Welcome to our SEND Information Report for families, which details how we support children with a Special Educational Need and/or Disability. We are passionate about supporting children and are very proud to be an inclusive school, which has high ambitions for all our children. The aim of this information report is to explain how we implement our SEND policy. In other words, we want to show you how SEND support works in our school. If you want to know more about our arrangements for SEND, please read our SEND policy.

Note: If there are any terms we’ve used in this information report that you’re unsure of, you can look them up in the Glossary HERE.

  • What types of SEND does the school provide for?

    We are passionate about supporting children and are very proud to be an inclusive school, which has high ambitions for all our children. We are currently able to provide high quality education to children with the following needs: 

    Condition

     

    Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

    Speech and language difficulties

    Specific learning difficulties, including dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia

    Moderate learning difficulties (MLD)

    Severe learning difficulties (SLD)

    Attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD)

    Attention deficit disorder (ADD)

    Hearing impairments

    Visual impairment

    Multi-sensory impairment 

    Physical impairment

    If your child has an additional need which is not listed above, please contact our SENDCO, Mrs N Bracknell to discuss whether we can meet their needs. 

  • How does the school identify which children need extra help or might have a Special Educational Need (SEN)?

    A concern about a child’s development may be raised by a parent/carer, member of staff, the child themselves, or an external agency. This could be where a child has a difficulty that is impacting on their ability to make expected progress academically, socially, behaviourally, physically or emotionally. All our class teachers are aware of SEN and teachers and senior members of staff meet regularly to discuss individual pupils, raising concerns, celebrating successes and planning ways of supporting individual children. In some cases, children may be referred to our Nurture Team for emotional or social support, external agencies for health or physical support or the SEND team for academic or behaviour support. If the teacher notices that a pupil is falling behind due to gaps in their learning, they will give the pupil extra support or tuition to try to fill it. Pupils who don’t have SEN usually make progress quickly once the gap in their learning has been filled. If the pupil is still struggling to make the expected progress, the teacher will talk to our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCO), Mrs Bracknell, and will contact you to discuss the possibility that your child has SEN.

    Mrs Bracknell will observe your child to see what their strengths and difficulties are. She will have discussions with your child’s teacher and will compare your child’s progress and development with their peers and available national data. Mrs Bracknell will ask for your opinion and speak to your child to get their input as well. She may also, where appropriate, ask for the opinion of external experts such as a speech and language therapist, an educational psychologist, or a paediatrician. Based on all of this information, Mrs Bracknell will decide whether your child needs SEN support. You will be told the outcome of the decision in a face to face meeting with your child’s class teacher.

    If your child does need SEN support, their name will be added to the school’s SEN register.

  • What happens if my child is identified as having Special Educational Needs?

    If your child has been identified as having Special Educational Needs, we use the Graduated Approach cycle – Assess, Plan, Do, Review – to support them.

    Assess:

    If your child is not making the expected level of progress, we will make an assessment to find out what strengths and difficulties your child has. We will ask for you and your child’s input, as well as getting help from external professionals where necessary.

    Plan:

    In discussion with you and your child, we will decide what outcomes we are hoping to achieve. We will make a plan of the support we will offer your child to help them meet those outcomes. We will make a record of this and share it with you and all relevant school staff.

    Do:

    We will put our plan into practice. The class teacher, with the support of the SENDCO, will be responsible for working with your child on a daily basis, and making sure the support we put in place is having the impact we intended.

    Review

    We will assess how well the support we put in place helped the pupil to meet the outcomes we set. We will use our improved understanding of
    your child’s needs to improve the support we offer.

    This process will be continual. If the review shows a pupil has made progress, they may no longer need the additional provision made through SEN support. For others, the cycle will continue and the school’s targets, strategies and provisions will be revisited and refined.

    Individuals on the SEND register, whose individual support is additional to usual classroom adaptation, may have their needs recorded and monitored through an Individual Education Plan (IEP). This will take into account their strengths as well as areas of difficulties. Identified additional provision will then be carried out until the next review. These IEPs will be reviewed each term and you will be invited to discuss them at parent’s evening. 

    In some cases, it may be necessary to increase or change the nature and level of support to help your child make progress. This may involve seeking help and advice from a range of specialist agencies such as the Educational Psychologist or Speech and Language Service. A referral for support from an outside agency will only be made with your consent.

    Children who have a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will also have an additional annual review of their progress, which involves the child and key adults involved in the child’s education.

  • What should I do if I think my child may have Special Educational Needs?

    If you are worried or concerned about your child, please contact your child’s class teacher in the first instance. Your child’s class teacher knows your child well and will be able to talk to you about what support your child already receives and suggest ways to enhance your child’s learning and development. The class teacher will also contact you if they are concerned about your child’s behaviour, emotional well-being, social development, academic progress or anything else.

    Depending on the outcomes of these initial conversations you may then have a follow up meeting with our school SENDCO, Mrs N Bracknell. You can book an appointment through the school office. Mrs Bracknell will meet with you to discuss your concerns and try to get a better understanding of what your child’s strengths and difficulties are and together we will decide what outcomes to seek for your child and agree on next steps. If we decide that your child needs SEN support, we will notify you and your child will be added to the school’s SEND register. 

  • How will the school support my child?

    We are ambitious for all children in our school and quality first teaching ensures that teaching is adapted to suit pupil’s individual needs. Wherever possible we try and meet children’s needs in class through adaptive teaching or adult support. There is no ‘1 size fits all’ approach to adapting the curriculum, we work on a case-by case basis to make sure the adaptations we make are meaningful to your child. All children receive a broad and balanced curriculum in every year that they are at school.

    These adaptations may include:

    • Adapting our teaching, for example, giving longer processing times, pre-teaching of key vocabulary or reading instructions aloud.
    • If appropriate, specialist equipment may be given to your child e.g. writing slopes, concentration cushions, pen/pencil grips or easy to use scissors.
    • Using recommended aids, such as laptops, coloured overlays, visual timetables or larger font.
    • School support staff may be allocated to work with your child in class as a 1-1 or in a small focus group, to target more specific needs.

    If your child has needs relating to more specific areas, such as spelling, handwriting, numeracy or literacy skills, then they may be given additional targeted support through interventions, which take place outside of the classroom. These may be delivered by the teacher, teaching assistant, Nurture Team or SEND TA. Common interventions include:

    • RWI Fast Track – phonics catch up
    • Toe by Toe – reading intervention
    • Plus 1 – maths catch up programme
    • Power of 2 – maths catch up programme
    • Speech and Language
    • NELI – language intervention
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Reading Fluency

    All interventions and support are rigorously monitored by class teachers, the SENDCO and senior leaders. We evaluate their effectiveness by reviewing children’s progress towards their targets, as well as speaking to children and teachers. Interventions may be short term or may continue for several months. 

  • Which staff support children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and how skilled are they? 

    We are committed to ensuring that staff have the appropriate skills to support all of our children. We have an extensive programme of training for all staff, using outside providers as required. Individual staff also undertake training specific to the individual needs of the children they work with closely. 

    Our SENDCO is Mrs N Bracknell. She is a qualified teacher who works full time in the role and she holds the NASENCO qualification. Mrs Bracknell leads a team of SEND Teaching Assistants, who work closely with all of our children on the SEND register. Mrs Bracknell meets regularly with other SENDCOs in our Trust and attends training to ensure that she is up to date with new developments. She then ensures that our teaching staff are updated on all matters pertaining to Special Educational Needs and Disability. 

    In school, we also have a fully trained ELSA (Emotional Learning Support Assistant), Learning Mentor and an SEMH (Social, Emotional and Mental Health) Teaching Assistant.  We have our own dedicated Speech and Language TA. 

    At times it may be necessary to consult with outside agencies to receive their more specialised expertise. The agencies used by the school include:

    • Autism and Social Communication Team
    • CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service)
    • Child Development Centre
    • Early Help – through a dedicated Early Help Link Worker
    • Educational Psychologist
    • Educational Welfare Officer
    • Learning and Behaviour Advisory Team
    • NHS Speech & Language Service
    • Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy services
    • School Nurse
    • Sensory Support Team- Visual and Hearing Impaired
    • Thought-full therapist (through the Mental Health Schools’ Team)
    • Your Space Therapist
  • 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.
  • How will I know how my child is doing and how I can support them?

    We know that you’re the expert when it comes to your child’s needs and aspirations so we want to make sure you have a full understanding of how we’re trying to meet your child’s needs, so that you can provide insight into what you think would work best for your child. We also want to hear from you as much as possible so that we can build a better picture of how the SEND support we are providing is impacting your child outside of school. If your child’s needs or aspirations change at any time, please let us know right away so we can keep our provision as relevant as possible.

    • We provide all children with a Home-School diary, which has space for messages between home and school. This can be used for messages by both parents/carers and school staff. In addition, all class teachers are available at pick up time to talk to parents or book an appointment for longer, more private conversations. 
    • We hold termly parent meetings where you can speak to your child’s class teacher. We encourage children, particularly KS2 children, to attend these meetings and you will be able to discuss their progress and how you can support them at home.
    • Individual Learning Plans, for children on the SEND register are sent home each term. These outline what is going well, what your child is struggling with and how they will be supported going forward.  Targets will be agreed between the school, parents/carers and the pupil, where appropriate. Children who are not on the SEND register will receive a termly written report. 
    • The SENCDO may meet with you to discuss how to support your child.
    • Where appropriate, other professionals may meet with you to discuss their findings and suggested strategies for support. If outside agencies have been involved, suggestions and intervention programmes may be provided that can be used to support the learning of your child either at home or in school. 
  • What support is there for children with medical needs and disabilities, including mental health?

    If your child has a specific medical need or disability, either long or short term, then a detailed Health Care Plan is compiled in consultation with parents/carers. This will clearly identify the medical need, identify any signs or symptoms to watch for and any treatment required. Any specific training required to support the individual medical need will be undertaken by relevant members of staff. Health Care Plans are discussed with all staff who are involved with the pupil. We have a large number of staff who are trained in paediatric first aid and we are able to administer medication required for long-term medical conditions (please see our Managing Medicines policy for full details).

    We currently have members of staff trained in: 

    • Auto-injector training
    • Asthma training
    • Diabetics training

    We have a well established and very effective Nurture Team in school, who support all children, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, with social and emotional needs. Please see our dedicated Wellbeing and Nurture page for more details. 

    Although the school is on two levels, we have step free access to all of the lower level areas and can accommodate children with physical disabilities. As a school we are happy to discuss individual access requirements and we continually review accessibility of our school environment to ensure it meets the needs of our school community (see our School Accessibility Plan).

    Facilities we have at present include:

    • Ramps into school to make the lower floor of the building accessible to all
    • Toilets adapted for disabled users
    • A wet room 
    • Wide doors in some parts of the building
  • How will my child be supported in end of key stage tests?

    All children sit end of key stage tests (known as SATS) at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. For some pupils, additional arrangements and adjustments can be made to enable them to fully access statutory tests. This might include additional time, rest breaks or use of a scribe. Prior to children sitting the tests, the Assistant Principals in charge of KS1 and KS2, Mrs Williamson and Miss Gianella, work with the Assessment Lead, Mrs Bullen, and SENDCO, Mrs Bracknell, to determine which children may qualify and benefit from these arrangements. 

    In some cases, where a child has significant learning difficulties, it may not be appropriate for them to sit the tests. In these instances, the decision will be made by Mrs Dunne and parents will be informed. 

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

    As an inclusive school, we involve all our children in all aspects of the curriculum, including activities outside the classroom. Children with SEND are very welcome to attend all of our before and after school clubs and all children are encouraged to attend school trips, including our residential trip in Year 6. All pupils are encouraged to take part in whole school events including performances, sports days and workshops and we will make reasonable adjustments to ensure that all children are included. Detailed risk assessments are carried out prior to any activity, to ensure everyone’s health and safety will not be compromised. Where there are concerns of safety and access, further thought and consideration is put in place to ensure needs are met and parents/carers are consulted and involved in planning. If it is deemed that an intensive level of 1:1 support is required, a parent or carer may be asked to accompany their child during the activity. 

  • What support is in place for looked-after and previously looked-after children with SEND?

    The designated teacher for looked-after and previously looked-after children is our Assistant Principal, Mrs D Bullen. Mrs Bullen work s closely with Mrs Bracknell, our SENDCO, to make sure that all teachers understand how a looked-after or previously looked-after pupil’s circumstances and their SEND might interact, and what the implications are for teaching and learning.

    Children who are looked-after or previously looked-after will be supported much in the same way as any other child who has SEND. However, looked-after pupils will also have a personal education plan (PEP). We will make sure that the PEP and any SEND support plans or EHCP are consistent and complement one another. 

  • 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 all transitions to be as smooth as possible. All of our admissions are through West Sussex Admissions Service and our admissions criteria ensures that pupils with SEND are fairly treated with regards to gaining a place at the school. 

    • If your child is joining our school in Reception, we will visit or phone pre-school settings to talk to their key worker. We also conduct home visits at the beginning of September so that we can meet your child in a familiar setting. We encourage parents of children with SEND to book an appointment with Mrs Bracknell prior to your child starting school so that we can discuss what support they need.  
    • If your child is moving to another school or joining us from another school, including moving to secondary school at the end of Year 6, we will liaise with the other school’s SENDCO and ensure that any special arrangements or support needed to be made for your child are passed on. We also encourage children and parents/carers to visit the school so that children can see their new environment and meet their new teacher prior to starting.
    • When moving year groups in school, all pupils attend a transition visit where they spend time with their new class teacher in July of each year and information will be passed on to new class teachers in advance of the move. If required, children can also be provided with additional opportunities to meet their new teacher on the lead up to the summer holidays. 
  • Who can I contact for further information?

    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 SENDCO – Mrs N Bracknell
    • A member of the Senior Leadership Team
    • A member of the school Nurture Team – led by Mrs Browne.
    • The named school Governor for SEND – Mr Paul Marshman.  

    You may also wish to look at the following websites for additional information: 

    Any complaints regarding provision for children with SEND should be referred to the Deputy Principal, Mr M Warwick, in line with our School Complaints Procedure.