General Information

How do we do it?

The SEN Department provides support for pupils across the four areas of need as laid out in the SEN Code of Practice 2014:

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and learning
• Social, emotional and mental health difficulties
• Sensory and/or physical needs

-       Specialist Provision

At different times in their school career, a child may have a special educational need.  The Code of Practice defines SEN as:

“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 them. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:

a) Have a significant 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.”

If a learner is identified as having SEND, we will provide provision that is ‘additional to or different from’ the normal differentiated curriculum, intended to overcome the barrier to their learning. Further clarification of SEND can be found in The Code of Practice.

If you feel your child may have Special Educational Needs please speak to Mrs Sivyer (SENCO)

Barnham Broom Primary School provides education for all.  We adjust our methods to allow inclusion for all and provide equal opportunities.

How do we identify SEN? When a child starts at our school he/she is given a baseline assessment by the teacher. Once the base-line has been established, all subsequent progress is summarised at the end of each term and we use the information we have gathered to set new targets. We will share this information with your child and you when appropriate.

We hold pupil progress meetings each half term. Attainment and progress tracking data is used to identify pupils with slow or no progress. We have a range of assessments available to us, some from within school and some held at our cluster library. Depending upon the area of need a combination of teacher knowledge of the child together with assessments such as Single Word Reading Tests, Single Word Spelling Tests, Sound Discovery unit assessments and diagnostic MALT tests (Mathematics Assessment for Learning and Teaching) can be used to give a clearer picture of where areas of concern are.

Children who are identified as needing extra support will be included on our provision map which enables us to track the children who have additional support and monitor whether this support is needed. The type of support is dependent on the individual learning needs and is intended to enable access to learning and overcome the identified barrier to learning. This is reviewed at least half termly at staff meetings or at shorter intervals with the class teacher and SENDCo.    The SENDCo will then share what we are doing within our school at Wymondham Cluster meetings so that we can learn from each and we are also able to offer consistent practice across the schools ensuring equality of opportunity.

There are many reasons for learners ‘falling behind’.  These may include absences, attending different schools, difficulties speaking English, or worries that distract them from learning.  The school understands that children who experience these barriers to learning are vulnerable.  This does not mean that all vulnerable learners have SEN.

 Sometimes children may be on our provision map for a set period of time while an intervention is completed, eg: Sound Discovery.  If the child has then caught up they will be removed from the provision map.  If the child still experiences difficulties, then further investigations and assessments will be conducted.  Possibly asking external services into school, such as the support teacher or Educational Psychologist.

Only those with a learning difficulty that requires special educational provision will be identified as having SEN.  These pupils will be listed in a school SEN register.

"A pupil has SEN where their learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision, namely provision different from or additional to that normally available to pupils of the same age". DFE Code of Practice 2014 page 94.

Once Identified what do we do?  If a learner is identified as having SEN, we will provide support that is additional to or different from the differentiated approaches and learning arrangements normally provided as part of high quality, personalized teaching intended to overcome the barrier to their learning.

This support may involve adapting the curriculum or the environment and is set out in the school provision map, which describes the interventions and actions that we take to support learners with SEN across the year groups.  We modify the provision map regularly and it changes as and when our learners need it to.

The curriculum/learning environment may be adapted by;

• groupings that target specific levels of progress.
• Dynamic assessment to find which point of cognitive function needs support, for example a learner may need support with their working memory, this in turn may help with their mathematical skills.
• differentiated resources and teaching styles;
• appropriate choices of texts and topics to suit the learner;
• access arrangements for tests and examinations;
• additional adult support.  (We employ 2 FTE Teaching assistants and 5 part time Teaching Assistants who deliver the interventions on the provision map as co-ordinated by the class teacher and SENCO).
• Visual timetables, writing frames, coloured paper, coloured overlays, peer buddy systems, positive behaviour reward systems.

Strategies of support

Your child will have an initial assessment (based on observations made in class or a more formal assessment from our bank of published schemes which we share with the Wymondham Cluster) will be chosen to establish a baseline. Followed by a personalised intervention provided for them which they will either complete as an individual activity or as part of a small group. There will then be a further assessment to establish progress.

Communication and interaction

External agencies contacted e.g. school nurse, speech and language therapist.

Paediatrician

Cognition and learning

External agencies contacted e.g. Educational Psychologist, Specialist Support Teacher

Sensory and/or physical needs

External agencies contacted

e.g. school nurse, parent support advisor, speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, access through technology,

physiotherapist, disabilities adviser.

 Various strategies will be used to adapt access to the curriculum. This might include using;

•       Visual timetables

•       Writing frames

•       Ipads via access through Technology

•       Positive behaviour charts.

Social, emotional and mental health difficulties

Nurture or counselling sessions offered after consultation with parents via our Cluster counsellor.

Referral to POINT 1

Art Therapy

Assessing strategies of support

Arrangements for assessing and reviewing pupils’ progress towards outcomes, include opportunities to work with parents and pupils as part of this assessment and review process.

Our provision map (anonymised) is shared with other schools in our cluster, this allows us to develop a wider understanding of different SEN, and share training opportunities to improve the support we offer our learners.

This involves taking into consideration all the information from discussions with parent carers, the child, the class teacher, Teaching assistants and assessments.

These arrangements include:

• Graduated response (Assess, Plan, Do, Review).
• Data tracking for pupil progress using pupil asset
• Support plan and ECHP reviews
• Observation and follow up
• Parents meetings

While the majority of learners with SEN will have their needs met using School Intervention Plans, some may require an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC), which replaces a statement of Special Needs.

Transitions

Information Sharing

Transition Planning Meetings

During the last term of each academic year transition planning meetings will take place for all children changing class. For children with an additional need, meetings will begin earlier in the year. These meetings are to discuss your child’s strengths, interests and any additional needs they may have. They will share ways that those additional needs are being met, including what has worked well and what has not been so successful.

Transfer of information

The records to track your child’s academic and social achievements, attainment and progress (including results from any assessments and reports from the health service or other professionals) together with information about any additional support that has been provided for your child will be shared.

If your child is starting a new school, the SENDCo and teacher(s) will meet with the SENDCo and teacher(s) at their new school if possible otherwise they will liaise via phone and email.

 Visits

Starting school

Before your child starts in Reception class at school, staff may arrange to visit your child in their pre-school setting.

Visits to the pre-school / Reception class settings allow your child’s new teacher to see how he or she interacts with other children.  Additionally, your child is likely to be invited to attend some additional sessions. This will provide an opportunity to meet their new classmates and teachers, and to find out about things that are important to them. You will also be invited to a 'new intake parents meeting. This gives all parents and the teachers the opportunity to meet and get to know each other before the start of the new term.

  Changing year group

During the summer term, all children will meet their new teacher in their new classroom. It may be appropriate for extra visits to be arranged and/or for their new teachers to visit them in their current classroom.

Moving to a new school

Children changing schools within the cluster are likely to be invited to make a series of visits to their new school to join in activities designed to help them become familiar with their new school and classroom and meet staff and other pupils that they will see regularly in school. Our experienced SENDCos work to ensure that children are shown and told about the things that are important to them. For example, where lunch boxes are kept, what the dining room looks like, where the toilets are and where to find their peg. Some schools offer events specifically for new children moving to their school for example a ‘summer school’ activities week.

Visits and activities are tailored to be enjoyable and reassuring for your child.

The number of visits will be agreed as appropriate dependent on the needs and wishes of your child. Some children may need or wish for more visits than others.

It may also be appropriate for your child’s new teachers / TAs to visit them in their current school. This is important to ensure an effective transition.

Pupils of families who are supported through the Family Support Process will receive transition support in the term before transfer to secondary. Our Parent Support Adviser (Tina Bell) also offers ZAP assertiveness training in Barnham Broom Primary School for the children moving up to secondary school.

Information for you and your child

Your child may be given a selection of photographs to take home and share with you. These are likely to be of the adults your child will meet regularly and places around the school and in their classroom that your child will need to

know about. Your child may be given other information as appropriate. This may include a booklet or letter from pupils already attending your child’s school, timetables, details of what they will be learning about, school rules etc. A plan of the school may be useful for some students moving to secondary school. It would be helpful to discuss this information with your child to prepare them for their new school life.

Where applicable you and your child will be consulted and provided with information about any specific physical alterations or arrangements needed for your child.

Staff Training & Qualifications

An audit of expertise in SEN is undertaken annually:

• SENDCo: Master’s level National Award for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator via Cambridge university
• Individual training in specific areas for teaching assistants (see below).

Specialist team from external cluster services -

Educational Psychologist support (EP),  

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. CAMHS

Training:

Differentiation/graduated response, (cascade training)

Safeguarding (all staff)

Nurture group training (1 TA)

Catch up Training (2 TAs)

Sound Discovery (2TAs)

Norfolk Steps (all staff)

Dynamic Assessment (SENDCo)

Funding

Funding comes directly from the LA to the school to support the needs of learners with SEN. The cluster also receives funding from the LA which is distributed as ‘top-up’ funding for learners who require support that exceeds that available to the school. Each school in the cluster applies for funding for individual children according to their need. The total amount of ‘top up’ funding we received for 2016 is £7315.

All schools in the Wymondham Cluster have an agreed ‘Wymondham Cluster SEND Policy’ as well as ‘Wymondham Cluster SEND Funding Application Guidance’. The Cluster are committed to working together to improve learning for all, and we are able to share resources, training and moderate provision for learners with SEND. The cluster provision map can be found below in the files section.  If you would like any further information on SEND in the Cluster please contact our co-ordinator:

dlacey@ashleighprimary.net    - Mrs. Danielle Lacey-Scane

Other Opportunities For Learning

All learners should have the opportunity to access extra-curricular activities.   We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to ensure participation for all, so please contact our extended school co-ordinator to discuss specific requirements.

At Barnham Broom Primary School

In the locality

Gymnastics

Football

Cricket

Mathematics

Creative Writing

Jazz/street dance/contemporary

Archery

Badminton

Trampolining

Wall climbing

Martial Arts

Gymnastics

Rainbows/Brownies/Guides/Beavers/Cubs/Scouts