SEND Information Report 2022/2023
How many children do we have with SEND
We have 59 children on the SEND register.
18 children on the SEND register have an EHCP.
What types of SEN do we provide for?
As with all mainstream schools, we can provide a rounded and balanced education for all children for whom mainstream education is appropriate. We provide for children with a range of Special Educational Needs, including Autism Spectrum Condition; cognition and processing needs; social, emotional and mental health needs; and physical and medical needs.
Who is the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator.
The Special Educational Needs and Didsability co-ordinator at Blakehill Primary School is Mrs. R Gould, who can be contacted on 01274 414355 or send@blakehillprimary.co.uk
Mrs Gould is the Assistant Headteacher and leads the SEND and Pastoral team. She is supported by Miss S Dickinson who oversees SEND for KS1.
How we identify individual special educational learning needs?
When pupils have an identified special educational need or disability before they join our school we work very closely with the people who already know them including parents, previous settings and specialists and use the information already available to identify what possible barriers to learning may be within our school setting and to help us plan appropriate support strategies.
If parents believe that their child has a special educational need we will discuss this with them and assess their child accordingly. Often these assessments will be carried out by school but we sometimes request advice from more specialised services such as Educational Psychology, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy or the Bradford SCIL team. We will always share the findings with parents and in consultation plan, the next steps to best support their child. The support and provision needed to support the child will be recorded on a My Support Plan or Pupil Passport.
Sometimes teachers feel that a child has a special educational need; this may be because they are not making the same progress as other pupils or they are displaying dysregulated behaviours. We believe that early identification and intervention is best to help children achieve success. We will observe the child’s learning characteristics and how they cope within our learning environment, we will assess their understanding of what they are learning in school and if appropriate use on going assessments to help us to pinpoint the difficulty. This will help us to identify the child’s needs and plan strategies to support their learning. If school has become concerned about a child, parents will be contacted by the child’s class teacher or the school’s Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENDCO), Mrs R Gould or Miss S Dickinson and their thoughts and opinions will be sought. We will then work together to create a plan to best suit the child and review this regularly.
“Staff are well trained to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), academically and pastorally.” Ofsted 2022
How we involve pupils and their parents/carers in identifying special educational needs and planning to meet them.
“Pupils with SEND are well supported. They get the right help at the right time. Pupils with particularly complex needs thrive.” Ofsted 2022
When we assess special educational needs, we discuss with parents if their child’s understanding and behaviour are the same at school and home; we take this into account and work with our parents so that we are helping their child in the same way and helping them make progress.
Where appropriate, in line with our graduated response, we will write and review My Support Plans with pupils and parents/carers.
We have an open door policy, which means that staff can be contacted to address concerns and celebrate successes daily. Appointments can be booked with teachers or the SENDCo when a more in depth discussion is required. Our learning mentor, Mrs Bottomley, and a member of the Senior Leadership team are on the playground daily in the mornings and welcome you to raise celebrations or concerns about the child’s needs.
We hold regular parent support groups for families of children with Special Educational Needs as an informal way to share ideas support each other and develop relationships. These have been well attended and received positive feedback from parents.
How we use other adults in school to support pupils with special educational needs or disabilities?
Our team of Teaching Assistants and Learning Support Assistants are able to effectively support individuals or groups of children in the classroom and undertake small group or one-to-one support as appropriate to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs or disabilities. The provision across school is planned for by our class teachers as part of our quality first teaching.
Our Pastoral team have excellent knowledge of how to support our children and their families and may also be able to sign post you to other services.
We have regular contact with external agencies to support staff and children in school including:
- Educational Psychologist
- CAMHs
- NHS Speech and Language
- Bradford SCIL team
- Occupational Health
- School Nurse
- Early Years advisors
- Teachers of the deaf
- Teachers of the visually impaired
- Paediatricians
- Early Help Team
- SEN Assessment team
- Virtual Schools for Looked After Children
- Community support officer (police)
- Other specialist professionals.
How we use specialist resources to support pupils with special educational needs or disabilities?
Our staff make individual resources for pupils with special educational needs that support their specific learning targets and needs, and reflects the learning undertaken by their peers.
We have a range of technology to support different learning styles and help motivate and access learning. These include iPads, computers and chrome books.
We use interventions, pictures, objects, visual timetables and equipment such as timers and fidget aids for pupils who need it.
We seek advice from external agencies as and when the need arises.
We have changing facilities or those children who require it.
How we modify teaching approaches for individual pupils?
Our curriculum celebrates the different learning styles of all pupils and supports inclusion and differentiation to address the needs of all of our pupils.
We give children the opportunity to record their work in a range of different forms, which suits their needs and enables them to experience success.
Our curriculum aims to bring learning to life and wherever possible enables the child to experience and be a part of their learning. We encourage educational visits for all and arrange for visitors to come and enable all children to access and benefit from this learning.
We are a very inclusive school. Wherever possible children are taught alongside their peers in clear differentiated groups so that every child has a level of challenge appropriate for them and also experiences success. Teachers adapt their teaching and the learning environment constantly in order to cater for their pupil’s academic and physical needs. We understand that Quality First Teaching is important for all children.
When appropriate, staff are deployed to give children additional support for their academic and/or physical need in small groups outside the classroom, or to provide one to one support.
We use class and personal visual or object timelines to help children to understand what activity is coming next.
How we assess pupil progress towards the outcomes we have targeted for pupils?
Within school, teachers assess the children’s progress half-termly, this data is discussed with the Senior Leadership team so that strategies can be put in place to intervene early and support your child.
At termly meetings we discuss a child’s progress and attainment and gather parents their and parent views. This will help formulate next steps to support a child’s progress.
We regularly use staff meetings to get all teachers to assess anonymous pieces of work to check that our judgements are correct (moderating).
We set challenging targets for all children based on nationally agreed guidelines on progress.
Our marking of children’s work informs our planning and we identify next steps for all of our children.
What other activities are available for pupils with SEND in addition to the curriculum?
Our children with SEND are given the same opportunities as their peers, with differentiation where required. We have a Wake up, shake up club and after school clubs which cover a range of interests which include; sports, creative activities, music. We strive to ensure that all of our trips and extra curriculum activities are fully inclusive and work with parents and external professional to do this where needed.
How we support pupils in their transition into our school and when they leave us?
Children who join in reception are welcomed into our school community with a personal visit to the current setting by recpetion staff. A series of parent and child taster sessions follows in preparation for their start.
Our local authority provides an early year’s advisory teacher to support children with SEND when they make the transition to our reception from the nursery settings.
Transition into year one and then into successive year groups is supported by meetings and meet the teacher time. During meet the teacher, the children become familiar with different classrooms and teachers. Children who require them are given ‘transition passports’ to take home with them to give them the opportunity to familiarise themselves with their new teachers and learning environments.
As a child makes the transition to Secondary school, again we will contact and discuss the child’s needs with our Secondary school colleagues, invite them to observe the child in our setting and through dialogue with parents and the child set up appropriate transition visits to support a smooth transition.
What should I do if I am not happy with the provision that has been put in place for my child at Blakehill Primary?
We actively seek to collaborate with parent/carers. We are always happy to arrange a meeting or phone-call in order to discuss a pupil’s provision and how best to meet their needs. Parents should speak to the class teacher or SENDCo to share any concerns. Any complaints to the school would follow the standard complaints procedure, details of which can be found by on the school SEND page.
How are staff supported to meet the needs of students with additional needs? Focused staff training and support is crucial to ensure that the needs of all pupils are met inclusively and all pupils receive an equal quality learning experience. All staff have access to a range of documents designed to inclusively support pupils with individual needs and staff training and CPD is incorporated into staff induction, staff meetings and coaching. In addition to this, the SENDCo and the SCIL team are available to support with individuals and classes at any time. If a pupil requires specialist support or intervention that is beyond the current expertise of the school, outside agency help will be sought. This could take the form of staff training or regularly scheduled input from outside specialists