SEND Information Report
All Chester and Cheshire West Local Authority (LA) maintained schools have a similar approach to meeting the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and are supported by the LA to ensure that all pupils, regardless of their specific needs, make the best possible progress in school.
All schools are supported to be as inclusive as possible, with the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities being met in a mainstream setting wherever possible.
The four broad “areas of need” are Communication and Interaction, Cognition and Learning, Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties and Sensory and Physical Needs.
At different times in their school life, a child or young person may have a special educational need. The Code of Practice 2014 defines SEN as follows:
“A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special education provision to be made for him or her. 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.
Where a pupil’s progress is significantly slower than that of their peers, or fails to match their previous rate of progress, despite high quality teaching targeted at specific areas of difficulties, it may be that the child has SEN.
There can be many reasons for learners “falling behind”. These may include absences, attending lots of different schools, difficulties with speaking English, or worries that distract them from learning. Our school understands that children who experience these barriers to learning are vulnerable. This does not mean that all vulnerable learners have SEND. Only those with a learning difficulty that requires special educational provision will be identified as having SEND.
|
Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) National SENCO Award, Associate Member of the British Dyslexia Association - qualified specialist teacher & assessor Responsible for: |
Jo Tilley
|
|
The Headteacher Responsible for: |
Adam Croft
|
|
The SEND Governor Responsible for: |
Sally Grey
|
|
School contact number: School email address: |
0160675194 |
|
Contact details of support services for parents of pupils with SEND |
SEN Team – senteam@cheshirewestandcheshire.gov.uk 0150 337 6436 SEN Consultant – 0151 337 6866 Speech and Language – 01606 564005 School Nurse – 01606 542526 CAMHS – 01606863152 Occupational Health – 01606 544084 Educational Psychologist – 01244 976253 |
|
What kinds of special educational needs does Charles Darwin Primary School make provision for? |
Charles Darwin Primary School is a fully inclusive school, which aims to ensure that all pupils achieve their potential; personally, emotionally and academically in all areas of the curriculum, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, social background, religion, physical ability or educational need. |
|
How does Charles Darwin Primary School identify and assess my child’s special educational needs? |
All our teachers have the highest expectations for your child and all pupils in their class. Teaching is built on what your child already knows, can do and can understand. Different styles of teaching are in place, so that your child is fully involved in learning within the classroom. At Charles Darwin Primary School we track children’s progress termly and identify children who are not making at least expected progress. Parents, carers and pupils will then be invited to discuss and review the progress made and targets will be set. Special educational needs or disabilities provision is provided in addition to good quality first teaching, differentiation and a broad curriculum where all can succeed. If we identify a gap or gaps in your child’s understanding or learning then extra support to help them make the best possible progress will be put into place. Children can be well supported by additional interventions and programmes in groups or as individuals and this may be led by a teaching assistant or teacher. |
|
How does Charles Darwin Primary School evaluate the effectiveness of provision for pupils with special educational needs? |
As a school we measure children’s progress in learning against national and age related expectations. Your child’s progress will be continually monitored by his or her class teacher. Your child’s progress in reading, writing and maths will be reviewed formally with the Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher and SENCo at pupil progress meetings. |
|
How does Charles Darwin Primary School assess and review the progress of pupils with special educational needs? |
Pre and post intervention checks are carried out to ensure that the impact is effective. Parents and pupils are invited to a termly progress meeting to review children’s needs and where targets that have been set are reviewed and new targets are developed. Targets set are designed to accelerate learning and close the gap. As a parent you will be involved in this process and kept informed. The progress of children with a statement of SEN or Educational Health Care Plan (EHC) or additional funding will be formally reviewed at an Annual Review with all adults involved with the child’s education. At the end of each Key stage (YR2 and YR6), all children are required to be formally assessed using Standard Assessment Tests (SATS). This is a government requirement that all schools must take part in and the results are published nationally. |
|
What is Charles Darwin Primary School’s approach to teaching pupils with special educational needs or disabilities? |
Teachers have the highest possible expectations for your child and all pupils in their class. Teachers work closely with your child’s previous teacher to ensure they are building on what your child already knows, can do and can understand. We ensure that different styles of teaching are in place, so that all children can be fully involved in learning in the classroom and any suggested strategies (which may be suggested by the SENCo or outside agencies) are also included in daily teaching. Teachers will also use the “Graduated Approach” documentation and “The Companion” to ensure they are meeting the needs of all pupils. When appropriate children will have an Individual Pupil Profile which identifies their short term targets. Planning is highly differentiated and small intervention groups may be used when appropriate. Support may also be 1:1 and it may occur in the classroom or outside. It may be delivered by a teacher or a teaching assistant, or on occasions it may be necessary to employ a specialist teacher. |
|
How does Charles Darwin Primary School adapt the curriculum and learning environment for pupils with special educational needs? |
The curriculum is adapted to meet the needs of individuals. Teaching is highly differentiated to ensure it is accessibly to every member of the class. The school takes all reasonable steps to modify and adapt the learning environment to meet the needs of every child. |
|
What additional support is available for pupils with special educational needs? |
We provide various interventions and support to meet the needs of every child. Children who have a high level of need will also have access to support from outside agencies. |
|
How does Charles Darwin Primary School ensure it is fully inclusive and enables all pupils with special educational needs to access and engage in all school activities together with children who do not have special educational needs? |
We are a fully inclusive school and children will be educated alongside their peers wherever this is appropriate. Planning and teaching is highly differentiated so tasks are suitable for a wide range of learners. Teaching Assistants also support children in the classroom. |
|
What support is available for improving the emotional, mental and social development of children with special educational needs? |
We recognise that some children have extra emotional and social needs that require support in school to enable them to be developed and nurtured. These needs may manifest themselves in a number of ways, including behavioural difficulties, anxiousness and being uncommunicative. The school follows a structured PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic education) curriculum to support children’s development in this area. However, the emotional health and well-being of our pupils is very important to us and for those children who find aspects of this difficult we offer
|
|
What training is provided for staff supporting children and young people with SEND? |
Our school SENCo is fully qualified and accredited. The SENCo’s job is to support the class teacher in meeting the needs of 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. Whole staff training on SEND issues is provided by the SENCo and staff also attend courses run by outside agencies that are relevant to the needs of specific children in their class. On-going professional development is key to ensuring all staff remain updated and skilled. |
|
How is Charles Darwin Primary School accessible to children with SEND? |
|
|
What are the arrangements for consulting parents of children with special educational needs and involving such parents in the education of their child? |
Parents are actively encouraged to be partners in their child’s education through; informal discussions with the class teacher, SENCo, telephone contact, home/school diaries, individual pupil profile discussions, progress reviews, parents’ evenings and yearly written reports. |
|
What are the arrangements for consulting young people with special educational needs and involving them in their education? |
All children, regardless of SEND, are aware of their personal targets and next steps. Children who have additional needs have targets which are shared, discussed and worked towards with members of staff who are providing additional support. Children are also invited to progress meetings and encouraged to record their comments prior to a review. |
|
What specialist services are available at or accessed by the school? |
We work closely with the following outside agencies to ensure your child’s needs are met.
|
|
How do we prepare your child for joining our school or transferring to another school? |
We recognise that transition can be difficult for a child with SEND and take steps to ensure that any transition is as smooth as possible. When joining Charles Darwin Primary School, children will have the opportunity to visit prior to starting. We will also contact their previous school to ensure we have all the relevant information. When the time comes for your child to move on we will liaise with the next school and organise transition visits. We will contact the school SENCo and ensure that he/she knows about any special arrangements or support that need to be made for child. We will also make sure that all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible. |
|
What should you do if you have a concern about the school’s provision? |
In the first instance we encourage you to contact your child’s class teacher. If you still have concerns then please contact the Headteacher and SENCo. In the very unlikely event that your concern is not resolved then please contact our SEND Governor or Chair of Governors. |
|
Where can you find further information regarding services for your child? |
The information in this report forms part of Cheshire West and Chester’s Local Offer which can accessed at http://www.westcheshirelocaloffer.co.uk
|
School Gateway
School Bookings
