SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS

Special Educational Needs at Ferring CE Primary School

  

Under the  SEND Code of Practice (DfE,2014), a child is deemed to have Special Educational Needs or Disabilities, or SEND, if he or she has ‘significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age’, or his or her disability ‘prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in a mainstream school’. Special educational provision is needed for him or her, over and above that which can be met through high quality classroom teaching and differentiation.

Broad areas of need are identified as:

  • communication and interaction;
  • cognition and learning;
  • social, emotional and mental health difficulties;
  • sensory and/or physical needs.

They may be for a short period or throughout a child’s educational life. They may be identified before a child has even entered school or they may come to be recognised at a specific point in their education.

At Ferring we feel that "all children and young people are entitled to an appropriate education, one that is appropriate to their needs, promotes high standards and the fulfilment of potential.  This should enable them to:

  • achieve their best, and
  • become confident individuals living fulfilling lives.

Every school is required to use their best endeavours to make sure that a child with SEN gets the support they need - this means doing everything they can to meet children and young people's SEN." (SEND 0-25 Code of Practice, 2015, p92)

  

‘Local Offer’ for Children with Special Educational Needs and disabilities.

All schools are required to publish and review information for parents and carers about the support and provision for children with special educational needs or disabilities. Ferring CE primary School is part of the Angmering Locality of Schools who work collaboratively to ensure best practice and a common approach is in place. The questions and answers below have been written collectively by the schools and represent our common values and practices.

1.  How does the school know if children need extra help and what should I do if I think my child has special educational needs?

We are committed to early identification of special educational needs and adopt a graduated response (four stage process: Assess, Plan, Do, Review) to meeting them in line with the SEN Code of Practice 2014. A range of evidence is collected through school assessment and monitoring arrangements to establish how effective our support and intervention is. If this suggests that your child is not making the expected progress, the class teacher will consult with both you and the school's Inclusion Manager in order to decide whether additional or different provision is necessary. In addition to the usual assessment, there are specialist assessment tools which we use to explore the reasons for any difficulties. There is no need for pupils to be registered or identified as having special educational needs unless the school is taking additional or different action.

If you have a concern about your child’s progress or believe they have a special educational need, this should be first discussed with the class teacher. Additional assessment or support can then be discussed with the Inclusion Manager.

2.  How will the school support my child?

Our Governing Body ensure that as a school we make appropriate provision for all pupils identified as having special educational needs. The named SENCO for the school is Jane Jones. A member of the Governing body, Karen Godfrey, takes particular interest in special educational needs, although the Governing Body as a whole is responsible for making provision for pupils with special educational needs and for the publication of this report.  Progress and attainment of children with SEND, as well as effectiveness of provision, is reported to Governors half termly by the SENCO.

The school may support your child in a variety of ways depending on their individual needs. The first way is within the class, where learning tasks will be matched to your child’s needs and will be overseen by the class teacher.  An additional provision may be through targeted small group work that takes place out of the classroom. The class teacher will create a Pupil Passport which records how best to support your child in the classroom.  A further level of provision may involve your child working individually with a member of staff to meet specific targets.

For children with the highest level of School Support or an Educational, Health and Care Plan, the class teacher, supported by the SENCO, will record any specific provision in place, learning targets and progress towards them on an Individual Support Plan (ISP).  

At Ferring CE Primary School we value the views and opinions of the children in our care.  When supporting children with SEN, we aim to talk to our children and fully involve them in the process.  We discuss their ISP or Pupil Passport with them and make sure we celebrate their achievements with them, however big or small.  We include them in the decisions that are made about the support they receive and encourage them to identify the role they will play in achieving targets and success.  For children with EHCPs we always share their views within the Annual Review process.

3.  How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?

Our school strives to provide an engaging and exciting curriculum for all children. Your child’s class teacher will plan for the variety of needs in the classroom by providing appropriate tasks and achievable outcomes to consolidate and extend children’s learning. For children with special educational needs, the teacher may provide different resources for children to use or there may be an adult to assist a small group of children to complete the task as independently as possible.

4.  How will I know how my child is doing and how will you help me to support my child’s learning?

In addition to the regular parent meetings, you will be kept regularly informed of your child’s progress by agreeing and sharing your child’s Pupil Passport or Individual Support plan with the class teacher. This will identify the next steps for your child to make progress and how you and the school and you can help them. Progress will be monitored and reviewed termly to ensure that both you and your child can express your views and are fully involved in decisions. Regular contact may be communicated through a home/school link book, e-mails, telephone calls or meetings.

5.  What support will there be for my child’s overall well-being?

We aim to develop children’s emotional and social well-being in partnership with parents and carers. In some cases this may be provided by specialist support from our ELSA (Jacqui Mustill) who supports parents and children in addressing the needs of learners who require assistance in overcoming barriers to learning in order to achieve their full potential. Healthcare plans and pastoral support plans can be used to meet specific needs. These plans are created in collaboration with school, parents and pupil, and they are monitored and reviewed at agreed intervals.

6.  What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the school?

External support services play an important part in helping the school identify, assess and make provision for children with special education needs.

These include:

  • Regular visits from the nominated Educational Psychologist for the school.
  • Seeking advice from specialist advisory teaching services for children with sensory impairment or physical difficulties or from services like Occupational Therapy Service.
  • Advice and support from the Speech and Language Therapist and contributions to the reviews of pupils with significant speech and language difficulties.
  • Advice and support from the Social Communication Team
  • Advice and support from the Learning and Behaviour Advisory Team
  • Advice and support from the Primary Mental Health Worker and local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) for children with emotional and behavioural needs.
  • Advice and support from the school nurse and community paediatrician (Child Development Centre or CDC).
  • Multi-agency meetings (known as the Children and Young Person Planning Forum or CYPPF), with representatives from Children and Family Services, Social Care and Health. These are held to ensure effective collaboration in identifying and making provision for vulnerable pupils.
  • Targeted support for families on a variety of issues through the Family Support Network service.
  • Referral to the Education Welfare Officer service.

Before the school make any referral to a specialist service we will always gain your permission.

7.  What training are the staff supporting children special educational needs having?

We make an annual audit of training needs for all staff taking into account school priorities and personal professional development. Particular support is given to new members of staff and to training that addresses children’s specific needs. The SENCOs and Inclusion Managers of each school within the Angmering Locality meet together each term to share good practice and this is a strength of our group of schools.  

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

It is the school’s policy to enable every child to participate as fully as possible in all elements of the wider curriculum. We ensure that all children attend school trips and residential visits with support as appropriate. Where necessary, the school will meet with parents and carers to discuss individual needs prior to any visit or activity.

9.  How accessible is the setting?

Our school has an Accessibility Policy which is reviewed regularly. As part of this review, we ensure that the school environment is accessible for all children, including those with physical and sensory needs, disabilities or where English is not a first language. We take reasonable steps to ensure that we do not treat disabled pupils less favourably, without justification, than pupils who are not disabled and through our Accessibility Policy we plan strategically to provide accessibility to the school premises and to the curriculum.  Ferring School has a disabled toilet and ramps by which to access school.  The school works closely with outside agencies to support children with English as an additional language (EAL) and has certain staff with specific skills for working with children with EAL and support other staff to do so.  

10.  How will the school prepare and support my child to join the school and transfer to the next stage of education or life?

When you apply for a place for your child at the school, we encourage you to share your concerns about your child’s special educational needs or pass on information about any specialist support or agencies already working with you. We will contact any previous educational establishments for relevant information. Any practical arrangements can then be discussed and put in place. Should you have any concerns about admissions of disabled pupils, please make an appointment with our SENCO and she can advise you of the next steps needed to support your child.

At the end of the school year or if your child moves to another setting, the relevant staff communicate to pass on information and ensure that transition arrangements are in place.

11.  How are the school’s resources allocated and matched to children’s individual special educational needs?

The school receives money on an annual basis to support provision for special educational needs. This is based on the number of pupils on roll who are on the ‘SEN register’ and this varies from year to year. The money is allocated annually by the Governing Body when setting the school’s budget. It is used to pay for staffing and resources which support children with special educational needs throughout the school.

On top of this resource, there may be additional funding from the Government and West Sussex County Council to support individual children on specific programmes. This includes ‘Pupil Premium’ money and additional funds for children with an Educational, Health and Care Plan.

12. How is the decision made about the support my child will receive?

Every child’s needs are carefully assessed and decisions are then made based on the ability of a child to access the curriculum and make progress. The school SENCO will work closely with you, your child and all staff to discuss relevant interventions, adult support and advice from specialist services to make best use of available resources. We regularly assess the impact of any additional support and resources and report children’s progress to parents.

13. Who can I contact for further information?

The first point of contact will always be your child’s class teacher. The SENCO at this school is Jane Jones. She is available if further assistance is necessary.  If you have any concerns we are sure they can be addressed by one of the people named above.  If you feel your worries or concerns are not being addressed then please refer to our Complaints Policy.

The information in this report feeds into the West Sussex County Council's local offer which details support, opportunities and services available to children and young people in their area who have SEN.  This can be accessed at westsussex.local-offer.org.  

 

Our SEND, Inclusion, Accessibility, Disability Equality and Equal opportunities Policies are written and reviewed regularly and can be found in the policies section of our Statutory Information or by clicking on them below.  These comply with the SEND Code of Practice: 0-25 years.