Special Educational Needs (SEN) Report

Great Alne Primary is a mainstream school. All classrooms are on one level with ramps to an outside classroom. There are disabled toilet facilities.

Identifying young people with SEN
Children are assessed on entry and monitored and observed carefully in each term of schooling. Teachers meet to discuss the progress of pupils, including any concerns, formally once a term. However, where a there is a cause for concern, discussions will take place between the class teacher and the SENCO (Mrs Lesley Hendrie) at any point in the term. Parents may be consulted in a variety of ways: at Parent Evenings, informal discussions, specific meetings following targeted assessments.

The school uses specialist provision from SENDSupported. A teacher from this service visits regularly to assist in making assessments, advising the school on strategies and interventions and monitoring the progress of children on the SEN register. Additionally the specialist teacher may also meet with parents to discuss the results of assessments and the provision the school may make as a result.

The  Educational Psychologist may also be involved in the assessment of children. She also monitors the progress of children on the SEN register and attends Statement reviews where appropriate.

Arrangements for consulting young people with SEN
Children are fully involved in discussions about their learning. For example, they are invited to contribute to Statement reviews and to IEP reviews. The school is moving towards using time limited Intervention Plans and pupils will be asked to help assess how successful their plan has been.  Our marking policy ensures children are given time to reflect on their learning and to respond to comments and advice. 

Arrangements for supporting young people in moving between phases of education

• Before children begin school there are Induction sessions for  Foundation Stage pupils. These provide an opportunity for pupils  to become familiar with the school environment and their classroom. They meet the adults who will support them in their first year of schooling.
•  In the September of the Reception Year we have a phased entry to school, with most pupils attending full time by the third week. However, where there are particular needs we take a flexible approach, and some pupils may attend part time for a longer period.
• We prepare pupils for the secondary phase in a variety of ways. These may include arranging additional visits to their future setting, accompanied by a trusted adult. Key adults from secondary provision may visit our setting to meet groups of pupils or individuals.  Preparation may be personalised depending on the needs of the pupil and may be a gradual process over their last academic year at Primary school.

The approach to teaching children with SEN

• Teachers  work with teaching assistants to plan the best use of time to support children with specific needs. This may include providing timetables for daily interventions, one to one reading and in class support.
• In class lessons children on the SEN register may be supported in a number of ways, including one to one support from a teaching assistant or teacher and tailored resources.
• Visual support, such as visual timetables, reminders about 'good' behaviours etc. are available in all classrooms and in dedicated work spaces.
• Time limited Interventions are planned to address specific areas, for example number bonds. A six week Intervention using Precision Teaching may be planned as the result of assessment and reviewed at the end of that period. We follow the ASSESS, DO, REVIEW approach.

Adaptions to the curriculum and Learning Environment
Where a child has specific needs, they may require an individually tailored timetable to ensure they are fully engaged in the learning process. Some children may also require a 'space' to work in which is specifically for them. This is most likely to be a dedicated area in the classroom, but may also be a 'safe space' out of the classroom.

Staffing and staff training

• The Head Teacher and  SENCO is Mrs Lesley Hendrie. Mrs Hendrie has been a SENCO for 20 years and has experience of coordinating SEN provision for children with a wide range of needs.
• Mrs Hendrie meets with the SENCOS of local schools on a regular basis to discuss current issues and share good practice.
• We use Warwickshire Educational Psychology support and  SendSupported to assist in the assessment and monitoring of children on the SEN register.
• The Educational Psychology service also provide training to all staff. Recent training has included Attachment Disorder and ADHD.
• Individual staff have attended training on ASD and other training specific to the needs of children in school.
• We use IDS (Integrated Disability Service) to support the needs of children with ASD and other areas such as hearing.

Evalauating the effectiveness of provision

• The ASSESS, DO, REVIEW process ensure that we regularly assess our provision.
• Termly Pupil Progress meeting ensure we look carefully at the progress of all pupils and ask challenging questions about their progress and whether our provision is appropriate and effective.
• We meet at least twice a year with parents of pupils on the SEN register to review progress, discuss successes and concerns. Children are asked to give their views, either in the meetings themselves or by questionnaire completed with their parents. The views of all parties are important in evaluating provision.
• Discussion about the effectiveness of our provision take place at the regular visits from specialist providers i.e. SendSupported, IDS, Educational Psychology.

Enabling enagagement with whole school activities

• Wherever possible school activities are available to all children.
• There may be specific support provided for pupils to fully participate in lunch and break times and after school clubs. These may include one to one support, small group play, paired play, access to ICT facilities for small groups.
• On trips out of school and residential trips, support may be one to one and parents may also take part . Seating on coaches may be considered and plans put in place to address situations of anxiety out of school.

Support for improving emotional and social development

• The school has a Mental Health Team whose focus is on maintaining the wellbeing of everyone in school. They promote special events, such as Mental Health Week and help members of staff to incorporate wellbeing activities into the curriculum. 
• The School Council provides opportunities for children to express their views and ideas about how to improve their experience in school.
• Circle time is used in classes to share ideas, worries and fears.
• Lego Therapy is used in small groups to learn about sharing, listening to others and turn taking.
• Y6 children act as buddies to Reception pupils, ensuring their needs and worries are listened to.
• There is a Friendship Stop in the playground.
• Trusted adults work one to one with children on the SEN register on exploring feelings.

Involvement of Outside Agencies

• The school has close links with the School Nurse and she may be involved in reviews and in work with parents as well as giving advice.
• The school buys in support from SENDSupported, IDS and Educational Psychology.
• The school has had some Family Support Worker help, but this is dependent on the service funding.

Arrangements for handling complaints
If a parent has a concern or complaint, in the first instance they would speak to the class teacher. If matters are not resolved then they can speak to The Head Teacher/SENCO. The next step would be to speak to either of the joint  Chair of Governors, Mrs Emma Powell or Mrs Vicky Randall who can be contacted via the school office.

The needs of pupils across the school are well catered for in a warm and nurturing environment. This is particularly true for those who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities, including social, emotional and mental health needs.
Ofsted Report 2018

Learning for Life, Aiming for Excellence