SEND

Information Report July 2023

SENCO: Jasmine Puckey                                                                                                          

Contact: 01472 806778                      

Local Offer Contribution: Refer to Weelsby Primary and North East Lincolnshire websites.     

Whole School Approach:

Every teacher is a teacher of every child including those with SEND. The aim of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) policy relates to every child in school. The primary aim is to ensure that each pupil makes good progress and is provided with equal access to the curriculum in order to work towards age related expectations.

Underpinning all our provision in school is the graduated approach cycle of:

All teachers are responsible for every child in their care, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

Assess: In identifying a child as needing SEND support, the teacher works with the SENCO and the child’s parents, carries out an analysis of the child’s progress and needs. This initial assessment is reviewed regularly to ensure that support is matched to need. Where there is little or no improvement in the child’s progress, more specialist assessment is called for from specialist teachers or from health, social services or other agencies beyond the school. Where professionals are not already working with the School, the SENCo contacts them, with parents’ agreement.

Plan: Where it is decided to provide SEND support, and having formally notified the parents, the teacher and SENCo agree, in consultation with the parent, the outcomes they are seeking, the interventions and support to be put in place, the expected impact on progress, development or behaviour, and a clear date for review. Plans take into account the views of the child. The support and intervention provided is selected to meet the outcomes identified for the child, based on reliable evidence of effectiveness, and provided by practitioners with relevant skills and knowledge. Any related staff development needs are identified and addressed.

Do: The class teacher remains responsible for working with the child on a daily basis and if additional support is needed a Teaching Assistant will be deployed. With support from the SENCO, they oversee the implementation of the interventions or programmes agreed as part of SEND support. The SENCO supports the practitioner in assessing the child’s response to the action taken, in problem solving and advising on the effective implementation of support.

Review: The effectiveness of the support and its impact on the child’s progress is reviewed in line with the agreed date. The class teacher and SENCO work in collaboration with the child and their parents. They agree any changes to the outcomes and support for the child in light of the child’s progress and development. Parents have clear information about the impact of the support provided and are involved in agreeing next steps.

The graduated approach is led and co-ordinated by the SENCO working with and supporting individual practitioners in the School. Having consulted with children and their parents, all of our additional provision (internal or external) is based on an agreed outcomes approach.

Where a child has an Education Health and Care plan, the local authority review that plan at least annually.

SEND Needs:

Children and young people’s SEND are generally thought of in the following four broad areas of need and support:

  1. Communication and interaction
  2. Cognition and learning
  3. Social, emotional and mental health
  4. Sensory and/or physical needs.

Where SEND support is necessary, suitable strategies are implemented specifically relevant to the child’s needs. Specialist support and advice is sought by the school from such organisations as:

  • Barnardos (Autistic Outreach Service and Physical Disabilities Team)
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Physiotherapy
  • Specialist Advice and Support Team – Rachel Barnes
  • Rebecca Stevens (Team at Work)
  • Speech and Language (Tracey Day)
  • Local Authority Educational Psychology Team – Louise Jarvis.
  • Education Team for Hearing and Vision

These recommendations are implemented and monitored for effectiveness using the Assess – Plan – Do – Review model.

Please refer to Weelsby Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Policy for further information.

As of July 2023, Weelsby Academy has 93 pupils receiving some form of identified SEND Support.

The School has internal processes for monitoring quality of provision and assessment of need. These include age related expectation materials, PIVATS, teacher assessment, diagnostic assessments, formal assessment, observations, monitoring of interventions and adult feedback, medical reports and information provided by pupils, parents and carers, Graduated Approach target setting and review carried out in conjunction with teachers, Teaching Assistants, parents and pupils.

Consulting with children and their parents

Involving parents and learners in the dialogue is central to our approach and we do this through:

Action/EventWho’s involvedFrequency
Initial planning meetingTeachers, parents, pupils
Termly review of pupil’s progressTeachers, parents and pupils.3 times per year
Annual Review (for pupils with EHCP)Parents, pupils, teachers, support staff, outside agencies, SENCO and the Local Authority.Annually
Every 3 – 6 months for EYFS
Parents/Progress MeetingsParents, teachers and pupilsThree times yearly.

Staff deployment

Considerable thought, planning and preparation goes into utilising our support staff to ensure children achieve the best possible outcomes, gain independence and are prepared for adulthood from the earliest possible age. Initially all SEND pupils receive Quality First Teaching in the classroom.

Weelsby Academy also supports the pupils’ needs with a team of teaching assistants and pastoral support staff.

The school’s team support the pupils within the classroom during all core subjects every morning and in addition work with individual children and/or small groups during afternoon sessions on intervention programmes.

Pupils who require support outside of the classroom, such as at breaks or lunch are supported by either the teachers, teaching assistants, pastoral staff or senior leadership team depending upon their needs.

Further development

Our strategic plans for developing and enhancing SEND provision in our school next year include:

  • Continuing with the SEND review team who meet termly to discuss SEND pupil provision, improving SEND interventions and monitoring of SEND pupil progress.

Complaints

Our complaints procedure policy can be found on the School website.

Relevant policies underpinning this SEND Information Report include:

Weelsby Academy SEND Policy

SEND Code of Practice

Complaints Procedure Policy

Date approved by Governing Body: