Heatherley Primary School

Heatherley Primary School is committed to the best and we celebrate the differences between all of our children and young people. We value the contribution of every member to the school community and our community as a whole.

We recognise and embrace that good quality teaching for all children and young people and at every stage in a child and young person’s journey through early education, school and further education and training is vital to unlocking their potential. (CoP 2014 1.24)

The four broad ‘areas of need’ recognised by Nottinghamshire Local Authority are:

• Communication and Interaction
• Cognition and Learning
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties
• Sensory and Physical Needs

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 Education Needs/Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENCO) Toby Herring
• The school SEN Governor can also be contacted for support
• The Head teacher - Sarah James is also available to discuss your child’s progress.

In order to make consistent and continuous progress in relation to SEND provision the school encourages feedback from staff, parents and students throughout the year. Student, staff and parent voice is used as part of the quality assurance process. The Governing Body will report annually to parents on the success of the SEND policy and provision.

Your child’s progress will provide evidence for the success of the Special Educational

Needs policy and this will be analysed carefully through:

• Consideration of each child’s success in meeting individual targets.
• Use of tests (e.g. dyslexia screening).
• Evidence generated from review meetings.

Progress will be monitored on a termly basis in line with the SEND Code of Practice.

Provision mapping will be used to monitor, review and evaluate interventions used to support students. Information from provision management will be used to identify how effective provision is in enabling students to achieve academic and wider outcomes.

If your child is identified as not making progress, the school will set up a meeting to discuss this with you in more detail and to:

• 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

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

For your child this would mean:

• That 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.
• That different ways of teaching are in place, so that your child is fully involved in learning in class. This may involve things like using more practical learning.
• That specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENCO) are in place to support your child to learn.
• Your child’s teacher will have carefully checked on your child’s progress and will have decided that your child has a gap or gaps in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress.

Specific group work Intervention which may be:

• Run in the classroom.
• Run by a teacher or a teaching assistant (TA).
• Specialist support offered by outside agencies, e.g. Speech and Language therapy
• Involve the Local Authority central services, such as the Schools and Families Specialist Services (SFSS), The Education Psychology Service (EPS) or Sensory Service (for students with a hearing or visual need).
• Involve Health representatives such as the School Nurse
• Involve Outside agencies such as Sherwood Area Partnership.
• This may mean you will be asked to give your permission for the school to refer your child to a specialist professional, e.g. an Educational Psychologist
• This referral involves a synopsis of your child’s needs being taken to a working body of professional people called a ‘Springboard’ and asking relevant professionals for support. These referral systems take place termly and include the Garibaldi Family of schools representatives. If support is then allocated, it may help the school and you to understand your child’s particular needs better and be able to support them more effectively in school.
• The specialist professional will work with your child’s class teacher for a limited period of time to understand their needs more fully and make recommendations as to the ways your child is given support

Specified Individual support

This type of support is available for children whose learning needs are severe, complex and lifelong. This is usually provided via 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.

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 need specialist support in school from a professional outside the school.

This may be from:

• Local Authority central services, such as the Schools and Families Specialist Services (SFSS), The Education Psychology Service (EPS) or Sensory Service (for students with a hearing or visual need).
• Health representatives such as the School Nurse
• Outside agencies such as Sherwood Area Partnership.
• The school (or you) 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’ (with a lot of information about your child, including some from you), they will decide whether they think your child’s needs (as described in the paperwork provided), seem complex enough to need 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 needs this, they will ask the school to continue with the current support.
• After the reports have all been sent in, the Panel of Professionals will decide if your child’s needs are severe, complex and lifelong. If this is the case, they will write a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP). If this is not the case, they will ask the school to continue with the current level of support and also set up a meeting in school to ensure a plan is in place to ensure your child makes as much progress as possible

Class teachers plan lessons according to the specific needs of all groups of children in their class (including using individual targets) and will ensure that your child’s needs are met

• Support staff, under the direction of the class teacher, can adapt planning to support the needs of your child where necessary.
• Specific resources and strategies will be used to support your child individually and in groups.
• Planning (including that for specific individual targets) and teaching will be adapted, on a daily basis if needed, to meet your child’s learning needs

The Head Teacher and the SENCO discuss all the information they have about SEND in the school, including:

• the children getting extra support already,
• the children needing extra support,
• the children who have been identified as not making as much progress as would be expected.

From this information, they decide what resources/training and support is needed. The school identifies the needs of SEN pupils on a provision map. This identifies all support given within school and is reviewed regularly and changes made as needed, so that the needs of children are met, and resources are deployed as effectively as possible.

At Heatherley, our aim is to ensure that students with Special Educational Needs and/or disabilities take as full a part as possible in all school activities. This will involve liaison between the child, family and any external agencies involved with the child in order to remove any barriers that may exist.

We recognise that some children have extra emotional and social needs that need to be developed and nurtured. These needs can manifest themselves in a number of ways, including behavioural difficulties, anxiousness, and being uncommunicative. All classes follow a structured PSHE (Personal, Social, Health end Economic education) curriculum to support this development.

However, for those children who find aspects of this difficult we currently offer:

• We utilise the staff within school to provide 1:1 or group work as appropriate (in support programs, such as ELSA).
• If your child still needs extra support, with your permission the SENCO will access further support through the CAF/EHAF process.
• Lunchtime and playtime support through planned activities and groups.
• We ensure that different aspects of Pupil Voice are heard on a half termly basis.

The SENCO: Mr Toby Herring

Heatherley Primary School, Heatherley Drive, Forest Town, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire NG19 0PY

01623 420244

The SENCO’s job is to support the class teacher in planning for children with SEN.

• The school provides training and support to enable all staff to improve the teaching and learning of children, including those with SEN. This includes whole school training on SEN issues, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Dyspraxia/Development Coordination Disorder (DCD), Speech and Language difficulties and Anxiety related needs
• Individual teachers and support staff attend training courses run by outside agencies that are relevant to the needs of specific children in their class, e.g. from the SFSS Team

School provision

• Teachers responsible for teaching SEN groups/individuals
• Teaching Assistants working with either individual children or small groups.

Local Authority Provision delivered in school

• Schools and Families Specialist Services
• Educational Psychology Service
• Sensory Service for children with visual or hearing needs
• Parent Partnership Service
• SALT (Speech and Language Therapy) Health Provision delivered in school
• Additional Speech and Language Therapy input to provide a higher level of service to the school
• School Nurse
• Occupational Therapy
• Physiotherapy
• CAMHs

• The school is fully compliant with PDSS requirements and liaises with the local authority should any specific equipment be required to support pupils in school, prior to admission
• The school is on a single level with easy access and double doors to the entrance.
• The front desk is wheel-chair height
• There is an onsite disabled toilet and changing facilities
• We ensure where ever possible that equipment used is accessible to all children regardless of their needs.
• After-school provision is accessible to all children, including those with SEN.
• Extra-curricular activities are accessible for children with SEN

The class teacher is regularly available 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 SENCO is available to meet with you to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns/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.
• Pupil Support Plans and Provision Maps will be reviewed with your involvement every term at class teacher parents evenings.
• Homework will be adjusted as needed to your child’s individual requirements
• A home-school contact book may be used to support communication with you when this has been agreed to be useful for you and your child.

Your child’s progress will be continually monitored by his/her class teacher

• His/her progress will be reviewed formally by the class teacher with the Head teacher and SENCO every half term in reading, writing and math’s
• If your child is in Reception or above, a more sensitive assessment tool can be used, which shows their attainment in more detail - breaking learning down into smaller steps.
• At the end of each key stage (i.e. at the end of year 2 and year 6), all children are required to be formally assessed using Standard Assessment Tests (SATS). This is something the government requires all schools to do and is the results that are published nationally.
• The progress of children with a statement of SEN/EHC Plan will be formally reviewed at an Annual Review with all adults involved with the child’s education
• The SENCO will also check that your child is making good progress within any individual work and in any group that they take part in.
• Regular book scrutiny’s and lesson observations will be carried out by the SENCO and other members of the Senior Management Team every half term to ensure that the needs of all children are met and that the quality of teaching and learning is high.

ii) Transfer between phases of education (e.g. early years to primary, primary to secondary etc)?
We recognise that transitions can be difficult for a child with SEN, and we take steps to ensure that any transition is a smooth as possible.

If your child is joining us from another school:

• The SENCO will visit pre-schools or home with the Foundation Stage Leader when appropriate.
• If your child would be helped by an ‘All about Me!’ book to support them in understand moving on, and then one will be made for them including both home and school information.
• Your child will be able to visit our school and stay for a new starter’s session
• The SENCO will arrange any multiagency meetings appropriate to support you and your family.

If your child is moving to another school:

• We will contact the school SENCO and ensure he/she knows about any special arrangements or support that need to be made for your child. Where possible, a planning meeting will take place with the SENCO from the new school.
• We will make sure that all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible.
• Your child would be helped by an ‘All about Me!’ book to support them in understand moving on, and then one will be made for them including both home and school information.
• We will endeavor to make regular and planned transition visits to your child’s new school with your child.

When moving classes in school:

• Information will be passed on to the new class teacher in advance and in every case a planning meeting will take place with the new teacher. Pupil Support Plans/Provision Maps will be shared with the new teacher.
• Your child would be helped by an ‘All about Me!’ book to support them in understand moving on, then one will be made for them.

In Year 6:

• The SENCO will discuss the specific needs of your child with the SENCO of the child’s secondary school. In most cases, a transition review meeting to which you will be invited will take place with the SENCO from the new school.
• Your child will participate in focused learning relating to aspects of transition, to support their understanding of the changes ahead.
• Where possible, your child/you will visit their new school on several occasions, and in some cases staff from the new school will visit your child in this school.
• If your child would be helped by a book/passport to support them in understand moving on, then one will be made for them

The School’s Complaints Procedure should be used if the need arises.  If a parent or carer has any concerns or complaints regarding the care or welfare of their child, an appointment can be made by them to speak to the SENCO and Head teacher, who will be able to advise on formal procedures for complaint.

The school and governors continue to build strong working relationships and links with external support services in order to fully support our children and aid school inclusion.  Sharing knowledge and information with our support services is central to the effective and successful SEND provision at Heatherley Primary school. Any one of the support services may raise concerns about a child. This will then be brought to the attention of the SENCO who will then inform the student’s parents.  The school SEND link governor works closely with the SENCO and external agencies to ensure effective communication.

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

•  Educational Psychology
•  Schools and Family Specialist Services (SFSS)
•  Educational Welfare
•  School nurses
•  Social services
•  Speech and Language therapists
•  Paediatricians and specialist health professionals
•  Physiotherapists
•  Health Related Education Team (HRET)
•  Any voluntary or community organisations that can provide specific support

The school and governors recognise the important contribution which external support services make in assisting to identify, assess, and provide for students with Special Educational Needs.

When it is considered necessary, colleagues from the LA Children and Young Peoples support services will be involved with students with Special Educational Needs.

The SEND Local Offer is a resource which is designed to support children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their families. It describes the services and provision that are available both to those families in Nottinghamshire that have an Education, Health and Care Plan and those who do not have a plan, but still experience some form of special educational need. The SEND Local Offer includes information about public services across education, health and social care, as well as those provided by the private, voluntary and community sectors.

It can be accessed at www.nottinghamshire.sendlocaloffer.org.uk

A link can be found on our own Heatherley Primary School Website on the SEND tab: http://www.heatherley.notts.sch.uk

The admission arrangements for all students are in accordance with national legislation, including the Equality Act 2010. This includes children with any level of SEND; those with Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans and those without. Parents with children with an EHC Plan are able to express a preference for the school.

Transitions between year groups through F1 to Y6 are carefully planned and specific transition plans put into place. For example; meet the teacher, meet the Teaching Assistant and lessons to be taught in the new class room.  A passport and transition booklet is made if necessary of photos of the new teacher and new classroom in order to prepare the child over the summer holidays.

When our Y6 children with SEND leave us to go to secondary, transition plans are started in Y6:

• Visits to the Heatherley by the SENCO of the secondary school to  discuss the child’s needs with staff and parents at Heatherley.
• Visits to the new secondary school are arranged for both child and parent.
• Information passed to the school from parents.
• Information passed to the school from feeder school staff
• Information gathered through the Springboard process led by the Local Authority

Not Applicable to a Primary School, however we do encourage children to develop independence.

More details about the reforms and the SEND Code of Practice can be found on the

Department for Education’s website:

www.education.gov.uk/schools/studentsupport/SEND

Information on the Nottinghamshire Local Offer can be found at:

www.nottinghamshire.sendlocaloffer.org.uk

Further information can also be found on our own school website:

http://www.heatherley.notts.sch.uk

Click on the tab S.E.N.D