SEN


Our school SENCo is Mrs Julie Wilkinson. She can be contacted on 01304 812539. Our governor with responsibility for SEN is Mr Paul Devitt.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Information Report

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  Ash Cartwright & Kelsey Church of England Primary School (Aided) Inclusion Team

SEND Governor: Mr P Devitt    SENCO: Ms J Wilkinson        Telephone Number: 01304 812539

 Email : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Approved by:

Full Governing Body

Date:     18th July 2024

Last reviewed on:

 18th July 2024

Next review due by:

18th July 2025

                           

1. What types of SEND does the school provide for?

2. Which staff will support my child?

3. What should I do if I think my child has SEND?.

4. What happens if the school identifies a need?. 

5. How will the school measure my child’s progress?. 

6. How will I be involved in decisions made about my child’s education?

7. How will my child be involved in decisions made about their education?. 

8. How will the school adapt its teaching for my child?. 

9. How will the school evaluate whether the support in place is helping my child?.

10. How will the school ensure my child has appropriate resources?. 

11. How will the school make sure my child is included in activities alongside pupils who don’t have SEND?  

12. How does the school make sure the admissions process is fair for pupils with SEN or a disability?. 

13. How does the school support pupils with disabilities?. 

14. How will the school support my child’s mental health and emotional and social development?. 

15. What support is in place for looked-after and previously looked-after children with SEN?. 

16. What support will be available for my child as they transition between classes or settings or in preparing for adulthood?. 

17. What support is available for me and my family? (Local Offer) 

18. What should I do if I have a complaint about my child’s SEND support?

19. Supporting Documents

20. Glossary. 

 Dear parents and carers,

The aim of this Information Report is to explain how we implement our SEND policy. In other words, we want to show you how SEND support works in our school.

As educational professionals, we are all working towards the ultimate goal of growing independent young people as they prepare for adulthood. All provision and support we provide is working towards achieving the Kent Children and Young People (CYP) Outcomes Framework:

If you want to know more about our arrangements for SEND, read our SEND policy alongside this Information Report.

You can find our SEND policy on our website:

https://www.ashckschool.org/images/SEND_Policy_-updated_May_2024_.pdf

Note: If there are any terms we’ve used in this information report that you’re unsure of, you can look them up in the Glossary at the end of the report

 1. What types of SEND does the school provide for?  

Our school provides for pupils with the following needs (as outlined in the SEND Code of Practice 2015): Often you will find that children’s needs overlap and are rarely confined to one area of need, which is why it is important to gain a holistic overview of your child.

More information about the Areas of Need can be found in the Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years (link below).

 SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)

 2. Which staff will support my child, and what are their key responsibilities?

At Ash Cartwright and Kelsey School all staff are considered responsible for supporting the needs of pupils with SEND. Our staff are committed to regular, high-quality training to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills to better meet a wide range of pupil needs.

Our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator, or SENCO

The SENCO at Ash Cartwright & Kelsey Primary School is Ms Wilkinson, who is a qualified teacher. Ms Wilkinson can be contacted on 01304 812539 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Class teachers and Teaching Assistants

All of our teachers and teaching assistants receive external and in-house SEN training and are supported by the SENCO to meet the needs of pupils who have SEN.

Teachers and teaching assistants (except for newly appointed) have had the following: Autism Education Trust training, Attachment Training, Phonics training, Nurture training, Metacognition training, Active Listening, Better Reading Partnerships (TA’s), Child Protection Training, Promoting Independent Learning, Dyslexia Awareness training Level 2, Restorative Justice training , Managing Challenging behaviour using a Restorative Justice approach, Deaf awareness training by STLS, Wellbeing Awareness training, EP staff training on supporting children who have experienced trauma.

Teaching assistants (TAs)

We have a team of 13 who are trained to deliver SEN provision.

We have teaching assistants who are trained to deliver interventions such as SALT interventions, Lego Therapy, Drawing and Talking, Sensory Circuits, Attention Autism Bucket, Toe by Toe, Memory Magic, Reading Between the Lines, Plus 1, Power 2, Zones Of Regulations, Anger/Anxiety Gremlin, Incredible 5 Point Scale.

In the last academic year, TAs have also had the following training: Sensory circuits, Language Through Colour training, PDA training, SALT intervention training, Managing Adverse Childhood Experiences, Lego Therapy, Sensory Circuits, Braille, Touch typing.

External agencies

Sometimes we need extra help to offer our pupils the support that they need. Whenever necessary we will work with external support services to meet the needs of our pupils with SEND and to support their families. These may include:

  • Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)
  • Education welfare officers
  • Educational psychologists
  • GPs or paediatricians
  • NELFT practitioners
  • Occupational therapists
  • Therapeutic practitioners
  • Behaviour coaches
  • Safeguarding services
  • School Liaison Officer
  • School nurses
  • SEND Inclusion Adviser
  • Specialist Teacher Service
  • Speech and language therapists
  • Voluntary sector organisation, eg Oasis

3. What should I do if I think my child has SEND?

Phase 1

If you think your child might have SEND, raise your concern with the school so that the SENCO is aware. You do this by arranging to meet with the class teacher.

You can arrange a meeting either by emailing the school office (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), telephoning the school (01304 812539), speaking to the teacher in person at the end of the school day or sending a note in to school asking the class teacher to contact you.

Phase 2

We will meet with you to discuss your concerns and try to get a better understanding of what your child’s strengths and difficulties are. Together we will decide what outcomes to seek for your child and agree on next steps. We will make a note of what’s been discussed and add this to your child’s record.

Phase 3

We will implement the agreed strategies and monitor these over an agreed period of time. These are likely to be universal strategies set out in the mainstream core standards. A copy of this can be found here: https://www.kelsi.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/117257/Special-educational-needs-mainstream-core-standards-guide-for-parents.pdf . This will initiate the ‘Graduated Approach’ where support will be continually reviewed. See next page for more details.

Phase 4

If we decide that your child needs SEND support, we will formally notify you and your child will be added to the school’s SEND register. They will receive additional support and this will be reviewed using the assess, plan, do, review model.

 4. What happens if the school identifies a need?

The same process is followed if a concern is raised by the school.

All our class teachers are responsible for the monitoring of all pupils who have been identified as having SEND. They also review those who are not making the expected level of progress in their schoolwork or socially.

If the teacher notices that a pupil is having difficulties, they try to find out if the pupil has any gaps in their learning. If they can find a gap, the school will provide appropriate support. Pupils who don’t have SEND usually make progress quickly once the gap in their learning has been filled.

If the pupil is still finding it difficult to make the expected progress, the teacher will talk to the SENCO, and will contact you to discuss the possibility that your child has SEND, and the school will follow the graduated approach (see previous page).

 5. How will the school measure my child’s progress?

We will follow the ‘graduated approach’ to meeting your child’s SEND needs.

The graduated approach is a 4-part cycle of assess, plan, do, review

Assess

If your child is not making the expected level of progress, we will make an assessment to find out what strengths and difficulties your child has. We will ask for you and your child’s input, as well as getting help from external professionals where necessary.

Plan

In discussion with you and your child, we will decide what outcomes we are hoping to achieve. We will make a plan of the support we will offer your child to help them meet those outcomes. We will make a record of this and share it with you and all relevant school staff.

Do

We will put our plan into practice.

The class teacher, with the support of the SENCO, will be responsible for working with your child on a daily basis and making sure the support we put in place is having the impact we intended.

Review

We will assess how well the support we put in place helped the pupil to meet the outcomes we set. We will use our improved understanding of your child’s needs to improve the support we offer; this may mean the Plan, Assess, Do, Review cycle continues.

 6. How will I be involved in decisions made about my child’s education?

We will provide a written report on your child's progress – at least once a year.

A member of staff who knows your child well will meet you a minimum of three times per year to:

  • Set clear outcomes for your child’s progress
  • Review progress towards those outcomes
  • Discuss the support we will put in place to help your child make that progress
  • Identify what we will do, what we will ask you to do, and what we will ask your child to do

The SENCO may also attend these meetings to provide extra support. 

We know that you’re the expert when it comes to your child’s needs and aspirations. So, we want to make sure you have a full understanding of how we’re trying to meet your child’s needs, so that you can provide insight into what you think would work best for your child.

We also want to hear from you as much as possible so that we can build a better picture of how the SEND support we are providing is impacting your child outside of school. 

If your child’s needs or aspirations change at any time, please let us know right away so we can keep our provision as relevant as possible.

If you have concerns that arise between these meetings, please contact your child’s class teacher. You can contact them either by emailing the school office (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), telephoning the school (01304 812539), speaking to the teacher in person at the end of the school day or sending a note in to school asking the class teacher to contact you.

 7. How will my child be involved in decisions made about their education?

The level of involvement will depend on your child’s age and individual needs. We recognise that no two pupils are the same, so we will decide on a case-by-case basis, with your input.

We may seek your child’s views by asking them to:

  • Attend meetings to discuss their progress and outcomes
  • Prepare, a drawing or a piece of writing, etc.
  • Discuss their views with a member of staff who can act as a representative during the meeting

 8. How will the school adapt its teaching for my child?

Your child’s teacher is responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all the pupils in their class.

High-quality teaching is our first step in responding to your child’s needs. We will make sure that your child has access to a broad and balanced curriculum in every year they are at our school.

We will adapt our approaches to how we teach to suit the way the pupil works best. There is no 'one size fits all’ approach to adapting the curriculum, we work on a case-by case basis to make sure the adaptations we make are meaningful to your child and are guided by the Mainstream Core Standards in the first instance.

These adaptations may include:

  • Adapting our approaches, for example, giving longer processing times, pre-teaching of key vocabulary, reading instructions aloud, etc.
  • Adapting our resources and staffing
  • Using recommended aids, such as laptops, coloured overlays, visual timetables, larger font, etc.
  • Teaching assistants or support staff will support pupils appropriately depending on their presentation of need
  • Scaffolding lesson materials

We may also provide some of the interventions listed earlier in this document.

These interventions are part of our contribution to Kent County Council’s local offer.   

9. How will the school evaluate whether the support in place is helping my child?

We will evaluate the effectiveness of provision for your child by:

  • Reviewing their progress towards their goals each term
  • Reviewing the impact of interventions termly.
  • Talking to children
  • Monitoring by the SENCO
  • Using provision maps to measure progress
  • Holding an annual review (if they have an education, health and care (EHC) plan)

10. How will the school ensure my child has appropriate resources?

It may be that your child’s needs mean we need to provide additional resources such as:

  • Additional resources to support their learning
  • Adaptations to in-class support
  • Further training for our staff
  • External specialist expertise

Where appropriate, we will consult with external agencies to get recommendations on what will best help your child access their learning and use our best endeavours to ensure these are supplied

11. How will the school make sure my child is included in activities alongside pupils who don’t have SEND?

    The expectation is that all schools provide an inclusive provision for all pupils. It may be necessary for some pupils to receive interventions in addition to a broad and balanced curriculum.

All of our extra-curricular activities and school visits are available to all our pupils, including our before and after-school clubs, subject to a risk assessment and funding for additional 1:1 support where required.

All pupils are encouraged to go on our school trips, including our residential trip subject to a risk assessment and funding for additional 1:1 support where it is required.

All pupils are encouraged to take part in sports day/school plays/special workshop.No pupil is ever excluded from taking part in these activities because of their SEN or disability and we will make whatever reasonable adjustments are needed to make sure that they can be included safely

12. How does the school make sure the admissions process is fair for pupils with SEN or a disability?

Pupils who meet the admission criteria will be admitted to Ash Cartwright and Kelsey School provided that the Section F provisions are available to meet their needs. The Governing Body and Local Authority are responsible for the admission process and this process is also covered by the Local Authority appeals process.  We reserve the right to take advice regarding Section 66 of the Children and families Act (2014) with regards to inability to fulfil best endeavours and were the school to be named on an EHCP and directed to admit despite not being able to meet Section F requirements we would invoke Section 42(2) of the same act – The duty of the Local Authority to Secure and Fully fund provision in Section F of the EHCP.

If, despite consultation response that we are an incompatible setting we are directed to admit a pupil, we will immediately appeal to the Secretary of State at the Department of Education. The appeal will be on the grounds of the local authority’ failure to :

  • Correctly apply Section 39 (3) of the Children and Families Act

The local authority has a duty to name a setting of parental preference unless section 39(4) of the CaFa applies. The local authority must secure the specified special educational provision for the child under Section 42 (2) of the CaFa.

13. How does the school support pupils with disabilities?

All clubs, trips and activities offered to pupils at Ash Cartwright and Kelsey Primary School are available to pupils with special educational needs either with or without an Education, Health and Care Plan subject to a risk assessment and funding for additional 1:1 support where it is required.

You are disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.

14. How will the school support my child’s mental health and emotional and social development?

We provide support for pupils to progress in their emotional and social development in the following ways:

  • Pupils with SEND are encouraged to be part of the school council
  • Regulation Station/time-out space for pupils to use when they need support with co-regulation and self-regulation.
  • Pupils with SEND are also encouraged to be part of clubs to promote teamwork/ building friendships
  • We provide extra pastoral support for listening to the views of pupils with SEND using our the Zones of Regulations.
  • We have a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to bullying. Our School Behaviour Policy explains how we prevent bullying in the school. A copy is available at

https://www.ashckschool.org/images/Behaviour_policy_July_2023.doc

15. What support is in place for looked-after and previously looked-after children with SEND?

Mrs Crascall will work with Ms Wilkinson, our SENCO, to make sure that all teachers understand how a looked-after or previously looked-after pupil’s circumstances and their SEND might interact, and what the implications are for teaching and learning.

Pupils who are looked-after or previously looked-after will be supported much in the same way as any other child who has SEND. However, looked-after pupils will also have a personal education plan (PEP). We will make sure that the PEP and any SEND support plans or EHC plans are consistent and complement one another. 

16. What support will be available for my child as they transition between classes or settings or in preparing for adulthood?

Between years

To help pupils with SEND be prepared for a new school year we:

  • Ask both the current teacher and the next year’s teacher to attend final a transition meeting at the end of the year when the pupil’s SEND is discussed
  • Schedule lessons with the incoming teacher and support staff towards the end of the summer term

Between schools

When your child is moving on from our school, we will ask you and your child what information you want us to share with the new setting.  

Between phases

The SENCO of the secondary school will come into our school for a meeting with our SENCO. They will discuss the needs of all the pupils who are receiving SEND support.

Pupils will be prepared for the transition by:

  • Practising with a secondary school timetable
  • Learning how to get organised independently 
  • Plugging any gaps in knowledge 
  • Where possible, additional transition visits to their secondary school.

17. What support is available for me and my family?

If you have questions about SEND, or are struggling to cope, please get in touch to let us know. We want to support you, your child and your family.

To see what support is available to you locally, have a look Kent County Council’s local offer. Information about the local offer on their website:

https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educational-needs/about-the-send-local-offer

Our local special educational needs and disabilities information advice and support service is called IASK (Information, Advice and Support Kent). It provides a free and confidential advice and support service for parents of a disabled child or child with special educational needs. They can be contacted on:

 HELPLINE: 03000 41 3000

Office: 03000 412412

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

http://www.kent.gov.uk/iask  

Local charities that offer information and support to families of pupils with SEND include:

Kent Autistic Trust www.kentautistictrust.org/

National charities that offer information and support to families of pupils with SEND are:

18. What should I do if I have a complaint about my child’s SEND support?

We encourage parents to discuss their concerns with the class teacher in the first instance, then the SENCO and Head Teacher to resolve the issue before making the complaint formal to the Chair of the governing body.

If you are not satisfied with the school’s response, you can escalate the complaint. In some circumstances, this right also applies to the pupil themselves.

To see a full explanation of suitable avenues for complaint, see pages 246 and 247 of the SEND Code of Practice.

If you feel that our school discriminated against your child because of their SEND, you have the right to make a discrimination claim to the first-tier SEND tribunal. To find out how to make such a claim, you should visit: https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-school/disability-discrimination

You can make a claim about alleged discrimination regarding:

  • Admission
  • Exclusion
  • Provision of education and associated services
  • Making reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services.

Before going to a SEND tribunal you can go through processes called disagreement resolution or mediation, where you try to resolve your disagreement before it reaches the tribunal.

For more information about disagreement resolution and mediation services for Kent visit: https://www.gov.uk/appeal-ehc-plan-decisionore information visit

19. Supporting documents

  • Equality Information and Objectives Policy
  • Child protection and safeguarding policy
  • Behaviour Policy
  • Accessibility Plan
  • Attendance and punctuality policy
  • SEND policy and SEN & Disabilities Code Of Practice 2015
  • Mainstream Core Standards

20. Glossary

  • Access arrangements – special arrangements to allow pupils with SEND to access assessments or exams
  • Annual review – an annual meeting to review the provision in a pupil’s EHC plan
  • Area of need – the 4 areas of need describe different types of needs a pupil with SEND can have. The 4 areas are communication and interaction; cognition and learning; physical and/or sensory; and social, emotional and mental health needs.
  • CAMHS – child and adolescent mental health services
  • Differentiation – when teachers adapt how they teach in response to a pupil’s needs
  • EHC needs assessment – the needs assessment is the first step on the way to securing an EHC plan. The local authority will do an assessment to decide whether a child needs an EHC plan.
  • EHC plan – an education, health and care plan is a legally-binding document that sets out a child’s needs and the provision that will be put in place to meet their needs.
  • First-tier tribunal/SEND tribunal – a court where you can appeal against the local authority’s decisions about EHC needs assessments or plans and against discrimination by a school or local authority due to SEND
  • Graduated approach – an approach to providing SEND support in which the school provides support in successive cycles of assessing the pupil’s needs, planning the provision, implementing the plan, and reviewing the impact of the action on the pupil
  • Intervention – a short-term, targeted approach to teaching a pupil with a specific outcome in mind 
  • Local offer – information provided by the local authority which explains what services and support are on offer for pupils with SEND in the local area
  • Outcome – target for improvement for pupils with SEND. These targets don't necessarily have to be related to academic attainment 
  • Reasonable adjustments – changes that the school must make to remove or reduce any disadvantages caused by a child’s disability  
  • SENCO – the special educational needs co-ordinator
  • SEN – special educational needs
  • SEND – special educational needs and disabilities
  • SEND Code of Practice – the statutory guidance that schools must follow to support pupils with SEND
  • SEND information report – a report that schools must publish on their website, that explains how the school supports pupils with SEND
  • SEND support – special educational provision which meets the needs of pupils with SEND
  • Transition – when a pupil moves between years, phases, schools or institutions or life stages

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