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SEND

Here you can find information on Special Educational Needs at John Hellins Primary School.  For furher information and other policies relating to Special Educational Needs and the provision for children with disabilities please refer to The Accesibility Policy, The Equality Polciy and The Equality Page on the website.

John Hellins Primary School Information Report - 2023/2024

As part of our School Information report we:

  • Publish our SEN policy online
  • Name contacts linked to SEN
  • State how we identify and support the special educational needs of a child
  • State how we work with parents and carers to support this

Northamptonshire County Council has a responsibility to publish a 'Local Offer' detailing the support and services available within education, health & social care for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disability. This is to reflect Government reforms for Special Educational Needs and/or Disability to come into force through legislation from 2014.

Our school is a mainstream Primary school, rated Ofsted Outstanding, that educates children between the ages of 4 and 11 years of age. Children with Educational Health Care Plans are included in the school within class settings. Teaching Assistants, alongside teachers, support children either individually or in groups.

The SENCo (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) at John Hellins Primary School is Mrs Candace McColgan and she can be contacted on cmccolgan@johnhellins.co.uk

Mrs McColgan holds the NASEN SENCO accreditation.

HOW DOES THE SCHOOL KNOW IF CHILDREN NEED EXTRA HELP AND WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I THINK MY CHILD HAS SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS?

At John Hellins School children are identified as having SEN through a variety of ways including the following:-

  • Liaison with Pre-school setting/previous school
  • Child performing below age expected levels
  • Concerns raised by Parent
  • Concerns raised by teacher for example behaviour or self-esteem is affecting performance
  • Liaison with external agencies i.e. physical
  • Health diagnosis through paediatrician

HOW WILL THE SCHOOL KNOW HOW WELL MY CHILD IS DOING AND HOW WILL THE SCHOOL HELP ME TO SUPPORT MY CHILD’S LEARNING?

  • Our SENCO oversees all support and progress of any child requiring additional support across the school.
  • The class teacher will oversee, plan and work with each child with SEND in their class to ensure that progress in every area is made.
  • There may be a Teaching Assistant (TA) working with your child either individually or as part of a group; if this is seen as necessary by the class teacher. The regularity of these sessions will be explained to parents when the support starts.

WHO WILL EXPLAIN THIS TO ME?

  • The class teacher will meet with parents at least on a termly basis (this could be as part of Parent’s Evening) to discuss your child’s needs, support and progress.
  • For further information the SENCo is available to discuss support in more detail.

HOW WILL THE CURRICULUM BE MATCHED TO MY CHILD’S NEEDS?

  • All work within class is pitched at an appropriate level so that all children are able to access according to their specific needs. Work is differentiated for groups, however on occasions this can be individually differentiated.
  • The benefit of this type of differentiation is that all children can access a lesson and learn at their level.

HOW DOES THE SCHOOL KNOW HOW WELL MY CHILD IS DOING?

  • As a school we measure children’s progress in learning against National expectations and age related expectations.
  • The class teacher continually assesses each child and notes areas where they are improving and where further support is needed. As a school, we track children’s progress from entry in EYFS through to Year 6, using a variety of different methods including Numeracy Screening, Reading and Spelling ages.
  • Children who are not making expected progress are picked up through Progress meetings with the Class teacher, SENCO and Head teacher. In this meeting a discussion takes place concerning why individual children are experiencing difficulty and what further support can be given to aid their progression.
  • When the child’s One Page Profile is reviewed comments are made against each target to show what progress the child has made. If the child has not met the target, the reasons for this will be discussed, then the target may be adapted into smaller steps or a different approach may be tried to ensure the child does make progress.

HOW ARE THE SCHOOL’S RESOURCES ALLOCATED AND MATCHED TO CHILDREN’S SEN NEEDS?

  • We ensure that all children who have Special Educational needs are met to the best of the school’s ability with the funds available.
  • We have an excellent team of teaching assistants and deliver programmes designed to meet groups of children’s needs.
  • The budget is allocated on a needs basis. The Children who have the most complex needs are given the most support often involving an LSA.

HOW IS THE DECISION MADE ABOUT WHAT TYPE AND HOW MUCH SUPPORT MY CHILD WILL RECEIVE?

  1. The class teacher alongside the SENCo will discuss the child’s needs and what support would be appropriate.
  2. Different children will require different levels of support in order to achieve age expected levels.
  3. This will be through on-going discussions with parents.

HOW DO WE KNOW IF IT HAS HAD AN IMPACT?

  • By reviewing children’s targets on One Page Profile and ensuring they are being met.
  • The child is making progress academically against national/age expected levels and the gap is narrowing – they are catching up to their peers or expected age levels.
  • Verbal feedback from the teacher, parent and pupil.
  • Children may move off of the SEN register when they have made sufficient progress.

WHAT SUPPORT WILL THERE BE FOR MY CHILD’S OVERALL WELL BEING? WHAT IS THE PASTORAL, MEDICAL AND SOCIAL SUPPORT AVAILABLE IN THE SCHOOL?

  • We are an inclusive school; we welcome and celebrate diversity. All staff believe that children having high self-esteem is crucial to a child’s well-being. We have a caring, understanding team looking after our children.
  • The class teacher has overall responsibility for the pastoral, medical and social care of every child in their class, therefore this would be the parents’ first point of contact. If further support is required the class teacher liaises with the SENCo for further advice and support. This may involve working alongside outside agencies such as Health and Social Services, and/or the Behaviour Support Team.

WHAT SUPPORT IS THERE FOR BEHAVIOUR, AVOIDING EXCLUSION AND INCREASING ATTENDANCE

  • As a school we have a very positive approach to all types of behaviour with a clear behaviour policy that is followed by all staff and pupils.
  • Attendance of every child is monitored on a daily basis by the Admin department. Lateness and absence are recorded and reported upon to the Head teacher.

WHAT SPECIALIST SERVICES AND EXPERTISE ARE AVAILABLE AT OR ACCESSED BY THE SCHOOL?

  • Our SENCo holds the National Accreditation Certificate from The University of Northampton
  • As a school we work closely with any external agencies that we feel are relevant to individual children’s needs within our school including:

Behaviour Intervention;

Health including – GPs, school nurse, clinical psychologist, paediatricians, speech & language therapists; occupational therapists; social services, Locality Teams, social workers and Educational Psychologists.

HOW WILL MY CHILD BE INCLUDED IN ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM INCLUDING SCHOOL TRIPS?

  • All children are included in all parts of the school curriculum and we aim for all children to be included on school trips. We will provide the necessary support to ensure that this is successful.
  • A risk assessment is carried out prior to any off site activity to ensure everyone’s health & safety will not be compromised. In the unlikely event that it is considered unsafe for a child to take part in an activity, then alternative activities which will cover the same curriculum areas will be provided in school.

HOW ACCESSIBLE IS THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT?

  • The school site is wheelchair accessible with a disabled toilet large enough to accommodate changing. The school is all on one level with ramps at specified fire exits.

HOW WILL I KNOW HOW MY CHILD IS DOING AND HOW WILL YOU HELP ME TO SUPPORT MY CHILD’S LEARNING? WHAT OPPORTUNITIES WILL THERE BE FOR ME TO DISCUSS MY CHILD’S PROGRESS?

  • We offer an open door policy where you are welcome any time to make an appointment to meet with either the class teacher or SENCo and discuss how your child is getting on. We can offer advice and practical ways that you can help your child at home.
  • We believe that your child’s education should be a partnership between parents and teachers, therefore we aim to keep communication channels open and communicate regularly, especially if your child has complex needs.
  • If your child is on the SEN register they may have a One Page Profile which will have individual /group targets. The targets set are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time scaled) targets with the expectation that the child will achieve the target by the time it is reviewed.
  • If your child has complex SEND they may have an Educational Health Care Plan, which means that a formal meeting will take place to discuss your child’s progress and a report will be written.

HOW WILL I RAISE CONCERNS IF I NEED TO?

  • Talk to us – firstly contact your child’s class teacher or SENCO or Head teacher

HOW WILL MY CHILD BE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE THEIR VIEWS?

  • We value and celebrate each child being able to express their views on all aspects of school life. This is usually carried out through the School Council which has an open forum for any issues or viewpoints to be raised.
  • Children who have One Page Profiles discuss and set their targets with their class teacher.
  • If your child has an Educational Health Care Plan their views will be sought before any review meetings.

HOW ARE THE GOVERNORS INVOLVED AND WHAT ARE THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES?

  • The SENCo reports to the Governors every term to inform them about the progress of children with SEND; this report does not refer to individual children and confidentiality is maintained at all times.
  • One of the Governors is responsible for SEN and meets regularly with the SENCo. They also report to the Governors to keep all informed.
  • The Governors agree priorities for spending within the SEN budget with the overall aim that all children receive the support they need in order to make progress.

HOW WILL THE SCHOOL PREPARE AND SUPPORT MY CHILD WHEN JOINING THE SCHOOL AND TRANSFERING TO A NEW SCHOOL?

  • When children are preparing to leave us for a new school, typically to go to Secondary education, we arrange additional visits. At our ‘feeder’ secondary schools they run a programme specifically tailored to aid transition for the more vulnerable pupils.
  • We liaise closely with Staff when receiving and transferring children to different schools ensuring all relevant paperwork is passed on and all needs are discussed and understood.
  • If your child has complex needs or an Educational Health Care Plan, a review will be used as a transition meeting during which we will invite staff from both schools to attend.

WHO CAN I CONTACT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION?

WHO SHOULD I CONTACT IF I AM CONSIDERING WHETHER MY CHILD SHOULD JOIN THE SCHOOL?

  • Contact the school Admin office to arrange to meet the Head Teacher Mrs Matthews, who would willingly discuss how the school could meet your child’s needs.

To apply for a school place please use the following link:

https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/primary-school-places/apply-primary-school-place