Special Education Needs (SEN)
What kinds of special educational needs do we provide for?
Archbishop Hutton’s School is a mainstream school. Our mission statement sets out our aims for all children.
“This school welcomes all, whatever your background, so that you can achieve your God given potential”
There are four types of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) decided by the Department for Education:
· Communication and Interaction
· Cognition and Learning
· Social, Mental and Emotional Health
· Sensory or Physical
If a pupil has SEND, then their needs will fit into one or more of these categories.
A school’s provision for SEND is defined as support which is additional to or different from that which is available to all pupils.
How do we identify a child with SEND and how do we assess their needs?
At Archbishop Hutton’s School, we recognise that students make progress at different rates and not always in a steady, linear pattern. Therefore, students are identified as having SEND in a variety of ways, including the following:
· Liaison with previous settings such as pre-schools, nurseries or previous school
· The pupil is performing significantly below the expected levels
· Concerns raised by Parent/Carer
· Concerns raised by Teacher
· Liaison with external agencies e.g. Educational Psychologists, Paediatricians, Occupational Therapists etc.
We believe early identification is vital to supporting children with SEND and the school works closely with parents and outside agencies to best support children in school. The school uses appropriate screening and assessment tools from both in school resources and, where needed, outside agency support.
Who is the SEND Co-ordinator (SENCO) and how can we contact them?
The school SENCO is Mrs Ayshea Mead.
Mrs Mead is responsible for the operation of the SEND policy and co-ordination of specific provision made to support individual children with SEND.
She can be contacted via the school office 01524 734305 or by email.
Her email address is email@example.com
How do we involve parents and consult with them about their child’s education?
At Archbishop Hutton’s School, we ensure class teachers and other staff build positive relationships with parents and pupils in their class so that any concerns can be raised quickly and sensitively.
When children are enrolled at our school parents are invited to meet with the Headteacher or Class Teachers to discuss their child. During these meetings Teachers and Parents have the opportunity to discuss the child and share any information that may be needed to help the child settle into school and access learning opportunities fully.
The School operates an Open Door policy and has three parent evenings a year to provide opportunities for parents to discuss the progress of their child. Parents can request further meetings at any time if they have any concerns or worries that they wish to discuss with Teachers. An annual report is sent to all parents outlining the child’s achievements for the year.
When a child has SEND, Parents/Carers are encouraged to be regularly involved with the school. Where advice has been gained by outside agencies or there is a change in provision, the school ensures this is shared with Parents/Carers.
How do we involve and consult the children about their education?
Children are encouraged to be involved in their education through;
· Taking an active part in all lessons
· Responding to marking and verbal feedback
· Contributing to meetings where targets are set between the Teacher and the child
· Completing homework tasks and projects
Where a child has an individual learning plan, focussed time with the Class Teacher or Teaching Assistant is given to discuss progress towards targets and next steps. Children who have an Educational Health Care plan (EHC), have the opportunity to contribute either verbally or written to annual reviews.
How do we assess and review the progress that children make and how do we involve them and their parents?
Progress of all children throughout school is tracked using either the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile or the Key Stage 1 & 2 KLIPS (Key Learning Indicators in Performance). Teachers meet regularly to discuss pupil progress and any concerns relating to attainment are discussed. Where there are concerns relating to individual children’s learning the Class Teacher and SENCO will discuss how their needs could be met and what support or additional assessments maybe required. This may involve taking advice from external specialists and may include the use of diagnostic and other assessments to determine the exact areas of needs and strategies recommended. Where external specialists are involved directly with the pupil, parental consent will be sought first. Where additional support or intervention is required pupils and Parents will be involved in the planning process as much as possible. The progress of the pupil will be reviewed at the end of the specified period of intervention. This review will form the basis of further assessment and planning. Meetings with pupils and Parents happen at least once a term.
How do we support our pupils with SEND as they move on to High School or move to another school?
Each year pupils visit their forthcoming Secondary School for taster sessions and also Secondary Teachers from the local schools visit to help ease the transition from Year 6 to Year 7.
For children who have EHC in place, the school arranges an early review of children’s needs in the Autumn term to ensure that there is a clear transition plan with key milestones and timescales to support both the pupil and the Parents during the transition, which is an anxiety provoking experience.
When a pupil transfers to another school, transfer documents, including full records of their special educational needs, will be sent to the receiving school. On transfer to Secondary School the Year 6 Teacher and SENCO will meet with the SENCO of the receiving school to discuss SEN records and the needs of the individual pupils. An invitation will be issued for a representative of the receiving school to attend the transition review meeting held in Year 6.
What is our approach to teaching children with SEND?
Archbishop Hutton’s understands that it is the responsibility of all Teachers to cater for the special needs of our children within their classes on a daily basis. The Class Teachers are responsible for ensuring that all learning activities within class are planned and differentiated at an appropriate level, so that all children are able to access learning according to their specific needs.
Interventions, either one-to-one or small group, are delivered either by the Class Teacher or a Teaching Assistant. However, this is overseen and monitored closely by the SENCO (Mrs A Mead).
Every staff member working with the child will have an important role to play. They are aware of the school’s policies and procedures and are updated where appropriate. Training is encouraged and taken by staff where needed to ensure they have the appropriate skills and knowledge to deal with the area of SEND they may be accountable for.
During individual pupil planning meetings, discussions will be held between appropriate members of staff and Parents concerning the support their child is receiving. This is a great opportunity for any opinions and concerns to be shared and queries explained.
How do we adapt the curriculum and the learning environment for children with SEND?
All children including those with SEND are encouraged to take full and active part in the whole curriculum and where needed advice is sought to ensure this is achieved in the most effective way. It is the Class Teacher’s role to differentiate resources and activities to ensure they can access the learning. This can mean that Teachers plan:
• Visual, auditory or kinaesthetic activities.
• Small group or 1-1 learning
• Pre-teaching content or vocabulary.
• To provide additional apparatus or materials.
• To adapt and adjust resources and materials to make them accessible for students with specific learning difficulties.
• Adapting the learning environment, seating arrangements and accessibility of resources etc
Where needed, the school will provide the Teacher with the appropriate training and advice to ensure adaptations meet the child’s needs.
How are the staff trained and kept up to date? If we need more expert help and advice, what do we do?
Archbishop Hutton’s School has a dedicated Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator, Mrs Mead. She is an experienced Teacher who has a passion for ensuring all children receive the best education. Mrs Mead attends regular update meetings and training within the area of SEND and shares the relevant information with staff. She works closely with the SEND Governor who is also a Primary School SENCO and Eleanor Hick, who is an Inclusive learning consultant.
The school is committed to ensuring all staff are trained to meet the additional needs and their knowledge is updated when necessary. As a school we work closely with a range of external specialist services which are relevant to our pupils needs.
Where appropriate, we are able to access expert advice in other areas, including health, through the School Nurse, Physiotherapists, Occupational Health, Children’s Mental Health Services amongst others. Referrals to these outside agencies and support services are subject to their own guidelines and time frames.
How do we know if what we provide for the children is effective?
There are several ways we assess the effectiveness of the support given:
• We see evidence that the pupil is making progress academically against national or age expectations or that the gap is narrowing. This may mean they are catching up with their peers or age expectations
• Verbal feedback from the Teacher, SENCO or external agency. This may be given to Parents/Carers in reviews, parent evenings or informal meetings.
• Formal or informal observations of the pupil at school.
• Feedback and discussions with Parents and children.
• If pupils make sufficient progress, they may be moved off SEND support plan and intervention programme.
How are children with SEND enabled to take part in all the activities available at school?
Every child within Archbishop Hutton’s school is encouraged to take a full and an active part in all areas of school life. If there are barriers to children or families being able to engage in aspects of school life,school staff work closely with them and outside agencies to look at ways to overcome any issues.
There are opportunities for all pupils in KS1 & KS2 to take part in a wide range of after school activity clubs which are run by the Teachers. The clubs are available to all the pupils in the designated age range assigned to that activity and all clubs are free of charge. The after school activity clubs provided are suitable for all pupils and the activities provided will be adapted to ensure they meet the needs of all pupils who attend.
If any child is identified as needing additional support to attend a specific club, staff will discuss this with the SENCO and every effort will be made to ensure that the child’s needs are met and the necessary adjustments are made.
To ensure that all children have the opportunity to attend school visits, residential trips and outdoor learning days we work closely with specialist Teachers and health care professionals to complete care plans and risk assessments for children with physical needs or medical needs e.g. Diabetes, Asthma and Epilepsy.
How do we support children with emotional and behavioural difficulties?
The pastoral care and nurturing ethos of Archbishop Hutton’s school is a real strength of the school. The staff and Senior Management Team has invested a lot of time and training to ensure that all children, particularly those with emotional and behaviours difficultie,s are fully supported throughout their time with us.
Where it is identified that a child may need support or supervision whilst outside playing, a Teacher or Teaching Assistant is assigned to observe the children to ensure that they and their peers have a positive experience.
When children start school in the EYFS or in the middle of a school year, they are given a ‘Gardener’ who acts as a buddy to help children settle in and is someone that they can go to if they have any problems. This system is very effective in supporting children who have difficulties at playtime and the Gardeners also help children settle in by involving them in playground games and supporting peer-mediation for minor conflicts.
The school also has a ‘special person’ program where all children are asked to select three adults within the school community who they would feel comfortable talking to if they have any problems or worries they need to share.
Each child is then given the name of one person on their list who will be available to them should they ever need them.
We also have a ‘Tell Us bBx’ in the school where children can write down any worries they have that they need to share.
Additional to this the school also has the facility to support children in the nurture group or through 1-1 sessions, should a need for additional support be identified.
We have a detailed whole school behaviour management policy and anti bulling policy which parents can access on the school website.
The school also provides opportunities for children to attended assemblies & workshops run by Childline and the NSPCC etc.
The school also uses the SEAL materials throughout school and this year has introduced the Kidsafe programme which develops children’s knowledge on issues such as bullying and internet safety.
How do we deal with bullying and make sure children with SEND can tell us if they are having a problem?
Archbishop Hutton’s school has a comprehensive positive behaviour management policy that is integral to the way in which children are supported, praised and provided with clear boundaries, as well as providing an outline of how issues relating to bullying are dealt with. The school also has a robust pastoral support program which ensures that every child has an identified adult that they can talk to and confide in if they are finding school challenging, including when they feel they are being bullied. A key element of this system is the ‘special person’ that is identified by each child at the beginning of the school year as someone who they feel that they can speak to about concerns and there is also a buddy system in place for all children new to the school. The school also has a confidential ‘Worry Box’ where children can write their worries and place them in the box if they feel unable to speak to an adult face to face. Children are supervised at all times whilst out on the playground and any issues that arise are dealt with quickly and where necessary are passed on the Class Teacher or Headteacher. Children who may be vulnerable during less structured times are highlighted to the staff who provide supervision to ensure that additional support and monitoring is available.
How do we involve and work with other professionals such as local authority support services and other organisations to meet the needs of our children?
As a school we work closely with any external agencies that we feel are relevant to supporting individual children’s needs within our school including: Inclusion Disability Schools’ Service, Health Services including: GPs, School Nurse, CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service), Clinical Psychologist, Paediatricians, SALT (speech and language therapists,) Occupational and Physiotherapists; Children’s Services including: Family Support Workers, Social Workers; Educational Psychologists and Specialist Advisory Teachers. Where appropriate the school will use the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) process to identify children in need of additional behavioural, mental health or social support, and act as the lead professional in the team around the family (TAF) meetings.
What arrangements do we make for supporting children who have SEND and are in the care of the local authority?
Children who are in the care of the local authority are supported in the same way as other children with SEND by liaising with the appropriate agencies to ensure all the child’s needs are met. However greater emphasis needs to be placed on gaining a clear understanding of parental responsibility and the role of the local authority as corporate parents, in order to effectively support the Parents or Carers to be able to support the child. Whilst ensuring that the child has a clear personal education plan (PEP) in place that is monitored and reviewed regularly, it is essential that information sharing is clearly defined to ensure that the appropriate people are included as the social circumstances can often be complex. Writing progress reports and attending formal review meetings is also integral to the care of a young person who is a looked after child.
What should I do if I have a concern or complaint about the provision for my child?
The complaint procedure for Special Educational Needs mirrors the school’s other complaints procedures. Should a Parent or Carer have a concern about the special provision made for their child, they should in the first instance discuss this with the Class Teacher. If the matter is not resolved satisfactorily Parents have recourse to the following:
• discuss the problem with the SENCO (Mrs A Mead)
• discuss the problem with the Headteacher (Mrs M Gaydon)
• More serious on-going concerns should be presented in writing to the SEN Governor (Mrs J Henderson), who will inform the Chair of Governors (Mr M Hayhurst)
Where can I find information about the authority’s Local Offer?
As part of Lancashire County Council, the Lancashire Local Offer should be your first point of reference for any further information. This can be found at:
A link to Archbishop Hutton’s School Local offer is available above.