At Sitwell Infant School we have a commitment to ensuring that all children, regardless of their specific needs, make the best possible progress during their time in school.

We are an inclusive school, where we endeavour to meet the needs of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in a mainstream setting. Special Educational Needs is defined as when a child’s needs or disability requires provision that is different from or additional to that normally available to children of the same age (Code of Practice, May 2015). We provide differentiated approaches to learning as part of high quality personalised teaching and learning. It may take the form of additional support from within the setting or require the involvement of specialist staff or support services from outside agencies.

The Code of Practice outlines four broad areas of need. These are:

• Communication and Interaction;
• Cognition and Learning;
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties;
• Sensory and Physical Needs.

What is the Local Offer?

The LA Local Offer

Under The Children and Families Act 2014, Local Authorities and schools are required to publish and keep under review information about services they expect to be available for children and young people with SEND aged 0-25. This is called the ‘Local Offer’.

The intention of the Local Offer is to improve choice and transparency for families. It will also be an important resource for parents in understanding the range of services and provision in the local area. Rotherham’s Local Offer can be found here:

https://www.rotherhamsendlocaloffer.org.uk/

The School SEND Information Report

Schools must now publish information on how it will meet the needs of SEND children as determined by the school’s policy, and the provision that the school is able to offer.

At Sitwell Infant School we recognise that every child and their needs are different; we will do our best to ensure that every pupil, including those with SEND get the right type of support. This report can be accessed through the school website.

The SENDCo at Sitwell Infant School is Miss A Griffiths. The SEND governor is Tayyab Majeed.

Identification

How do we know which children have SEND?

It is important to recognise that children start school with varied experiences and usually need a little time to settle in and engage with new learning opportunities.

Many children with complex needs have these identified very early. Parents and carers may have already noticed that their child has difficulties in one or more of the four broad areas of need. For other children difficulties may only become evident as they grow and develop, and as they learn and interact in new and different environments.

The school assesses all children on entry as well as regularly assessing all children throughout the year. This is done through:

• Formal assessment at 4 points throughout the year.
• Classroom observation.
• Pupil progress meetings.
• Marking and feedback.
• Graduated response documents
• ELSA referral forms
• Pastoral referral and evaluation forms

This will identify children that are making less than expected progress.

Children will be identified as needing extra support if, despite high quality teaching, their progress is;

• Significantly slower than that of other children of a similar age.
• Failing to match or better the child’s rate of progress.
• Failing to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers.
• Widening the attainment gap.
• Present with social, emotional and mental health needs.
• Present with communication and language needs.

The class teacher and SENDCo will monitor the child closely and make observations which will also include discussions with parents, with clear review points. This is referred to in the Code of Practice as the Assess, Plan, Do, Review model.

Support and provision

What skills, training and qualifications do our staff have to meet the needs of children with SEND?

The Code of Practice 2015 states that it is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure children’s needs are being met in the classroom. The SENDCo’s job is to support the class teacher in planning for children with SEND. The school provides training and support to enable all staff to improve the teaching and learning of children, including those with SEND. This includes whole school training on relevant SEND issues including;

• Downs syndrome
• Makaton
• ELSA (Emotional Literacy support Assistant)
• Attachment
• Growth mind set

• Supporting children with ASD
• Speech and language (trained staff through our bought in Speech and language therapist scheme)
• Demand avoidance
• Sensory processing
• Dyscalculia
• Specific health and medical needs
• LSP (Learning support programmes for identified children)
• Emotional regulation
• Setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time scaled) targets for Individual Education plans (IEPs)
• Writing SEN plans

All teachers and support staff are also committed to their own professional development and identifying their own training needs via appraisal.

Some children need specific interventions in order to boost their learning on a 1:1 or small group basis. At Sitwell Infant School we have support staff trained to deliver Speech and Language programmes, Early Movement programmes to develop fine and gross motor skills, maths target work to support children with dyscalculia and Read Write Inc tutoring, as well as Individual Education Plans (IEP) that have been written with bespoke targets specifically for individual children. All staff are trained in Maths Mastery as well as Attachment and Emotion Coaching to support SEMH. For more individualised SEMH support the SENDCo works closely with the Pastoral Lead, who has an attachment qualification in relational trauma & Nurture Group leader to identify children who may need addition SEMH support at school level through the ELSA programme. Thereby ensuring we are an attachment friendly school.

What is the Graduated response?

The graduated response is the process we follow once a need has been identified

• Wave 1 – quality first teaching
• Wave 2 – bespoke targets on an IEP (individual education plan)
• Wave 3 – outside agency specialist involvement
• EHCP (education, health care plan)

Wave 1: Quality first teaching - How do we support in the classroom?

All children have a right to access quality first teaching in a classroom, delivered by a qualified teacher. If additional support is required, it will always be done within the classroom first.

This would mean:

• That the teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all children in their class.
• That all teaching is built on what your child already knows, can do and can understand.
• That different ways of teaching are in place, so that your child is fully involved in learning in class.
• That specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENDCo) are in place to support your child to learn.
• Reasonable adjustments to the environment or timetable, teaching and learning, provision and practice.
• Extra adult support.
• Additional resources, prompts or reminders.
• Adjusting the expectations of a task.

Wave 2: IEP - What if your child still needs help?

If your child still needs help, more specialised provision may need to be made. This may be 1:1 support with their class teacher and/or a trained TA. They may follow an intervention programme with a trained member of staff tailored to their needs. Support is designed specifically to meet their needs, to fill any gaps in learning, give extra opportunities to develop skills and understanding and to boost learning, self-esteem and confidence. In most cases, a personalised plan will be put into place for your child, and an Individual Education Plan (IEP) will be completed. This will ensure everybody involved, including you, your child and all staff, know what targets have been set, how they are being supported and what the expected outcomes are. Meetings are held regularly in school involving children, parents and staff to review targets together, discuss the progress children have made and enable new targets to be set. Parents will receive a copy of the IEP. If your child is receiving support at this level, they will be recorded as ‘School Response’ on the SEND register.

Wave 3: Specialist outside agency support - Who else might we ask to support us in understanding your child’s needs?

We have access to a range of professional services, who can advise us on how to meet your child’s needs, if specialist intervention is required. These services include:

• Inclusion Services (Learning Support Service, Social, Emotional & Mental Health Outreach Team - ASPIRE and Autism Communication Team)
• Evolve
• Educational Psychology Service
• Sensory Service for children with visual or hearing needs
• SALT (Speech and Language Therapy)
• Occupational Therapy Service
• Physiotherapy
• CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services)

We will refer to these services in circumstances where we feel more specialised advice is needed. A referral will only be made once we have already put School Response support in place, reviewed the impact it has had and decided in consultation with parents that a more specialised level of provision is required. If your child requires more specialist support and advice from outside agencies a formal referral will be made with your consent. Representatives from outside agencies will observe and give staff advice to ensure all your child’s needs are met.

 If your child is receiving support at this level, they will be recorded as ‘Formal Response’ on the SEND register.

EHCP:

This is for children who may need additional support above and beyond the graduated response. Evidence is collected by school and other agencies and is discussed by a panel of experts to ensure school have the funding and additional resources and training to meets the needs of the child.

How do we make learning environments accessible to children with SEN and Disabilities?

The school is fully compliant with Disability Discrimination Act requirements.

The school is on one level with wheelchair access to all areas. This is via a ramp at the Foundation Stage. There is a toilet with a hoist and changing bed. Disabled parking is available. We ensure where ever possible that equipment used is accessible to all children regardless of their needs. After-school provision is accessible to all children, including those with SEND. Extra-curricular activities are accessible for children with SEND and a key area of focus, as outlined in the SEND CoP (2015), is on the wider long term outcomes such as independence and employment.

How do we make the curriculum accessible to children with SEN and Disabilities?

The school is fully compliant with DDA requirements:

• We ensure that any equipment, resources and curriculum support used in classroom to enrich learning are accessible to all children, regardless of their needs.
• School visits are open to all pupils, regardless of their needs and school make adjustments to ensure that all pupils can access these experiences.
• After and before-school provision is available to all children, including those with SEND. School will review with parents how appropriate this is for each individual child, as this will be different in each circumstance. Support for those children to attend after or before school provision will be organised by the school.  
• Extra-curricular activities are available and accessible to children, including those with SEND.

How do we know if the support is working for your child?

Your child’s progress will be continually monitored by their class teacher. We will talk to your child about how they feel about their learning and their progress, how confident they feel and what new skills they think they have. If your child finds it difficult to communicate verbally, we will use other methods of communication to find out how they feel about learning. Key staff will complete a personal portrait with them. Various assessment tools are used to track if children are meeting their targets, including Bsquared (a programme to assess and set targets for Key Stage 1 children who are not yet accessing the National curriculum), Benchmarking, national assessments and phonics screening. These are used to measure how well support is working for your child. We will also look at how well your child is using learning in lessons in different ways and how much of new and old learning they are remembering and applying. Learning observations also help us to work out how much progress your child is making and to ensure that the needs of all children are met and that the quality of teaching and learning is high. Staff also use the graduated response documents to identify needs and evidence strategies and interventions implemented in class. This also helps staff identify which wave of the graduated response children are at and whether there is a need to move from school response (wave 2) to formal response (wave 3) or vice versa.

Open evenings and review meetings are held to discuss this progress with you so that your comments can also inform how well support is working. For those children where national assessments are not appropriate, school will measure their progress against targets taken from BSquared to ensure they are developing skills which will support their role in society beyond education.

Communication

What should you do if you have concerns about your child’s SEND?

The first person you should talk to is your child’s class teacher about any concerns that you may have. If you continue to be concerned that your child is not making progress, you may speak to the Special Education Needs/Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCo) or Headteacher. The school’s SEND Governor can also be contacted for support.

For further support then the Rotherham Parent Carers Forum can be contacted. They provide parents with confidential, impartial advice and information on special educational needs from staff and trained volunteers. Their website is https://www.rpcf.co.uk/. You can also contact them on 01709 296262 or admin@rpcf.co.uk .

How do we communicate with parents?

For every child in school ‘Open Evenings’ are held in the Autumn and Spring term where parents are invited to come in to speak to their child’s class teacher. In addition to this, you will also receive a formal school report during the Summer term. Children’s targets for Reading, Writing and Maths are shared at these points allowing parents and carers to support their child at home with their learning.

However, if your child is identified as not making progress, the school may set additional meetings to discuss this with you in more detail which will use the Assess, Plan, Do Review model as outlined in the Code of Practice.

This will be an opportunity to:

• Listen to any concerns you may have.
• Plan any additional support your child may need.
• Discuss with you any referrals to outside professionals to support your child.

If your child is already on the SEND register, you may be invited to termly review meetings to discuss your child’s progress with the SENDCo/class teacher. There may be representatives from other services who work with your child at these meetings. You will also be asked to complete a personal portrait about your child to ensure we gather information from all parties. Where external agencies are involved, all information will be discussed with you, with the person involved directly, or where this is not possible, in a report.

A home-school contact book may be used to support communication with you when this has been agreed to be useful for you and your child, as well as regular check ins via class email to listen to concerns or give advice and support.

How do we communicate with children?

Where it is appropriate to, your child will be involved in the decision making about their learning including any setting and reviewing of targets that they may be working on. When it is felt to be appropriate, children may be invited to review meetings. When this is not possible, children’s views will be gathered beforehand through observations or informal pupil-teacher discussions.

How do we share information across school?

Information in school can be shared via:

• Regular conversations/meetings with staff members who are working with the child
• SEND time line is documented on ‘Cpoms’. This shows your child’s journey through school. This is accessed by all relevant staff.
• Detailed information is documented on the child’s SEN support plan.
• One page pupil profiles written by class teachers and are shared with the child’s key workers

All SEND related information is saved to the document vault on CPOMs. CPOMs is also used to document correspondence with families and outside agencies.

Transition

How do we support your child when they are leaving this school, starting this school or joining a new class?

We recognise that transitions can be difficult for a child with SEND, and we take steps to ensure that any transition is a smooth as possible.

If your child is joining us from another school or nursery:

• The Foundation Stage Leader or class teachers will visit pre-schools in the Summer term prior to children joining us in September whenever possible and share relevant information with the SENDCo.
• Multi agency meetings (MAP) for children with identified needs.
• If your child would be helped by a book/passport to support them in understanding moving on, one will be made for them. Children are invited to 3 transition visits prior to their start in September to enable a smooth transition for all involved. Additional visits are arranged for children who may need further support to settle into their new environment.

If your child is moving to another school:

• We will contact the school SENDCo and ensure they know about any special arrangements or support that need to be made for your child. When your child is moving to Sitwell Junior School in preparation for Year 3, a planning meeting will take place with the SENDCo from the junior school.
• Whenever possible, visits will be arranged to the receiving school for your child prior to the move. Additional visits are arranged for children who may need further support to settle into their new environment. We will make sure that all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible.
• If your child would be helped by a book/passport to support them in understand moving on, one will be made for them.
• Where a child has an EHCP an annual review will be held and parents can name a setting they would like their child to attend. This will be submitted to the EHCP team in the form of an amendment and the school of choice will be consulted.

When moving classes in school:

• Information will be passed on to the new class teacher in advance and a planning meeting will take place with the new teacher. IEPs will be shared with the new teacher.
• For children on School response a child one page pupil portrait will be written and shared with the new class teacher.
• For children on Formal Response, SEN Support plans will be updated and shared. A class staff pen portrait will be given to each child, and each teacher will receive a pupil portrait about children they are receiving from another class.
• During the final weeks of the school year your child will visit their new class on at least two occasions in order to become familiar with new staff and classmates. On many occasions, children complete more than two visits to ensure they are comfortable with their new surroundings.
• If your child would be helped by a book/passport to support them in understand moving on, one will be made for them.

Emotional and social support

How do we make sure your child is happy and joining in at school?

At Sitwell Infant School we strive to ensure that every child feels happy, safe, respected and valued by the whole school community. Your child’s happiness and well-being is paramount in ensuring that they are able to achieve to their best potential.

We recognise that children may at times have barriers to their learning caused by social and emotional factors. This may cause problems with behaviour, difficulties in expressing emotions, difficulties interacting with peers or adults or cause children to become withdrawn or anxious in different situations. In order to ensure that children are developing socially and emotionally we have the following supports available in school for children to access:

• Pastoral Lead: Mrs E Richmond
• Social Emotional and Mental Health team – occasionally we may request support from the ASPIRE team to work with your child and their teacher to help children with behaviour/anger management.
• Occasionally a TAF (Team Around the Family) meeting may be held following a referral to Early Help, which allows families, school staff and other professionals such as school nurse, social workers etc. to work to support a family who are in need.

Sitwell Infant School has a no tolerance policy in relation to bullying. It is our aim to ensure that all children feel safe and secure in our environment. Please contact the school, or look on our website, if you would like a copy of our Anti-Bullying Policy.

At Sitwell Infant School we ensure that every child is able to take part in curricular and extra-curricular activities. Should your child need extra support or resources to access these activities, provision will be made on an individual needs basis.

What percentage of children are on the SEND register?

This year we currently have 19% on the SEND register (this only includes children on wave 3 and above). This is  above the national average (15%).

This comprises of:

• 27.9% SEND – F2
• 21.3% SEND – Y1
• 9.3% SEND – Y2

These figures show that early identification and intervention is key to a child’s success.

At the time of this report there were 2 children on school support response (wave 2 which is not included in National statistics).  This a decrease on previous years due to early referral for children who require outside agency support. This comprises of:

Year 2

SALT: 2

SI: 5

EHCP: 2

Total 9/75

Year 1

SALT: 6

CDC: 3

SEMH: 1

SI: 1

EHCP: 2

Total: 13/75

F2

SALT: 9

CDC:  8

EP: 1

EHCP: 2

Total: 20/68

Whole school primary areas of need

Please note that although these are the child’s primary needs many have a need in more than one area.

Gender of pupils on SEND register

 Vulnerable groups

Key priorities:

• Early identification
• Communication and language
• Sensory friendly school
• SEMH support

Complaints

The school works wherever possible in close partnership with parents and carers to ensure a collaborative approach to meeting pupil’s needs. All complaints are taken seriously and heard through the school’s complaints procedure.