SEND Information

This page details information regarding Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) within Thurnham Glasson C of E Primary School setting. These complement the Lancashire Local Offer.

Please find below Thurnham Glasson's Church of England Primary School’s Local Offer, The latest SEND Information Report and the school's SEND Policy.

Definition of Special Educational Needs (SEN)

“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 them. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:

1. have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
2. have 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.”

SEN Code of Practice 2014

Definition of Disability

‘A physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’

Equality Act of 2010

At Thurnham Glasson Church of England Primary, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive school and strive to ensure that all children achieve the very best they can.  In order to do this, many steps are taken to help them on their learning journey.

You know your child best and may feel that your child will benefit from some extra support in school. The SEND information report is to inform you of the types of support available at Thurnham Glasson C of E Primary and how you can access this support.

All children are entitled to quality first teaching but, for some children, there will be times when additional support will be necessary in order to meet their challenging targets. Some children will be identified as having special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), and others may need a short-term catch-up programme. We take a graduated approach to SEND, so if a child is making inadequate progress, they will be offered extra help (intervention).  If the progress continues to be inadequate, they may be identified as having SEND and the level of support will increase or vary. All children with SEND will have some provision that is additional or different from that made generally for other children.

Special Educational Needs for Which Provision is Made

Thurnham Glasson C of E School currently supports children who have a range of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The Code of Practice 2014 describes four broad areas of SEN:

1.         Communication and Interaction

2.         Cognition and Learning

3.         Social, mental and emotional health

4.         Sensory and/or physical needs.            

Making provision for pupils with SEND

For your child this would mean that the teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all pupils in their class. All teaching is built on what your child already knows, can do and can understand. There are different ways of teaching in place, so that your child is fully involved in learning in class. The child’s teacher will have carefully checked on your child’s progress and will have decided that your child has a gap or gaps in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress.

The school follows a process of assess, plan, do and review process for pupils with SEND. Pupils identified with SEND will receive support that is additional to, or different from, their peers. The approach to teaching pupils with special educational needs varies, dependent upon the need of the particular child.

The school closely monitors the progress of all pupils, including those with SEND. Support is allocated flexibly to meet the child’s needs and provision. The effectiveness of the provision for these pupils is evaluated by ensuring that they make adequate progress. This will be reviewed half-termly by class teachers in collaboration with the SENDCO, parents, and, where appropriate, the pupils themselves.

In addition, pupils with SEND may be assessed in more specific terms using more detailed testing, to evaluate their level of progress in their specific area(s) of difficulty.

The class teacher oversees the provision and plans and works with the child to ensure full accessibility to the curriculum. There may be a Teaching Assistant working with the child on a one to one basis or in a small group.

Work within the class is differentiated to an appropriate level so that all children are able to access tasks according to their specific needs. Work is adapted to an individual level if the need arises, to enable the child to access the curriculum.

Some children with SEND may require specific resources to help them make progress. Such resources would be provided according to need. The type of support and how much support a child with SEND needs is determined by the class teacher, SENCO and the head teacher in relation to the evidence provided. The amount of support depends on the complexity of the needs and possible involvement of outside agencies.

Interventions

Some of the interventions that are used at Thurnham Glasson Christ C of E Primary are:

(i)         In class support: e.g. where a teaching assistant supports one or more children to understand the content of the lesson.

(ii)        Small group withdrawal: e.g. where a member of staff delivers a short focus on English, Phonics or Mathematics or other interventions to a small group of pupils.

(iii)       One to one withdrawal: e.g.  targeted support in a specific area of need. This may be from school staff or external agencies.

(iv)       Peer support: e.g. reading buddies, playtime buddies.

Class Teacher Input – Quality First Teaching

For your child this would mean that the teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all pupils in their class. All teaching is built on what your child already knows, can do and can understand. There are different ways of teaching in place, so that your child is fully involved in learning in class. This may involve things like using more practical learning. Specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENDCo) are in place to support your child to learn. The child’s teacher will have carefully checked on your child’s progress and will have decided that your child has a gap or gaps in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress.

Specific group work

This is intervention which may be run in the classroom or a group room or run by a teacher or a teaching assistant (TA).

Specialist Groups run by outside agencies

Specialist teachers are commissioned by the school to provide additional support for children with specific needs. Assessments can be carried out, recommendations are given and programmes of work can be provided for individual children.

Specified Individual Support 

This type of support is available for children whose learning needs are severe, complex and lifelong. This is usually provided via an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This means your child will have been identified by professionals as needing a particularly high level of individual or small-group teaching. 

This type of support is available for children with specific barriers to learning that cannot be overcome through Quality First Teaching and intervention groups. Your child will also need specialist support in school from a professional outside the school. This may be from Local Authority central services such as the Behaviour Support Team or outside agencies such as the Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) Service. The school (or you) can request that Local Authority Services carry out a statutory assessment of your child’s needs. This is a legal process, which sets out the amount of support that will be provided for your child. After the request has been made to the ‘Panel of Professionals’ (with a lot of information about your child, including some from you), they will decide whether they think your child’s needs (as described in the paperwork provided), seem complex enough to need a statutory assessment. If this is the case, they will ask you and all professionals involved with your child to write a report outlining the child’s needs. 

If they do not think your child needs this, they will ask the school to continue with the current support. After the reports have all been sent in, the Panel of Professionals will decide if your child’s needs are severe, complex and lifelong. If this is the case, they will write an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP). If this is not the case, they will ask the school to continue with the current level of support and set up a meeting in school to ensure a plan is in place to ensure your child makes as much progress as possible. The EHC Plan will outline the number of hours of individual/small group support your child will receive from the LA, how the support should be used and what strategies must be put in place. It will also have long and short-term goals for your child. The additional adult may be used to support your child with whole class learning, run individual programmes or run small groups including your child.

Identification and assessment of pupils with SEND

The purpose of identification is not to place a child in a specific category, but to help school to work out the actions that school needs to take. The school will know if a child has additional needs when :

• a previous setting highlights a specific need on transfer

• concerns are raised by the parents

• concerns are raised by the Class teacher

• a child is performing below age expected levels and assessment data causes concern

Identification of pupils with SEND is made in consultation with class teachers, parents, sendco and other relevant outside agencies and may be because of concerns about attainment, progress or standardised tests.

Pupils who do not make adequate progress through the graduated approach may be further assessed by external agencies, such as the Educational Psychologist, Stepping Stones and Speech and Language Therapy Services.

The SENDCO, class teacher and external agencies as appropriate will build up a holistic profile of the child’s needs and be supported by a variety of assessments and tracking procedures. These will be in line with the SEND Code of Practice 2014. Parents will always be involved at every step.

If you think your child may have SEND, please contact the SENDCo: Mrs Duncan  Telephone: 01524 751425.

Transition Arrangements

All children with special educational needs and disabilites will require support and planning when they transfer between key stages. For example: Nursery -> Early Years Foundation Stage -> KS1 -> KS2 -> KS3.

We have structured transition programmes in place for pupils with SEND at Early Years Foundation Stage, end of Key Stages and all other times where support with transition might be needed. Early Years Foundation Stage staff meet with playgroups, nursery providers and any transfer meetings are attended by the class teacher for those children with complex needs.

For Year 6 pupils the class teacher plans transition arrangements with secondary staff. Pupils who require additional support for any reason will be offered a transition meeting which involves parents, school staff (SENDCo/Class teacher) and staff from the new school.

Where a child has an Education Health Care Plan, a preference for educational setting should be made during the Annual Review process the year prior to the transition. This enables the local authority to consult and request placements at the preferred school. A request for a special school placement should be made early, so that suitable provision can be considered. It is useful for the parent to visit some appropriate schools at the next key stage to help an informed choice to be made.

Transition needs to be planned carefully for children with special educational needs and includes extra visits to the school, the use of social stories, transition activities/ programmes and /or communication passports. All of these can help to support children and prevent vulnerability during their transition.

Useful Information

SENDCO: Mrs Rune Duncan

Chair of Governors: Mr Peter Milston

SEND Governor: Dr Sue Pope

Lancashire Authority Local Offer:

In Lancashire, there is a lot of support available to children and young people with disabilities and special educational needs, and their families. You will find information about that Local Offer via their website link below. Whether it relates to education, health, social care or parental support, and regardless of who is providing it, Lancashire's local offer will aim to point you in the right direction.

http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/children-education-families/special-educational-needs-and-disabilities

Policies

The following policies are available on the school website:

SEND

Safeguarding and Child Protection

Behaviour

Medical Conditions Policy

Complaints

Admissions

Who can I contact for further information?

If you wish to discuss your child’s educational needs or are unhappy about anything regarding your child’s schooling please do not hesitate to contact any member of staff or make an appointment to meet with Mrs Duncan, our Headteacher/SENDCO.

I hope these have answered any queries you may have but do not hesitate to contact the school if you have further questions.

Mrs Rune Duncan

Headteacher

There are many SEN terms that are abbreviated which can lead to confusion (even for us!).

Below is a glossary of the most used SEN terms.