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SEND - Special educational needs and disabilities

Special Educational Needs and Disability - SEND

Special Educational Needs and Inclusion at Deanshanger Primary School are co-ordinated by our Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) Mrs Natalie Parsonson - SENCo@deanshanger.northants.sch.uk

The lead governors responsible for Special Educational Needs and Inclusion is Mrs Laura Partridge. 

Across the school we ensure that all children’s needs are catered for, allowing for them to be involved in all aspects of the curriculum. This is delivered in a number of different ways from differentiated lessons, specific small group interventions and one to one support to develop a specific aspect of a child’s learning need.  A provision map for each year group shows the additional support being delivered to meet the needs in that year group.

Some children may require further assistance and support with their learning where guidance from county based agencies such as the Education Psychologist, School Nursing Team, Speech and Language Therapists, Autism Outreach and other organisations is sought. When a child needs this level of additional support with their learning, a clear programme of learning and support is put in place to ensure that work is appropriately matched and termly targets are set. This is recorded in an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and is shared with parents and the child. 

Children may require high levels of support to meet their needs.  In this case we may need to move from an IEP to an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). This is also shared with parents and the child and provides more specific targets to support the child in all aspects of their learning and social engagement.  

We have a comprehensive Inclusion Policy, which has recently been updated to meet the requirements of The Code of Practice, set out by the DfE.  A copy of the policy can be viewed on the policy page of the website. Alternatively, you can request a hard copy from the school office. Within the policy you will find out about - 

  • Our provision for SEND and how we promote inclusion 
  • Methods for identifying and assessing pupils with Special Educational Needs
  • Additional support available in our school for children with Special Educational Needs
  • How the school involves pupils with Special Educational Needs and their parents in decisions
  • Working alongside other professionals, including health and social services to meet the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and supporting their families
  • The role of governors
  • The Local Authority Special Educational Needs offer. For more information click here

All staff and governors also have a duty to promote equality and accessibility for the disabled which are fully explained in the school’s Equality Policy and Accessibility Plan.

If you have any questions about provision for your child, their progress and attainment and well-being in any way, you should contact the class teacher in the first instance followed by Mrs Natalie Parsonson (SENCo) and/or Mrs Rachel Rice (Head teacher)

 

At Deanshanger Primary school we support children with a variety of special education needs and disabilities. Our special needs and disabilities coordinator (SENDCo) is Mrs Natalie Parsonson: senco@deanshanger.northants.sch.uk

The 4 main areas in which these are categorised are:

  • Social, emotional and mental health
  • Cognition and learning
  • Communication and interaction
  • Physical and sensory

Across the school we ensure that all children’s needs are catered for, allowing for them to be involved in all aspects of the curriculum. This is delivered in a number of different ways from differentiated lessons, specific small group interventions and one to one support to develop a specific aspect of a child’s learning need.  

Children are identified as having SEN through a variety of ways including the following: -

  • Liaison with previous school/early years setting
  • Child performing below age expected levels
  • Concerns raised by parents/carers
  • Concerns raised by teacher for example behaviour or self-esteem is affecting performance
  • Liaison with external agencies i.e. physical/speech and language therapist etc
  • Health diagnosis through paediatrician

What do I do if I feel my child may have a special educational need?

Talk to us. We encourage all parents to speak openly to their child’s class teacher in the first instance. This will help to build a full picture of any concerns or needs. The teacher will then direct you to the SENCO or pass your concern on if necessary. 

Throughout the academic year class teachers undertake a range of different assessments to monitor the children’s progress. Termly meetings take place with senior leaders, phase leaders and class teachers to discuss the progress of the children and a focus is on identifying the children who may have not met expected progress. Strategies and interventions for support are discussed and implemented if deemed appropriate. 

How will I know how well my child is doing?

As a school we have an open door policy and encourage parents to talk to us about how their child is progressing. The SENDCo, Mrs Natalie Parsonson, is easily contactable via email on: senco@deanshanger.northants.sch.uk or via the school office.

Parents evening meeting are held termly with class teachers and are a perfect opportunity to raise any potential concerns.

Those pupils recognised by the school as having a Special Education Need or Disability will be recognised on the school SEND register under the category ‘SEND Support’. At parents evening meetings any additional support that is in place will be discussed and reviewed. Students who are ‘SEND’ support will also have an ‘Individual education plan’ (IEP) which are reviewed termly and shared with parents to show progress or discuss why progress may have not been made. Our IEP’s use an assess, plan, do, review format to ensure targets are clear and progress is easily identifiable.

For pupils with an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP), there will be a formal annual review held in school once per year to review how well the EHCP is meeting the pupils’ needs. Where possible, these meetings will also involve any staff working with the pupil in school. It is likely that these children will also have an IEP with targets linked to their EHCP targets which will be reviewed termly and new targets set is necessary.

How will learning be adapted to my child’s needs?

Quality First Teaching is in place in all classes and helps to ensure all pupils are able to access the curriculum. Teachers are skilled at developing their teaching to meet the diverse needs of the pupils in their class.

Differentiation is the process by which Teachers ensure that tasks are matched to pupils’ abilities. This might involve the use of adult support, different resources being used or different outcomes being expected of the pupils. Typically, this might mean that in a lesson there would be three different levels of work set for the class, however on occasions this can be individually differentiated. This is to help ensure that all pupils can experience both success and challenge in their learning.

Our broad and balanced curriculum is accessed by all pupils. Adaptations are made to support specific curriculum needs.

As well at teachers, at Deanshanger primary school, we also have Learning support assistants. The use of these is closely monitors by the teachers, SENDCo and Head to ensure maximum impact on pupil learning, progress and engagement.

If appropriate there maybe specific 1:1 support for identified pupils to work on certain areas of need. Small group interventions and support happen on a daily basis as DPS and these can change on a half term or termly basis depending on the needs of the pupils. We also have a learning mentor who works closely with children who may be having social and emotional difficulties, as well as helping to identify children with a cognition learning need or those requiring support with their speech and language.

Physical adaptations may be required to the school or classroom environment to help support the learning of specific children. This may involve sourcing specific equipment or getting advice and guidance from external sources. We work closely with specialist teachers for visual and hearing impairment.

What support will be there for my child’s overall wellbeing?

Mrs Lynn Mildren and Mrs Nicky Tapp are our school learning mentors and they are available to help support children with their wellbeing - they meet regularly and work with identified children on specific issues or concerns. They have an open-door policy in which children know they can go and speak to them if they have any concerns. At lunchtime, children are able to talk to our learning mentors at the Listening Ear. 

Weekly mindfulness sessions for the whole school are presented teaching many different relaxation, regulation and coaching strategies. Also, as part of our PSHE schemes within the classroom, mental health and wellbeing is a topic often covered and discussed in class with our children.

What specialist services and expertise are available or accessed by the school?

Our SENDCo seeks and engages with many outside agencies to access additional support if required as well as advice and guidance for parents. Our SENDCo also actively engages in local opportunities to share the best practise and keep up-to-date with local and national policies to support children with SEND. This may be through the Grand Union Partnership Trust or the wider SEND community.

At DPS, we are part of the SEND partnership of schools in Northamptonshire and within this network there are over 16 other schools from the local authority and 5 external professional agencies who offer support for children with SEND and their parents. Throughout the academic year this partnership enables us to access CPD training for staff and workshops for parents on specific SEND areas of need.     

As a school, we are able to support with referrals to additional services including Occupational Therapists and Speech and Language Therapists and paediatricians. Our SENCO supports parents with referrals to community paediatricians and is able to provide written evidence for parents to detail any provision that a child is having at school. We welcome visits in school from outside professionals involving observations and discussions about individual children and actively use any strategies suggested to us to improve our provision.

Regular engagement with the local authority is essential when more long-term support plans needs to be put in place, for example, and Education Health and Care Plan.

The Local Offer is a directory of information that helps families to find and access support and, through getting families feedback on the Local Offer, will become a useful tool in considering what services need to be changed and developed. All local authorities are required to have their own local offer as part of the government’s SEND reforms.

The Local Offer for Northampton can be found on the following website:

https://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/councilservices/children-families-education/send/local-offer/Pages/default.aspx

For SEN external support services, please see the attachment at the bottom of the page. 

How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom, including school trips?

At Deanshanger Primary School we aim for all pupils to be able to access all trips and visits that take place outside the classroom. Reasonable adjustments will be made to enable any pupil attending DPS to fully participate in activities outside of the classroom, including school trips. Risk assessments are carried out and where appropriate are discussed with parents to ensure that where possible all pupils are able to participate in all activities. If it is deemed appropriate that an intensive level of 1:1 support is needed, a parent may be asked to accompany their child during a specific activity.

How are resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?

The school has a designated SEN budget allocation each academic year. The money is used to provide additional support or resources to support the needs of the children.

This money can be used for:

  • Providing specialist equipment to support a specific need
  • Providing additional intervention programmes to help a child learn and progress
  • Providing a Learning Support Assistant to support individuals or small group
  • Providing any additional resources to support learning in any area

When it is felt appropriate the school can apply for additional funding from the Local Authority. This can be by either the High Needs funding route, which is a temporary source of funding designed to be short term or through an Education Health and Care plan which is a long-term plan to support children with a recognised special educational need offering funding as well as closely monitoring their progress and development.

How will the school help support children when they transition through the school or on to secondary school?

When children are moving up the school at the end of an academic year to a new class teacher there is a process of transition which will help support this move. Previous class teachers have many meetings with new class teachers to discuss how best to support children with SEND. Any resources or materials used that have been successful in enabling that child to access the learning in the classroom will be transferred over to the new teacher. The children will also have the opportunity to visit their new teacher and new classroom not only on the formal transition days but also on other opportunities if deemed appropriate. Parents will also get the chance to meet with their child’s new class teacher should they wish to.

When it comes to the end of year 6 and children are moving on the secondary school we ensure that all information with regards to children with SEND is given to their new school well in advance of them starting on this new and exciting journey. Staff from the local secondary schools will often come in to visit the children when they are in year 6 and also there is a potential for extra small transition days to ensure the smooth transfer to a new environment.

Who can I contact if I require more information about SEND at Deanshanger Primary school?

Class Teachers

Relationships are built up between school support staff, teaching staff and parents informally on a day-to-day basis. If any concerns arise about your child’s learning or progress, parents are initially encouraged to request a meeting with their child’s Class Teacher. Further meetings can be arranged to discuss strategies and progress as required.

School SENDC0 – Mrs Natalie Parsonson

Further conversations between the SENDCo, the Class Teacher and parents can be arranged as appropriate to discuss any developing needs. The SENDCo is responsible for coordinating any additional support that your child may need.

Headteacher – Mrs Rachel Rice

The Headteacher oversees all areas of the school’s provision. If appropriate, the Headteacher will be involved in meeting with parents to discuss children’s progress and deciding upon how the school can best meet your child’s needs.

SEND Governor - Mrs Laura Partridge

Our SEND Governor supports the school in ensuring that the needs of all children are met in line with the SEND Code of Practice (2014).