a pupil continues to make less than expected progress, despite well founded support and interventions, the school will consider involving specialists. The SENDco may liaise with:
Educational Psychologists
Speech and language team
Learning and behaviour team
Autism and social communication team
School nurse
Early Help
CAMHS
Occupational therapy
Sensory support team
School request for an EHCP
If concerns about the child’s progress within the school’s capacity for support continue over time, the school and parent/carer may consider the criteria for an Educational Health Care plan. If these criteria are met, and the parents/carers are in agreement, the school will request a Statutory Assessment. This may lead to the Local Authority producing an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC plan).
A child who has an EHCP will continue to have arrangements for support in school and also receive additional support provided using funds available through the ehcp. There will be an annual review to review the appropriateness of the provision and to recommend to the LEA whether any changes need to be made, either to the EHCP or the funding arrangements.
All families with an approved EHCP have a legal right to request a personal budget if they choose. Parents can directly buy in the support identified in the plan and take control of their personal budget.
Working with parents
We believe that a parent partnership between the teacher parent and child is vital. Parents have a crucial role to play and will be treated as partners. The SENDco and class teachers will
The thoughts and ideas of our pupils are very important to us. All children have the opportunity to share their views in various ways.
Access
The School Accessibility Plan outlines access arrangements. The plan has been drawn up in accordance with the SEN and Disability Act 2001.
Complaints
If there is any cause for concern, the problem should be resolved at the earliest opportunity. Initial discussions should take place with the class teacher/SENDco. If the matter cannot be resolved an appointment should be made with the headteacher. If an informal approach is inappropriate the matter should be raised in writing initially with the head teacher and then the chair of governors. Any complaints should be made in accordance with the school complaints policy.
During this time of Covid 19 the SEND pupils will be in their own ‘bubbles’ but interventions will continue with precautions as set out in the school’s risk assessment.
If there is a need for remote learning e.g. another lockdown or a shielding family, then this will be provided by class teachers, using class pages on our website, Class Dojo and support from the SENDCo via email or telephone.
How to apply for a SEND school place
Please click on the links below for further information:
Rother Valley Inclusion Hub website
Tips for working with Autistic Children
Children & Family Centre leaflet
Parent Partnership Service
Does your child have special educational needs?
You may like to contact West Sussex Parent Partnership Service who can give you impartial advice, information and guidance on any SEN issue.
0845 075 1008