Stretton C of E Academy SEN Information Report

Continue reading to discover all you need to know about special

educational needs and disabilities in our school

Mission Statement

• We are a fully inclusive mainstream school.

• We strive to ensure that all pupils achieve their potential personally, socially, emotionally and academically in all areas of the curriculum (regardless of their gender, ethnicity, social background, religion, sexual identity, physical ability or educational needs).

• This document is intended to give you information regarding the ways in which we ensure we support all of our pupils, including those with SEN, in order that they can realise their full potential.

• It may not list every skill, resource and technique we employ in order to achieve this, as these are continually developed and used to modify our provision to meet the changing requirements for individual pupils.

Meet our SENCO

• Mrs Susan Samra is our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator or SENCO.

• She works on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

• She can be contacted for

appointments via the school office.

• Contents page• Content is hyperlinked so that you can click straight into the relevant question

• Q1: Definition of SEN • Q2: What training and/or expertise do adults at Stretton have

to teach pupils with SEN? • Q3: What type of special educational needs and disabilities do

you support at Stretton? • Q4: How are these identified? • Q5: If my child has SEN, how will I be involved with planning

the support to meet my child’s needs? • Q6: How do you support pupils with their emotional well-

being? • Q7: Is there extra support available to help my child with their

learning?

• Contents page cont.

• Q8: Who should I contact in school if I want to find out more about how my child will be supported?

• Q9: How do I and my child find out about extra-curricular support and activities?

• Q10: What other services are provided in school and out of school for children with SEN or disabilities?

• Q11: How will I be informed about the work other services are doing with my child?

• Q12: Which services support parents and families of children with SEN or disabilities?

• Q13: How will my child be supported with transition (moving on)?

• Q14: Funding for SEN. • Q15: Where can I find information about policies relating to

SEND? • Q16: Support available through the local authority.

Stretton’s definition of SEN

• A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.

• A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:

• has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or

• has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions

Taken from: Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years 2014

What training and/or expertise do adults at

Stretton have to teach pupils with SEN? • All staff have general training in order to meet the needs of SEN pupils within

their class. This includes training on: • How to identify when pupils have special educational needs and the best

ways to support them • Dyslexia • Differentiation (meeting different abilities within the class group) • Supporting pupils with language difficulties • Behaviour management

• Fresh Start training (to help pupils who have been identified as needing to improve their reading and writing skills).

• We also have staff with specific expertise in the following areas:

• Speech and language and communication • Supporting pupils with social and emotional difficulties

What type of special educational needs and

disabilities do you support at Stretton? • Typically, in our school, children with SEN have

difficulties with: • Reading and writing• Maths• Memory • Language - understanding and following instructions• Making friends and working with other children • Relating to adults • Social or emotional development, and sensory difficulties • Social communication needs (such as Autistic Spectrum

Disorder/ Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) linked to emotional and mental health needs

How are these needs identified? • Our class teachers closely monitor the progress made by all the

children and ask advice from the SENCO as soon as they have concerns about any pupil.

• The SENCO helps class teachers to plan activities such as small group work or special programmes to help the child.

• If these activities don’t help the child to make good progress, the SENCO might suggest other programmes or temporary additional support, or ask for advice or assessment from an external specialist service.

• It is at this point the SENCO and class teacher will meet with parents/carers and together agree that additional SEN support will be put in place. The teacher will plan a ‘All About Me’, which has their targets and how they will be helped.

If my child has SEN, how will I be involved with planning the support to meet my

child’s needs? The following are available for all children at Stretton:

• Parent evenings • Curriculum meetings • Open classrooms • Termly reports • Further discussion with class teacher by appointment

If your child has SEN you can also access :

• Termly review meetings to evaluate progress against outcomes• Consultation meetings with outside agencies where appropriate (eg. Educational Psychology Service etc) • Further discussion with class teacher/SENCO by appointment

How do you support pupils with their emotional well-being?

• At Stretton we recognise and value the importance of building strong, mutually respective relationships with all our pupils. All staff are trained to support the emotional well-being of pupils to reflect the ethos of our academy. When dealing with pupils, staff are always sensitive to their individual emotional needs and have a range of strategies to ensure that there is always a positive impact on their self esteem. Some children with SEN may need additional support with their emotional well-being; at Stretton we can provide the following:

• Access to a quiet space with 1:1 adult support• Lunchtime clubs/After School clubs• 1:1 counselling • Personalised timetable and/or personalised curriculum • 1:1 adult support to access the curriculum • Referral to other agencies (eg. VIBES; CAMHS; Young Carers;

Barnardo’s etc)

Is there extra support available to help my child with their learning?

• The following extra support is available as appropriate:

• Access to short-term intervention groups (e.g. Six week programme to develop basic maths skills; social skills group)

• Access to longer-term intervention groups (e.g. Fresh Start reading and writing programme)

• Lunchtime skills groups (both inside and outside) • Nurture group • Additional individual support as appropriate to a pupil’s level of need • Mentoring support • Access to expertise from outside agencies: • Time for You Counselling • Learning and Behaviour Support Service (including Dyslexia Support

Teachers) • Educational Psychology Service • Speech and Language Therapy • Coventry Autism Support Service • Abacus Counselling

Who should I contact in school if I want to find out more about how my

child will be supported?

• Initial contact should be with your child’s class teacher.

• Additionally our SENCO, Mrs Samra, is available to meet with parents/carers and discuss this support.

What other services are provided in school and out of school for

children with SEN or disabilities?• Cognition & Learning • Learning & Behaviour Support Service (LABSS) • Educational Psychology Service (EPS)

• Dyslexia Support Teacher • Tel: 024 7678 8400 • Communication & Interaction

• Speech & Language Therapy (SALT) • Tel: 024 7696 1453 Website: www.coventrychildrensslt.co.uk

• Coventry Autism Support Service (CASS) • Tel: 01676 541249 • LABSS (Tel. as above)

Cont’d ..• Social, Mental & Emotional Wellbeing • Advice from EPS • Advice from LABSS Tel. as above.

• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) • Tel: 024 76961 549

• Primary Mental Health Team • Tel: 024 76788 400

• Sensory & Physical • Physiotherapy service • Occupational Therapy service • Tel: 024 76961 455 website: www.covkidsot.co.uk

• Access to Technology service (ICT hardware / software) • Advice / input from Sensory Support Service • Tel: 024 76786 174

How will I be informed about the work other services are doing with my child? • Permission is always sought from

parents/carers before any outside agency work is begun.

• Some agencies will set-up a pre-meeting before the work is begun (e.g. Counselling).

• Once a block of work has been completed, feedback will be given to parents/carers and may include a written report.

Which services support parents and families

of children with SEN or disabilities? • The following local government website provides

information about relevant support networks: http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/2000684/special_educational_needs-parent_partnership_service/264/local_support_groups

Also: • Parent Partnership Service (open 9.00am - 5.00pm) • Limbrick Wood Centre, Thomas Naul Croft, Tile Hill,

Coventry, CV4 9QX • E-mail: parental.partnerships@coventry.gov.uk • Tel: 024 7669 4307 • Fax: 024 7669 5627

How will my child be supported with transition (moving on)?

• At Stretton we have a variety of transition arrangements in place including the following:

• Transferring to the next year group: • Period of transition during the summer term (eg. Visiting their new

classroom space, meeting new staff, taking part in activities linked to their next year group.)

• Transition meetings between previous and new class teachers

• Transition to secondary school:

• For pupils with statements or Education, Health and Care plans transition arrangements are discussed at their Y5 review meeting.

• Meetings between Stretton’s Y6 teachers and the Y7 transition teachers

• Year 7 staff come into school to meet and work with Y6 pupils.

• For some pupils additional visits are made to their new secondary school.

• LABSS transition group work.

• Transferring to a new primary school:

• Liaison between the new primary school and Stretton.

• Visits prior to transfer if appropriate.

• Visit from new school staff to St Bart’s to meet the pupil and staff. • Transfer of all records to the new school with discussion as

appropriate.

Cont…

Funding for SEN • General SEN funding: • All schools have an allocation of funding to meet the

needs of pupils with SEND. • The allocation is based on the number of pupils on our

school SEN register. • This funding is used by the school to support a variety of

needs. • Pupils with Statements/EHC Plans: • Support for pupils is partly funded through the general

SEN budget and through top-up funding. • This allocation is based upon level of need. • The way this funding is used is discussed and agreed

with pupils and their families

Support available through the local authority

• The Coventry Local Offer website has information about the services that are available.

• Click here to view the Coventry Local Offer (available from September 2014).

• The language used can often be confusing, click here for a glossary of terms and an acronym buster.