Holy Apostles’ C of E Primary School
Local Offer of Support for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
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How does our school know/identify children that have special educational needs (SEN)? |
When children come to our school having already been identified with SEND we:
- work with agencies already involved;
- look at previous MyPlans and reports;
- carry out our own observations and assessments;
- set up our own support/interventions.
If you think your child has SEND:
- talk to us, the class teacher (CT), SENDCo;
- we will collaborate about what we think is the best way forward.
If we think your child has SEND:
- if the child’s attainment is below school and/or national expectations, his/her capability will be assessed by school staff and, if necessary, this will be checked by specialist LA colleagues;
- pupil progress meeting (held every term) help to determine a child’s ability to make good progress;
- the child’s data is cross-checked against LA criteria.
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What are the first steps our school will take if special educational needs are identified? |
- The CT, in consultation with the SENDCo, will plan the next steps in their learning support.
- Support will be as identified on the child’s MyPlan or in their Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) or Statement.
- All such plans will be shared with parents.
- If necessary the Advisory Teaching Service (ATS) will be consulted for advice or to make a referral.
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How will our school include parents and student in planning support? |
- Parents will be included from the moment any additional needs are identified.
- Parents will have regular meetings (half-termly) with the CT/SENDCo to discuss the child’s MyPlan.
- Parents will be present and be a vital part of the EHCP meetings which occur annually.
- The children will be involved in their own MyPlan. They will be given a child-friendly version so that they can monitor their progress towards meeting their targets.
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How will our school teach and support children with SEND? |
Class teacher input (targeted classroom teaching / Quality First Teaching (QFT))
- CTs have high expectations for your child along with all children in their class.
- All teaching takes account of child’s starting points ie what he/she already knows and understands.
- CTs use a range of teaching styles so that all children are fully involved in their learning. Resources are adapted to suit each individual child’s needs.
- Specific strategies (suggested by SENDCo) are put in place to support your child’s learning.
Specific group work, run in or out of the classroom by a teacher or teaching assistant (TA)
- If gaps in your child’s understanding/learning have been identified, extra support will be made available to enable progress to be made.
- Where necessary, specific group sessions, or specific intervention programmes for your child will be put in place such as Rapid Reading; Rapid Writing; Numicon; Language for Thinking; Fizzy; Toe by Toe; Power of 1/2
One to One support
- This is put in place when a child is the subject of EHCP (or Statement) from the local authority.
- A specific programme of work will be timetabled to support individual work.
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How does our school ensure that the information about a child’s MyPlan or EHCP is shared and understood by teachers and all relevant staff who come into contact with the child? |
- All staff members involved in your child’s education receive copies of his/her MyPlan.
- The CT and TA, together with advisory colleagues who work with your child, are involved in planning and the writing of the myPlan.
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What expertise do our staff have in relation to SEND? |
- Our SENDCo is fully qualified having gained her National Award Masters Level qualification for SEND Co-ordination.
- TAs attend specific training sessions to match the children’s needs.
- We receive support and training through the Advisory Teachers’ Service (ATS).
- Specific expertise includes experience with children on the autistic spectrum, language delay and Down Syndrome.
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Who will be working with or offer support for our children? |
Within our school, your child will have a class teacher and teaching assistant. They may also work with the SENDCo who will be overseeing their SEN provision. Other people or external agencies that may be involved include:
- Advisory Teaching Service
- School Nurse
- Speech and Language Service
- Educational Psychologist
- Occupational Health
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How will we include your child in extra-curricular activities and trips? |
- All activities are risk-assessed to include all children.
- We will always ensure that every child with SEND has equal access to all activities.
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How accessible is our school? |
- The school can be easily accessed via the main entrance.
- We have one disabled toilet.
- Resources are acquired as needed for the individual needs of the child, for example Numicon, sensory toys.
- We welcome all parents. Those with English as an additional language may have correspondence e-mailed to them, which can be translated if required. If necessary other families in the school who speak the same language can help with communication.
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How do we assess and evaluate provision that has been arranged for your child and the progress that they are making? |
- Notes are completed on each child every day by the TA working with them. This may include scoring for specific intervention programmes to record progress.
- The child’s MyPlan is a working document and targets are monitored regularly. They are formally reviewed, with the child, each half term before a new MyPlan is written.
- Termly progress meetings between the Assessment Co-ordinator and CT are held to review progress.
- Insight is used to record, monitor and analyse assessment data.
- Information is shared with parents at Parents’ Evenings and through their child’s Annual Report.
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How do we prepare for children with SEND to transfer into and/or from the school? |
We recognise that moving on can be difficult for a child with SEND and we take steps to ensure that any transition is as smooth as possible.
- If your child is moving to another school:
- we will ensure that all records, including myPlans, are passed on promptly;
- we will contact the school SENDCo and ensure they know about needs for support or special arrangements that need to be made.
- When moving classes in school:
- information from existing to new CTs is passed on and used to inform planning.
- secondary SENDCos are invited to review meetings of all children with SEND;
- your child may be invited to attend additional visits to their new school to assist the transition process.
- If your child is new to the school:
- records from their previous school will be received, scrutinised and, where applicable, will be used to inform planning;
- we will carry out our own observations and make assessments;
- we will contact other professionals currently involved in your child’s education;
- we will keep parents fully informed in making provision for their child/re.
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What role do the governors have? |
- There is a designated governor for SEND.
- The Governing Body receives regular (at least termly) reports from the SENDCo and Head Teacher.
- The Governing Body ensures that necessary resources, as advised by the Head Teacher and SENDCo, are made available through use of the Pupil Premium and school budget.
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What can you do if you are not happy? Who can you contact for further information? |
- If for any reason you are not happy, you should contact the Class Teacher and/or the SENDCo in the first instance. You can also speak with the Head Teacher and the Chair of Governors if you wish. Formal complaints can be made to Ofsted.
- Our SEND policy can be found on the Policies and Documents page of the school website or from the school office at admin@holyapostles.gloucs.sch.uk
- You can contact the SENDCo via the school office on 01242 526858.
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