Our SEND Provision:
There are four broad areas of special educational need, these are:
Communication and Interaction: This area of need includes children with Autism Spectrum Condition and those with Speech, Language and Communication Needs.
Cognition and Learning: This includes children with Specific Learning Difficulties, Moderate Learning Difficulties, Severe Learning Difficulties and Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties.
Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties: This includes any pupils who have an emotional, social or mental health need that is impacting on their ability to learn.
Sensory and/or Physical Difficulties: This area includes children with hearing impairment, visual impairment, multi-sensory impairment and physical difficulties.
Taken from the SEND Code of Practice (2014 – modified April, 2020)
The kinds of SEND that we have experience of supporting at our Federation:
At West Tyne Church Schools Federation – Henshaw and Greenhead CofE Primary Schools, we have experience of supporting children and young people with a wide range of need including:
- Autistic Spectrum (ASD);
- Attachment Disorder;
- Developmental Co-ordination Difficulties (including Dyspraxia);
- Downs Syndrome;
- Emotional Well-being difficulties (including anxiety);
- General Learning Difficulties;
- Moderate Learning Difficulties;
- Memory Difficulties;
- Oppositional Behaviour & Demand Avoidance;
- Physical Learning Difficulties/ Disabilities;
- Processing Difficulties;
- Specific Learning Difficulties (including Dyslexia);
- Speech, Language and Communication Difficulties; and
- Social Interaction and Communication Difficulties
Our approach to teaching children & young people with SEND
Inclusive education means supporting all pupils to learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of school life alongside their peers. Our curriculum includes, not only the formal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum / National Curriculum, but also a range of additional opportunities to enrich the experiences of all pupils.
The Curriculum also included the social aspects that are essential for lifelong learning, personal growth and development of independence.
How we identify, assess and review a child's SEND provision
Most children and young people in mainstream schools will have their special educational needs met through good classroom practice. This is called Quality First Teaching.
Early Identification of Need:
Our school is committed to the early identification of pupils with SEND. The progress of all children is monitored closely through a range of assessment procedures and internal tracking. Detailed assessments and target tracking ensure that all learners achieve and make progress at our schools. Pupil assessments are carried out each term and those children needing extra support and/or those who are underachieving are identified. Observations of pupils by school staff and the views of parents/carers and pupils also inform the early identification process. Often, through additional support, a child will make the necessary progress to meet age-related expectations. However, if additional support has not been successful in accelerating progress, we would initiate an ‘Initial Concern’.
Initial Concern/Passport-profile Stage
When an ‘Initial Concern’ is raised, the SENCO will liaise with parents and class teachers to clearly identify the child’s strengths and any areas of difficulty. These will be documented and some next step actions will be agreed by all involved.
The ‘Initial Concern’ will be reviewed according to need but this will be within the school term. A decision will then be made collaboratively on whether to continue with an ‘Initial Concern’ to identify and monitor progress towards outcomes or to move to the passport/profile stage. Each cycle will be two terms. If the child continues to need support that is additional to or different from, they will then progress to a Classroom Support plan with a more detailed approach to identifying the child’s needs, outcomes and the provision necessary to meet those needs.
Classroom Support Plans
Classroom support plans are written in collaboration with the family and child to ensure that all parties involved in the child’s learning have the chance to contribute and are aware of their specific targets.
Progress of the child is closely monitored by the SENCO and class teacher in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the support and interventions being delivered. Teachers, children and parents meet regularly to discuss the child’s progress and new targets are set. If a child is not making progress with intervention, further advice from relevant outside agencies such as an educational psychologist would be sought.
At any stage, the need for further specialist assessments from external agencies e.g. Speech and Language Therapy (SALT), Occupational Therapy (OT), Children & Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS), the Local Authority SEND Advisory teams etc may be sought. These agencies may carry out further assessment of the child’s needs, provide advice to schools on how to best support the child and/or suggest resources that would help the child make progress. With the consent of parents, the SENCO will make a referral to the necessary agency for further assessment or support.
Where a pupil is identified as having a special educational need, we follow a graduated approach which takes the form of cycles of “Assess, Plan, Do, Review”.
Education Health Care Plan
A small percentage of children and young people with significant and/or complex needs may require an Education, Health and Care Plan. These are only appropriate for a very small number of children. Parents or carers, the school and a range of professionals will be required to provide information and/or professional reports, which will be collated by the local authority. At the end of the assessment phase the local authority will consider this information to help decide whether or not to issue an Education, Health and Care plan for the child. If children obtain an EHCP, the school will receive additional funding to help support your child effectively. There will then be an Annual Review Meeting each year to look at the progress that your child has made and consider next steps.
For more detailed information see your local offer at https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/Children/Northumberland-Local-Offer-SEND-0-to-25-years.aspx
Or look at the Graduated Approach Guidance from Northumberland County Council http://northumberlandeducation.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/The-Northumberland-Graduated-Approach-Guidance.pdf
Our Curriculum and Support
Our curriculum is designed to enable our children to be respectful and successful children, ready for adulthood, in terms of being able to find employment in the future, to maintain a healthy lifestyle and to be moral citizens. We aim to provide a relevant, progressive and well-structured academic curriculum, which enables children to develop and master a broad knowledge and wide range of skills. Our curriculum drivers of Christianity and Faith, Our Local Area, Outdoor Growing, Learning and Environment and Wider World and Diversity underpin our school curriculum and allow us to deliver our school aims and values.
The curriculum is all the planned activities that the school organises in order to promote learning, personal growth and development. The aim of our curriculum is to encourage pupils to become competent, self-reliant learners, with the necessary knowledge and skills of the world about them. The curriculum is matched to the needs of all pupils and differentiated, according to need and ability, through quality first teaching (QFT). In order to achieve this, the school places great value on the traditional skills of Literacy and Numeracy as well as those in the fields of Science, Computing, Geography, History, Art, Design and Technology, Music and Physical Education. The school curriculum includes all the elements of National Curriculum and statutory Religious Education, but also includes environmental education, citizenship, British values and other cross curricular themes. The curriculum underpins the developments of children spiritually, morally, socially and culturally (known as SMSC).
All pupils follow the National Curriculum or Early Years programme of study at a level and a pace that is appropriate to their abilities (See SEND Policy). Our SEND philosophy places SEND children at the heart of personalised learning and our curriculum is tailored to meet individual pupils needs. At times and when it is felt appropriate, a bespoke curriculum may be implemented.
Staff are committed to providing children with the support that they require to enable them to succeed and make progress in everything that they do. However, encouraging children to be independent in both their learning and life is at the centre of our approach to teaching and learning.
How we adapt the curriculum and learning environment for children & young people with SEND
We adapt the curriculum and learning environment for pupils with SEN:
- a range of teaching and learning styles, included within the quality first teaching children receive in their class;
- differentiated learning materials and activities;
- access to technology;
- additional support in class and out of class with SEND support staff;
- additional out of class support, including interventions;
- flexible groupings – including small group support work;
- an innovative and supportive curriculum;
- the appropriate use of rewards and sanctions;
- assessment procedures that emphasise pupils’ strengths/achievements, and personalised targets for SEND pupils;
- applications during national testing at Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and Year 1 phonics testing to obtain access arrangements and additional time as appropriate;
- access to specialist advice and guidance through referral process, which can include specialist provision; and inclusion in many enrichment and enjoyment activities e.g. visitor workshops, visits etc.
More details on how we adapt information, our environment and curriculum can be found in the Accessibility Policy which you can find in the School Policies section of our website.