Schools Extended Local Offer Response

How does the setting/school/college know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs?

Early indicator assessments are used throughout the year in EYFS to identify possible causes for concern. The Local Authority also carries out hearing and vision screening. Phonic screening check at Y1 and 2 is not a SEN assessment, but it informs staff and SENCO of specific difficulties. Pupils may be assessed using the Sandwell Maths Test – this is a tool that identifies gaps in a pupil’s mathematical knowledge and understanding. Lucid Rapid dyslexia screening is administered at the beginning of Y3 and results are reported to parents. Further assessment is undertaken for pupils who are highlighted with high risk of dyslexia: these will be used to determine if the pupil has a SEN. Reading and spelling ages can be assessed or other information can be gathered through the use of observational checklists at any time. Regular assessments of the pupil’s current level of functioning is undertaken to monitor the impact of the provision made. In a small number of cases, there may be an undiagnosed medical condition contributing to the special educational need. Parents/carers will be advised seek medical guidance.

How will early years setting/school/college staff support my child/young person?

The school has embedded practices for ‘Early Identification’ of children’s additional needs. School works closely with parents and outside agencies to ensure needs are accurately identified and effectively met. We have close links with the main feeder nurseries to ensure a smooth transition and accurate provision is in place on entry to reception. The teacher informs the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) and head at the earliest opportunity if they have concerns and a meeting is held with parents. Pupils are closely tracked and monitored so that gaps in learning and development are quickly identified. The SENCO works closely with parents and teachers to plan an appropriate programme of intervention and support.

How will the curriculum be matched to my child's/young person's needs?

High quality first teaching is provided in class. This is supported by skilled teaching assistants in each class who are assigned to support children with additional needs through a targeted plan. Teachers plan for differentiation and ensure that different learning styles are catered for. Children have specific success criteria to scaffold their learning to help them work independently. School buys in an educational psychologist package from VPSS (Vulnerable Pupil Support Service) who support our identified children, makes formal assessments and recommends strategies for school to use. Speech and Language support is available from the speech and language therapist service. Identified staff have had training for specific programmes such as First Class @ Number, Boosting Reading Potential, Reciprocal Reading. Our teachers are skilled at adapting teaching to meet the diverse range of needs in each class. Daily planning takes into account individual pupil’s needs and requirements including targets from School SEN Support Plans or Pastoral Support Plans. Differentiation is approached in a range of ways to support access and ensure that all pupils can experience success and challenge in their learning. Grouping arrangements are organised flexibly with opportunities for both ability and mixed setting to maximise learning opportunities for all. Additional adults (teaching assistants) are used flexibly to help groups and individual pupils with a long term goal of developing independent learning skills. Monitoring takes place to avoid pupils becoming over reliant and dependent on this adult support.

How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support my child's/young person's learning?

Ongoing monitoring takes place by class teachers to identify pupils who are not making progress or who have behaviour needs which are affecting their ability to engage in learning activities. Every child is formally assessed each term in reading, writing and mathematics. Each class teacher attends a termly meeting with the Head Teacher and SENCO to review the progress of each child and identify any additional intervention that the child may need. After discussions with key staff and parents, additional support will be put into place to provide enhanced resources and targeted small group and / or individual support to help overcome any difficulties. The views of the child about their support will be given consideration at this stage, where appropriate. In consultation with the SENCO and parents, short term targets are agreed which prioritise key areas of learning or behaviour to address and by which progress can be measured. Where external agencies are involved, their advice and recommendations are included in these support programmes. Actions agreed take into account each pupil’s strengths as well as their difficulties. Children with a School SEN Support plans are encouraged to contribute by identifying their own strengths and where they feel that they need extra help. Teaching Assistant support is deployed to ensure your child can work on targets, engage in lessons and wider school activities and to facilitate independent learning to support transition to adulthood. Children with SEN are supported by both the class teacher and teaching assistant. Review meetings for children with a School SEN Support plan are held termly. Parents and when appropriate, pupils are invited to this review and their contribution is valued. The impact of support offered is considered along with the progress towards targets set. Support arrangements will be updated and revised accordingly. If not involved already, this might include referral to external agencies. If your child is continuing to have significant difficulties, further external expertise may be requested. Additional funding is available for children who have very complex needs. Further details about this process will be explained in the LA Local Offer. Parents contribute and take part in Annual Reviews for pupils with Education Health Care Plans and receive copies of all relevant paperwork concerning their child. Pupils are also asked to make a contribution to the review and the outside agencies are invited to contribute and attend the meeting. Targeted plans/School Support Plans (SSP) are monitored against targets which are reviewed and changed as appropriate. The school operates an ‘Open Door’ policy with regards to any concerns a parent may have and this is dealt with quickly and effectively. Signposting and meetings with outside agencies and parents are arranged by school to support the family when required. Pupils’ progress is monitored and tracked throughout the school and pupils with SEN and pupil premium pupils are monitored also on the Provision Map. Tests and Examinations: Access Arrangements For some pupils additional arrangements and adjustments can be made to enable them to fully access a range of tests. This might include additional time, rest breaks, enlarged texts for visually impaired children, modified audio mental maths tests for the hearing impaired or the use of a scribe or word processor. The SENCO co-ordinates the application for these arrangements. Only tests and assessors authorised by the school can be accepted for access arrangements for public examinations.

What specialist services and expertise are avaliable at or accessed by the setting/school/college?

Our SENCO actively engages with local opportunities and attends borough training to share best practice and keep abreast of current local and national initiatives and policy to support pupils with SEN. The school also seeks advice and guidance from our Specialist Provision staff to review, evaluate and develop provision for pupils who have the most complex needs in our mainstream. Agency Professional/Description of Support Inclusion Support Service Sefton SEN Team Vulnerable Pupil Support Service (VPSS) Educational Psychology Service School buys in support packages from who support our identified children, makes formal assessments and recommend strategies for school to use. Our SEN Inclusion Consultant  gives advice on how we can support your child in school and is able to carry out further assessments when a fuller picture is required. A specialist Teacher closely monitors how well children with vision or hearing difficulties are coping in the classroom setting and offers strategies to the school in supporting these pupils. Norwood has an attached Educational Psychologist. For Speech and Language Therapy support  Norwood may refer to the Local Authority service as required and implement recommendations following specialist assessment by Speech and Language therapists. School staff attend clinic training when possible. Our School Nurse provides:

• · Routine screening of all reception age children (measurements of height and weight, assessments of hearing and vision).
• · Individual Care Plans for children with medical needs.
• · Attendance at CIN (child in need) meetings, CAF (Common Assessment Framework) meetings and Child Protection meetings.
• · Immunisations.
• · Advice to parents on medical issues Occupational / physiotherapy.

The SENCO will refer to the Occupational therapy or Physiotherapy services where concerns are raised by staff or parents/carers. Recommendations resulting from a programme of therapy are incorporated into the child’s School Support Plan and are acted upon where possible within the school setting. The school liaises with community paediatric services where appropriate. CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service): The school makes referrals to CAMHS, liaises with them where appropriate and CAMHS professionals often attend CIN (child in need) meetings and CAF (Common Assessment Framework) meetings.  Sefton Parent Partnership offer impartial, confidential information advice and support for parents/carers of children with SEN. They offer independent, impartial, confidential advice for all parents/carers with the move from pre-school to primary school and from primary to secondary school. www.parentpartnership.org.uk Sefton_Parent_Partnership@yahoo.co.uk. The Educational Professional responsible for children who are looked after is the Deputy Head Teacher who oversees and monitors the provision for children who are in the care of the Local Authority.

 

How will my child/young person be included in activities outside this classroom including school trips?

As a school we aim to be as inclusive as possible, by making reasonable adjustments, so all children are included in activities. This may take the following form:

• Arranging for additional support for the pupil either through their own parents or school staff
• Providing additional resources to enable the pupil to participate e.g providing transport to the venue to avoid walking long distances
• Checking visits in advance to ensure they are fully accessible
• A risk assessment is carried out prior to any off-site activity to ensure everyone’s health & safety will not be compromised. In the unlikely event that it is considered unsafe for a child to take part in an activity, then alternative activities, which will cover the same curriculum areas will be provided in school.

How accessible is the setting/school/college enviroment?

The two level school is wheelchair accessible from ground floor entrances and all doorways are wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs. Steps and doorways are marked or painted in contrasting colours to aid visually impaired members of the community. There are two parking spaces available for disabled persons in the car park and a disabled toilet is available. Information is available on the school website and playground noticeboards in addition to parents receiving regular newsletters. Newsletters are printed on coloured paper to reduce possible reading stress. Furniture is modern and of a suitable height appropriate to the age group of children being taught in that classroom. Some specialist furniture can be accessed if this is required to meet a child’s needs. The school has a range of ICT programmes for pupils with SEN in addition to netbooks, headphones, computers and interactive whiteboards installed in every classroom. Resources for SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) are stored in a central area fully accessible for all staff to use. Visual timetables are used and resources are clearly labelled with text and pictures. Adaptations are made, as required, to ensure pupils can access all activities on offer.

How will the setting/school/college prepare and support my child/young person to join the setting/school/college or the next stage of education and life?

On transition to Norwood Primary the Year R teachers hold a meeting to discuss the pupils. An additional meeting is held between the schools’ SENCos in order to discuss children with additional needs. Visits to the new Year R classes are held in the summer term. Some children may require additional visits during the summer term which are organised between the two schools. These additional visits support the transition between schools and help the children become more familiar with their new environment.

Children with SEN can become particularly anxious about “moving on” to a new class, a new Key Stage or to a new school, so at Norwood we seek to support successful transition by: When moving to another school: We will contact the School SENCO and share information about special arrangements and support that has been made to help your child achieve their learning goals. We ensure that all records are passed on as soon as possible including any School Support Plans and professionals’ reports from outside agencies. When moving classes in school: An information sharing meeting will take place with the new teacher. Opportunities are made to visit the new class / teacher. Transition books are made containing photos of key staff, the classroom etc. In Year 6-7 transition Each year pupils visit their forthcoming Secondary School for taster sessions and also Secondary Teachers from the Local Schools visit and discuss the needs of pupils to help ease the transition from Year 6 to Year 7. High school open evening dates are notified to the parents. Liaison days take place for year 5 pupils to visit all local high schools Class teachers and teaching assistants prepare children for high school through PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) and sessions and social stories with opportunities to discuss questions the children may have. The SENCO will contact the high school to discuss the specific needs of your child and the nature and level of support which has had the most impact. In some cases, additional multi-agency meetings may be arranged to create a more detailed “transition” plan which may include more visits to the new school and/or additional visits from the new school. When appropriate summer school sessions can be offered (depending on the high school).

How are the setting's/school's/college's resources allocated and matched to children's/young people's special educational needs?

 

The school’s SEND budget is allocated each financial year. The Head Teacher and Governors allocate the resources for all pupils bearing in mind the budget allowance. Class teachers, subject leaders and the SEND team allocate specific learning resources. The specific allocation of resources is dictated by individual need and the statutory requirements of an EHCP. The guiding principle is for all pupils to be able to access their learning effectively. Effective and open communication between all stakeholders is fundamental for the successful realisation of this principle, with the desired outcomes for the pupil at the centre. The budget is used to provide additional support or resources depending on an individual’s needs.  Resources may include deployment of staff depending on individual circumstances or specialist equipment. The school invests in quality resources including tried and tested intervention programmes and other resources which help develop language, skills and knowledge. We have a team of TAs who are funded from the SEN budget and deliver support and programmes designed to meet groups of children’s needs.

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child/young person will receive?

We ensure that all children who have Special Educational needs are met to the best of the school’s ability with the funds available. These decisions are made in consultation with the class teacher, the Head teacher and SENCO, based on daily monitoring, termly tracking of children’s progress; as a result of assessments undertaken by outside agencies; and through regular termly meetings with parents for the child’s SEN Support Plan.

How are parents involved in the setting/school/college? How can I be involved?

An Induction meeting introduces key staff to parents and informs them who to contact if they have concerns The website contains details of all staff currently employed by the school. The School operates an ‘Open Door’ policy and has parent evenings to provide opportunities for parents to discuss the progress of their child. A parent questionnaire is also provided each year for parents to record their views and suggestions at each of these evenings. An annual pupil report is sent home at the end of the summer term with an invitation to discuss with the teacher. Appointments can be made by prospective parents to view the school individually. The SENCO is available at the start of and end of the day, in most cases, and appointments can be made via the school office or via e-mail contact.