SEND: Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
Our Vision for SEND Provision
We are all different and we all have our own individual needs and talents.
At Oakfield Primary School we recognise and celebrate difference and we believe all children deserve to experience success. All of our staff are responsible for delivering this. We are all teachers of children with Special Educational Needs, which includes our More Able, Gifted and Talented pupils. Through an inclusive and child-centred ethos, along with a strong partnership between home and school, every child will achieve their full potential.
At Oakfield we pride ourselves on our inclusive ethos. We believe in equitable opportunities for all and our staff are skilled in using a variety of strategies, when supporting children with a range of different educational needs and disabilities.
It is important that the links between home and school are strong, and hence we encourage parents/guardians to speak with their child's class teacher. Appointments can be made by contacting the school office.
SENCO: R. Downey
Acting SENCO: L. Perks
Areas of SEND can be considered as falling under four broad areas.
Communication and interaction
That is, children that find communicating and understanding language difficult. This may be due to a specific language difficulty or conditions such as Autism, pragmatic difficulties or sensory processing disorder.
Cognition and learning
That is, children that have learning difficulties that mean they are not able to learn basic numeracy or literacy skills. A child or young person with a specific learning difficulty (SpLD) may have difficulty with one or more aspects of learning.
This includes a range of conditions such as dyslexia (difficulties with reading and spelling); dyscalculia (maths); dyspraxia (co-ordination) and dysgraphia (writing). Children with severe learning difficulties may also have difficulties in acquiring basic skills in any area and this may also impede their physical development.
Social, mental and emotional health
That is, children that have severe difficulties in managing their emotions or behaviour. They can include low mood (anxiety or depression), problems of conduct (oppositional problems and more severe conduct problems including aggression), self-harming, substance abuse or eating disorders.
Some children and young people may have other recognised disorders such as attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), attachment disorder, anxiety disorder, or, more rarely, psychosis, schizophrenia or bipolar. Children with ASD can have co-morbidities of social, emotional and mental health difficulties.
Sensory and/or Physical
That is, children with physical or sensory disabilities which affect their ability to access their environment or learning. This may include visual or hearing impairment, cerebral palsy or congenital conditions, injury or disease.
The above definitions are termed ‘broad’ areas as some children may have difficulties in one of more areas or it may not be clear which area their difficulty falls under. However, most children’s needs will come under one of the above.
What is an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP)?
A major change that was introduced in the current Code of Practice was the introduction of Education Health Care plans to replace the old ‘statements of SEN’.
Under the Code of Practice, local authorities have a responsibility to provide an EHC plan for a child with SEND if it feels those needs mean that the child will be at a disadvantage without additional support. An EHC plan explains the child’s difficulties and sets out long-term and short-term outcomes for the child. The local authority and the educational provider will then work towards those outcomes.
What is a SEND Policy?
The Code of Practice states that all educational providers need to publish a SEND report. There is no expectation that schools need to have a SEND Policy, although most schools do, as good practice.
The Code of Practice states that schools need to publish their SEND report on their website and that it needs to be reviewed annually. The Information Report must include information for identifying, assessing and making provision for pupils with SEN and for the admission of disabled pupils. The requirements are set out in legislation (the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014).
What schools need to know:
The current Code of Practice sets out a few things that schools must adhere to and that any provider for SEND children should be familiar with and ensure is happening in their provision. These include:
- All children with SEND should be identified on a SEND register and schools should have clear provision mapping in place.
- Wherever possible, SEND children should be taught alongside their peers.
- In terms of staffing, schools need to have a designated person responsible for coordinating SEND and have a designated governor for SEND.
- Staff need to be trained to identify and support children with SEND in order for early identification of need and to be able to provide the best possible outcomes for the child.
The Local Offer
The Local Offer is where all information about services for children and young people with special educational needs is written down in one place. You can access it via the link below:
https://localoffer.haltonchildrenstrust.co.uk/
Identification and Assessment of Children with SEND
As set out in the SEND Code of Practice, the school follows the Graduated Approach to Assessment, which follows the four stages of Assess, Plan, Do and Review.
This allows for a more personalised approach to the identification, planning and assessment of SEND.
Assess – the school will use a variety of methods to assess the SEND need. These include:
- Teacher assessment
- Internal data on attainment, progress, behaviour, attendance and work samples
- Parent and student views
- Advice from external agencies
Plan – The school will create a Individual Learning Plan for the student in partnership with parents/carers, the student and teachers. This will include:
- Reasonable adjustments teachers should make to provide adaptive, differentiated teaching
- What additional provision/intervention is needed to ensure they make progress
- SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed) targets are set
Do – The plan will then be implemented for a period of time before it is reviewed again.
Review – The plan will be reviewed by parents/carers, the student and teachers. The review will be looking at:
- Has the student met or is on track to meet expected targets? What evidence is there?
- Has there been any improvement on their rate of progress?
- How is the pupil responding to the targeted provision?
- Are there changes to the SEND?
At this stage it is hoped that a fuller understanding of the need has been established and from this it will be decided to either:
- Continue with the current plan since it is proving to be successful
- Try different strategies that might prove to be more successful
This is known as a graduated response.
SEND Waves of Intervention
Once a need has been identified, students will be given a ‘Wave of Intervention’. This is decided by the SENDCo, in cooperation with staff and parents/carers, and outlines the type of support that the individual student receives. These are summarised below:
High quality inclusive teaching
High quality, inclusive teaching ensures that planning and implementation meets the needs of all pupils, and builds in high expectations for all pupils, including those with SEN.
It is about the day-to-day interactions that take place in the classroom and the different pedagogical approaches teachers use to engage, motivate learners which ensure good pupil progress.
High quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils, is the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have SEN. Additional intervention and support cannot compensate for a lack of good quality teaching.
SEND Code of Practice, p.99
Additional interventions
Any additional interventions and support are developed in partnership with parents, the student and the school. These are wide and varied, but should all be part of a clear plan of support to address the specific need identified.
Parent Comments
“I think that Oakfield is outstanding as a school, but more so with the children who have SEN needs. Teachers are approachable and always ready when you have any worries.”
“Couldn’t ask for better. Enjoy hearing about my child’s progress and his teachers are brilliant. Have brilliant relationship with them too which is important.”
“I know that everything has been done for my child in school, so I don’t think anything needs to be done differently.”
“We are kept up to date with my child’s progress and goals.”
Parent Complaints
In the first instance, any concerns relating to SEND should be brought to the attention of the SENDCo who will endeavour to listen and understand the concern in order to find a solution. In rare cases in which no agreement can be found, parents/carers will be advised to follow the school complaints procedure which is available on the school website.
Parents/carers are advised to contact Halton SENDIASS Service:
0151 511 7733