At different times in their school career, a child or young person may have a special educational need.  The Code of Practice defines SEND as:

“A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.  A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:

1. have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age: or
2. have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools.”

If a pupil is identified as having SEND, we will provide provision that is ‘additional to or different from’ the normal differentiated curriculum, intended to overcome the barrier to their learning.

Pupils can fall behind in school for lots of reasons.  They may have been absent from school, or they may have attended lots of different schools and not had a consistent opportunity to learn.  Sometimes they may be worried about different things which may distract them from learning and some pupils may have little or no English when starting school. 

At Homefield CofE VC Primary School we are committed to ensuring that all pupils have access to learning opportunities, and for those who are at risk of not learning, we will intervene.  This does not mean that all vulnerable pupils have Special Educational Needs.  Only those with a learning difficulty that requires special educational provision will be identified as having SEND.

Class teachers, support staff, parents/ carers and the learner themselves will be the first to notice a difficulty with learning. At Homefield Primary School we ensure the assessment of educational needs directly involves the learner, their parents/ carers and the teacher. The SENDCo will also support with the identification of barriers to learning.

Our school assessment tracking system is called Insight. Teachers use the system to track the progress of the pupils in their class. As teachers assess pupils, they update the tracking system to reflect the working levels of each learner.  By monitoring this process we hold Pupil Progress meetings to discuss any pupils that may not be progressing at the expected rate.  This may lead to a piece of intervention work being carried out within school.  Alternatively, this may identify a learner that needs to be placed on the school’s SEND register for more in-depth monitoring and intervention both internally and externally. 

In our school and cluster we have access to various specialist teams including but not exclusive to:

Educational Psychologists,

Learning Advisory Teachers,

Speech and language therapists,

Dyslexic Outreach Support (DOS),

The Newberry Child Development Centre,

Silverwood (CAMHS),

Nelson’s Journey,

Ormiston Trust,

Family Action,

School Health,

Family Focus,

School 2 School Support Service, 

Virtual Schools Sensory Support,

Norfolk Inclusion Team, 

Just One Norfolk,

Specialist Resources Bases,

Occupational Therapy,

We have access to services, universally provided by Norfolk County Council, which are described on the Local Offer website for Norfolk. Click below for the link

https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/children-and-families/send-local-offer

 

Our SEND profile for 2023-24 shows that we have 12% (24 pupils) of pupils identified as having SEND, and 1.2% of pupils on roll have Education, Health and Care Plans.

50% are identified as having SEND linked to cognition and learning.

27% are identified as having SEND linked to communication and interaction.

20%  are identified as having SEND linked to behaviour, emotional and social difficulties.

3%  are identified as having SEND linked to physical disability and/or sensory needs.

13.5% are identified as having SEND linked to Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

These figures represent the primary need of the child and pupils may also have a secondary need that is not represented in this data.

2a) How do we support and assess children with SEND

The image below shows the graduated approach to supporting children at our school. Please continue reading below to find out what this looks like at Homefield.

Universal: Every teacher is required to adapt the curriculum to ensure access to learning for all children in their class.  We ensure each teacher uses high-quality teaching to deliver the curriculum.

We employ Teaching/ Learning Support Assistants, who under the guidance of the class teacher, may deliver interventions as needed, monitored by our SENDCo.

Our teachers and Support Assistants will use various strategies to adapt access to the curriculum and make adjustments for all learners, this might include using:

• Visual timetables
• Writing frames
• I-pads, laptops or alternative recording devices
• Digital spell checkers
• Electronic reading pens
• Reading overlays or different coloured paper
• Larger texts
• Adapted writing tools
• Consideration of lighting in the learning environment
• Peer buddy systems
• Talking tins to record voices
• Now and Next boards
• Symbols and visuals to support learners
• Different lighting
• Calm spaces in classrooms
• Standing desks
• Positive behaviour reward systems
• Quiet work stations
• Attention to seating position within the class

SEN Support: Each learner identified as having SEND, is entitled to support that is additional to or different from a normal differentiated curriculum. The type of support is dependent on the individual learning needs, and is intended to enable access to learning and overcome the barrier to learning identified. 

We use a toolkit to help to identify and assess pupils with additional needs.  The toolkit is called the MOP (Measuring Outcomes Pack) kit.  It was devised by the SENDCos in the Lynn Grove Cluster and has attracted interest from across the county. It helps the SENDCo work with the teachers to plan the next steps of learning for pupils with additional needs.   

All learners on the SEND register have a Support Plan in place to identify, implement and review personal targets that are reviewed at least half-termly, though this may be more frequent depending on the needs of the child. Support Plans are devised alongside the child and their parents or carers to ensure the views of all those involved in the child's care are included.

Interventions may be run by teachers or teaching assistants to help children make progress. These could focus on phonics, writing, reading, maths, working memory or speech and language, amongst others and these may be run in small groups or on a one-to-one basis.

Where progress remains a concern, despite any interventions that are being delivered internally, a learner would then be considered for discussion with other professionals at a meeting called SST (School Support Team meeting).  This is a termly meeting held at school, chaired by the SENDCo, where learners’ needs can be discussed with other professionals. 

At Homefield, we have an experienced Parent Support Advisor, Mrs Clarke, who provides a haven for learners who need some extra emotional support which in turn benefits their ability to learn back in the classroom. Parents and learners with SEND may benefit from advice and support from Mrs Clarke.

We also have a dedicated TA, Mrs Howard, who works primarily with our children with SEND whose specialist skills and training are used to benefit children across the school.

Homefield CofE VC Primary School has also commissioned support from EPSS (Educational Psychology and Specialist Support) who are a mulit-disciplinary service which enables us to have access to:

• Educational Psychologists
• Specialist Learning Support Teachers (SLSTs)
• Autism Support Team
• Social, Emotional, Mental Health (SEMH) Support Team

We also employ 10 FTE Learning Support Assistants who support interventions alongside their classroom roles under the guidance of the class teachers. 

The image below outlines this process of assessing a child's needs, planning the appropriate support, allowing teachers and teaching assistants to do the intervention and then reviewing the impact this has had and the progress a child has made before starting the cycle over again.

The progress of children with SEND is shared with the governors, primarily between the SENDCo and SENDCo governor at termly meetings, who are able to ensure that we monitor the impact of these interventions on learning throughout the school.

High Needs: If a child has a complex special educational need and/or disability and who needs more support than is available through special educational needs support, they may require an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This is a legal document which outlines the support the child needs and the outcomes they would like to achieve. The EHCP is reviewed annually, involving the parents and the child throughout the process.

 

2b) How do we find out if this support is effective?

Monitoring progress is an integral part of learning and leadership within Homefield Primary School. Pupils and staff are involved in reviewing the impact of interventions for learners with SEND.

We follow the “assess, plan, do, review” model, and aim to ensure that everybody is involved in each step. A baseline is recorded before each intervention, which is used to compare the impact of the provision.

We meet parents of all pupils, including those with SEND, at Parent Evenings to discuss and review progress and next steps. If a learner has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC plan) it will also be formally reviewed at least once annually.

The SENDCo and Assessment Co-ordinator collate the impact data of interventions to ensure that we are using interventions that make an impact. 

All pupils should have the same opportunity to access extra-curricular activities.  At Homefield CofE VC Primary School we offer a range of additional clubs and activities during and after school.  A list of these is available on the school website and from the school office.

All staff at Homefield CofE VC Primary School have regular updates on the Equality Act 2010.  This legislation places specific duties on schools, settings and providers including the duty not to discriminate, harass or victimise a child or adult linked to a protected characteristic defined in the Equality Act and to make ‘reasonable adjustments.’

The Equality Act 2010 definition of disability is:

“A person has a disability for the purposes of this Act if (s)he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to day activities.”

Section 1(1) Disability Discrimination Act 1995

This definition of disability in the Equality Act includes children with long term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, and cancer. Children and young people with such conditions do not necessarily have SEND, but there is a significant overlap between disabled children and young people and those with SEND. Children and young people may therefore be covered by both SEND and disability legislation.

Transition

Transition is a part of life for all pupils.  This can be transition to a new class in school, having a new teacher, or moving on to another school.  Homefield CofE VC Primary School is committed to working in partnership with children, families and other providers to ensure positive transitions occur.  

Planning for transition is a part of our provision for all pupils with SEND. When needed, pupils with SEND transition to secondary schools will be discussed in the summer term of their Year 5, to ensure time for planning and preparation. The SENDCo, alongside the Year 6 teacher, will hold meetings with the feeder High Schools to discuss pupils with additional needs. Should pupils transition between settings at other points in their Primary education, arrangements are made for this to be as seamless as possible.

Have your say

Homefield Primary School is a school for our community. We can shape and develop provision for all our learners, ensuring achievement for all. This SEND report declares our annual offer to learners with SEND, but to be effective it needs the views of everybody. So please engage with us to promote the “assess, plan, do, review” model in our provision for SEND. 

If you have a complaint to make regarding any area of SEND provision, which cannot be resolved by the SENDCo in the first instance, please follow the school's Complaints Procedure, which can be found here.

Homefield Primary School receives an amount of funding directly to the school from the Local Authority to support the needs of learners with SEND. Extra funds may be directed from the school budget to "top up" this provision.

The amount received is dedicated towards supporting the pupils with additional needs to achieve the best progress they can. 

Spending is predominantly used to access external support from specialist agencies, such as EPSS, CEPP and Respectrum. Access to educational psychologists, advisory learning support teachers and autistic specialists is part of this. We may also get access to specific SRBs (Specialist Resource Bases) for pupils with additional needs, but this is through application and is at the discretion of the SRB Lead. 

We can apply for additional High Needs Funding from Norfolk County Council for pupils with severe, additional needs, but the success of this is at the discretion of the Local Authority.   

• www.norfolk.gov.uk/children-and-families/children-and-young-peoples-hub
• www.norfolk.gov.uk/children-and-families/send-local-offer
• www.norfolk.gov.uk/SEN
• https://www.norfolksendiass.org.uk/
• www.parentvoice./info/
• www.norfolkparentpartnership.org.uk
• www.dfe.gov.uk
• www.willowtreelearning.co.uk
• www.familyvoice.org.uk/
• www.councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-guide-for-parents-and-carers
• www.nasen.org.uk
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25
• www.norfolk.gov.uk/Childrens_services/Special_educational_needs_and_disabilities/index.htm
• www.norfolk.gov.uk/children-and-families/early-childhood-and-family-service