Early Identification of Need
We aim for early identification of any special educational needs and disabilities. This starts before children enter our school. Information from a child’s last school is used to help ensure every child settles easily into St Mary’s Primary School.
We also welcome parent/carers contacting us to talk about their child’s skills and support needs, before their child starts to attend.
When SEND first become apparent, it can be difficult for the child and their family, therefore we aim to make families aware of additional support we put in place, without causing any alarm. We will talk to the people who know the child best:
- the child
- their parents/carers
In that first sharing information meeting, the child, their parents and their class teacher are asked to:
- give their views
- talk about the child’s strengths
- talk about what the child may find difficult
- share their hopes for the future
This is the starting point for future support planning. Remember that your child doesn’t need to have a medical or formal diagnosis to receive additional support in school.
Most children and young people in mainstream schools will have their special educational needs met through good classroom practice. This is called Quality First Teaching.
In deciding whether to make special education provision to support educational, social, physical or emotional needs, we:
- Work in partnership with parents/carers and pupils
- Consult with relevant external agencies
- Use assessment tools & materials
- Use observations
- Use Short Notes
- Monitor progress against targets
Short Note: If teachers have concerns about a child, this is recorded on a short note. A short note details a child’s needs and how they will be met and is written by the class teacher, along with parents and the child. They will be regularly reviewed to assess the effectiveness of the any provision which has been given. If teachers and parents continue to have concerns, the child may be given a support plan.
SEN Support
Where a pupil is identified as having a special educational need we follow a graduated approach which takes the form of cycles of “Assess, Plan, Do, Review”.
This means that we will:
- Assess a child’s special educational needs
- Plan the provision to meet your child’s aspirations and agreed outcomes
- Do put the provision in place to meet those outcomes
- Review the support and progress
As part of this approach, if it is deemed appropriate, a SEN Support Plan will be created for your child. This has 2 or 3 specific, measureable, achievable and realistic outcomes. These outcomes may be to help your child make progress in lessons. Outcomes may also help your child make progress with any life skills that are weaker than their academic skills (e.g. social skills)
A SEN Support Plan will outline what the appropriate support or intervention programmes (specific activities) will be and who will be the person carrying out the work. Interventions can be changed when need, to make sure your child succeeds.
The views of parents/carers and the child are integral when formulating a support plan. Any outcome agreed has to have a clear benefit for your child. It is important that parent/carers, the child and any adults working with the child, know what outcome a target may have for the child. Outcomes are looked at least every term with the child, their parents, class teacher and Miss Hughes. This helps us see what is getting easier for the child and make sure we are all doing what we agreed.
When a child has an SEN Support Plan in Year 6, frequently a wanted outcome is for the child to cope well with starting at secondary school.
Sometimes a child may appear to have a Special Educational Need or Disability. A child may not make the progress expected or take longer than is usual for them to make progress. We are always sensitive to other reasons to SEND that may make it harder for a child to succeed at school. Working out possible reasons for a change in any child’s progress (e.g. worries outside of school, dealing with family issues, bereavement, housing) is important. This lets us support them in school and get any help they may need.
A small percentage of children and young people with significant and/or complex needs may require an assessment that could lead to an Education, Health and Care Plan. This is a very detailed assessment of a child’s needs. Parents or carers, the school and a range of professionals will all be asked to provide written reports to the Local Authority.
The Local Authority will read the reports, talk about the information and say whether an Education Health and Care Assessment is needed. They have 6 weeks from 1st being asked to think about this, to deciding if the child needs an Education Health and Care Assessment.
When the Local Authority says an Education Health and Care Assessment is needed the Local Authority looks at all reports given to them about the child. This helps them decide whether or not to issue an Education, Health and Care Plan for the child. The Local Authority has 20 weeks from first being asked do an Education Health and Care Assessment, to agreeing to a child having an Education Health Care Plan.
Parents/carers and other professionals also have the right to ask the Local Authority to carry out this assessment. It is usually best if you can do this with the support of the school.
For more detailed information see the Local Offer
Details of Identification and Assessment of Pupils with SEN
If your child has a special educational need our SENCO, Miss Stephanie Hughes will:
- Ensure the right support is put in place for each child as part of the Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle
- Advise other teachers and teaching assistants on how to help each child
- Training for staff so they understand each child’s needs
- Work closely with parents on a regular basis to talk with them about their child’s needs and listen to any ideas or concerns they might have
- Work with other professionals (if necessary) who may be able to help individual children, e.g. speech and language therapist /medical professional/ educational psychologist
- Monitor progress in relation to individual outcomes as well as in relation to national measures
All teachers are aware that children learn in different ways. Some children need to work at a slower pace to ensure they fully understand one thing before they move onto something new.
Teachers’ planning will:
- Reflect the short term targets for the child which are linked to their needs as part of the Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle
- Give details of any extra support the child will get and who will give the child help
- Give details of how often the child will get help
- Review outcomes specific to the child
We are committed to working with parents and carers to identify their child’s needs and support. Parents and carers will be involved throughout the process. We believe that the help of parents is particularly important in supporting the progress made by each child and we will consult with them when decisions need to be made.
There is a range of ways this can be done, for example:
-
- Termly parents’/ carers evenings
- Ongoing discussions with a class teacher and/or SENCO
- An ‘open-door’ policy, where parents and carers are welcome to come into school to discuss any concerns they may have
- Through a review of a child’s SEN Support Plan or the Annual Review of their Statement of SEN or EHC Plan
For further information please view or download our Accessibility Plan which can be found in the School Policies section of our website.
