Bramcote Hills Primary School

Bramcote Hills is a mainstream community primary school. It works with children who have a variety of Special Educational Needs and/or disabilities (SEND) whose parents have chosen to send their child to this school.

Our school currently provides additional and/or different provision for a range of needs, including:

• Communication and interaction: for example, Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC), speech and language difficulties
• Cognition and learning: for example, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia
• Social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) difficulties: for example, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), anxiety and behavioural needs, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
• Sensory and/or physical needs: for example, visual impairments, hearing impairments, processing difficulties, epilepsy

If children’s needs are known prior to admission, the school liaises with the previous setting, parents and any external agencies already working with the family to ensure the school has suitable provision in place prior to the child starting at the school. 

If parents are worried about their child’s development or progress, they should first contact their child’s teacher and meet with them to discuss their concerns.  If parents wish to discuss specific conditions or special needs, an appointment can be made to speak with the school’s SENCo.

Contact office@bramcotehills.notts.sch.uk

At Bramcote Hills, we believe in the importance of delivering an exciting and broad curriculum through high quality teaching and innovation. Inclusive quality first teaching underpins our practice.

For some children, quality first teaching is not enough. We assess each pupil’s current skills and levels of attainment on entry, which will build on previous settings and year groups. Class teachers will make regular assessments of progress for all pupils and identify those whose progress:

• Is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
• Fails to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress
• Fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers
• Widens the attainment gap

This may include progress in areas other than attainment, for example, social needs.

Pupils who exhibit challenging behaviour are also identified and encouraged to use more appropriate behaviour choices. Teachers monitor pupils with SEMH difficulties and utilise a range of strategies to support them if their challenging behaviour continues to persist. The child’s views will be sought as they may be able to identify what sort of support might help them and their strengths and interests will be utilised to improve motivation and engagement. Our approach to behaviour is consistent and restorative and focusses on recognising the underlying needs of the child.

Slow progress and low attainment will not automatically mean a pupil is recorded as having SEND. 

When deciding whether special educational provision is required, we will start with the desired outcomes, including the expected progress and attainment, and the views and the wishes of the pupil and their parents. We will use this to determine the support that is needed and whether we can provide it by adapting our core offer, or whether something different or additional to high quality first teaching is needed.

SEND Concern

If progress is not as expected and high quality first teaching and interventions are not supporting progress, teachers raise a SEND Concern. Staff have discussions with the school’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENCo) and plans are put in place to further differentiate work or provide a suitable intervention to help the child improve.

It is possible and desirable that a child’s difficulty may be overcome or reduced so that they may be moved out of this category. This early identification aims to prevent escalations of need with timely and appropriate intervention.

Staff may begin to suspect the child might have a special educational need underlying their lack of progress and will continue to gather evidence. If a child continues to make very limited progress, in spite of interventions in place, then the teachers and SENCos will consider moving the child to SEND Support.

SEND Support 

If progress remains slow, or if the child’s more complex needs are clear from the start, the child will be identified as requiring SEND Support. The school follows the definition of having a special educational need and/or disability as outlined in the 2014 SEN Code of Practice.

Children on SEND Support will receive additional provision that is different from or additional to their peers. Children will have a SEND Support Plan to support, track and monitor their provision and progress. In order to meet these children’s needs, the Graduated Approach is followed.

Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC)

Sometimes, a child’s needs will be very complex and long term in which case an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC) may be considered. Following a full assessment of the child’s needs, the Local Authority will decide whether or not an EHCP is appropriate.  

School holds a register of children’s special educational needs and/or disabilities. At each level, teachers will be working in partnership with the SENCo and parents to identify precisely what barriers the child is facing in learning or behaviour and seeking suitable strategies and interventions to enable the child to perform at their best. The school uses a range of recognised assessments and checklists to help identify a child’s strengths and areas for development. At each stage, parents will be involved by providing information, meeting with staff, receiving reports and helping their child with any suggested strategies.  

For recognised special needs, our SENCos hold information on signs to look out for, checklists, parent support groups and other advice.  Where necessary, the school works in partnership with a wide variety of services including:                                                            

• Education Psychology Service
• Community Paediatricians

• Physical Disability and Sensory Service

• Occupational Therapy Service
• School and Behaviour Attendance Partnership
• Social Services
• Speech and Language Services
• Schools and Families Specialist Services
• Healthy Families Team
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
• Physiotherapists
• Early Help Unit

In order to make consistent, continuous progress in relation to SEND provision, the school encourages feedback from staff, parents and pupils throughout the year. This is achieved in the following ways:

• Pupil interviews
• Parent surveys
• Staff surveys
• Parents evenings and/or consultations (formal/ informal)
• Feedback forms e.g. parents’ evening and reports
• Parent forums e.g. KITE events

On an annual basis, SENCos monitor the provision for pupils with SEND. This is done through a combination of the above, alongside classroom visits, work scrutinies and monitoring of record keeping. This monitoring information forms the basis of a Monitoring Summary Form which leads into a yearly Action Plan.

Evidence collected will help inform school development and improvement planning. Success will be measured by the effect the policy has on the performance, attitude, behaviour and general inclusion of children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities. 

Performance indicators used to evaluate the effectiveness of the SEND Policy include:

• The early identification of children who have SEND
• The confidence of class teachers to identify children with SEND
• The effectiveness and manageability of the recording system
• The extent to which individuals make progress and meet their targets
• The extent to which gaps are closed for identified vulnerable groups of children
• The regularity of review meetings with staff involved
• The monitoring of parental and pupil views
• The involvement of relevant support agencies

Key personnel with responsibility for monitoring and reporting on the effectiveness of the SEND policy are the SENCos, the Head Teacher and the Governing Body. The LA have an additional responsibility to monitor the provision made for pupils with EHCPs.

Pupil progress will be monitored on a termly basis, in line with the SEN Code of Practice, in order to identify how effective provision (intervention) is in enabling pupils to achieve academic and wider outcomes.

There is an annual, formal evaluation of the effectiveness of the school SEND provision and policy. The evaluation is carried out by the SENCos, Head Teacher and SEND Governor and presented to the School Governors at the Pupil and Personnel Committee Meeting. This will be collated and published by the governing body on an annual basis in accordance with section 69 of the Children and Families Act, 2014.

Pupil progress will be monitored on a termly basis, in line with the SEN Code of Practice, in order to identify how effective provision (intervention) is in enabling pupils to achieve academic and wider outcomes. Progress is monitored through the use of a SEND Support Plan, where individual targets are set and reviewed termly alongside parents. These targets are individualised to the pupil based on their area of need. Where appropriate, some pupils may be assessed using additional assessment frameworks such as the Autism Education Trust (AET) Framework and BSquared.

Bramcote Hills Primary School, in accordance with ‘The Lamb Inquiry’ (2009), believes that a close working relationship with parents is vital in order to ensure:

1. early and accurate identification and assessment of SEND leading to the correct intervention and provision
2. continuing social and academic progress of children with SEND
3. personal and academic targets are set and met effectively

The school is committed to involving parents in the decision-making process at every stage.

This is achieved by:

• Ensuring that parents are informed when their child is identified as having additional learning needs and consulted at every stage e.g. SEND Concerns or SEND Support
• Having ‘structured conversations’ with parents
• Inviting parents into school at least three times annually to discuss their child’s progress and any future provision. In cases where more frequent, regular contact with parents is necessary, this will be arranged based on the individual pupil’s needs
• Inviting parents to attend meetings with external agencies regarding their child and keeping them up to date and consulting with them on any points of action drawn up
• Clearly identifying areas in which parents can support their child’s learning at home
• Enabling parents to have access to the SENCos by appointment to discuss their child’s needs
• Providing parents/ carers with opportunities to contact the school’s SEND governor to arrange a meeting in relation to SEND matters
• Establishing informal communication links as appropriate, e.g. home school diaries, parents talking to class teachers at the end of the school day to check progress

The school obtains feedback from parents in a variety of ways: parent surveys, parent forums, pupil progress review meetings and parents’ evenings. We endeavour to use this feedback to improve the quality of SEND provision during policy review.

Bramcote Hills’ Beliefs and Aims

• We believe in delivering an exciting and broad curriculum through high quality teaching and innovation
• We believe in having high standards
• We believe in developing and knowing children as individuals
• We believe in enabling pupils to become well-rounded, happy and confident children who achieve to the best of their ability
• We believe in being inclusive so that all children can thrive
• We believe in working in partnership with our community and other schools

The school has a varied intake and we want children from all communities to succeed and be happy. We believe in doing our best to meet individual needs, including those held by the vulnerable, those with special educational needs or disabilities and those who might be very high attainers.

We believe in the importance of delivering an exciting and broad curriculum through high quality teaching and innovation. For those children who require additional interventions, we have a SEND Concern and SEND Support system for identifying and meeting individual needs (see question 2.).

High quality teaching is our first step in responding to pupils who have SEND. This will be differentiated for individual pupils. We believe that children learn best by being in the classroom learning alongside their peers, with tasks ‘scaffolded’ in order for them to access the curriculum. Children may receive interventions 1:1 or in small groups in order to practise separate skills in addition to their class teaching.

• The school will ensure that all children have access to a broad and balanced curriculum
• No child will be excluded from any activity due to their impairment or learning difficulty, unless it is clearly of the benefit to that individual and leads towards inclusion
• Staff will work sensitively in a way to avoid the isolation of the children they are supporting and will encourage peer tutoring and collaborative learning
• Differentiation takes a variety of forms within teacher planning. Learning intentions are always made explicit and then activities may be adapted, or planned separately as appropriate. Alternative methods of responding or recording may also be planned for where it is appropriate
• Children with sensory or mobility impairments or a specific learning difficulty will access the curriculum through specialist resources such as ICT where this is appropriate
• The school will ensure that the hidden curriculum (learning about routines, understanding how to organise yourself and how relationships work) and extra-curricular activities are barrier free and do not exclude any pupils. Reasonable adjustments will be made as necessary and appropriate
• Details of the school’s plans for increasing access to the curriculum with targets are contained in the Access Plan
• School works in partnership with external agencies who offer specialist advice when appropriate

SENCos are consulted regarding the content of the school curriculum to ensure that pupils with SEND can participate fully as members of the school community and have access to all elements of the school curriculum.

Decisions about how much support is needed are made at initial or review meetings involving those who know the child best. This may be parents with staff or a multi-agency meeting. The meeting would agree targets for improvement and suggest whether these are best achieved by some 1-1 support, paired or small group work or through a lighter-touch support in the class. Sometimes, a specific intervention or programme might be suggested which may involve the child working away from the classroom, individually or in a small group. A SEND support plan would set out when, how long and how often the support is planned for. 

Statutory Assessments at Year 6 offer a variety of access arrangements to help children with special needs or a disability show their best efforts in tests. In consultation with parents, applications are made for Braille copies, a reader, scribes, rest breaks and additional time if it is judged to be helpful to the child.  

Information regarding funding arrangements for children with significant additional needs can be found in our SEND policy.

We feel that it is important for pupils with SEND to improve their emotional and social development by having access to and participating in the same activities which are available to all.

• All our extra-curricular activities and school visits are available to all our pupils, including our before and after-school clubs
• All pupils are encouraged to take part in sports day/school plays/special workshops etc.
• All pupils are encouraged to go on our day and residential trips
• All pupils are encouraged to be part of the school council

Where any of the above activities need adapting to enable a pupil with SEND to engage with it, staff will make the appropriate adjustments, liaising with parents and providers of these activities.

Sometimes, children with SEND need additional support at breaks and lunchtimes and this may be arranged if it is judged necessary to enable children to participate to the full.   

Bramcote Hills Primary has a strong pastoral system in which every child is valued and treated as an individual. Every pupil has support from their class teacher, other teachers in the year group and staff in the department. Teaching Assistants within school also provide valuable personal support. In addition, our team of midday supervisors and administrative staff often get to know children well and can provide a listening ear and practical support. The school accesses a variety of wellbeing support services including: ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant, Mental Health Support Team, Brighter Futures Through Sport, Family Liaison Worker, Plant a Seed).

Where necessary, systems are put in place to administer medicines or procedures where these are required during the school day and arrangements can be made for personal care should this be required. The school has a number of first-aiders and there are clear procedures in place for administering first-aid and accident reporting and monitoring. Similarly, the school has clear security protocols which ensure our children remain safe in the building and on site. Additional safeguards are considered should they be required for children with SEND. 

The SENCOs at Bramcote Hills Primary School are Miss Jennie Dance and Mrs Lottie Higgins (senco@bramcotehills.notts.sch.uk 0115 9179226).

Both SENCOs hold the SEN Accredited Award. Several members of staff have accessed the following training to help with children with SEND:

• ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant)
• Emotion Coaching
• PIVATS/BSquared Assessment Training
• Sensory Training
• CBR trained staff (formally MAPA)
• Paediatric First Aid
• Precision Teaching
• Supporting pupils with Autism
• Working with children with Dyslexia
• Drawing and Talking
• Fun Fit

The SENCos attend relevant SEND courses, Family SEND meetings (Springboard meetings) and facilitate/signpost relevant SEND focused external training opportunities for all staff.

In addition to this, in-service training events are organised for staff in school that link to priorities outlined in the School Improvement Plan or that meet the specific needs of pupils as they arise. When appropriate, Governors and Support Staff are also invited to attend such meetings and INSET training events in order to disseminate information and establish a whole school ethos.

Although Bramcote Hills Primary does not have any specialist unit or staff as we cater for the broad range of needs within our local community, the majority of staff have had some awareness training in a range of special needs eg. autism, speech and language development, attachment issues, dyslexia, dyspraxia, etc. The school has worked successfully in the past with children who are blind, profoundly deaf and with mobility issues.  

The school is able to call on a variety of services including an Educational Psychologist, speech and language specialists, health and mental health services, occupational health services, the cognition & learning team, the autism team; the physical disability and sensory service and advice on behaviour management.  

Where the need for additional equipment, furniture or adaptations is raised, the school will liaise with the local authority to seek advice. If it is agreed that changes are required, the school will fund any necessary equipment or work. Some assistive technology is available including laptops and specific software. If additional requirements are identified by the family or specialists, applications are made to obtain the necessary equipment through the local authority. 

The building has accessible routes between classrooms. Ramped access is available into all classrooms and there is an accessible route around the school as a whole with a ramp and rails leading onto the play area. The school has one full sized disabled toilet with an additional facility in the Foundation Unit. These also provide some limited changing facilities. There are two disabled parking bays nearest to the main entrance and a space marked nearest to the drive gate. Adjustments have been made to children’s toilets and internal doors to facilitate disabled access.

At Bramcote Hills Primary School we are committed to promoting…

Good relationships

Effective communication

Active involvement

Strong partnership

…with all parents in the school community

We are also committed to building a genuine partnership ensuring the child remains at the centre. We work closely with those who know them best and work with them on daily basis, providing the opportunity to share their perspectives and agree next steps working as a team. Parents are also welcome to get involved in the school as a parent helper, a member of the PTA or as a school governor. 

The school is committed to involving parents at every stage.

This is achieved by:

• Welcoming parents from the outset and encouraging their participation e.g. Transition open afternoons/ meetings with teachers, Meet the Team and KITE events
• All parents are invited to consultation evenings twice a year and receive an annual report.
• Additional ‘structured conversations’ with parents of pupils with SEND
• Seeking parental permission before referring pupils to outside agencies for support
• Inviting parents to attend meetings with external agencies regarding their child and keeping them up to date and consulting with them on any points of action drawn up
• Sign-posting parents of pupils with SEND to the Local Authority Parent Partnership service where specific advice, guidance and support may be required
• Clearly identifying areas in which parents can support their child’s learning at home
• Enabling parents to have access to the SENCos by appointment to discuss their child’s needs
• Providing parents/ carers with opportunities to contact the school’s SEND governor to arrange a meeting in relation to SEND matters
• Establishing informal communication links as appropriate, e.g. home school diaries, parents talking to class teachers at the end of the school day to check progress

“Nothing about us without us…”

The school is committed to ascertaining the views of pupils by:

• Involving pupils in decision making processes where appropriate
• Encouraging pupils to make choices
• Ensuring that pupils are aware of agreed targets for development

Teachers and teaching assistants regularly discuss progress with each child providing the opportunity for children with SEND to feedback their views.  Prior to any review meeting, the views of the child are sought and recorded as part of the meeting. Older children may attend all or part of review meetings to share their perspectives and make a commitment to implementing any agreed actions. 

If a parent or carer has any concerns regarding the care or welfare of their child, an appointment can be made by them to speak to the Class Teacher, SENCos or the Head Teacher. All of these can be contacted via phoning the school office and the SENCos can be reached via the following email senco@bramcotehills.notts.sch.uk   

We would encourage parents/carers to follow the above procedure should they have any complaints regarding SEN provision. If they remain dissatisfied, they should follow the procedures laid out in the school’s Complaints Policy which can be accessed via the school website.  A parent leaflet explaining the complaints process is available from the office.

The SEND link governor’s role is to:

• Help to raise awareness of SEND issues at governing body meetings
• Monitor the quality and effectiveness of SEN and disability provision within the school and update the governing body on this
• Work with the Headteacher and SENCos to determine the strategic development of the SEND policy and provision in the school

The Governing Body will adhere to the Code of Practice in all decisions regarding access to learning and the provision and progress of pupils with SEND, in particular:

• Assist with developing and monitoring the school’s policy, ethos and approach to meeting pupils’ special educational needs
• Appoint a member of the Governing Body to have a specific oversight of the school’s arrangements and provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities
• Ensure that information regarding the school’s accessibility plans are published
• Ensure the school publishes a statement on SEND for inclusion on the school website

Bramcote Hills Primary School invites and seeks advice and support from external agencies in the identification and assessment of, and provision for, SEND. The SENCOs are the designated people responsible for liaising with external agencies.

The following services will be involved as and when is necessary:

• Education Psychology Service (EPS)
• Children’s Social Care
• Community Paediatricians
• Physical Disability and Sensory Service
• Occupational Therapy Service
• School and Behaviour Attendance Partnership
• Social Services
• Speech and Language Services (SALT)
• Schools and Families Specialist Services (SFSS)
• Physiotherapists
• Early Help Unit
• Social Emotional and Mental Health Team (SEMH) – primary phase or the Behaviour Partnerships
• Healthy Families Team
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
• Broxtowe Mental Health Support Team
• Neurodevelopmental Behaviour Support Service (NBS) (Nottinghamshire)
• Behavioural and Emotional Mental Health (BEMH) (Nottingham City)

Sharing knowledge and information with our support services is key to the effective and successful SEND provision within our school. Any one of the support services may raise concerns about a pupil. This will then be brought to the attention of the SENCos who will then inform the child’s parents.

Parents can also self-refer to some of the above services and school will support in signposting the relevant services/organisations.

The admission arrangements for all pupils are in accordance with national legislation, including the Equality Act 2010. This includes children with any level of SEN; those with Education, Health and Care Plans and those without.

Close links have been established with local nursery/pre-schools to aid transition of pupils with SEND. Staff speak with previous settings and parents to establish if there are any identified SEND needs and what support is needed for transition. When possible, staff will make visits to the child’s current setting. If agencies are already involved, the SENCo will liaise with them and attend any multi-agency meeting at the child’s current setting.

Parents and children are encouraged to make visits to our setting before joining us. For children joining Foundation, there is a series of visits offered for children to support with transition. As part of the admission process, parents are asked to inform the school of any special needs their child may have. Parents/carers will then be invited to meet with the class teacher and a SENCo in order to develop an appropriate educational programme with additional support provided where necessary and appropriate.

Transition between year groups in school is handled carefully. A range of strategies are used including:

• Additional three-way meetings between previous teacher, new teacher and parents. They will discuss the child's needs and review/set targets ready for the following year
• Additional time for the pupil to get to know their new teacher
• Analysis of performance data
• Transition forms completed, with any SEND information shared 
• Update the pupil profile section on SEND Support Plans
• New staff to have an understanding of all information regarding the child’s SEND

Transition to secondary schools

• Complete transition paperwork, provided by individual secondary schools
• Liaise with the secondary school SENCo and SEND team to organise a transition programme for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This may be personalised/adapted based on the child’s individual needs
• Organise a transition meeting in the Summer Term of Year 6, inviting the child’s current teaching team and parents/carers. Sometimes outside agencies, and the Secondary SENCo, will also be called to these meetings in order to exchange information about the pupil’s needs and answer questions about concerns they may have
• Where appropriate, raise the child’s needs at the SBAP (Schools Behaviour and Attendance Partnership) in order to share information and provide the right support for successful transition

Whilst Bramcote Hills Primary School teaches children up to the age of eleven, we may identify pupils who will need assistance with life skills. This is recognised on an individual level and support is put in place where appropriate. Previously, pupils have been supported with independent life skills such as getting dressed, personal care, posting letters, creating shopping lists, visiting the shops, paying and creating a food product.

Bramcote Hills is part of Nottinghamshire Local Authority which sets out its local offer at www.nottinghamshire.sendlocaloffer.org.uk

There is also a short video which explains about the Local Offer. This can be viewed at https://youtu.be/MPNpAVrAvTc

The following contacts may be useful for you:

1. Ask Us Nottinghamshire. This was previously known as the Parent Partnership Service. – The service offers advice and impartial information for families with a child with a disability or special educational need. Email: enquiries@askusnotts.org.uk.
2. If you are interested in finding out how an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) might benefit your child, information can found via the SEND Local Offer: nottinghamshire.sendlocaloffer.org