Provision for pupils with Special Needs
Provision for pupils with S.E.N.D.
Statement on Provision for Pupils with Special Educational Needs
School Inclusion Manager: Mr Snowden
Designated Governor: Miss E Reid
Safeguarding Governor: Miss R Moores
Everyone's welcome at Parklands Community Primary and Nursery School. Our staff and our school environment provides a highly inclusive learning space for all children.
We offer exceptional support for children with a range of needs. This has been recognised by Ofsted, in our SENDCo Dan Snowden being awarded 'Teacher of the Year 2023' and most importantly by our families.
In accordance with the school’s Equal Opportunities and SEN policies, all children are given full access to the National Curriculum/Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. We have thought carefully about every subject and all aspects of school life to enable all children to access the whole school day. Staff endeavour to help all children to reach their full potential irrespective of race, physical ability, gender, language, age or learning ability.
A detailed report outlining provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) at Parklands is contained within the School Offer document, which is available on the school website.
| 1 What kinds of SEND provision are provided at our school? | Parklands Community Primary and Nursery School is a mainstream primary school that seeks to give all children strong foundations from which they may become successful, independent learners for life. We believe in learning for all; including those with special needs in communication and interaction, cognition and learning, those with social, emotional and mental health needs and sensory or physical difficulties. |
| 2 How do we identify children and young people with SEND and how do we assess their needs? |
All pupils are monitored and assessed throughout each term using our Insight system online. Actions are taken at the earliest opportunity to support pupils through class-support or interventions in order to address any needs. During termly pupil progress meetings the progress of children requiring additional support is discussed and evaluated. |
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3 Who is our SENCo |
Mr Snowden You can contact them on 0151 306 5113 Mr Snowden: dsnowden@parklands.cheshire.sch.uk Our SEND Governor is Miss Emily Reid |
| 4 How do we involve parents of children with SEND? |
At Parklands we pride ourselves on the close involvement we have with our parents/carers. This is acknowledged by the Parent Partnership Award we received. Class teachers are 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. Personal progress targets and individual targets will be reviewed with your involvement termly. A home-school communication book may be used when this has been agreed to be useful for you and your child. Alternatively, you can also discuss any concerns with one of our learning mentors. We have an open door policy at Parklands and parents/carers are welcomed in to share their expert knowledge about their child. |
| 5 How will school staff support my child? | In order to meet the needs of all children, teachers will differentiate teaching and learning through planning. Where children are identified as having SEND, the school will provide for those additional needs in a range of ways as appropriate. The range of provision will include support for small groups within class by an additional teacher or teaching assistant, small group withdrawal by an appropriately qualified adult, individual class support, individual withdrawal, differentiation of resources, the use of established interventions, provision of alternative leaning materials/special equipment, group support and provision of additional adult time in devising interventions and monitoring their effectiveness. |
| 6 How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs? | All children have an entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum, differentiated to enable them to both understand the relevance and purpose of learning activities, as well as experience levels of understanding and rates of progress that develop feelings of success and achievement. Teachers will use a range of strategies to meet each child’s educational needs. Lessons will have clear learning objectives; learning will be differentiated appropriately and assessment will be used to inform the next stage of learning. Individual education/behaviour targets, employing a small steps approach, will feature significantly in the provision made in the school. This involves breaking learning down into finely graded steps and targets to ensure that children experience success. Children will be supported in such a way that acknowledges their entitlement to share the same learning experiences that their peers enjoy although there may be occasions when, to maximise learning, children will work in small groups or one to one situations away from the classroom. |
| 7 What specialism services, experience, training and support are available or accessed by the school? |
Within school there are a range of staff with a number of different expertise which include; National SENCo Award, Autism awareness, Sleep counselling, self harm awareness, Wellcomm, motor skills united, Lego therapy, attachment and trauma, bereavement, ELKLAN (speech and language), ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistants) trained staff. We also access a range of different expertise such as speech and language therapists, school Doctor and Nurse, educational psychologist, play therapist, occupational therapist, physiotherapy, inclusion consultants, early years inclusion consultant, autism team, behaviour support team, CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service). |
| 8 How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips? | All children will be included and specific arrangements made for school trips. A thorough risk assessment will be carried out by the trip leader with a visit to the location prior to the visit. Access will be considered and any specialist equipment that may be sought. |
| 9 How accessible is the school? |
Parklands Community Primary and Nursery School is fully wheelchair accessible and there is disabled toileting and changing facilities. We have a smile studio which is where our two learning mentors are based. Within this room there is a quiet space that children can access when they need to. We also have the Butterfly room, which provides another space for children to complete Sensory Circuits or have some time to relax. Our Accessibility Plan also provides further details. |
| 10 How will school prepare and support my child to join the school or transfer to a new setting? |
Targets will be shared with the new teacher. A one page profile will be shared which contains information about particular preferences or needs your child has. In Year 5: For children who have an Education, Health and Care Plan the SENCo will hold a transition review meeting which will include parents and a member of the local authority to discuss appropriate provision for secondary school. 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, your child will participate in focussed learning relating to aspects of transition to support their understanding of the changes ahead. Where possible, your child will visit their new school on several occasions and is some cases staff from their new school will visit your child in this school. If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan or receives Top-Up Funding then the Y6 annual review will be in the Summer Term and include the SENCo from the secondary school they are to attend. SEND support is characterised by intervention that is different from, or additional to, the normal differentiated curriculum. SEND support intervention can be triggered in a number of ways, for example, where a child: makes little or no progress over time, demonstrates difficulty in developing basic literacy or numeracy skills, shows persistent emotional/behavioural difficulties which are not affected by behaviour management strategies, has sensory/physical problems, and makes little progress despite the provision of specialist equipment, experiences communication/interaction difficulties and makes little or no progress despite experiencing a differentiated curriculum. If the school decides, after consultation with parents/carers, that a child requires additional support to make progress, the SENCo, in collaboration with teachers, will support the assessment of the child and have an input in planning future support. The class teacher will remain responsible for planning and delivering the individualised programmes. Parents/carers will be informed of the actions and results. The school will seek parental consent before any external agencies are involved. The resulting individual plan will incorporate specialist strategies. These may be implemented by the class teacher but may involve other adults. |
| 11 How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child will receive? |
The school will request an Education, Health and Care Plan Needs Assessment or Top-Up Funding from the local authority when, despite an individualised programme of sustained intervention within SEN support, the child remains a significant cause for concern. An Education, Health and Care Plan Assessment may also be requested by a parent or outside agency. The school would then supply the following information: • Interventions made at SEN support • current and evaluated targets • Records and outcomes of the reviews • Information on the child’s health and relevant medical history • School assessment outcomes • Other relevant assessments from specialists, such as support teachers and educational psychologists • The views of the parent • Where possible the views of the child • Any other involvement by professionals • Attendance records |
Accessibility Plan
The Revised National Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice
Parklands complies with government guidance and SEND Code of Practice, which sets out statutory guidance for schools. This can be downloaded via the link below.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25
The new Code of Practice covers the 0-25 age range. There is greater emphasis on children and parents being part of the decision-making process. The categories of School Action and School Action Plus are replaced with one category of SEN. Statements are being replaced with Education, Health and Care plans (EHCPs). Local Authorities must publish the ‘Local Offer’, which sets out the full range of provision for children with SEN and disabilities. The Cheshire West and Chester Local Offer can be accessed via the school website.
Parklands Community Primary School follows the guidelines set out in the new Code of Practice.
What are Special Educational Needs?
Under the new Code of Practice, a child is deemed to have Special Educational Needs, or SEND, if he or she has ‘significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age’, or his or her disability ‘prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in a mainstream school’. Special educational provision is needed for him or her, over and above that which can be met through good quality classroom teaching and differentiation.
Broad areas of need are identified as communication and interaction; cognition and learning; social, emotional and mental health difficulties and sensory and/or physical needs. They may be for a short period or throughout a child’s educational life. They may be identified before a child has even entered school or they may come to be recognised at a specific point in their education.
Support & Intervention within the mainstream school
As a school, we are giving careful consideration as to which children should be identified as having special educational needs, and which children are falling behind for other reasons, and need support but do not meet the criteria for having SEN.
Under the new Code of Practice, children are placed within the category of ‘SEN support’ or ‘EHCP’. The SEN support category includes children with more complex needs who receive top-up funding. Children with an Education Health Care Plan have the most complex needs and the provision offered is tailored to their individual learning objectives.
We currently have around 25% of children on the SEND register. Typically we have between 7 and 10 pupils with an Education Health and Care Plan.
We offer a variety of intervention activities which are supervised by school staff under the direction of the Inclusion Manager. Our team of Learning Mentors offer nurture and emotional support for pupils.
In addition, the school works with other agencies including the Educational Psychology Service, Autism Team, Occupational Therapists and Speech & Language Therapists to support children with additional needs. We are also able to draw on the expertise of local Special Schools to further support our children with a high level of SEND.
We work closely with local secondary schools to support the successful transition of pupils with SEND to the next stage of their education.
Parent-School partnership
We seek to develop and maintain positive working relationships with parents and families of pupils with SEND. Children’s needs are most effectively met by working closely with parents to ensure we offer the best possible outcomes for their child. This may take many forms, for example: individual review meetings; multi-agency meetings; parent support linked with our Learning Mentor team or home-school liaison books.
Arrangements for the Admission of pupils with special educational needs or disabilities.
The Local Education Authority has responsibility for admissions to the school in reception and is involved in transfer of Y6 pupils to High School. The school has responsibility for in-year admissions and will work with the LA to take advice to ensure the effective inclusion on the admission of pupils with specific needs. There is no bar to pupils with special educational needs, nor is there a policy of giving priority to such pupils.
Parklands Community Primary School aims to cater for the full ability range and the presence or absence of a special need is not a factor in the selection of pupils from its catchment area, unless it is felt by agreement with the parents and professionals involved that alternative arrangements would be more suitable.
For further information, please see the West Cheshire Local Offer
For support for parents and further information contact the ‘Information, Advice and Support Service’.