SEND at High Leigh

Welcome to the SEND Information report for High Leigh Primary School. We offer a broad and balanced curriculum, which strives to meet the needs of all children. All children benefit from quality teaching in the classroom. Where some children require additional support these needs may be required to be met by personalised provision or adaptive interventions. This information is put together by a group of people including the SENCO, Head Teacher governors, staff and parents and carers. It is reviewed annually.

This report tells parents what they can expect from High Leigh regarding SEND provision. If you have any questions, please contact Bryoney Hobbs at sendco@highleigh.herts.sch.uk via the school office. Our SEND Governor can be contacted at admin@highleigh.herts.sch.uk via the school office.

What is inclusion?

In simple terms, 'Inclusion' is about being included.  At High Leigh we treat each child as an individual but consider their needs so that they can be included in the whole curriculum. This means that when a child has an identified need, we work together with parents and carers, professionals and external support to ensure that these needs are met so that the child can learn and progress alongside their peers and that their time at school is a positive and rewarding experience.

Our Leadership Team is responsible for: SEND, long-term medical conditions, children with English as an Additional Language, children who receive Pupil Premium, children who are Looked After (fostered or adopted), those who are Most Able and those who have additional needs (needs which may not be diagnosed, but require additional support e.g. after a bereavement, during a separation/divorce, unexpected illness/injury, children in the Forces etc.

1. What should I do if I think my child may have a Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND) or the school think my child needs extra help?

We work in partnership with our parents and carers. If you have any concerns about your child, please speak to your child’s teacher in the first instance. The class teacher supported by the SENCO will listen to you, discuss your concerns and together we will plan a way forward.

We aim to identify and assess children with SEND as early as possible so that we can work together to provide the best outcome for your child. Together with you as parents and carers, we look at a range of information to inform our plan:

• Views of the child
• Views of the parents, carers and wider family
• Views of school staff
• Information from previous school/nursery
• Continuous assessment of a child’s learning
• Data from assessments
• Observations of the child/class by other members of staff
• Behaviour records
• End of Key Stage results (SATs)

You are more than welcome to make an appointment to discuss your child with the SENCO or the Headteacher, again through the school office. If we know about your concerns, we can support your child.

We also have a Pastoral Support Worker, Sue Tigwell, who can be contacted via the school office. She supports families who may be experiencing difficulties such as financial problems or domestic violence et cetera. Mrs take while is also our mental health lead. Parents can contact her directly on 07592 577516.

If we at school have any concerns about your child, you as parents and carers, will be our first port of call. We will contact you via phone to arrange an appointment in school.

2. How will school staff support my child?

At the centre of your child’s development in school is the learning they do in the classroom. We work hard to ensure teachers provide quality first teaching to both support and challenge all children.

It is not unusual for children to require additional support to help them learn and make progress. Our teaching staff and teaching assistants work together to offer this support which may include specialised resources, teaching in a small group or individually or other adaptations to the curriculum, resources or classroom. Your child may need an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or an ADPR document, written jointly by parents/carers, teachers and children (where appropriate) to set out agreed targets for learning. Children may have an IEP for a while, after which time it may no longer be required. Other children may need an IEP for the whole time they are at school.

Children will be provided with work at the right level with them and may require to sometimes be supported in a smaller group or be encouraged to work independently this is true for all children at the school no matter their additional need.

We have a range of intervention programmes available for children and these are run by teachers and teaching assistants.

A few children require more specific provision and we will seek advice from external professionals. These children’s needs may be best met through an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). See: https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/microsites/local-offer/support/ehc-plan.aspx.

Children with disabilities of all kinds (seen and unseen) will have reasonable adjustments made to the school environment, curriculum and resources to ensure they are happy and make progress alongside their peers.

3. How will I know how my child is doing and how will I be involved?

We follow the Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle for children with Individual Support Plans. As parents/carers, you are a part of this cycle and will be asked to meet with the class teacher termly, in addition to the usual parent consultations. During this meeting, we will celebrate your child’s successes, assess your child’s progress towards targets, and plan our next steps. We might set SMART targets for your child’s learning or update their provision documnets:

As children progress through the school, we encourage them to be involved in these IEP meetings. Younger children’s views will be gathered by staff prior to a review.

We have an ‘Open door’ policy and teaching staff can be met informally at the end of the day for a brief chat. There are two parents’ evenings throughout the academic year to discuss attainment levels. If you would like a longer or more private meeting, please make an appointment via the school office with the class teacher.

4. How will learning and development provision be matched to my child’s needs?

The Assess, Plan, Do and Review Cycle is essential to meeting the needs of children with SEND. Support is carefully planned to make sure it will be effective for your child before being implemented. Children are involved in this process and their input, alongside your own, is key to the success of interventions.

Interventions used are evidence-based and may include advice from external professionals.

5. What support will there be for my child’s overall wellbeing?

At High Leigh we have a strong ethos of pastoral care. All staff take the children’s well-being very seriously and it is that at the heart of everything we do. We understand that children cannot learn and progress if they have other problems or anxieties. All classes follow a structured PSHE program which uses of mindfulness approach to support wellbeing and pastoral provision.

Every child has a named adult who they can talk to about pastoral issues. These are updated termly and each adult knows who ‘their’ children are so they can support them fully in school life. Within every Key Stage Two class, children have a wellbeing buddy who they learn to support and be supported by. Mental and emotional health is part of our curriculum.

Some children may require a more personalised pastoral provision. Where this is applicable our family support lead takes the children one-to-one or in small groups and teaches them protective behaviour strategies or other emotional skills where required.

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

High Leigh Primary School can call upon the expertise of many professionals, depending on the needs of your child. These include:

• Speech and Language Therapists
• Specialist Advisory Teachers e.g. for Hearing and Visual Impaired children
• Educational Psychologists
• School nurses
• SPLD base teachers
• Occupational Therapists
• Communication disorders team
• CAHMS
• Behaviour support service
• Charities and support groups for specific conditions e.g. Angels/ADD-Vance/Space

The school nurse may be able to refer to different health services such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), Child Development Centre (CDC) or Communication Disorder Assessment Clinic (CDAC). The school may also access outreach services such as emotional wellbeing support (NESSie), Moderate learning difficulties support and the Communication and Autism Team (CAT).

We aim to include as many professionals as are appropriate for your child. These professionals are usually involved with a few children and will come into school for most appointments. If you wish to discuss referral to a specialist service, please speak to the class teacher and/or SENCO.

Parental consent will always be sought prior to any referral made by the school. Once a service is accessed, we aim to work in partnership with relevant professionals.

7. What training have staff supporting children and young people with SEN had or are having?

Training is ongoing and responsive to the needs of the pupils currently at the school. Staff are trained in the following areas:
• Support for specific learning difficulties
• Wider Speech and Language issues
• Understanding and support for Autistic Spectrum Disorder
• Therapeutic Thinking behaviour support training
• Training for specific pupils, as needs arise (such as visual impairment or physical disability).

8. How will you help me to support my child’s learning?

A curriculum map is published termly on the website with an overview of all subjects and topics in your child’s year. It is helpful for you to know what your child is learning to be able to support them in their understanding. Homework is given weekly, which varies in content, length and frequency by year group. Frequent daily bursts of reading, times table and spelling practice is shown to have the most impact on your child’s learning.

We hold meet the at the beginning of the academic year to provide an overview of the year and inform parents of the expectations of a particular year group. Parent Consultations, Open Mornings and classroom events provide further opportunities to view your child’s progress. An end of year report is provided in July to show your child’s progress and attainment

We signpost parents to relevant training courses on specialist issues which may help you to support your child. If you need any further information to support your child, please speak to us.

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

For all school trips a risk assessment is undertaken to ensure that each child is kept safe from harm. All children with SEND are included on all school trips, including residential and when appropriate reasonable adjustments, such as additional staff are deployed. Parents are consulted to ensure full participation and active engagement of all children.  Where the outings are run by outside agencies they are made aware of each child’s needs so that they deal with them in a sensitive and appropriate manner.  

We appreciate that changes to routine may be difficult for some children with SEND so, where appropriate, we will also prepare the child for the trip by explaining what will happen, how they will be helped and remind them how to ask for help on the day. 

10. How accessible is the school environment?

The school is compliant with the Equality Act and reasonable adjustments are made for all children with SEND where necessary (See Equalities and Accessibility Plan on the school website). The building is wheelchair accessible and has disabled changing and toilet facilities. Specialist equipment is provided where appropriate for children with SEND needs and advice is sought from the appropriate medical/health professionals to ensure all children’s health and physical needs are catered for within the school environment. The school can access an interpreter and arrange for school documents to be translated if necessary. 

Classroom provision and the wider school environment are regularly reviewed.

11. Who can I contact for further information?

Please contact Bryoney Hobbs via email at sendco@westfieldjm.herts.sch.uk or email admin@westfieldjm.herts.sch.uk

With your consent, we will share information with relevant members of staff to ensure your child’s needs are fully met.

12. How will the school prepare and support my child at times of transfer?

We have detailed transition programmes in place for children transferring from Nursery to Year Reception, and for those leaving us in Year Six to move up to secondary schools into Year Seven. The support offered is dependent on each child’s needs, age and development.

For children beginning our school, the Family Support Worker/SENCO and Reception Teacher visit families at home and in their nursery settings before the start of the school term to give us the chance to get to know one another. Families are invited to a new intake assembly, and have the opportunity to spend time in their new class with their new teacher.

Year 6 have many transition activities planned throughout the year including workshops and a day at their new school.

All children have a ‘moving up’ day in school when they spend time in their new classroom and with their new teacher. All children with SEND have a pupil passport which gives an overview of what is important to them, what others admire about them and how they like to be supported. This essential information is passed on to new teachers before the start of the new school year.

When children join our school mid-year, we arrange a welcome meeting with the SENCO (where appropriate) within the first few weeks if we/parents feel the need. The aim is to get to know your child, you as a family and to work out any support your child may need.

For children with additional needs, extra class visits and meetings are planned before the start of the new school year, to ensure a smooth transition for the child.

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

The school has an amount identified within its overall budget called the notional SEND budget which is used for resources to support the progress of children with SEND. This is mainly used to buy resources and to provide specialised training for staff.  The allocation of the school budget is prioritised according to need.  

Where a child requires provision which exceeds the nationally prescribed threshold additional top-up finding can be applied for through the local authority ( Local Higher Needs Funding).  Parents will always be consulted if the school is to try and apply for additional funding for their child.

14. How is the decision made about how much support my child will receive?

The amount and type of support offered to a child is determined by a detailed analysis of a child’s needs, barriers to learning, stage of development, parental views, their own views and consultation with their class teacher and external agencies where appropriate.  

This support is reviewed regularly through our assess, plan, do, review cycle with amendments being made to the programme of support. Targets are set and progress towards targets is reported back to parents at regular intervals. Interventions typically last around 6 weeks with the emphasis being on early identification and targeted effective support to minimise any long-term need for additional support. 

The SENCO has responsibility for the strategic monitoring the impact of interventions and deciding, along with class teachers, what the next steps are.

15. How do I make a complaint regarding my child's SEND provision?

If you wish to make a complaint, please follow the school Complaints Procedure as set out in the complaints policy.

If your complaint is about the way the School has been delivering the provision set out in Section F of your child's Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), you may complain further to the Local Authority that maintains your child's EHCP. If the EHCP is maintained by Hertfordshire County Council, you may complain further by setting out the detail of your complaint and sending it to:

Customer Service Team – Complaints
Postal Point: CHO118
Resources Department
County Hall
Hertford
SG13 8DF
Email: cs.complaints@hertfordshire.gov.uk

Once in receipt of your complaint, the Complaints Manager for Children’s Services will ensure that the Local Authority completes a Section F Provision Checklist. This process entails a Provision Checklist being drawn up directly from Section F of the EHCP. A Senior SEND Officer will then visit the School in order to work through the checklist point by point and complete it. The Senior SEND Officer will seek the comments of the Headteacher, Senior Leadership Team, SENCo and Governors as appropriate, as well as any other information or advice that they deem necessary.

Once the Provision Checklist has been completed, the Local Authority will notify the complainant of the outcome in writing, enclosing a copy of the checklist. A copy of the outcome letter and Checklist will also be sent to the School for its information and record keeping. This process will take up to 25 working days (of the Local Authority) to conclude.

Complainants who remain dissatisfied following further investigation of their Special Educational Needs provision complaint by the Local Authority may complain to the Secretary of State who may decide to conduct an additional investigation. The contact details for the Secretary of State at the Department for Education are set out below:

Online: www.education.gov.uk/contactus

Telephone: 0370 000 2288

In writing: Department for Education, Piccadilly Gate, Store Street, Manchester, M1 2WD

16. How can I find information about the Local Authority’s Local Offer of services and provision for children and young people with special educational needs?

The authority’s local offer of services and provision for children and young people with SEN can be accessed at www.hertsdirect.org/localoffer