SEND

About this report

The Children and Families Act 2014 says that all maintained schools must publish a Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) Information Report every year. This report explains how our school meets the needs of children with SEND.  It will be shown on our school website and in the ‘local offer’ on www.eastsussex.gov.uk

In the report, we explain how we meet our duties towards pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. This report is also our SEND policy. For more information on the law and guidance, see www.eastsussex.gov.uk/localoffer

We will review this report every year and will involve pupils and parents by inviting comments and through Additional Needs Plan and Annual Reviews.  If you want to give us your views about the report, please contact the school office or the Deputy Headteacher & SENCO/Inclusion Manager - zshort@southover.e-sussex.sch.uk

Date: September 2023

Who do I contact about my child’s special educational needs?

If you are thinking of applying for a place, contact the school office on 01273 473015

If your child is already at the school, your first point of contact at school is your child’s class teacher. The school phone number is 01273 473015

The SENCO/Inclusion Manager is responsible for managing and co-ordinating the support for children with special educational needs, including those who have a Statement or Education Health and Care (EHC) plan. The SENCO/Inclusion Manager also provides professional guidance to school staff and works closely with parents and other services that provide for children in the school.

Deputy Headteacher & Inclusion Manager/SENCO – Mrs Zoe Short

How to Contact:

zshort@southover.e-sussex.sch.uk

01273 473015

Southover School website: www.southoverceprimary.co.uk  

Which children does the school provide for?

We are a Primary School. We admit pupils from age 4 to 11 years. We are a voluntary controlled school.

We are an inclusive school. This means we provide for children with all types of special educational needs. If you want a place for a child who has an Education Health and Care plan, contact your Assessment and Planning Officer at East Sussex County Council. If you want a place for any other child with special educational needs, you should apply as normal and your application will be considered in the same way as applications for children without special educational needs.

• Southover School admissions policy – www.southoverceprimary.co.uk
• Admissions
• Contact Information for Families for admissions advice 0345 60 80 192

Summary of how the school meets the needs of children with SEN and disabilities

Southover School is committed to ensuring all children make the best progress they possibly can.  As a whole school, we aim to support children’s needs, whether speech/language/communication, cognition, social/emotional, sensory or physical through a diverse curriculum and range of support programmes.  Both teaching and support staff are committed to supporting children and have a wide and varied knowledge of needs, and an in-depth skill set which ensures our children reach their potential. This combined ensures we meet our duties under the Children and Families Act 2014, and the Equalities Act 2010.

Using a continual process of Assess, Plan, Do and Review we are able to ensure the children in our school are continually monitored and reach their potential in all areas of the curriculum, including, social, emotional and mental health and wellbeing.

We use the East Sussex Local offer as a basis for delivering our SEND support.  See link below for information.

https://new.eastsussex.gov.uk/childrenandfamilies/specialneeds/sen/special-educational-needs-support/

If the child is looked after by the local authority they will have an Additional Needs Plan, which will include a Personal Education Plan (PEP) and a Health plan. We will involve parents and carers as well as foster carers or social workers in discussions.

How does the school identify children’s special educational needs and disabilities?

We aim to identify children’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) as early as possible, so that the child achieves the best possible outcomes

A pupil has SEND where their learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision. That is provision which is different from or additional to that normally available to pupils of the same age.

Children may have one or more broad area of special educational need:

• Communication and interaction – including speech and language difficulties and autism
• Cognition and learning – including developmental delay and specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and DCD (developmental coordination disorder / [dyspraxia]).
• Social, emotional and mental health difficulties – including difficulties with behaviour, attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), an attachment disorder or anxiety.
• Sensory and/or physical needs- including visual and hearing impairment, dyspraxia, cerebral palsy and other physical disabilities or medical conditions which affect a child’s learning.  

These are some of the ways in which Southover identifies children with SEND:

• Speech and Language assessments are conducted with individual children as appropriate and all new children are screened with language Link. 
• Assessment of all Reception Year children with the Language Link programme in the autumn term 
• Regular assessment of progress throughout the year – a programme of assessment is planned across all year groups
• Class teacher observations
• Computer software – Target Tracker plots children’s progress and highlights concern areas
• Dyslexia identification forms are available for all teachers
• In-class assessment by teachers
• SENCO/Inclusion Manager observations
• Discussions between class teacher and SENCO/Inclusion Manager
• Pupil Progress Meetings three times a year – with the SENCO/Inclusion Manager and individual teachers
• Headteacher observations of children working
• Parent consultations
• Transition phone calls, visits and notes from nursery schools.
• Dyslexia screening tests 
• Individual Thrive online assessments
• Phonics assessments
• Reading assessments - class teachers/TAs
• Scrutiny of whole school results by SENCO/Inclusion Manager
• Scrutiny of children’s work by Headteacher, Deputy Head and Inclusion Manager on a regular basis.

Following a concern being raised by the class teacher, parent or SENCO/Inclusion Manager, an initial meeting is set up to discuss the concerns. From this, appropriate intervention or further assessment will be carried out, depending on the outcomes of the initial meeting.  Every child is an individual and as such their support plan is individual.

We view all behaviour as communication. We quickly identify support required for children displaying behaviours which may be detrimental to their learning, including being withdrawn, aggressive or disruptive behaviours.  By looking at the behaviours we can usually identify the child’s underlying needs and difficulties, ensuring we put in place a support plan which targets not just the behaviours but the reasons why.

We assess each pupil’s skills and level of attainment when they start at the school. We continually assess each child’s progress. If a child is making less than the progress we would expect for their age or individual circumstances, we will consider whether they have special educational needs. The SENCO/Inclusion Manager will work with the class teacher and parents in identifying support which may be appropriate, putting in place this support with immediate effect, even when the information and evidence is still being gathered. 

A range of assessments may be carried out by the class teacher, SENCO/Inclusion Manager or teaching assistant to quickly identify what support, including dyslexia screening assessments, Thrive assessments, reading, writing, maths, spelling and phonics assessments, speech and language assessments and continuum of need assessments.  In addition to this, we ask the child for their views about their learning. All teachers and teaching assistants are familiar with these assessments.

How does the school teach and support children with SEND?

The following questions may support you in understanding how Southover support children with SEND:

How will school staff support my child?

• Through good inclusive high-quality teaching and learning.
• By putting in place support plans (Assess, Plan, Do, Review) and Additional Needs Plans.  These are reviewed three times a year by staff and parents
• Discussions between teacher/SENCO/parents
• Outside services involvement where necessary
• Flexibility within classroom and in teaching
• TAs who have an extensive knowledge and experience in supporting children
• Teachers and teaching assistants trained in key areas such as dyslexia and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and speech and language
• Training for teachers and teaching assistants in quality interventions. 
• Differentiation in class, meaning lessons are tailored to the individual needs of each child
• Booster groups run by teachers
• Specific interventions and precision teaching
• Use of Makaton and visuals

How will both you and I know how my child is doing and how will you help me to support my child’s learning?

• Reviews three times a year of additional needs plans by the class teacher, SENCO and parents
• Regular reviews of progress on Target Tracker, a computer based tracking tool
• Planning of work at the appropriate level
• Regular contact with parents if there are concerns
• Homework/home activities
• Outside services reviews with feedback to parents
• A communication book between parent and teacher in appropriate 
• Parent consultations
• Direct email to the SENCO/Inclusion Manager
• Additional parent meetings by appointment with SENCO/Inclusion Manager or class teacher
• Parent training events
• Curriculum evenings
• An open-door policy.

What specialist services and expertise are available at, or accessed by, the school?

• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
• Play Therapy, Art Therapy, Fegans  (Counselling services)
• School Health Service
• Children’s Services 
• Occupational Therapy
• Speech and Language Therapy
• Physiotherapy
• Educational Psychology Service (EP)
• CLASS (Communication, Learning and Autism Support Service)
• Gypsy, Romany & Traveller Service
• English as an Additional Language Service (EAL)
• Dyslexia screening tests
• Sensory Needs Service (SNS)
• Inclusion Team (formally ESBAS)
• Dyslexia trained TAs
• Dyslexia approved SENCO/ Inclusion Manager
• Paediatricians (Scott Unit – Eastbourne).

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child will receive?

The level of support your child receives is determined by a process called the Graduated Approach (Assess, Plan, Do, Review)

Whatever age your child is, when they have SEND, we create an Additional Needs Plan (ANP) that details how their needs will be supported. 

• Assess: We will assess your child's needs, in collaboration with you and other professionals where appropriate and identify barriers to learning.
• Plan:  We create outcomes and detail interventions and support in place.
• Do: We will carry out the support plan for a set period of time.
• Review: The effectiveness of the support and impact on the pupil’s progress will be reviewed and a new plan will be set out. If your child requires more support or further assessments, it will be set out in the Review. Usually, a review will happen 3 times a year.

How are parents involved in the school?  How can I be involved?

• Parent questionnaires/Parent voice
• Parent information coordinator – office staff
• Parent governors
• Friends of Southover (PTA)
• Parent meetings/workshops
• Curriculum evenings
• Use of parent expertise
• Parent forums
• Attend trips out of school
• Volunteer to help in class

How will the curriculum and learning environment be matched to my child’s/young person’s needs?

All pupils will have access to a broad and balanced curriculum which is suitable for all. We have high expectations for all pupils. Our behaviour policy is based on the Empowerment Approach - all behaviour is communication. 

We adjust the curriculum for each child with SEND to make sure that they can access the subjects at their own level and make progress. This is called ‘differentiation’.

The provision within school for children with SEND is described as:

Universal: The support needs of a child can be met through good inclusive high-quality teaching and learning without many adjustments to the learning experience

Targeted: The support needs of a child requires specific adjustments and will include the involvement of the SENCO and possibly additional supporting professionals such as Educational Psychology. A child may be assessed by health services for specific conditions or needs.

Enhanced: The support needs of a child are significant and require a coordinated approach from school staff and supporting professionals. This can include an Education, Health and Care Plan.

We will look at the child’s level of attainment and how they are accessing the curriculum and the four areas of SEND need and see what support they need to make good progress and reach their potential. 

How are parents and carers involved in reviewing children’s progress and planning support?  

• Additional needs plans are reviewed at least 3 times a year with parents invited to contribute to these. 
• Attainment and progress of maths, reading and writing is detailed on the ANPs. 
• Teachers are available in the mornings and at pick up for quick chats and teachers will meet with parents or give you a call on request. 
• Parents can contact the SENCO directly in person, by phone or direct email. 
• Homework/home activities
• Outside services reviews with feedback to parents
• Parent consultations 
• Additional parent meetings by appointment with SENCO or class teacher
• Parent training events/information meetings/workshops
• Curriculum evenings
• An open door policy.
• Yearly Annual Report for all children

For children who require more enhanced support, a request for statutory assessment will be made to ESCC for an Education and Health Care Plan. Children with an EHC plan will have a statutory annual review in addition to the regular reviews. 

Parents may wish to refer to Code of Practice 6.64 – 6.71 when thinking about supporting their child.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25

How are children involved in reviewing their progress and planning support?

This chart may support you in understanding how your child is involved in reviewing their progress: