Introduction
Welcome to our SEN information report which is part of the Suffolk Local Offer for learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
All governing bodies of maintained schools have a legal duty to publish information on their website about the implementation or policy for pupils with SEND. This information is updated annually. The Pines Primary School is an inclusive school and we value all members of our community.
You can find our policy here: https://primarysite-prod-sorted.s3.amazonaws.com/the-pines-primary-school/UploadedDocument/81577366e6af4efe811d8f89a8bb3ab3/send-policy-pines-march-2020.pdf
We welcome your comments to continue to improve this document so please do contact us.
The Local Offer
As part of the Children and Families Act 2014, Local Authorities are required to publish a ‘local Offer’. The purpose of the local offer is to enable parents and young people to see more clearly what services are available in their area and how to access them. It includes provision from birth to 25, across education, health and social care. The Suffolk Local Offer is available from the website:
https://infolink.suffolk.gov.uk/kb5/suffolk/infolink/localoffer.page;jsessionid=797190B28A548DF88B40272A3BE40DDE?localofferchannelnew=0
Alongside this, schools are required to publish information about their arrangements for identifying, assessing and making provision for pupils with SEND.
How do we define SEN (Special Educational Needs)?
The 2014 Code of Practice says that:
A person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. At compulsory school age this means he or she has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others the same age, or, has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools. (Taken from 2014 SEN Code of Practice: 0 to 25 Years)
Our objectives are:
What is Our ‘SEND Support’ Profile?
Approximately 12% of our children are either at SENS (SEN support) or have EHC Plans (Education, Health and Care Plans).
The children’s needs in the SENS group are categorised in the following ways:
(some children may appear in more than one category)
How do we identifying children at SENS (SEN Support)?
Children with SEN are identified by one of three assessment routes all of which are part of the overall approach to monitoring progress of all pupils:
Although the school can identify special educational needs, and make provision to meet those needs, we do not offer diagnosis. Parents are advised to contact their GP if they think their child may have ASD or ADHD or some other disability.
Working with Parents and Children
We aim to have good and informative relationships with all of our parents. If a child is experiencing difficulties, parents will be informed either at parents’ meetings (autumn and spring terms) or during informal meetings to discuss the child’s progress.
When are children assessed for an EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan)?
If children fail to make progress, in spite of high quality, targeted support at SENS, we may apply for the child to be assessed for an EHC Plan. Generally, we apply for an EHC Plan if:
If the application for an EHC Plan is successful, a member of the Local Authority will call a meeting for parents, the child and the school together with any health or social care professionals who are involved with the family. The meeting will record the child’s strengths, their dreams and aspirations as well as the barriers they face. Following the meeting, the LA will produce the EHC Plan which will record the decisions made at the meeting.
How do we support children with SEN?
We believe that all children learn best with the rest of their class. Our aim is for all children to be working independently, in class, achieving their full potential. Children with SEN and disabilities are entitled to be taught by their teacher, not always by a TA. Teachers aim to spend time each day working with all children with SEN, individually or as part of a group.
Targets for children at SENS are deliberately challenging in the attempt to close the attainment gap between the children and their peers. Interventions are often crucial in closing these gaps, so are monitored closely by both the class teacher who monitors progress towards the targets during the intervention and by the Inclusion Coordinator who monitors the Intervention Records.
How do we adapt teaching, the curriculum and learning environment to support children?
The Pines Primary School is disability friendly school. The new school building has been designed to be accessible for those who have a disability.
Other adaptations to the physical environment will be made, as appropriate, to accommodate children with other sensory disabilities.
All of our classrooms are inclusion-friendly: we aim to teach in a way that will support children with tendencies towards dyslexia, dyspraxia, ASD etc. This is good practice to support all children but is vital for those who particularly need it. All of our children access the full National Curriculum, and we recognise achievement and expertise in all curricular areas. As part of normal class differentiation curriculum content and ideas can be simplified and made more accessible by using visual, tactile and concrete resources.
Access to extra-curricular activities
All of our children will have equal access to before and after school clubs which develop engagement with the wider curriculum. Where necessary, we make accommodation and adaptation to meet the physical and learning needs of our children. Class trips are part of our curriculum and we aim for all children to benefit from them. No child is excluded from a trip because of SEN, disability or medical needs.
Staff Expertise
Our Inclusion Coordinator/SENCO is Mrs Clare Stewart and she can be contacted via the school office on 01638 750135
All of our teachers are trained to work with children with SEN. Some are very experienced, and others less so, but all have access to advice, information, resources and training to enable them to teach all children effectively. We offer training and self-help opportunities through access to in- house or external courses, provision of resources or guidance towards useful websites.
We request support from external advisors where required (including Educational Psychologists and Specialist Support Teachers).
How do we prepare children for next steps?
We understand how difficult it is for children and parents as they move into a new class or a new school and will do what we can, according to the individual needs of the child, to make transitions between classes, including from our pre-school, as smooth as possible. This may include, for example:
For further information on any aspect of our local offer, please contact (via the school office):
Kerry Darby (Head Teacher)