Support: Aims and Approach

Children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.

This includes children who:

• Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children the same age.
• Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age within the area of the local education authority.

Aims

• All children are given equal access to the curriculum and that each child’s achievements are valued.
• Special educational needs are identified as early as possible in the child’s school life and that these needs are met.
• All learners make the best possible progress.
• Procedures for identifying children with SEND are known by all staff.
• Staff are kept aware of appropriate provision for the range of SEND.
• Parents and carers are kept informed of their child’s special educational needs and provision and that there is effective communication between parents/carers and the school.
• There is adequate resourcing for SEND and involvement of outside agencies where appropriate.

Approach

A child with special needs may need extra or different help at school because of physical difficulties, learning difficulties, emotional and behavioural issues or a combination of these.

Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all the pupils in their class.

High Quality Teaching is our first step in responding to pupils who have SEND. This will be differentiated for individual pupils.

Group interventions are the next source of support, followed by individual interventions and support.

If this graduated approach of support is not successful in helping your child make progress we would have a meeting called a TAC (team around the child) to decide whether or not to apply for a statutory assessment or an Education, Health and Care Plan or EHCP.

What support do you have for parents of SEND children?

• The class teacher is regularly available to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns you may have and to share information about what is working well at home and school so similar strategies can be used.
• The Inclusion Manager, ‘Mrs Lucy Matthews’ is available to meet with you to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns/worries you may have.
• All information from outside professionals will be discussed with you and with the person involved directly, or where this is not possible, in a report.
• Your child’s SEND plan will be reviewed with you each term.
• Homework will be adjusted as needed to your child’s individual needs.
• A home/school contact book may be used to support communication with you, when this has been agreed to be useful for you and your child.
• The Inclusion Manager offers termly open forum meetings for parents of children with SEND to discuss common concerns.
• The family liaison officer can be used as a first point of call for any concerns you may have as a parent.

How do we get the views of the SEND children?

We believe all children have the right to be involved in decisions about their education.

Pupils will be given regular opportunities to:

• self assess
• attend review meetings with their parents (where desirable and appropriate)
• create their own pupil profile which indicates their links, dislikes and the way in which they want to be supported at school. (This will be kept in a folder in the classroom, available to all relevant staff).