Dubmire Primary Academy

Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Policy

Dubmire Primary Academy Accessibility Plan

SEN Information Report

All Sunderland Local Authority (LA) maintained schools have a similar approach to meeting the needs of all 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
Sensory and/or Physical Needs.

What is the Local Offer?

The Children and Families Bill will become enacted in 2014. From this date, Local Authorities and schools are required to publish and keep under review information about services they expect to be available for children and young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN) aged 0-25. This is the ‘Local Offer’.

The 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.

The Special Education Needs Information Report

This utilises the LA Local Offer to meet the needs of SEND pupils as determined by school policy and the provision that the school is able to provide.

Your child has Special Educational Needs. What can Dubmire Primary Academy offer you?

The questions below give you information about the Local Offer from Dubmire Primary Academy to show how we can support your child.

Who are the best people to talk to in this school about my child’s difficulties with learning/Special Educational Needs or Disability (SEND)?

In the first instance this will be the class teacher who is responsible for:

Checking the progress of your child and identifying needs, planning and delivering any additional help your child may need (this could be targeted work or additional support) and informing the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENDCo) as necessary.
Writing and monitoring Pupil Progress targets/Individual Education Plans (IEP’s) and sharing and reviewing these with parents on a termly basis and planning for the next term.
Matching learning to your child’s needs.
Ensuring that the school’s SEND Policy is followed for all pupils with SEND within their classroom.

The SENDCo/Inclusion Manager: Mrs L Rowntree

Responsible for:

Developing and reviewing the school’s SEND policy
Co-ordinating support for children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND)
Ensuring that you are:
1. involved in your child’s learning.
2. kept informed about the support your child is receiving.

Involved in reviewing how your child is progressing which will take place during termly reviews.

Liaising with other professionals who may come into school to help to support your child’s learning e.g. Speech and Language Therapy, Educational Psychologist, Behaviour Team.

Updating the school’s SEND register (a system for ensuring that all the SEND needs of pupils in the school are known) and making sure that records of your child’s progress and needs are kept and held confidentially other than to those who need to know about your child.
Providing support for all staff in school so that they can help children with SEND in school to achieve the best progress possible.
Monitoring provision for SEND across the school.

The Headteacher: Miss E. Jarvis

Responsible for

The day to day management of all aspects of the school; this includes support for children with SEND.
Delegating responsibility to the SENDCo and class teachers for the delivery of learning, but maintaining overall responsibility for ensuring that your child’s needs are met.
Ensuring that the Governing Body is kept up to date about issues relating to SEND.

The SEND Governor: Mrs S. Wides

Responsible for:

Ensuring that the necessary support is provided for any child who attends the school who has SEND.

What are the different types of support available for children with SEND in our school?

Class teacher input, via excellent targeted classroom teaching (Quality First Teaching)

For your child this would mean:

The teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all pupils in their class.
That all teaching is built on what your child already knows, can do and can understand.
Different ways of teaching are in place, so that your child is fully involved in learning in class.
Specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENDCo) are in place to support your child to learn.
Your child’s teacher will continually monitor progress and where necessary, appropriate support and intervention will be planned.

Specific group work

Intervention groups which may be:

Delivered in small groups or 1:1
Delivered by a teacher or teaching assistant (TA)

Specialist groups run by outside agencies e.g. Speech and Language therapy.

SEN Code of Practice 2014: School Support (SS)

This means a pupil has been identified by the SENDCo as needing some specialist support in school from a professional outside the school. This may be from:

Local Authority central services such as Autism Outreach Team, Sensory Service (for students with a hearing or visual need) or Behaviour Support Team.
Outside agencies such as the Educational Psychology Service (EPS).

What could happen:

You may be asked to give your permission to the school to refer your child to a specialist professional e.g. Speech and Language Therapist or Educational Psychologist. This will help the school and yourself to understand your child’s particular needs in order to support them effectively in school.
The specialist professional will work with your child to understand their needs and make recommendations as to the ways in which your child can be given support. You will be informed of any such findings.
The reports will be available to all professionals involved in the education and care of your child.

Specified Individual Support

This type of support is available for children whose learning needs are severe and/or complex.

This is usually provided through a Statement of Special Educational Needs or 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, as their needs are not able to be met without this support.
This type of support is available for children with specific barriers to learning that cannot be overcome through Quality First Teaching and intervention groups.
Your child will also be supported by professionals outside the school.

For your child this would mean:

The school 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’ (which will include a range of information about your child, including some from yourself) they will decide whether they think your child’s needs (as detailed in the paperwork provided to the panel) are complex enough to require 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 requires a higher level of support, the Local Authority will ask the school to continue with the current support.
After all the reports have been sent to the Local Authority the ‘Panel of Professionals’ will decide if your child’s needs require an Education and Health Care Plan.
The Education and Health Care Plan will outline the number of hours of individual/small group support your child will receive and how the support should be used including what strategies must be put in place. The plan will also include long and short term goals for your child.

How can I let the school know 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.

If you continue to be concerned that your child is not making progress, you may speak to the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator – Mrs L Rowntree

If you continue to be concerned that your child is not making progress, you may speak to the Head teacher – Miss E Jarvis

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 sufficient progress, the school will set up a meeting to discuss this with you in more detail and to:

Explain their concerns/findings
Listen to any concerns you may have
Plan any additional support your child may need
Discuss with you any referrals to outside professionals to support your child’s learning.

How is extra support allocated to children and how do they progress in their learning?

The school budget received from Sunderland LA, includes a small amount of money for supporting children with SEND.

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 within the school.
The Head Teacher and SENDCo/Inclusion Manager discuss all of the information they have about SEND in the school, including:
Children who already receive extra support.
Children newly identified as requiring extra support.
Appropriate deployment of staff and resources throughout school.

The SENDCo identifies the needs of pupils on a school provision map which for SEND pupils identifies all resources, training and support. This is reviewed regularly and changes made as necessary.

Who are the other people providing services to children with SEND in this school?

School Provision

Teaching Assistants
Breakfast / After School Club
Teacher Clubs
Attendance Officer

Local Authority Provision delivered in school

Educational Psychology Service
Sensory Service for children with hearing/visual needs
Parent Partnership Service
KS1 and KS2 Behaviour Intervention Team
SALT (Speech and Language Team)
Autism Outreach Service

Health Provision delivered in school

Additional Speech and Language Services
School Nurse
CAMHS
Occupational Therapy/Physiotherapy Services

How are the teachers in school helped to work with children with SEND, and what training do they have?

The SENDCo’s role is to support the class teacher in planning for children with SEND.

The school provides training and support to enable all staff to improve the teaching and learning of children, including those with SEND. This includes whole school training on SEN issues such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and speech and language difficulties.
Individual teachers and support staff attend some training courses run by outside agencies that are relevant to the needs of specific children in their class.
Individual staff have received training to support their understanding of a range of SEND issues. Support from outside agencies is often sought in order to support specialist teaching in specific areas.

How will the teaching be adapted for my child with SEND?
- Class teachers plan lessons according to the specific needs of all groups of children in their class, ensuring that teaching and learning meet the needs of all pupils.
- Support staff, under the direction of the class teacher, carry out interventions which are relevant to your child’s needs, mainly group learning activities.
- Specific resources and strategies will be used to support your child individually and in groups.
- Planning and teaching will be adapted on a daily basis if needed to meet your child’s learning needs.
How will we measure the progress of your child in school?

Your child's progress is continually monitored by his/her class teacher.

His/her progress is tracked half termly and discussed with the Headteacher and SENDCo at pupil progress meetings.
Children with identified SEND, who have a statement or an Education and Health Care Plan, have formal reviews each term where progress is discussed.
At the end of Year 2 and Year 6, children are required to be formally assessed using Standard Assessments and Standard Assessment Tests (SATS). This is something the government requires all schools to do and the results are published nationally.
Children may have a support plan with personal targets which will be reviewed and a future plan made.
The progress of children with a statement or EHC Plan is formally reviewed at an Annual Review with all adults involved in the child’s education invited.
The SENDCo will monitor your child’s progress in line with the school’s assessment and tracking system and discuss progress during senior leadership meetings. Regular book scrutinies are carried out by the Senior Management Team to ensure that the needs of all children are met.

What support do we have for you as a parent of a child with a SEND?

The class teacher is available by prior arrangement to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns you may have and to share information about what is working well at home and school, so that similar strategies can be used.

The SENDCo is available to meet with you at an agreed time to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns or worries you may have.
All information from outside professionals will be discussed with you, with the person involved directly, or where this is not possible, in a report.
Personal progress targets/support plans will be reviewed with your involvement.
Homework will be set which will be suitable for the needs and ability of your child.
A home/school contact book may be used to support communication with you.

How is Dubmire Primary Academy accessible to children with SEND?

The school is fully compliant with DDA requirements.
The school is on one level with easy access and double doors.
There is a disabled toilet.
We ensure wherever possible that equipment used is accessible to all children regardless of their needs.
After school extra-curricular clubs and breakfast club are accessible to all children including those with SEND.

How will we support your child when they are leaving this school or moving on to another class?

We recognise that transitions can be difficult for a child with SEND and we take steps to ensure that any transition is as smooth as possible.

If your child is joining us from another school

Your child will be able to visit our school and stay for a taster session, if this is appropriate.
The SENDCo will contact the previous school to ensure all records and essential information are passed on.

If your child is moving to another school

We will contact the school SENDCo and ensure he/she knows about any special arrangements or support that needs to be made for your child. Where possible a meeting will take place with the SENDCo from the new school.
We will make sure that all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible.

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 and support plans will be shared.

In Year 6

The SENDCo will discuss the specific needs of your child with the SENDCo of the child’s secondary
Where possible, your child will visit their new school on several occasions, and in some cases staff from the new school will visit your child in this school.
Your child will do focused learning about aspects of the transition to support their understanding of the changes ahead.

What Emotional and Social Development support do we have for a child with SEND?

The emotional health and well-being of all of our pupils is very important to us at Dubmire Primary Academy. We recognise that some children have additional emotional and social needs that need to be developed and nurtured.

We have a robust Safeguarding/Child Protection Policy in place which follows National and Local Authority Guidelines.
We have a robust Behaviour Policy in place.
We are a school where bullying is not tolerated.
The Headteacher and all staff continually monitor the emotional health and well-being of all our pupils.

Local Offer

Please click below to view the local offer from Sunderland Local Authority.

https://www.sunderlandinformationpoint.co.uk

SENDIASS - External support for any SEND queries

https://www.togetherforchildren.org.uk/children-with-SEN