Most children and young people in mainstream schools will have their special educational needs met through good classroom practice. This is called Quality First Teaching.
As a school, we assess all children continuously. We carry out formal assessments at the end of every half term to measure their progress and identify the next steps in their learning. We work in partnership with parents/carers and pupils to build working relationships. If there is an identification of need then a class teacher will meet with parents/carers and if deemed necessary, will complete a ‘Short Note’. The Short Note outlines areas of strength and difficulty and sets agreed outcomes and next steps. We may begin to consider the involvement of relevant, external agencies or use assessment tools, classroom observations and materials to support the early identification of SEN status for a pupil.
Early Identification of Need
In deciding whether to make special education provision to support educational, social, physical or emotional needs, we:
- Work in partnership with parents/carers, pupils
- Consult with relevant external agencies
- Use assessment tools & materials
- Use observations
- Use Short Notes
- Other
SEN Support
Where a pupil is identified as having a special educational need we follow a graduated approach which takes the form of cycles of “Assess, Plan, Do, Review”.
This means that we will:
- Assess a child’s special educational needs
- Plan the provision to meet your child’s aspirations and agreed outcomes
- Do put the provision in place to meet those outcomes
- Review the support and progress
As part of this approach every child with SEN will have an individualised SEN Support Plan that describes the child’s needs, outcomes & provision to meet those needs. Parents/carers and child/YP (where appropriate) views are integral to the this process.
A small percentage of children and young people with significant and/or complex needs may require an assessment that could lead to an Education, Health and Care Plan.
At Middlestone Moor Primary termly assessment is carried out and by staff who work together to moderate children’s work. This moderation is supported by the Local Authority on a regular basis. The school uses a tracking system to analyse data and to identify gaps in children’s learning and to plan appropriate intervention when required. Different children require different levels of support to diminish the difference and to achieve age related expectations.
Children/young people may join Middlestone Moor primary School with parents having a clear understanding of their child’s needs and as a school we see parents as partners in their child’s educational journey. In this case we work together with parents/carers and young children/person and education, health and social care professionals to design an individualised SEN Support Plan that describes the child’s needs, outcomes & provision to meet those needs. Parents/carers and child/young person views are integral to this process.
School staff may initially identify a concern and the class teacher alongside the SENCo will discuss the child’s needs and a meeting with parents/carers and/or the child/young person would be arranged at the earliest opportunity. During this meeting a Short Note would be completed with agreed outcomes for the child/young person and next steps. The next steps may require the involvement of specialist support or advice for example, Educational Psychology, SENDIASS (Parents Advice and Support Service) or another of education health and social care professional. It is important to understand that the involvement of professionals does not always seek to label or diagnose but to seek advice and strategies which may be employed to enable a child/young person to reach their full potential.
For some concerns, we may discuss the involvement of specialist support, for example, Education Psychology, SENDIASS (support for families) or Occupational Therapy. It is important to understand that the involvement of professionals does not always seek to ‘label’ or ‘diagnose’ children but to seek advice or strategies to help them to reach their full potential. As part of this approach every child with SEN will have an individualised SEN Support Plan that describes the child’s needs, outcomes and provision to meet those needs. Parents/carers and child/young person views are integral to the this process.
The purpose of an EHCP is to make special educational provision to meet special educational needs of the child or young person, to secure the best possible outcomes for them across education (SEND Code of Practice p.142). It is a legal document that describes a child or young person’s special educational, health and social care needs.
We currently have six EHC Plans. For more detailed information see the Local Offer
Details of Identification and Assessment of Pupils with SEN
If your child has SEN, it is important for us to carry out formal assessments to identify their strengths and identify their needs accurately. To do this, we will use a range of methods depending upon their needs. When your child enters our school, their current attainment is assessed to give us a ‘baseline’ from where they will progress.
Teaching Assistants – which will focus on their specific difficulties. At Middlestone Moor, we have experience of supporting children with a wide range of needs. We currently have children with a variety of needs in school including:
- Autistic Spectrum Disorders
- Communication and Interaction difficulties
- Medical conditions
- Speech and language difficulties
- General learning difficulties
- Gross motor and fine motor difficulties (including balance, coordination and handwriting)
- Difficulties with literacy skills (including reading, writing and spelling)
- Difficulties with maths skills
The school has a number of Teaching Assistants who have training and expertise in the following areas;
- Fine and gross Motor Skills
- Speech and Language
- Autistic Spectrum
- ADD/ADHD
- Behaviour support
- Mentoring support
Depending upon their needs, other assessments may be needed. These could include:
- Speech Therapy Assessments – which may focus on sound production, language understanding, or other relevant assessments to your child’s needs
- Education Psychology Assessments – which may include memory, understanding, reasoning, logic, and general skills assessments
- The outcomes of all assessments are shared with parents and carers at our Parent Consultation meetings and in your child’s School Report. If other agencies are invited to work with your child, you will be invited to attend a meeting where the outcomes of these assessments and their next steps will be shared with you.
- Your child’s school achievements may be assessed against the levels expected for children who are working on the National Curriculum (i.e. the same as the majority of other children in their year group), or they may be assessed against other measures for children who are not ready to work on National Curriculum Levels (i.e. the steps before the National Curriculum).
How are resources made available to support children with SEN?
The resources we use to support children with SEN depend upon their needs and they are allocated on an individual basis. Once your child has been identified as SEN, their needs will be assessed and targets and outcomes will be identified. It is the responsibility of the SENCO to ensure that the resources that are required are made available and that staff are aware of their individual needs. We are very flexible in our approach and we constantly monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of our interventions and the provision that we provide.
- Often, speech and language therapists are able to offer blocks of therapy in school. Following sessions, our staff receive reports and resources so we are able to address the difficulties children experience quickly.
- As part of our staff professional development, all members of staff received training to support children with SEND.
- School-based CPD – systems and procedures, staff audit, staff planning and agreed action points.
Staff Training: will vary each year depending upon the needs of the children.
For further information please view or download our Accessibility Plan which can be found in the School Policies section of our website.
