SEND Information Report – Wortham Primary School

What does SEND mean?

At different times in their school career, a child or young person may have a special educational need. The Code of Practice defines SEN as: “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: (a) have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age or;

(b) 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.”

 If you have any concerns about your child, please speak to your child's class teacher; you do not have to wait for a parent's evening. At Wortham Primary School, the staff meet formally on a termly basis to review the needs and progress of the children. We also meet informally throughout the term where concerns are shared and options for support are discussed. Any concerns raised by parents are shared with staff associated with your child.  The SENCO and school leaders are happy to meet with parents to discuss any concerns with parents/carers.

Children can fall behind in school for a variety of reasons, only those with a difficulty that requires special educational provision will be identified as having SEN. However, we make sure that all children have the support and encouragement they need to progress. Once your child is added to the SEN register under SEN Support, we make provision that is ‘additional to’ or ‘different from’ the normal adapted curriculum in line with their needs. This provision is intended to overcome the barrier to their learning/SEN and ensure they can make progress from their starting point.

 

 

Who are the best people to talk to about my child’s difficulties with learning/SEND?

Your child’s class teacher is responsible for:

• Ensuring that all children have access to good/outstanding teaching and that the curriculum is adapted to meet your child’s needs.
• Checking on the progress of your child and identifying, planning, and delivering any additional help your child may need (this could be things like targeted work, additional support) and letting the SENDCO know as necessary.
• Developing and agreeing learning plans called Pupil Passports and sharing and reviewing these with parents at least once each term and planning for the next term.
• Ensuring that all members of staff working with your child in school are aware of your child’s individual needs and/or conditions, and what specific adjustments need to be made to enable them to be included and make progress.
• Ensuring that all staff working with your child in school are helped to deliver the planned work/programme for your child so they can achieve the best possible progress. This may involve the use of additional adults, outside specialist help and specially planned work and resources.
• Ensuring that the school’s SEND Policy is followed in their classroom and for all the pupils they teach with any SEND.

 

The SENCO (Amanda Brydon) is responsible for:

• Co-ordinating all the support for children with SEND and developing the school’s SEND Policy to make sure all children get a consistent, high-quality response to meeting their needs in school.
• Ensuring that you are involved in supporting your child’s learning, kept informed about the support your child is getting and involved in reviewing how they are doing.
• Liaising with all the other people who may be coming into school to help support your child’s learning e.g., Speech and Language Therapy, Educational Psychology, etc.
• Updating the school’s SEND register (a system for ensuring all the SEND needs of pupils in this school are known) and making sure that there are excellent records of your child’s progress and needs.
• Providing specialist support for teachers and support staff in the school so they can help children with SEND in the school achieve the best progress possible.
• Supporting your child’s teacher in writing Pupil Passports that specify the targets set for your child to achieve.
• Organising training for staff so they are aware and confident about how to meet the needs of your child and others within our school.

 

What are the different types of support offered by Wortham Primary School:

Class teaching is part of the universal offer for all pupils in school:

• The teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all pupils in their class.
• All teaching is based on building on what your child already knows, can do, and can understand.
• Different ways of teaching are in place so that your child is fully involved in learning in class.
• Specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENCO or outside agencies) are in place to support your child to learn eg: visual timetables; specific use of IT equipment.
• Your child’s teacher will have carefully checked on your child’s progress and will have decided that your child has a gap in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress.

Intervention Groups may be:

• Run in the classroom or outside.
• Run by a teacher or most often a Teaching Assistant who has had training to run these groups.

Some children may need some extra support in school. For your child this would mean:

• Your child’s teacher will have carefully checked on your child’s progress and will have decided that your child has a gap in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to close the gap with their peers.
• They will engage in group sessions with specific targets to help them to make more progress.
• A Teaching Assistant will run these small group sessions using specific plans suggested by external agencies. This type of support is available to any child who has specific gaps in their understanding of an area of learning.

Specialist groups run by outside agencies:

Some children have been identified as needing more specialist support in school from a professional outside the school. This may be from:

• Local Authority central services – Inclusion team: SES Specialist Educational Services
• Outside agencies such as Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) Service provided by the NHS
• Educational Psychologist
• School Nursing Team
• Early Help/Family Support
• Attendance Service
• Occupational Therapy

 

What does this mean for my child?

All pupils will be provided with Good Quality Teaching that is adapted to meet the needs of all learners. Adjustments will be made so that all pupils with additional needs are able to access the curriculum. This may include the following:

• resources/environment to support sensory needs e.g., coloured exercise books, booster cushions, visual timetables, quiet learning tables
• accessibility aids and technology e.g., electronic dictionaries, laptops
• resources to support physical needs e.g., pens/pencils/scissors with supportive grips, range of P.E. equipment
• booster/intervention sessions in small groups

Both teachers and teaching assistants will provide support within the classroom. Some pupils will join a targeted intervention group.

Requesting an Education, Health & Care Needs Assessment (EHCP)

Where, despite the school having taken relevant, purposeful action to identify, assess and meet the SEN of the pupil, they have not made expected progress the school or parents should consider requesting an Education, Health & Care Needs assessment. At this point your child will usually be receiving specialist support/advice in school from a professional outside the school.

For your child this would mean that you or the school can request that the Local Authority carry out a statutory assessment of your child’s needs. This is a legal process.

• After the school have sent in the request to the Local Authority, they will decide whether they think your child’s needs (as described in the paperwork provided) seem complex enough to necessitate a statutory assessment. If this is the case, they will ask you and all professionals involved with your child to write a report outlining your child’s needs. If they do not think your child needs this, they will ask the school to continue with the support already in place for your child.
• After the reports have all been sent in, the Local Authority will decide if your child’s needs are severe, complex, and lifelong and that they need more support in school to make good progress. If this is the case, they will write an EHC Plan. If this is not the case, they will ask the school to continue with the support already in place.
• The EHC Plan will outline the support your child will receive from the Local Authority and 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. For further information on EHCPs & their process please access the Suffolk Local Offer (see link below).

How will the school prepare and support my child to join the school and transfer to a new one?

When your child is given a place to join our reception year in the following academic year, the reception teacher will plan a series of meetings to share details about your child. These meetings can take place in school and will give you the opportunity to share any specific needs or concerns to support your child's transition into school. During the Summer Term prior to your child starting school, there will be a series of events that you will both be invited to which will help familiarise families to life at Wortham Primary School. Your child will have the opportunity to meet with their peers and staff, and be able to explore their classroom, building and outdoor area.

If your child joins Wortham Primary School part way through their primary education, we aim to meet with you so that we can ensure a positive start into school. This is usually done in conjunction with the previous school. When joining or moving on to a new school we will arrange extra transfer visits for your child. Parents are encouraged to visit the new school. The Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) and/or School leaders will always communicate with the new school to ensure that all information is passed on about your child. If a CAF (Common Assessment Framework) is in place, staff from the new school will be invited to a meeting so that the parents can have the opportunity to speak with them together with all professionals involved.

For transition to Hartismere High School or any other high school in the area, any child on the Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities register or any child with an additional need is discussed both with the Year 7 liaison teacher and the SENCO from the high school. Usually, the specialists at the high schools are keen to meet or have a discussion with parents and these start towards the end of Year 5, especially if the needs are complex and additional provision would need to be put in place to support transition. Throughout Years 5 and 6, all children have many opportunities to visit Hartismere High School either through curriculum activities, planned transition events or to watch activities put on by the older students.

How are the parents involved in the setting? How can I be involved?

At Wortham Primary School, we respect your valuable understanding of your child's needs and wishes. We aim to involve you in every aspect of the decision-making process. We encourage you to meet with us as often as you feel necessary.

How accessible is the school?

At Wortham Primary School we have a toilet that can be accessed easily.

Information about school including policies, governors, staff, class pages, contacts and weekly newsletters are available on this school website.

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

All school trips require a Risk Assessment.

For children with significant needs, they may require an individual Risk Assessment, agreed with parents, to ensure that they are able to take part in the trip successfully.

What training are the staff supporting children with SEND had or are having?

We regularly discuss and identify staff training needs, usually related to the needs of the children in school at the time. Most staff have appropriate First Aid training.

 

 

How will both you and I know how my child is doing and will you help me support my child's learning?

We follow an ASSESS, PLAN, DO, REVIEW process when monitoring progress for all pupils in our school. If your child is on the Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) register they may be given a Pupil Passport (PP). This is a working document that identifies children's strengths and areas of need, which sets out targets for the term and how you, your child and the team in school can help achieve those targets. Your child will then use the accompanying book to record daily/weekly targets that will all build to achieve the long-term target set on the PP. This will enable your child to take responsibility for their learning, enabling them to develop independence but also understand how to move forward in their learning.

Any adult working with your child can then record children's progress where appropriate. Where a child on the SEND register does not have a Pupil Passport (it is not always necessary to have personalised targets), a care plan will be in place to ensure your child’s additional needs in school are formalised and recorded.

The main targets will be reviewed at least termly with your child and parents.

Parents are kept updated through parents’ evenings Autumn and Summer Term, and for those on the SEND register, termly reviews of the targets on the Pupil Passports, which may be shared at parent's evenings. Annual reports are written in the Spring Term.

Wortham Primary School SENCO – Amanda Brydon

Wortham Primary School Governor with responsibility for SEND – Simon Furlong

Suffolk Pupils

Suffolk Local Offer: https://infolink.suffolk.gov.uk/kb5/suffolk/infolink/localoffer.page

Suffolk SEND Partnership: https://suffolksendiass.co.uk/

Norfolk Pupils

Norfolk Local Offer: https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/children-and-families/send-local-offer

Norfolk SEND Partnership: Norfolk SENDIASS Home Page

Wortham Primary School Inclusion Policy

https://www.worthamprimary.org.uk/pdfs/policies/Inclusion%20Policy%20Aut%2021.pdf

Applying for a place at Wortham Primary School

https://www.worthamprimary.org.uk/applying-for-place.html

 

Review: November 2024