Link to Barnet Local Offer:Barnet Local Offer
Monkfrith Primary School
Headteacher: Ms Jude Deasey
SENCO: Ms Hilary Whent
SEN Governor: Ms Louisa Tsioupra
This SEN Information report provides information about Monkfrith’s implementation of the governing body’s policy for pupils with SEN as required in the SEN and Disability Code of Practice:0-25 (2015).
What kinds of Special Educational Needs (SEN) does the school provide for?
At Monkfrith we aim to support children in relation to four broad areas of need: communication and interaction; cognition and learning; social, emotional and mental health; sensory and physical.
How does the school identify children and young people with SEN and assess their needs
At different times in their school life a child or young person may have a special educational need. The SEN Code of Practice defines SEN as:
“A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.
A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:
(a) has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age: or
(b)has a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.”
Learners can have difficulties making progress in school for lots of reasons, such as low levels of attendance, changes in schools or operating in two or more language but this does not mean that all vulnerable learners have SEN. A learner is identified as having SEN, when it is decided that we need to provide support or interventions that are ‘additional to or different from’ the normal differentiated curriculum, intended to overcome the barrier to their learning.
Children are identified as having SEN through a variety of ways, including the following:
- Tracking individual pupil progress over time through termly pupil progress meetings.
- Following up parental concerns
- Pupil self referral
- Information from previous settings/schools
- Information from other services (for example a Paediatrician, Child Adolescent and Mental Health Services)
- More in-depth individual assessments, which may be undertaken by school or specialist teams (for example Speech and Language Therapists, Educational Psychologists)
If you are concerned that your child may have SEN please speak to their class teacher; if you still have concerns you can contact the SENCO: Ms Hilary Whent on 02083686020 or by emailing firstname.lastname@example.org stating that the email is for the attention of Ms Whent.
What are the arrangements for consulting young people with SEN and/or parents of children with SEN and involving them in their education?
The class teacher and SENCO will meet with parents/carers in the Autumn Term to discuss the child’s strengths and needs, decide on outcomes and support and the review process. An Individual Support Plan will be set up. This may include recommendations/advice from external professionals. Children will be involved in setting targets during pupil conferencing times and parents will be encouraged to discuss additional support with their child and seek their views. Individual Support Plans will then be reviewed termly with parents. We will provide advanced warning of these meetings and offer a range of time slots. In addition, children who have Education, Health and Care Plans will have an Annual Review of their long term and short term outcomes and provision.
The SENCO is available to meet with you to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns or worries you may have.
What are the arrangements for assessing and reviewing children and young people’s progress towards outcomes and effectiveness of provision?
Monkfrith will use the Assess, Plan, Do and Review process to decide on and review support that is ‘additional to’ or ‘different from’ to overcome barriers to their learning:
Assess – this involves taking into consideration information from discussions with parents/carers, the child, the class teacher and external professionals (if appropriate) and assessments.
Plan – this stage identifies the barriers to learning, intended outcomes and details what additional support will be provided to help overcome the barriers. Decisions will be recorded on an Individual Support Plan and will form the basis for termly review meetings.
Do – Additional support or interventions will be tailored to meet the child’s needs and will be based on evidence of effectiveness. The support may involve:
- in class support for small groups with a Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) or Teaching Assistant (TA)
- small groups withdrawal with Additional Specialist Teacher (AST), SENCo, HLTA or TA
- individual class support / individual withdrawal with AST, SENCo, HLTA or TA
- further differentiation of resources
- additional equipment
Examples of interventions we provide are:
Phonics Intervention, Toe by Toe, Better Reading Partners, Read Write Inc, Wordshark, Reading Comprehension Booster sessions, Catch Up Numeracy, Maths Booster sessions, Lego Therapy, Social and Emotional Understanding session, Social Skills groups, Language for Thinking, Gross Motor Skills Groups, Fine Motor Skills Groups. Follow up work based on input from other professionals, such as Occupational Therapy or Speech and Language Therapy.
While the majority of learners with SEN will have their needs met in this way, some may require an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) needs assessment to determine whether it is necessary for the Local Authority to make provision in accordance with an EHCP.
Review – measuring the impact of support provided by assessing whether targets have been met and looking at the child’s progress across the curriculum and considering whether changes to that support need to be made. As indicated above this will happen termly and children with EHCPs will also have an Annual Review.
What are the arrangements for supporting children and young people to move between phases of education?
The school makes every effort to develop links with nursery schools, playgroups, and specialist provision to ensure a smooth transition into Monkfrith. All children receive a home visit before they start in our reception class and we also try to visit them in their pre-school provision. Where a child has known SEN we meet with staff and parents to discuss a child’s needs and additional transition arrangements, if appropriate. We make contact with other services, which support the child to ensure continuity of provision and plan for additional resources and training if appropriate.
There are also strong links and procedures in place with local secondary schools to ensure a smooth transfer at the end of Year 6. There are meetings with the Year 7 Head of Year and SENCO (if appropriate) from the schools to discuss the children being transferred and more specifically any children with SEN. Transition plans are developed according to need but may for example involve additional work in school to prepare the child and additional supported visits. If a child has an EHCP we will whenever possible arrange the Annual Review meeting, for that year with relevant staff from the receiving school.
What training and expertise do staff have to support children and young people with SEN and how will we secure specialist expertise?
Monkfrith provides training and support to enable all staff to improve the teaching and learning of all children and improve their practice. This includes whole school training on SEN areas, for example speech and communication needs, Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) and Attachment Disorder.
Individual teachers and support staff attend SEN related training courses run by Barnet Partnership for School Improvement and other providers. Staff are also trained to deliver interventions by specialists working with the school – for example Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, a Literacy Specialist, Hearing Advisory Teacher, Physical Disabilities Advisory Teacher and ASC Advisory Teachers.
The school has access to services universally provided by Barnet and described on the Local Offer part of it’s website (see link on Monkfrith website).
In 2020/2021 Monkfrith has support from:
- Educational Psychology
- Inclusion Advisory Team
- ASC Advisory Teacher
- CAMHS in Schools
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Education Welfare Service
- Hearing Impairment Advisory Teacher
- Physical Disabilities Advisory Teacher
- Gloucester House Outreach
Each service has specific criteria relating to referrals.
How are children and young children with SEN enabled to engage in all activities available at school?
We aim for all children to take part in all activities. We will provide necessary support and/or make adjustments where appropriate in consultation with parents and relevant specialists.
A risk assessment is carried out prior to any off-site activity to ensure everyone’s health and safety will not be compromised. In the unlikely event that it is considered unsafe for a learner to take part in an activity, then alternative activities, which will cover, where possible, the same curriculum areas, will be provided in school.
How will we support children’s emotional and social development?
We have a caring, understanding ethos and are an inclusive school. The whole school follows the Zones of Regulation curriculum and we use a positive behaviour management system outlined in our Behaviour Policy.
All staff provide nurturing learning environments and class teachers have overall responsibility for the pastoral care of every child in their class and they should be the first point of contact. We recognize that some children have extra emotional and social needs that require the school to provide strategies for them to develop their skills. If further support is required, the class teacher liaises with the Head/SENCo for advice and support. This may involve; offering social skills groups; enhanced supervision at playtimes, or some 1:1 time with a TA with training in aspects of emotional health or it may involve working alongside outside agencies; for example CAMHS in schools.
How will we involve other agencies in meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND and supporting families.
As part of Barnet’s Local Offer, at Monkfrith, we can make referrals to other agencies for additional assessments, advice and support. We also provide information about children’s needs to inform assessments and services provided by other agencies. We regularly link with other services to put families in touch with provision, which may meet their needs. We welcome other professionals into school to provide advice and input, which can be followed up by our staff.
How accessible is the school environment?
All classrooms and the school entrance can be accessed via slopes from the outside. However stairs link the school internally with some stair lifts.
We have disabled toilets and wet room facilities.
What are the arrangements for handling complaints from parents of children with SEN about the provision made at the school?
Concerns about SEN provision should be raised with the class teacher or SENCO or Headteacher. If you wish to make a complaint, there is a complaints procedure in place; copies of the policy are available from the school website.