In line with the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 2015, this School Special Educational Needs Information Report details the provision and adjustments in place at Vale School to support children with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND).
The aim of this information report is to explain how we implement our SEND policy. In other words, we want to show you how special educational needs support works in our school.
In accordance with the SEND Code of Practice, ‘A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.’ or ‘A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.’
‘The additional needs of most children and young people can be met by inclusive quality first teaching and reasonable adjustments…’ West Sussex Ordinarily Available Inclusive Practice (OAIP).
Your child’s teacher is responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all the pupils in their class. High-quality teaching is our first step in responding to your child’s needs. We will make sure that your child has access to a broad and balanced curriculum in every year they are at our school. We will differentiate (or adapt) how we teach to suit the way the pupil works best.
The type and amount of support a child receives will be dependent on their individual needs at any given time, and will be monitored continually by the class teacher and the SENCo. Consideration is given to their rate of progress, their attainment and their general wellbeing. Support for children will be communicated with parents/carers. Where appropriate, in terms of age and personal development, children will also be involved in the decision-making process, e.g. through meetings with their class teachers and/or the SEND team.
Communication and interaction
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
Speech and language difficulties
Cognition and learning
Specific learning difficulties, including dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia
Moderate learning difficulties
Severe learning difficulties
Social, emotional and mental health
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Attention deficit disorder (ADD)
Sensory and/or physical
Hearing impairments
Visual impairment
Multi-sensory impairment
Physical impairment
The Universal Provision within school is in line with the OAIP (Ordinarily Available Inclusive Practise from West Sussex) and includes, but is not limited to, the following:
Fidgets and doodle pads
Chair bands and wobble cushions
Chewbuddies
Pen grips
Coloured overlays
Concrete equipment and writing prompts
Printed slides
Use of colourful semantics and specialised dictionaries
Phonic reading books
Use of visuals and checklists
Check ins - emotional and/or to ensure understanding
Movement/regulation breaks - whole class and individual
All staff are responsible for the monitoring of pastoral needs and provision across the school, with the class teachers having main responsibility for the pupils in their care.
The curriculum is carefully monitored to enable all learners to access it at their level and for them to make progress. Termly formal assessments are used in conjunction with regular teacher assessments to track progress and identify barriers to learning.
Targeted provision provides those children who need it with additional support when appropriate. These interventions work alongside high-quality teaching and the universal provision. These interventions cover the four areas of SEND and are usually provided by SEND Support Assistants (SSAs).
Interventions include, but are not limited to:
Zones of Regulation
Drawing and Talking
ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant)
Theraplay
Learning Mentor
Jump Ahead
Speech and Language
Sometimes we may seek help to ensure that we offer our pupils the support they need. Whenever necessary we will work with external support services to meet the needs of our pupils with SEND and to support their families. These include:
Speech and language therapists
Educational psychologists
Occupational therapists
GPs or paediatricians
School nurses
Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)
Education welfare officers
Social services and other local authority (LA)-provided support services
Voluntary sector organisations
Identification of such needs could occur in a variety of ways:
Upon starting school, staff meet with parents of the Early Years children and, where appropriate, with staff from the nursery/pre-school they attended.
If children join the school after Early Years, school tours provide parents and staff opportunities to discuss a child’s needs. Previous schools are consulted and relevant information is shared.
Class teachers become aware that a child isn’t making the expected level of progress in their learning or socially.
If you think your child might have SEN, the first person you should speak to is your child’s teacher. We will chat with you to discuss your concerns and try to get a better understanding of what your child’s strengths and difficulties are. We may use checklists and/or screeners or consult with outside agencies to assist in identifying possible needs. Together we will decide what outcomes to seek for your child and agree on next steps.
In all cases, concerns regarding identified or possible SEND can be discussed with the Vale School Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) Mrs Kristy Northrop.
We provide termly reports on all children’s academic progress and attainment. We also want to hear from you as much as possible so that we can build a better picture of how the support, universal, targeted and/or specialist, that we are providing is impacting your child outside of school.
If your child’s needs or aspirations change at any time, please talk to your child’s class teacher so we can keep our provision as relevant as possible.
All of our extra-curricular activities and school visits are available to all our pupils, including our after-school clubs. All pupils are encouraged to go on our school trips, including our Year 6 residential trip. All pupils are encouraged to take part in sports day, productions and visitor workshops. No pupil is ever excluded from taking part in these activities because of their SEN or disability and we will make whatever reasonable adjustments are needed to make sure they can be included.
The designated teacher for looked-after children (LAC) is Mrs Kristy Northrop. She works alongside class teachers to ensure that they understand how a looked-after or previously looked-after pupil’s circumstances and their SEND might interact, and what the implications are for teaching and learning.
Children who are looked-after or previously looked-after will be supported much in the same way as any other child who has SEND. However, looked-after pupils will also have a personal education plan (PEP). We will make sure that the PEP and EHC plans are consistent and complement one another.
Complaints about SEN provision in our school should be made to your child’s class teacher or Mrs Kristy Northrop in the first instance.
To see a full explanation of suitable avenues for complaint, see pages 246 and 247 of the SEND Code of Practice.
If you feel that our school has discriminated against your child because of their SEND, you have the right to make a discrimination claim to the first-tier SEND tribunal. To find out how to make such a claim, you should visit: https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-school/disability-discrimination
You can make a claim about alleged discrimination regarding:
Admission
Exclusion
Provision of education and associated services
Making reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services
Before going to a SEND tribunal, you can go through processes called disagreement resolution or mediation, where you try to resolve your disagreement before it reaches the tribunal.
If you have questions about SEND, or are struggling to cope, please get in touch to let us know. We want to support you, your child and your family.
National charities that offer information and support to families of children with SEN are:
West Sussex County Council are the responsible local authority for our school, and their ‘Local Offer’ is accessible via the following link: https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/local-offer/
Day-to-day teaching and support of children with SEND is managed by their class teacher. The SENCo will offer support, advice and guidance, will maintain the SEND register and will coordinate any additional SEND team and/or external support put into place for a child. Information regarding children’s needs and provision will be recorded on provision maps. Children with Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans will have their needs and provision recorded on Individual Education Plans.
We have a successful transition programme to prepare children for the move into a new year-group, including taster sessions and information for parents/carers. Children with Autistic Spectrum Conditions, or particular difficulties with change, will be provided with additional resources for starting school, moving to a new year group or moving on to High School. These include additional visits, ‘Moving On’ packs which contain photographs of key staff members and key parts of the new building or area and ‘Pupil Profiles’. These give an overview of needs and capture pupil voice. We also run social skills and/or nurture groups to support children we identify as vulnerable during transitions.
Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan will have their Annual Reviews held at least one full term before they leave Vale School in order that their needs can be reviewed and appropriate provision put into place for their transition.
For more information, please visit other areas of our school website including our policy page
