SEND
Please find our SEND & Inclusion Policy & SEND local offer here
FAQ's
How do we identify and Assess children with SEN?
Children who need extra help can be identified in many different ways. These include through close liaison with previous schools and nurseries on entry, where needs have already been identified. Parents and Carers can also raise any concerns, related to their child’s needs.
As early identification is vital, the Early Years team use a range of tools and strategies to identify individual children’s needs including the Wellcomm Language Screening tool.
Class teachers have an important role to play in identifying pupils who are making less than expected progress in their learning and less than expected performance in, in-class assessments. Individual pupil’s attainment and progress are tracked and individuals causing concern are discussed at termly Pupil Progress meetings and may be referred to the SEND and Inclusion Team. The team will discuss the most appropriate form of action.
At Eastlands Primary School, we operate a Graduated Approach to assessing and providing for a child’s needs.
What is a Graduated Approach to Inclusion and SEN support?
The Graduated Approach describes the process of identification, removing barriers to learning and providing an effective provision using a four-part cycle of ‘Assess, Plan, Do and Review.’ We operate a graduated response in school to assessing a child’s needs. This begins with in-class assessments, which may be followed by more detailed standardised assessments delivered by the Inclusion team in school to external assessments with outside agencies when deemed necessary. At every stage, parents and carers will be consulted.
The first step in our graduated response to is that all of our teachers provide high quality teaching for all children, with differentiation and ‘Quality First teaching strategies’ to meet the needs of individual children in their class. In addition, they may provide extra small group practice for individual pupils in each class and targeted teaching in areas of weakness, using strategies such as pre-teaching. Class teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all the pupils in their class, including where pupils access support from teaching assistants (TAs) or specialist staff.
If a pupil continues to make significantly slower progress than that of their peers, starting from the same baseline, fails to match or better their previous rate of progress or fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers, a meeting would be held between the class teacher and parents (the SENCO may also attend if appropriate) to share school’s concerns and agree targets for an Individual Education Plan (IEP). A child with an IEP would also be entered onto the SEND register. For pupils with higher levels of need, the SENCO would consult parents and carers before involving external agencies and professionals for further support and guidance. Advice may also be sought from the Specialist Teaching Service (STS) in the form of specific assessments to pinpoint areas of need.
What is an IEP (Individual Education Plan)?
An IEP identifies the provision needed, sets realistic targets and monitors progress for children with learning difficulties or disabilities. It IEP sets out realistic strategies and objectives that the child will be able to meet, and monitors their progress with these.
An IEP will contain objectives, targets and strategies outlining information such as:
- Assessment information
- Targets and timeframes on when the child is expected to achieve an objective
- Likes, dislikes and worries that the child has
- Details of any additional support they need
What is the purpose of an IEP?
An IEP allows teachers to adapt specific targets to match the child’s needs and how these targets will be reached.
It allows the school to plan ahead appropriately and monitor the effectiveness of teaching, additional support or interventions. It can be used to communicate with parents and other members of staff who help the child, and to help the child become aware of their own learning and progress.
The Role of the Teaching Assistants (TAs)
We have an amazing team of teaching assistants at Eastlands.
In Early Years children with additional needs are mostly supported with extra support within the teaching activities and continuous provision. However there may be times when a teacher or TA will provide extra support in a small group or via targeted, short 1:1 interventions.
In years 1 to 6, TAs mostly support within the classroom in the mornings and in the afternoons they mostly deliver interventions. These interventions are usually helping children work towards their IEP targets and they may be delivered by small group or 1:1 support. SEN TA or Learning Mentor may also signpost parents to other family support groups when appropriate.
How do we evaluate our SEND provision?
All interventions are mapped on a provision map where measurement of impact is measured according to their progress made from their starting point. At Eastlands Primary School, we are always striving to narrow the gap for children with SEN and have high expectations of their progress with an expectation that most pupils with SEN should make the same or better progress than their peers.
How will my child be included in activities outside the school classroom including school trips?
At Eastlands Primary School, we feel it is important for all children to participate in activities outside of the classroom and on school trips. We will follow all guidance in relation to school trips and carry out individual risk assessments when necessary to plan for and support pupils when necessary. These plans may include adult support on a one-to-one or in a small group. We also encourage pupils with SEN to participate in before and after school clubs. (See Accessibility Policy for more details).
What support will there be for my child’s overall well being?
At Eastlands Primary School, we have Anti-Bullying Ambassadors to support pupils on the playground with social issues that arise. Each class elects a boy and girl to represent their class on the School Council, where their views can be heard. As a school, we are also developing Digital Leaders. All children follow the ‘Protective Behaviours’ curriculum, completing different units each year as well as PSHE units. We are a ‘Thrive’ school and all staff have been trained in using the Thrive approach to promote positive mental health and well-being in all children. The Pastoral Support Lead, class TAs run small group and one-to-one interventions for children with social, emotional and mental health needs. Sometimes, pupils require further targeted support and a Pastoral Support Plan with targets is co-produced with parents/carers and school. (See Anti-Bullying Policy for further details)
Also see Support For Families page.
What is the Local Authorities offer for SEND provision?
The link below will take you to Warwickshire’s Local Offer: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/send
What do I do if I am unhappy about the current provision for my child?
At Eastlands Primary School, we have an open-door policy and we are happy to discuss any concerns you have regarding provision. You can contact your child’s teacher or the SENCo to arrange an appointment.
If there continues to be an issue, you can organise an appointment to speak to the Head teacher, Mrs Edwards via the school’s Office.
