SEND

What do I do if I think my child or young person may have special educational needs

You can contact the SENCo either by telephone (0113 232 0796) or email (strawberryfields@setschools.uk). A meeting will be arranged to discuss your concerns with both the SENCo and Class Teacher. If further assessments are needed these will be carried out and if necessary, a plan of support put in place.

How will school support my child or young person’s learning?

The Class Teacher will put a plan of support in place and this will be overseen by the SENCo. The plan will detail who will work with your child and when. This plan will be shared with you and reviewed on a regular basis. It will include:

• universal provision (those daily tweaks that can be easily implemented to support your child in class e.g. seating, use of memory aids etc)
• targeted provision (small group support or group interventions that may haelp your child to progress)
• personalised/specialist support (one-to-one interventions or assessment and advice carried out by an outside agency e.g. Speech and Language Therapist; Special Educational Needs Inclusion Team – SENIT)

The plan will be recorded on an Individual Provision Map (IPM) which will be available in the classroom to all staff working with your child, so everyone is aware of their needs and provision. It will be reviewed with you at least termly. Your child may be assessed using a range of assessments on our SEND assessment menu to determine if the provision is having impact and your child is making progress. We can adapt provision to meet any child’s needs if it is deemed necessary. A child does not need a formal diagnosis or to be undergoing assessment for this to happen.

How will the curriculum be matched to my child or young person’s needs?

Once assessment has been completed, termly objectives will be set for your child. These may require small group intervention, additional teacher targeted support, assistive technology or practical resources and differentiation of the curriculum to support access to learning. The assessment package ‘B Squared Progression Steps’ is used to determine gaps and to aid in the differentiation of classroom learning.

How accessible is the school?

The school has disabled access, including a lift inside the Forest of Knowledge to access both levels of the school. Disabled parking is available in the school car park. The school is able to provide a range of resources such as wobble cushions, chewellery, weighted pencils or ergonomic handwriting pens, assistive technology, coloured paper/exercise books, coloured overlays, pencil grips etc. The school can also access support from the Deaf and Hearing Impairment Team (DaHIT) and the Visual Impairment Team (VI), along with Occupational Therapy and other services from Integrated Children’s Additional Needs Services (ICAN).

How will I know how well my child or young person is doing and how will you help me support my child’s learning?

Review meetings will be held at least termly to discuss your child’s progress with staff. These can be more frequent if needed. Class Dojo allows parents to contact their child’s teacher to ask questions or express concerns. Additional appointments can be made with the SENCo or Inclusion Manager to discuss concerns or issues of immediate interest. Parental information is vital in helping us to build a complete picture of your child. We have a number of parental checklists and questionnaires to help us record your views of your child and how best to support them. A parental views form will also be given to you to express your opinion on provision and progress prior to review meetings.

What support will there be for my child or young person’s overall well –being and social, emotional and mental health development?

Mrs Kilburn (Inclusion Manager) is an invaluable pastoral manager. Mrs Kilburn’s ‘Chat Box’ is available in every classroom for children to record worries or issues that they would like to discuss. Mrs Kilburn also runs a number of ‘Nurture’ groups to support children with friendships, worries and emotions. We have the Emotional Literacy and ‘Your Body Sends a Signal’ interventions to support recognition of emotions and strategies to deal with them. Our RSHE curriculum also provides a range of lessons on mental well-being, strategies to regulate emotions (Zones of Regulation) and the development of healthy relationships.

What services and expertise are available or accessed by the school, including staff with specific specialist knowledge/qualifications?

The SENCo is a qualified, experienced teacher and has achieved the NASENCo (National Award for SEN Coordination) award at masters level.

SEND Teaching Assistants are available in every phase (e.g. EYFS, Key Stage 1, Lower Key Stage 2 and Upper Key Stage 2) to deliver interventions and provide additional support. Teaching Assistants have training in delivering a number of SEND assessments and interventions. All staff will receive Autism Awareness training to bring our new staff members up to date.

Our Garforth Cluster are a very small team, but have access to counselling services, Silvercloud online support for parents of anxious children, family support through the Children’s Centre for very young children. The Cluster subscribes to Chatterbug Speech Therapy services and we receive 6 days support annually. The Speech Therapist has the capacity to assess and provide a report and therapy plan for up to four children in one day.

For more specialist support, school can draw on the advice of the STARS team (specialists in Autism), the Special Educational Needs Inclusion Team (for cognition and learning, inclusion or specific learning difficulties such as Dyslexia), Educational Psychology, Deaf and Hearing Impairment Team (DaHIT) and the Visual Impairment Team. We can also refer to Integrated Children’s Additional Needs services.

What training and development is done by staff supporting those with SEND?

Both SEND and General Teaching Assistants access training by the SENCo and further curriculum training by the Senior Leadership Team. All established staff have received Autism Awareness Level 1 training and this will be updated to support new members of staff in the near future. All staff and Governors have received Safeguarding training. All teaching staff have received training in B Squared Assessment and Individual Provision Maps. Our EYFS SEND Teaching Assistant is very experienced and highly trained in supporting speech and language programmes and identifying children who require that support. Staff throughout school are trained in Sounds Write (our Phonics scheme which is Dyslexia friendly) and provide interventions throughout the range of school ages. The EYFS Phase Leader is trained in Movement Play, to support physical development (including interoception and proprioception) in the early years.

How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom?

Parents of children with SEND are consulted about the best way to support their child to access the full range of school life, including school trips and residentials. This may be through additional staffing, parents accompanying the child or talking to the child about how they would like to be supported. The full range of school activities, including after school clubs and trips, are open to all children regardless of need.

How will the school help children and young people transfer to the next phase of education?

Transition to the next class is discussed with parents during review meetings. We can provide a transition booklet with photographs of new staff, new classroom and information to familiarise your child with their new class setting. Visits are made to the new classroom in the Summer term and to meet the new staff, where transition activities are planned and engaged in to support familiarisation and minimise anxiety. Children are able to choose a list of up to four friends that they would like to be with and we guarantee that they will be with at least one of them.

If children are moving Key Stage, this transition is more detailed. We may suggest you walk your child to school using a route that takes them past their new classroom door. Visits to new playgrounds are made regularly in the Summer term. Some children may need additional, individual visits to meet their new teacher and staff and to build up those relationships to ensure a smooth transition.

How are the school’s resources/funding allocated and matched to children’s needs?

The SENCo works closely with Senior Leadership to ensure staffing is matched to need. The SEND team consists of Mrs Mumby (Headteacher), Mrs Kilburn (Inclusion Manager) and Mrs Fagan (SENCo). We regularly discuss how children’s needs are being supported and if this is impacting the child positively. The notional budget (£6000 per child) is used to provide a high level of staffing that can be targeted where support is needed most. All classes have access to Teaching Assistants to support learning and progress. Additional ‘Top-Up’ funding can be applied for through Funding For Inclusion (FFI). Strict criteria govern who we can apply for. Funding years include Reception, Year 1, Year 3 and Year 5. This funding may be used to employ additional adult support for that child on a one-to-one basis, but does not cover the full cost. The notional budget is also used to cover this cost.

How are parents and carers involved in the school?

We have a very active and supportive Parent Teacher Association (PTA) who are always ready to welcome new members. Please contact the school office if you are interested in joining.

The SENCo will be restarting ‘Coffee Mornings/Evenings’ twice a term in the near future. These allow parents of children with SEND to meet and possibly find support. They are also opportunities for parents to talk to the SENCo informally about any concerns or issues, or to ask questions about how to access support from a variety of sources.

Parent consultation evenings are held on a termly basis with Class Teachers to discuss general progress.

Parents of children on the SEND register are invited to termly review meetings to discuss their child’s progress. Additional meetings can be requested if needed.

SEND Policies and Guidance