SCHOOL OFFER – SEND INFORMATION REPORT

COMMUNICATION AND INTERACTION

Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have difficulty in communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them or they do not understand or use social rules of communication. The profile for every child with SLCN is different and their needs may change over time. They may have difficulty with one, some or all of the different aspects of speech, language or social communication at different times of their lives.

Children and young people with ASD, including Autism, are likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction. They may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination, which can impact on how they relate to others.

COGNITION AND LEARNING

Support for learning difficulties may be required when children and young people learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs, including moderate learning difficulties (MLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD), where children are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associated difficulties with mobility and communication, through to profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), where 98 children are likely to have severe and complex learning difficulties as well as a physical disability or sensory impairment.

Specific learning difficulties (SpLD), affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.

SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL HEALTH DIFFICULTIES

Children and young people may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children and young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or attachment disorder.

Schools and colleges should have clear processes to support children and young people, including how they will manage the effect of any disruptive behaviour so it does not adversely affect other pupils. The Department for Education publishes guidance on managing pupils’ mental health and behaviour difficulties in schools.

SENSORY AND/OR PHYSICAL NEEDS

Some children and young people require special educational provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. These difficulties can be age related and may fluctuate over time. Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning, or habilitation support. Children and young people with an MSI have a combination of vision and hearing difficulties. Information on how to provide services for deafblind children and young people is available through the Social Care for Deafblind Children and Adults guidance published by the Department of Health.

Some children and young people with a physical disability (PD) require additional ongoing support and equipment to access all the opportunities available to their peers.

A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:

• has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of 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 or mainstream post-16 institutions. For children aged two or more, special educational provision is educational or training provision that is additional to or different from that made generally for other children or young people of the same age by mainstream schools, maintained nursery schools, mainstream post-16 institutions or by relevant early years providers. For a child under two years of age, special educational provision means educational provision of any kind. (SEND Code of Practice July 2014)

N.B: A child under compulsory school age has special educational needs if he or she is likely to fall within the definition when they reach compulsory school age or would do so if special educational provision was not made for them (Section 20 Children and Families Act 2014).

At Camp School we use a graduated response to identity children with Special Educational Needs. Please see the diagram below;

Provision for children with special educational needs is a matter for the school as a whole. It is each teacher’s responsibility to provide for pupils with SEND in his/her class, and to be aware that these needs may be present in different learning situations. All staff are responsible for helping to meet an individual’s special educational needs and for following the school’s procedures for identifying, assessing and making provision to meet those needs.

The Governing Body, in co-operation with the Head Teacher, has a legal responsibility for determining the policy and provision for pupils with SEND. It maintains a general overview and has appointed a representative governor (the SEND Governor), who takes particular interest in this aspect of the school.

The Head Teacher has responsibility for:

• The management of all aspects of the school’s work, including provision for pupils with SEND;
• Keeping the governing body informed about SEND issues;
• Working closely with the SEND personnel within the school;
• Ensuring that the implementation of this policy and the effects of inclusion policies on the school as a whole are monitored and reported to governors.

The Governing Body will ensure that:

• SEND provision is an integral part of the school improvement/development plan;
• The necessary provision is made for any pupil with SEND;
• All staff are aware of the need to identify and provide for pupils with SEND;
• Pupils with SEND join in school activities alongside other pupils, as far as is reasonably practical and compatible with their needs and the efficient education of other pupils;
• They report to parents on the implementation of the school’s SEND policy;
• They have regard to the requirements of the SEND Code of Practice (2014);
• Parents are notified if the school decides to make special educational provision for their child;
• They are fully informed about SEND issues, so that they can play a major part in school self-review;
• They set up appropriate staffing and funding arrangements, and oversee the school’s work for pupils with SEND;
• The quality of SEND provision is regularly monitored;
• They, and the school as a whole, are involved in the development and monitoring of this policy.

Note: Many of these responsibilities will be delegated to the Head Teacher and/or SENDCo.

The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENDCo) is responsible for:

• Overseeing the day-to-day operation of this policy;
• Ensuring that an agreed, consistent approach is adopted;
• Liaising with and advising other staff;
• Helping staff to identify pupils with SEND;
• Carrying out detailed assessments and observations of pupils with specific learning problems;
• Co-ordinating the provision for pupils with SEND;
• Supporting class teachers in devising strategies, drawing up Individual and Class Provision Maps, setting targets appropriate to the needs of the pupils, and advising on appropriate resources and materials for use with pupils with SEND and on the effective use of materials and personnel in the classroom;
• Liaising closely with parents of pupils with SEND, so that they are aware of the strategies that are being used and are involved as partners in the process;
• Liaising with outside agencies, arranging meetings, and providing a link between these agencies, class teachers and parents;
• Maintaining the school’s SEND register and records;
• Assisting in the monitoring and evaluation of progress of pupils with SEND through the use of school assessment information, eg, class-based assessments/records, end of year tests and SATs
• Contributing to the in-service training of staff;
• Managing learning support staff/teaching assistants;
• Ensuring that midday supervisors are given any necessary information relating to the supervision of pupils at lunchtime and supporting them in relation to behaviour management and other issues for particular pupils;
• Liaising with the SENDCos in receiving schools/and or other primary schools to help provide a smooth transition from one school to the other;
• Taking part in LA SEND moderation.

Class teachers are responsible for:

• Including pupils with SEND in the classroom, and for providing an appropriately differentiated curriculum. They can draw on the SENDCo for advice on assessment and strategies to support inclusion;
• Making themselves aware of this policy and procedures for identification, monitoring and
  supporting pupils with SEND;
• Working in partnership with parents of pupils with SEND to give feedback and discuss their child’s needs, provisions and progress;
• Working with the support of the SENDCo to draw up and implement provision maps.

Learning support staff/teaching assistants should:

• Be fully aware of this policy and the procedures for identifying, assessing and making provision for pupils with SEND;
• Use the school’s procedures for giving feedback to teachers about pupils’ progress and their responses to tasks and strategies;
• Be aware of the SEND of children with whom they work, including being familiar with the children’s provision maps;
• Implement strategies and interventions identified on children’s provision maps under the direction of the class teacher and/or the SENDCo;
• Be prepared to undertake relevant and regular training and meetings to support them in meeting the needs of children with SEND.

(Please also see question 1)

If a child is identified as having challenges we would initially share these challenges with parents/carers and alongside this, talk to the pupil about what is working well and not so well for them at school currently.  

After this, we would put in place a range of support strategies, including but not limited to, additional resources in class to structure scaffold learning, additional interventions either in class/out of class, in small groups or 1:1.

This information is then recorded on either an individual provision map or class provision map dependant on the need of the child. This will be shared with the child’s parent/carer and reviewed termly.

If your child has an individual provision map, as well as parents consultations and annual reports, you will be invited to termly meetings to discuss your child’s targets on the provision map.

We also provide additional day to day information regarding children’s progress where necessary for example through the use of a home/school diary.

(Please also see the “Special Educational Needs and Disability Policy”)

All pupils should have access to a broad and balanced curriculum. The National Curriculum Inclusion Statement states that teachers should set high expectations for every pupil, whatever their prior attainment. Teachers should use appropriate assessment to set targets which are deliberately ambitious. Potential areas of difficulty should be identified and addressed at the outset. Lessons should be planned to address potential areas of difficulty and to remove barriers to pupil achievement. In many cases, such planning will mean that pupils with SEN and disabilities will be able to study the full national curriculum. (SEN code of Practice 2014)

We provide effective learning opportunities for all pupils and ensure that all children have the opportunity to achieve their full potential by:

• Identifying children’s different learning styles so as to be able to use different strategies to support their learning;
• Ensuring pupils’ work and recording takes a range of different forms including pictorial, written, use of creative arts, and the use of ICT;
• Engaging pupils in a range of learning situations including individual, paired, group and whole class;
• Making the curriculum accessible to all pupils, taking into account differences in gender, ethnicity, social and emotional experiences.

Lessons are planned to support a range of abilities and needs. Children’s academic ability is regularly assessed and the lessons and tasks children are asked to complete are adapted appropriately.

The model below identifies the different provision in place dependent on the level of need. Wave 1 is the effective inclusion of all children in daily, ‘quality first teaching’.  Wave 2 identifies additional interventions to enable children to work at age related expectations or above.  Examples of Wave 2 provision we currently use include Rapid Writing, Rapid Maths, Write from the Start, The Talk About programme and Learning Through Movement . Wave 3 intervention is additional, highly personalised interventions, for example, specifically targeted approaches for children identified as requiring SEN support.

All teaching staff are trained in “Protective Behaviours”- a safety awareness and resilience building programme which helps children and adults to recognise any situation where they feel worried or unsafe, such as feeling stressed, bullied or threatened and explores practical ways to keep safe. All staff are trained in how to support children’s Social and Emotional development.

Teaching staff have been trained in providing “A Dyslexia Friendly Classroom”

Teaching staff have been trained in supportive children with receptive language and vocabulary difficulties through the use of word webs and mind maps.

All staff are trained in the use of inhalers and epipens. Some staff have had diabetes training.

We have a range of staff trained in “First Aid.”

Other training courses a variety of staff have attended include;

• Inclusion matters,
• Inter-agencies working together,
• P scale moderation,
• PE for Visually Impaired,
• Supporting struggling readers,
• Aspergers – not just a text book,
• First language assessment
• How to support struggling writers
• ADHD in the classroom
• AET Autistic Spectrum Disorder Tier 1,2 and 3
• ELKAN speech and language training
• Attachment Difficulties training
• Hearing Impairment technologies and strategies

Many staff are also trained in a variety of different ICT software to support children’s progress including “Lexia” and “Clicker 6”

When necessary, and after careful consideration (see page 2), the school makes referrals to the following services;

Please click on the links below for more information about the services.

CAHMS

Colette School Outreach

Speech, Language, Communication and Autism Team (SLCA)

Specific learning difficulties team

Early years SEND team

SEND Specialist Advice and Support (SEND SAS)

Educational Psychology Service

School Nursing

Children’s Speech and Language Therapy

Children’s Occupational Therapy

Children’s Physiotherapy

St Albans Plus

Links Outreach

Although we work predominantly alongside professionals within the National Health Service, we will of course also act on advice provided by professionals working within the private sector. If children have been seen/supported outside of school we will always endeavour to continue this work within school where possible.

A Sensory room was installed in January 2016. The room can be tailored to either calm or stimulate based on an individual’s unique sensory needs. The room can be beneficial for almost anyone. We have received training on effective use of the Sensory room through an outreach service.

For family support we have a Family support Worker, please contact Jemma Hope 07803 244 815.

We pride ourselves on our open door policy and strong home school links and hope that you feel able to come and ask any questions you have regarding how to support your child.

We offer a range of different ways to explain to you how our teaching and learning is planned. At the beginning of a year we carry out “Transition Talks” to all parents to explain what the year ahead will look like. On a termly basis we send a newsletter to parents mapping out the objectives and topics for the term ahead.

We provide an annual report to all parents/carers regarding their children’s progress and their next steps.

We provide an annual report and carry out two parents evenings to discuss children’s progress and their next steps.

We share children’s targets with parents/carers which can be supported at home.

We have recently carried out parent workshops during which we invited parents into school to learn about how we teach maths to the children. We will endeavour to continue running these sessions.

In foundation stage we run “Building Blocks” a set of sessions for our Reception parents to attend with their children which highlights the ways in which we teach basic skills in our Reception class and gives them a chance to practice. We also have “Stay and Play” sessions for parents of our Nursery Children. For pre-school children we run “Rainbow Club” on a weekly basis.

For children having additional intervention or SEND support we will work alongside you to set and review targets on a termly basis. For children with Education, Health and Care plans or statements, we have a yearly review to assess progress and make necessary changes.

Please see Question 1, 4 and 9

At Camp we ensure all trips and activities are accessible or can be adapted to be accessible for all children. For all trips, staff carry out a pre-visit to ensure this.

We assess the extra support that will be needed for extra-curricular activities and plan for this and risk assessments are carried out.

All staff running extra curricular activities are briefed accordingly and are aware of all children’s individual needs where necessary.

We increase the adult/child ratio where necessary and in foundation stage, parents of children with SEN may be invited to accompany their child on the trip.

During activities such as sports day, we ask the children to decide how they feel the activities could be adapted to suit their individual needs.

In some cases, we can provide funded places for children to provide them with the opportunity to participate.

(Please also see our School Equality Scheme )

We have a range of tools and techniques to ensure that our school environment is accessible to all learners. We ensure that we adopt a range of teaching styles including auditory, kinaesthetic and visual as well as children having access to the following;

SEND support should include planning and preparation for the transitions between phases of education and preparation for adult life (see Chapter 8, Preparing for adulthood from the earliest years). To support transition, the school should share information with the school, college or other setting the child or young person is moving to. Schools should agree with parents and pupils the information to be shared as part of this planning process. Where a pupil is remaining at the school for post-16 provision, this planning and preparation should include consideration of how to provide a high quality study programme.

For all Children at Camp we provide the opportunity to spend time in their new classrooms in the summer term before they start a New Year group. We run a transition meeting for parents at the start of each academic year with the new teacher.

For children with SEND we increase the amount of time they are able to spend in their new environment to ensure they are comfortable with their transition. We also provide “Transition books” which are documents the children can take home with pictures of their new classroom, new teachers and other key information they can become familiar with over the summer. We run Individual transition meetings with the parents, current teacher, new teacher/s and SENDCo to ensure all key information is passed forwards. If children are transferring from our school to another school, the SENDCo meets/ contacts the appropriate person at the secondary school to ensure that all key information and documents are shared and passed on. In some cases, the child may make several visits to their new school with a member of staff from ours.

In foundation stage all new children have a “home visit” in which their teachers come and meet them in their home environment. we run stay and play sessions during the initial part of the term for parents/carers. We provide all of our reception children with a year 5 “buddy” who they spend time with on a weekly basis and whom they can find on the playground or elsewhere if they need some support. The Nursery children have regular opportunities to visit the Reception classroom before their transition. For children going to other settings, our Nursery teacher has handover meetings with their new Reception teacher to ensure key information is passed on.

From foundation stage to KS1 We provide regular slots in the summer term for the reception children to visit the year one classroom and become familiar with the teacher. We provide a graduated curriculum in year 1 in which the children are slowly introduced to the year 1 curriculum whilst still having opportunities to experience the foundation stage curriculum.

For transition to secondary school we provide some small group support in school for children who we feel will find the transition particularly challenging. The children have an opportunity to meet a member of staff from their new school and ask any questions they may have, they also visit their new school. For year 6 children with SEND, the SENDCo meets/ contacts the appropriate person at the secondary school to ensure that all key information and documents are shared and passed on. In some cases, the child may make several visits to their new school with a member of staff from ours.

All mainstream schools are provided with resources to support those with additional needs, including pupils with SEN and disabilities. Most of these resources are determined by a local funding formula, discussed with the local schools forum, which is also applied to local academies. School and academy sixth forms receive an allocation based on a national funding formula.

Schools have an amount identified within their overall budget, called the notional SEN budget. This is not a ring-fenced amount, and it is for the school to provide high quality appropriate support from the whole of its budget.  Children who have an Education Health and Care Plan will have a budget allocated by the county.

It is for schools, as part of their normal budget planning, to determine their approach to using their resources to support the progress of pupils with SEN. The SENCO, Headteacher and governing body or proprietor should establish a clear picture of the resources that are available to the school. They should consider their strategic approach to meeting SEN in the context of the total resources available, including any resources targeted at particular groups, such as the pupil premium.

This will enable schools to provide a clear description of the types of special educational provision they normally provide and will help parents and others to understand what they can normally expect the school to provide for pupils with SEN.

Schools are not expected to meet the full costs of more expensive special educational provision from their core funding. They are expected to provide additional support which costs up to a nationally prescribed threshold per pupil per year. The responsible local authority, usually the authority where the child or young person lives, should provide additional top-up funding where the cost of the special educational provision required to meet the needs of an individual pupil exceeds the nationally prescribed threshold.

(See question 1 and 5)

Hertfordshire SEND Local Offer

Please contact the school office on 01727851056 and ask to speak to the SENDCo.

Should pupils or parents/carers be unhappy with any aspect of provision they should discuss the problem with a class/form teacher in the first instance. Anyone who feels unable to talk to the teacher, or is not satisfied with the teacher’s comments, should ask to speak to the SENDCo. For a problem that might need time to be explored fully, parents/carers should make an appointment rather than rushing the discussion before or after school. In the event of a formal complaint parents should follow the procedure in the school’s complaints policy.