Peartree Primary SchoolSEND (Special Educational Needs &

Disabilities) Information Report 2014-20152nd draft – Comments from parents are very

welcome.

What is the local offer?

• The Children and Families Bill (2014), requires local authorities and schools to publish and keep under review information about services they expect to be available for the children and young people with SEND (Special Educational Needs & Disabilities) aged 0-25. This is what is referred to as the local offer

How does the school know if my child needs extra help?

• Through frequent monitoring of your child’s attainment and progress

• Through pupil progress meetings during the year where your child’s progress is discussed by the class teacher and the Head Teacher, with additional input from any adult who has worked with your child

What will the school do to inform you if your child is falling behind age appropriate expectations?

• You be informed of your child’s progress at parent consultations; if there is any concern an appointment with the class teacher will be made to see you earlier

• If progress continues to be less than expected, it may be necessary to put in place additional support and to do an assessment of your child’s needs. This will be supported by the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) and will include your views and those of your child

What can parents/carers do if they are concerned with their child’s progress?

• You should in the first case, talk to your child’s class teacher, and you can at any time thereafter make an appointment to see the SENCO, who will see you as soon as possible

• Parents/carers who are working who cannot come into school, are able to telephone to arrange for a teacher to call them back or email via the school office (via admin@peartreejmi.herts.sch.uk)

• If parents/carers are not able to come into the school because of a disability, we can make an arrangement for somebody to come to your house

How will school staff support my child?

• High quality teaching within the classroom, including work which is adapted to enable each child to achieve

• Constant monitoring of whether children are achieving academic personal targets

• Classroom observation • Discussion with children • Additional support/targeted interventions either 1:1

or in a small group

Who will lead interventions to support my child?

• Trained adults will lead interventions• It is the class teacher’s responsibility to provide

for children with SEND in their classroom. Where the interventions involve teaching away from the main classroom, the teacher still retains responsibility for the child and works closely with support staff to plan and assess the impact of the intervention, and to ensure they can be linked back to classroom teaching

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

• A detailed assessment which draws on the teacher’s assessment and experience of the child, the views and experiences of the parents and the pupil’s own views takes place

• Children are consulted throughout the whole process and are key to decisions about what support is needed and will yield the most impact

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

• Protective behaviour is taught to children where necessary – at the moment this is taught by an outreach service that comes into school, but an inset is planned where all staff will be trained in this

• An art therapist is employed to work with children with emotional needs

• An independent counsellor has been employed to work with children who would benefit from this provision

• A consistent behaviour policy for each key stage of the school is enforced with each child aware of expectations

• Playtimes can be particularly lonely for some children; to ensure all children have someone to play with, we have set up ‘bus stops’ and a ‘friendship bench’ where children can go if they are feeling lonely and want someone to play with

• For children who would benefit from more targeted friendship groups and organised games/art activities, there is a lunch time club commencing, where 4-6 children can attend 2-3 times a week

How do children help their peers?

• In the playground Year 6 children who have been trained as ‘Young Leaders’ at a local secondary school, ensure that all children in KS1 are playing nicely

• Year 5 children who are ‘Buddies’ work with children in Red Class (Reception) to ensure they are introduced gently into the process of playing in the playground

• Children are voted into the School Council and these members represent the voice of their class, informing decisions made about the school

• Daily use of talk partners

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

• There are nine Teaching Assistants in the school team, all of whom have undergone training in different areas of SEN

• The school has a link Educational Psychologist, Speech Therapist and school nurse

• We work with a SpLD base (Specific Learning Difficulties) who will devise programmes for children diagnosed with SpLD, which is then administered by a trained Teaching Assistant

• There are links with behavioural units who provide outreach support when required

• We work with a Family Support worker who has access to a wide range of support from local agencies and services and is able to signpost parents effectively

What training have the staff supporting children with SEND had, or having?

• All staff are trained in safeguarding practices• There are three designated staff (DSPs) for

safeguarding concerns• Early Years staff have been trained so that an accurate

assessment of a child’s language needs is done on entry to school

• Support staff have been trained in areas such as Speech & Language support, Autism, Specific Learning Difficulties, Emotional Literacy, Maths interventions, English interventions and behaviour strategies

• The SENCO has completed the National SENCO Award and has a Diploma in assessing and teaching children with a Specific Learning Difficulty

• Training is provided at inset to all staff once a week after school, with full day insets at various times throughout the year

• All staff have had training that include an up to date working knowledge of SEND issues, including training in the new Code of Practice

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

• Parents evenings are held each term to keep parents fully informed of their child’s progress

• An annual report is written for each child in the Summer Term

• Parents are involved in reviews where extra support has been put in place and their views are sought at each opportunity to help support their child’s learning

• Children are given homework regularly each week which will involve reading and at least one piece of English and Maths

• Parents of KS1 children are invited into school half termly to play with their children in class for thirty minutes, so they can experience being with them in the school environment

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

• A risk assessment is undertaken for all school trips. All children with SEND are included on school trips and when appropriate, additional staff are deployed

• Where the outings are run by outside agencies, they are made aware of each child’s needs so that they can deal with them in an appropriate manner. Any child with a medical issue will be accompanied by a trained adult

How accessible is the school environment?

• The school is fully compliant with the Equality Act and reasonable adjustments are made for all children with SEND, where necessary

• The building is fully wheelchair accessible and has disabled toilet facilities

• Specialised equipment is provided when 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

Who can I contact for further information?

• The SENCO can be contacted by telephone or email (via admin@peartreejmi.herts.sch.uk) and is available to meet with parents who have a concern about their child. It might be appropriate to speak to your child’s teacher with any initial queries

• If you wish to make a complaint, the school has a complaints procedure which is available from the school office

How will the school prepare and support my child to join the school/ transfer to a new school?

• A Year 6 programme, ‘Crucial Crew’ is in place towards the end of the Summer Term, where the children attend Hertfordshire University, and have workshops in safety, cyber bullying and other subjects that will help them for their secondary school transfer

• Any new child arriving in school will be given a buddy. The level of support is dependent on each child’s needs, age and development. If you have any concerns in terms of induction or transferring to another school, please contact your child’s class teacher

How are the school’s resources allocated and matched to children’s specific educational

needs? • The school has an amount identified within its overall

budget called the Notional SEN budget. This is used for resources to support the progress of children with SEND. This is used to employ Teaching Assistants to meet the needs of children with SEND, buy specialist equipment, books or stationary, or provide specialist training for staff

• Where a child requires provision which exceeds the nationally prescribed threshold, additional top-up funding can be applied for through the Local Authority (Exceptional Needs Funding)

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

• The amount of support offered is determined by a detailed analysis of a child’s needs, stage of development, parental views, consultation with the class teacher

• Interventions offered, will typically last between one and two terms with the emphasis being on early identification and targeted effective support, to minimise any long term need for additional support

How can I find information about the Local Authority’s Local Offer?

• The authority’s Local Offer of services and provision for children and young people with SEND can be accessed at:

www.hertsdirect.org/localoffer