1. How does the school know if my child needs extra help?
We know pupils may need extra help if:
2. What should I do if I think my child may have special educational needs?
3. How will the School support my child?
4. How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?
5. How will both you and I know how my child is doing?
Children’s progress is assessed half termly by class teachers. The senior leadership team and SENCo work with class teachers to monitor the progress of children with SEN and use this information to adapt future interventions. Information about how your child is doing will be communicated to you as follows:
6. How will you help me to support my child’s learning?
If outside agencies such as the Educational Psychologist have been involved suggestions and intervention programmes maybe provided that can be used to support the learning of your child either at home or in school.
7. What support will there be for my child’s overall well-being?
The school offers a wide variety of pastoral care to support the well-being of all pupils.
These include:
Pupils with medical needs:
8. What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the school?
At times it may be necessary to consult with outside agencies to receive their more specialised expertise. The agencies used by the school include:
9. What training are the staff supporting children with SEND able to access?
We know pupils may need extra help if:
- concerns are raised by parents/carers, school staff, outside agencies or the pupil’s previous school
- there is lack of progress identified through frequent Pupil Progress Meetings or through ongoing class teacher assessments there is a change in the pupil’s behaviour or wider circumstances causing a change in the pupil’s approach to learning
- a pupil asks for help.
2. What should I do if I think my child may have special educational needs?
- If you have concerns then contact your child’s teacher in the first instance
- A further meeting may follow with the SENCO, if needed.
3. How will the School support my child?
- All pupils’ learning needs are planned for by the class teacher to ensure quality first teaching. It will be differentiated accordingly to suit the pupil’s individual needs. This may include additional support by the teacher or teaching assistant in class.
- If a pupil has needs related to more specific areas, such as spelling, handwriting, social & emotional learning, numeracy & literacy skills etc. then they may be given additional targeted support in a personalised way. This will be delivered by the teacher or teaching assistant. The length of time of the intervention will vary according to need. The interventions will be regularly reviewed to ensure progress. Parents/carers will be informed if children are in receipt of this support and are welcome to discuss this with the school at any point.
- Pupil Progress Meetings are held regularly. This is a meeting where the class teacher meets with the Head teacher, members of the Senior Leadership Team or the SENCo to discuss the progress of the pupils in their class. This shared discussion may highlight any current learning needs in order for further support to be planned.
- Occasionally a pupil may need further support from an outside agency such as the Child Development Centre, Occupational Therapy, Speech & Language Therapy, Social Care or the School Nurse etc. Referral will be discussed with parents/carers and forwarded to the most appropriate agency. After assessment, recommendations or advice are given to the school and parents/carers.
- The Governors of the School are responsible for entrusting a named person to monitor Special Educational Needs, Safeguarding and Child Protection procedures (see relevant school policy). Governors are involved in reviewing and monitoring the effectiveness of all school provisions.
4. How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?
- When a pupil has been identified with special needs their work will be matched to the pupils’ needs by the class teacher to enable them to access the curriculum.
- The class teacher and SENCo will write an ILP for the child, setting out targets identified by discussion and assessment.
- The class teacher and SENCo will use the Assess Plan Do Review cycle to plan, and evaluate the effectiveness of, the support any child with SEN is given. School support staff may be allocated to work with the pupil in a 1-1 or small focus group to target more specific needs.
- If appropriate, specialist equipment may be given to the pupil e.g. writing slopes, concentration cushions, pen/pencil grips or easy to use scissors.
- When the personalised curriculum is not sufficient to meet the pupils’ needs, targeted intervention will be put into place and where appropriate, will involve outside agencies.
- Children identified as needing ongoing school support will be placed on our school SEN register. Children without an EHCP or statement will have their needs met through quality first teaching, in class interventions and sometimes individual or group withdrawal for more intense intervention. Children’s progress towards their targets will be regularly monitored.
5. How will both you and I know how my child is doing?
Children’s progress is assessed half termly by class teachers. The senior leadership team and SENCo work with class teachers to monitor the progress of children with SEN and use this information to adapt future interventions. Information about how your child is doing will be communicated to you as follows:
- You will be able to discuss your child’s progress at Parents’ Consultations
- If you have concerns then contact your child’s teacher in the first instance. Appointments can be made to speak in more detail to the class teacher or SENCo by visiting the school office.
- Targets for children requiring school support will be agreed between the school, parents/carers and the pupil. This will happen at least termly.
- Children with a significant level of Special Educational Need will have Education and Health Care Plans.
6. How will you help me to support my child’s learning?
- The class teacher will suggest ways of supporting your child’s learning.
- The SENCo will meet with you to discuss how to support your child. This will form part of the termly assess, plan, do ,review cycle for children with SEN.
- Where appropriate, other professionals may meet with you discuss strategies to use, if there are problems with a child’s emotional needs for instance.
If outside agencies such as the Educational Psychologist have been involved suggestions and intervention programmes maybe provided that can be used to support the learning of your child either at home or in school.
7. What support will there be for my child’s overall well-being?
The school offers a wide variety of pastoral care to support the well-being of all pupils.
These include:
- members of staff are readily available for pupils who wish to discuss issues and concerns. The class teacher is the initial point of contact for both parents and pupils.
- at lunchtime, experienced staff may provide fun games and activities to help develop pupils social skills and enable them to form friendships.
- The School provides additional counselling support to pupils who are experiencing emotional difficulties. This may include sessions with families where concerns are discussed, solutions planned and support put in place.
Pupils with medical needs:
- If a pupil has a medical need then a detailed Care Plan is compiled in consultation with parents/carers. These are discussed with all staff who are involved with the pupil. This will clearly identify any specific training required to support the individual medical need.
- In order for the school to do this, we ask parents/carers to keep us up to date with pupils’ current medical needs.
- Where necessary and in agreement with parents/carers medicines are administered in school (see Administration of Medicines policy)
8. What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the school?
At times it may be necessary to consult with outside agencies to receive their more specialised expertise. The agencies used by the school include:
- School Nurse
- Speech & Language
- Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy services
- Child Development Centre
- Family Support Worker
- Social Communication Team
- Advisory Teachers- Learning & behaviour
- Sensory Support Team- Visual and Hearing Impaired
- CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service)
- Educational Welfare Officer
- Social Services
- Educational Psychologist
9. What training are the staff supporting children with SEND able to access?
- One of the SENCO's roles is to support the class teachers and other adults in planning for children with a SEND.
- Training needs are tailored to individual pupils.
- The training needs of staff are met through county training and in school training, by the SENCO, other staff or relevant outside agencies as appropriate.
- Recent training includes: Robust vocabulary training, narrative therapy training, lego therapy training
10. How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips?
- We aim to include children in all parts of the curriculum and we aim for all children to be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips.
- Risk assessments are carried out prior to any off site activity to ensure everyone's health and safety will not be compromised.
- Sometimes a parent may be asked to accompany the child or alternative arrangements will be discussed.
11. How accessible is the school environment?
As a school we are happy to discuss individual access requirements. Facilities we have at present include:
- ramps into school to make the building accessible to all
- toilets adapted for disabled users
- wide doors in some parts of the building.
12. How will we support your child when they join or leave our school or move to another class?
We understand what a stressful time moving schools can be therefore many strategies are in place to enable the pupil’s transition to be as smooth as possible.
If your child is joining our school in Reception:
- we will visit most pre-school settings and arrange follow up visits or meetings
If your child is moving to another school or joining us from another school:
- we will contact the new/old SENCo and ensure any special arrangements or support needed by your child are passed on
- we will make sure all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible and that these are chased for any pupil joining us
- we will attend meetings or set up phone calls between the previous or receiving schools prior to the pupil joining/leaving
- we may set up additional visits to the new school, where needed.
When moving classes in school:
- all pupils attend a transition visit where they spend time with their new class teacher in July of each year.
- information will be passed on to new class teachers in advance of the move.
- If appropriate we will provide extra information and pictures of the new class for parents to discuss with their child over the summer
In year 6:
- secondary school staff visit pupils prior to them joining their new school
- the SENCo or appropriate members of staff from the primary and secondary schools meet to pass on information regarding pupils with special educational needs and those from vulnerable groups
- the normal induction programme to secondary school maybe elaborated through additional visits to the school
- where a pupil may have more specialised needs, a separate meeting maybe arranged with the primary SENCo, an appropriate member of staff from the secondary school, the parents/carers and the pupil.
- Children with EHC plans transferring to secondary school will have their Annual Review in the Summer Term of Year 5 to enable parents and professionals to discuss appropriate secondary placements.
13. How are the school’s resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?
- The SEN budget is allocated each financial year. The money is used to provide additional support or resources dependent on an individual’s needs.
- Additional provision may be allocated after discussion with the class teacher at the pupil progress meetings or if a concern has been raised with them at another time during the year.
- If any concerns are raised, on completion of any relevant assessments, further support or resources maybe allocated to your child.
- Pupil Premium payments are used to support those pupils learning and well-being (see Pupil Premium information on school website).
14. How is the decision made about how much support my child will receive?
- A decision about how much support is allocated is dependent on the level of need and impact of interventions.
- If the pupil has a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an Education, Health and Care Plan, we always ensure that the statutory requirements are met (as a minimum).
- We also seek and follow guidance from other professionals working with the pupil/family and take on board the wishes and feelings of the child and parents/carers.
- The pupil and parents/carers are consulted and informed when planning interventions and are informed about the impact and outcomes of support and of next steps.
15. How will I be involved in discussions about and planning for my child’s education? How will my child be involved?
All parents are encouraged to contribute to their child’s education. This may be through:
- discussions with the class teacher
- Parents Consultations
- discussions with the SENCo or other professionals
16. Who can I contact for further information? What do I do if I wish to make a complaint?
If you wish to discuss your child’s educational needs or are concerned about something regarding your child’s schooling please contact one of the following:
- your child’s class teacher
- the SENCo
- a member of the Senior Leadership Team or The Headteacher
If you have a complaint about any aspect of the provision for your child, talk to the SENCo or Head teacher. If this is not successful, you can discuss any issues with the governors or Local Authority by following the advice on the West Sussex Local Offer website. This is in line with the West Sussex Local Authority complaints procedure.