Dogmersfield C.E (Aided) Primary School

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SEND Information Report

Dogmerfield Primary School – School Information SEND

SENDco: Mrs Kate Steven

How does the school know if children need extra help and what should I do if I think my child has SEND?

 

At Dogmersfield Primary School the children are identified as having SEN through a variety of ways

  • Liaison with pre-school or previous school.
  • Concerns raised by the class teacher
  • Concerns raised by parents.
  • Concerns raised by external agencies.
  • A diagnosis from a paediatrician indicating a condition that may affect performance.

How will I raise concerns if I need to?

  • Firstly talk to the class teacher, who will raise your concern with the Special Needs Coordinator (Mrs Steven) if appropriate.
  • Make an appointment with the Special Needs Coordinator (SENDCo) and then the Headteacher if necessary.
  • We have an open door policy and hope parents will feel confident to approach the school with any concerns they have.

How will school support my child?

  • The Class Teacher plans differentiated work for each child with additional needs to ensure that progress is made in every area.
  • The school SENDCo will oversee all support and progress of any child requiring additional support.
  • There may be an LSA working with your child either individually or in a small group. This may be support with activities within the classroom or may be a specific intervention programme. 

How are governors involved and what are their responsibilities?

  • The SENDCo prepares a report for every Full Governing Body Meeting to inform them of the progress of children with Special Educational Needs and how the school is supporting them. Confidentiality is maintained at all times.
  • One governor is named as having a responsibility for Special Educational Needs. We are currently in the process of agreeing updated responsibilities within the Governing Body.
  • In collaboration with the Headteacher and the SENDCo, the governors agree priorities for spending the SEN budget, ensuring that the children receive the support they need in order to progress.

How will the curriculum be matched to my child's needs? What are the school's approaches to differentiation and how will that help my child?

  • All work within the class is differentiated to enable all children to access the curriculum according to their specific needs.
  • There may be several different levels of work within the same lesson and different levels of adult support provided to different groups of children.
  • Some children may require one to one support from an adult for part of a lesson.

How will I know how my child is doing and how will you help me to support my child?

  • We offer an open door policy and you are welcome to make an appointment with the class teacher or SENDCo to discuss how your child is getting on. We can offer practical advice on how to help your child at home.
  • We believe your child's education is a partnership between home and school and like to keep communication channels open. Some children with more complex needs may have a Home/School Link book to record important details about the day.
  • Additional meetings with your child's class teacher, school SENDCo, or the school Emotional Literacy Support Assistants, may be held to discuss your child's progress, in addition to the usual parent consultations.
  • Some children will have an Individual Education Plan. This will list specific targets and is reviewed termly. The targets are shared with parents and the expectation is that your child will achieve the target by the time it is to be reviewed.
  • Your child may be given a programme of activities from an outside agency such as Speech and Language Therapy or occupational therapy. This programme will need to be delivered both at home and at school.
  • If your child has complex Special Educational Needs they may have a Statement of Special Educational Needs/EHCP (Education Health & Care Plan). In additional to informal meetings during the year, a formal review meeting will take place annually to discuss progress, and a report will be written after the meeting.

How does the school know how well my child is doing?

  • At school we measure children's progress in learning against national and age-related expectations.
  • The class teacher makes continual assessments of each child's progress, noting areas of improvement and areas requiring further support. The children are tracked in a variety of ways such as book monitoring, verbal and written assessment.
  • When a child's Individual Education Plan is reviewed, comments are made against targets. Targets are adjusted or adapted into smaller steps if they are not being met. A different strategy may be tried or the school may seek the advise of an external agency.

What support will there be for my child's overall well-being?

  • We are an inclusive school and celebrate individuality. We believe that high self-esteem is crucial to children's well being. We work as a team caring and looking after our children.
  • The class teacher has overall responsibility for the pastoral, health and social care of every child in the class. The class teacher is, therefore, the first point of contact for parents. The class teacher may liaise with the SENDCo for further advice. The school may need support from external agencies such as the School Nurse or Behaviour Support team to ensure that the child is being supported in the best way possible.
  • The school has a Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) in each key stage. The ELSAs work under the direction of the teachers, providing emotional support to children as and when it is needed.
  • The school has a Parent Support Advisor (PSA) who provides further support for parents and children as needed.

How does the school manage the administration of medicines?

  • The school has a policy regarding the administration of medicine during the school day.
  • Parents need to contact the school administration staff if a health professional has prescribed medicine to be taken at school. A Consent Form will need to be completed by the parent prior to the medicine coming into school, and given to the school staff along with the medication.
  • The school administration staff oversee and administer prescribed medication. Each time medicine is given, details are recorded by 2 members of school staff.
  • Staff are trained and updated on conditions and medications to enable them to manage a child's specific medical needs as necessary. For example where a teacher has a child in their class who has an Epipen, they will attend the relevant training.

What support is there for behaviour, avoiding exclusion and increasing attendance?

  • We have a positive approach to behaviour with both a reward and sanction system that is followed by all staff and children.
  • A child with behaviour difficulties may have targets set on an Individual Behaviour Plan (IBP). The targets are written alongside the child and specific issues are shared with all staff so that positive support can be given to the child. Exclusion is very low.
  • Children reflect on their behaviour, in line with the class charters which are sent home to be shared with parents at the beginning of each academic year. There is also a Home/School Agreement which is signed by the school, the child and parents at the beginning of each Key Stage.
  • Behaviour and appropriate social skills are discussed during Personal, Social and Health Education lessons. Children are encouraged to identify why incidents happen and what can be done differently in the future.
  • Some children may take part in a series of sessions with the ELSA to help them to identify how to improve their behaviour.
  • Attendance is monitored on a daily basis; lateness and absence are recorded and reported to the Headteacher. All unexplained absences are followed up with a phone call home. Good attendance is actively encouraged throughout the school. A monthly attendance percentage for each class is sent home on a newsletter, and children are awarded termly certificates for attending every day with good punctuality. There is a prize at the end of the academic year for children with one hundred per cent attendance and no late marks in the register.

How will my child be able to contribute their views?

  • At the beginning of the school year the children work with their class teacher to agree a class charter. A copy is sent home to share with parents and a copy is signed and displayed in each classroom.
  • We are a Rights, Respect and Responsibilities school where children talk about all aspects of school life. Their views can be expressed at School Council meetings.
  • In years 2 and 6 the children complete the Hampshire online questionnaire giving feedback about our school.
  • Children with IEPs and IBPs are involved in setting their targets and receive awards for achieving them.
  • Children are encouraged to speak to adults and other children. Some children may need support from the school ELSAs to express their views and understand different feelings.
  • If your child has a Statement of Special Educational Needs/EHCP, their views will be sought before any review meetings.
  • Your child has the opportunity to comment on their progress as part of their annual report.

What services and expertise are available at or accessed by the school? 

  • The school has a SENDCo who attends regular update meetings.
  • The school has 2 trained Emotional Literacy Support Assistants, one in each Key Stage.
  • As a school we work closely with any external agencies that we feel are relevant to individual children's needs. These include Educational Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, School Nurse, General Practitioners, Paediatricians, Clinical Psychologists, Behaviour Support Service, Social Workers, Child and Adult Mental Health Services, and Parent Support Advisor and Specialist teachers (for example for a child with visual or hearing impairment.)

What training have the staff had in order to support children with SEN? 

  • All staff are trained to support a child with SEND. In Service training (INSET) has included supporting children with dyslexia, developing emotional resilience in children and working on specific skills in maths,
  • Some staff have been involved in specific interventions such as Speech and Language programmes, Occupational Therapy programmes, delivering phonics programmes and helping children to improve their own behaviour.
  • Our two Emotional Support Assistants are trained by a team of Educational Psychologists.

How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including educational visits? 

  • All children are included in all parts of the school curriculum including educational visits off the school premises. Additional staff will support children if necessary to enable all children to safely and happily take part in all activities.

How accessible is the school environment? 

  • The school site is accessible for all. The doorways, disabled toilets, a shower and fire exits are all accessible to all children.

How will the school prepare and support my child when joining and transferring to a new school? 

  • All children are invited to a series of visits prior to starting their reception year. Each child has a visit to their home from a member of staff.
  • The school SENDCo meets some of the preschool staff to discuss the needs of children joining the school. All preschool settings are asked to provide information that will help our school to provide the appropriate support for each child. The school offers to visit any of the preschools to see the child doing activities in a familiar setting.
  • Part time attendance can be arranged for some children in their reception year if appropriate.
  • We encourage all new children to visit the school and come to a taster day before starting here. Additional days can be arranged to help a child to feel prepared for the move.
  • Children transferring to new schools are encouraged to attend taster days.
  • Our year 6 children attend taster days in preparation for their secondary education. Some secondary school offer additional orientation days for children who have additional needs.
  • We liaise closely with staff in other schools to make sure all paperwork is passed on and all needs are discussed and understood.
  • If your child has complex needs then a transition meeting will be held to discuss the support that needs to be in place for them.

How are the school's resources matched to Special Educational Needs? 

  • The needs of children with SEND are met as fully and to the best of the school's ability as far as school funds allow.
  • Staff are funded from the budget to deliver programmes designed to meet the needs of children with SEN.
  • The SEND budget is allocated on a needs basis; those most in need are given most support.

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child will receive? 

  • The class teacher and the SENDCo will discuss a child's needs and how they are best to be met.
  • Individual children will require varying amounts of support in order to reach age-expected levels.
  • Some children will have programmes of activities from external agencies that they will need to work on with an adult at school. (For example Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy.)

How do we know if the support has had an impact? 

  • By reviewing children's targets on Individual Education Programmes and making sure that progress is being made.
  • The child is making progress academically against national/age related levels.
  • The child is narrowing the gap with their peers.
  • Written or verbal feedback is given to parents about the child's success.

Who will I contact for further information? 

  • Your first point of contact is your child's class teacher. You could also arrange to meet the SENDCo (Mrs Steven) or the Headteacher.
  • There is information regarding Special Educational Needs on the school website.
  • You can contact SENDIASS  who can help parents to gain more information on how to support their child. www.hampshiresendiass.co.uk
  • The School Nurse and Parent Support Advisor can provide information and advice. They can be contacted through the school office.
  • You can contact the school on 01252 616345 if you are interested in looking round the school and applying for a place for your child. We will be pleased to make an appointment to discuss your child's needs. 

What do I do if I have a complaint concerning my child?

If you are not happy with the provision made for your child, please contact the class teacher or the SENDCo to explain your concerns. If you are not satisfied that your complaint has been addressed please speak to the KS1/KS2 leader or the Headteacher. If you still do not feel that the issues have been resolved, please follow our formal complaints procedure as outlined in the Complaints Procedure policy