SEN Information Report 2020-2021
Introduction
All Sandwell (LA) maintained schools have a similar approach to meeting the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and are supported by the LA to ensure that all pupils, regardless of their specific needs, make the best possible progress in school.
All schools are supported to be as inclusive as possible, with the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities being met in a mainstream setting wherever possible. The four broad ‘areas of need’ are Communication and Interaction, Cognition and Learning, Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties, and Sensory and Physical Needs.
What is the Local Offer?
Our intention of the Local Offer is to improve choice and transparency for families. It will also be an important resource for parents in understanding the range of services and provision in the local area. You can read more about the local offer on http://www.sandwell.gov.uk/send
What can we at Joseph Turner Primary School offer you?
At Joseph Turner Primary School, we embrace the fact that every child is different, and, therefore, the educational need of every child is different; this is certainly the case for children with Special Educational Needs.
Q1. What are Special Education Needs and Disabilities?
A special education need can be a number of different things. For example, your child may be having problems with reading, maths, writing or behaviour. The school can help by putting extra support in at school and by working in partnership with yourself. It may also be due to a disability which makes it harder for a child to use the same educational facilities that the school provides for the majority of children. For some children this may be a temporary difficulty, while others may have a long term need for help.
Types of special educational needs can include:
Q2. Who are the best people to talk to in this school about my child’s difficulties with learning/Special Educational Needs or Disability (SEND)?
The class teacher is responsible for
The SENCo: Mrs L. Collins is responsible for
i) involved in supporting your child’s learning
ii) kept informed about the support your child is getting
iii) involved in reviewing how they are doing.
The Head teacher: Mr R. Workman is responsible for
The SEN Governor: Miss S Ward is responsible for
School contact telephone number: 0121 557 8733
headteacher@josephturnerprimary.me.uk
Q3- What are the different types of support available for children with SEND in school?
Our School provision
Teachers are responsible for teaching SEN groups/individuals. Teaching Assistants and Cover Supervisors work mainly with either individual children or small groups. The School Counsellor and positive learning mentors offers support for children with behavioural, emotional and social issues.
a) Class teacher input, via excellent targeted classroom teaching (Quality First Teaching).
For your child this would mean
b) Specific group work/interventions
Interventions may be run in the classroom or a group room. It may be run by a teacher or a teaching assistant (TA). The small group/ 1:1 interventions we offer are listed below.
Small group/ 1:1 interventions
Talk Boost
Max’s Marvellous Maths
BRP
5 minute number box
5 minute literacy box
Overcoming barriers to maths
Phonological awareness intervention
HFW and early word recognition
Rapid Reading
Fast Lane
RWI 1 to 1
RWI Fresh start
Rapid Maths
Lego therapy
Social use of language programme (SULP)
WELLCOMM
Speed up
Write away together
Precision Teaching
Springboard Maths
Enable
Better Reading Partnership
Fun Fit
Lego Therapy
Success with Sentences
Reciprocal Reading
Write from the start
Sandwell Writing Intervention
Sandwell Numeracy Intervention
DC Gaps
c) Specialist groups run by outside agencies
This means a pupil has been identified by the SENCo or class teacher as needing some extra specialist support in school from a professional outside the school. This may be from
What could happen:
You may be asked to give your permission for the school to refer your child to a specialist professional, e.g. a Speech and Language Therapist or Educational Psychologist. This will help the school and you to understand your child’s particular needs better and be able to support them more effectively in school.
The specialist professional will work with your child to understand their needs and make recommendations as to the ways your child is given support.
d) Specified Individual support
This type of support is available for children whose learning needs are severe, complex and lifelong. This is usually provided via an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This means your child will have been identified by professionals as needing a particularly high level of individual or small-group teaching. This type of support is available for children with specific barriers to learning that cannot be overcome through Quality First Teaching and intervention groups.
For your child this would mean:
The school (or you) can request that Local Authority Services carry out a statutory assessment of your child’s needs. This is a legal process which sets out the amount of support that will be provided for your child. After the request has been made to the ‘Panel of Professionals’ (with a lot of information about your child, including information from you), they will decide whether they think your child’s needs (as described in the paperwork provided), seem complex enough to need a statutory assessment. If this is the case, they will ask you and all professionals involved with your child to write a report outlining your child’s needs. If they do not think your child needs this, they will ask the school to continue with the current support. After the reports have all been sent in, the Panel of Professionals will decide if your child’s needs are severe, complex and lifelong. If this is the case, they will write an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP).
The EHC Plan will outline the number of hours of individual/small group support your child will receive from the LA and how the support should be used, and what strategies must be put in place. It will also have long- and short-term goals for your child.
The additional adult may be used to support your child with whole class learning, run individual programmes or run small groups including your child.
Q4- How can I let the school know that I am concerned about my child’s progress in school?
If you have concerns about your child’s progress, you should speak to your child’s class teacher initially. You can do this at the end of the day when you collect your child or by phoning the school to make alternative arrangements. If you continue to be concerned that your child is not making progress, you may speak to the Special Education Needs/Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENCo). The school SEN Governor, Sarah Ward can also be contacted for support.
Q5- How will the school let me know if they have any concerns about my child’s learning in school?
If your child is identified as not making expected progress, the school will set up a meeting to discuss this with you in more detail and to listen to any concerns you may have, plan any additional support your child may need and discuss with you any referrals to outside professionals to support your child.
Q6- How is extra support allocated to children and how do pupils progress in their learning?
The Head Teacher decides on the deployment of resources for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, in consultation with the school governors on the basis of needs in the school. The Head Teacher and the SENCo discuss all the information they have about SEN pupils in the school, including the children getting extra support already, the children needing extra support, the children who have been identified as not making as much progress as would be expected. From this information, they decide what resources/training and support is needed. The school identifies the needs of SEN pupils on a provision map. This identifies all support given within school and is reviewed regularly and changes made as needed, so that the needs of children are met, and resources are deployed as effectively as possible.
Q7-How will we measure the progress of your child in school?
Q8- What support do we have for you as a parent of a child with SEND?
Q9-How is Joseph Turner Primary School accessible to children with SEND?
Q10- How will we support your child when they are joining or leaving this school?
We recognise that transitions can be difficult for a child with SEN, and we take steps to ensure that any transition is a smooth as possible.
If your child is joining us from another school:
The SENCo will contact previous school to gather information about your child. We will invite you into school prior to your child joining to discuss all of their needs and how we can best support them, including strategies that you use at home. If your child would be helped by a book/passport to support them in understand moving on, then one will be made for them. Your child will be able to visit our school and stay for a taster session, if this is appropriate.
If your child is moving to another school:
We will contact the school SENCo and ensure he/she knows about any special arrangements or support that need to be made for your child. Where possible, a planning meeting will take place with the SENCo from the new school. We will make sure that all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible. If your child would be helped by a book/passport to support them in understand moving on, then one will be made for them.
When moving classes in school:
Information will be passed on to the new class teacher in advance and in most cases a planning meeting will take place with the new teacher. Action plans will be shared with the new teacher. You will be invited to meet your child’s new class teacher before the transfer if possible or soon after.
In Year 6:
The SENCo will discuss the specific needs of your child with the SENCo of the child’s secondary school. In Year 5 Children with EHCP will begin transition discussions to identify schools they would like to go to. In most cases, a transition review meeting, to which you will be invited, will take place with the SENCo from the new school. Your child will participate in focused learning relating to aspects of transition, to support their understanding of the changes ahead. Where possible, your child will visit their new school on several occasions with a member of support if appropriate, and in some cases staff from the new school will visit your child in this school. If your child would be helped by a book/passport to support them in understand moving on, then one will be made for them.
Q11-How will we support your child’s emotional and social development?
We recognise that some children have extra emotional and social needs that need to be developed and nurtured. These needs can manifest themselves in a number of ways, including behavioural difficulties, anxiousness, and being uncommunicative. All classes follow a structured PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic education) curriculum to support this development. However, for those children who find aspects of this difficult we offer
Q12- What are the arrangements for parents of children with SEN who may wish to complain about the provision?
Parents who wish to complain are strongly encouraged to follow the Local Authority’s and School’s complaint procedure. You are also encouraged to initially speak to the Head Teacher regarding their complaint. If the issue can’t be resolved at this level or the complaint is regarding the Head Teacher the parent would be directed to contact the Chair of Governors (Janet Poxton)
Q13-What are the contact details of support services for the parents of children with SEN, including those for arrangements made in clause 32*?
FASTA Services (including speech and language, physiotherapy and occupational therapists)-0121 612 2010
Sandwell Inclusion Support-0121 569 2777
Sandwell SEND Information, Advice and Support Service (SEND IASS)-0121 555 1821
Orchard School-0121 569 7040
Glebefields Health Centre-0121 530 8040
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHs)-0121 612 6620
Fair Access and Inclusion Team-0121 569 2777
Q14- Where is the Local Authorities Local Offer published?
The Local Offer is published on the Sandwell’s website http://www.sandwell.gov.uk/send
* Clause 32- Advice and information for parents and young people
A local authority in England must arrange for the parents of children for whom it is responsible, and young people for whom it is responsible, to be provided