Special Educational Needs Provision

We believe that the community of Twelve Apostles Primary School reflects and celebrates the diversity of God’s family. Our commitment is to the needs of every child. All children are valued as unique individuals and all will be given the best opportunities to achieve their full potential, including those who may face barriers to learning.

“Since every person of whatever race, condition and age is endowed with human dignity they have an inalienable right to an education corresponding to their proper destiny and suited to their talents” Gravissimum Educationis.

We are continually assessing and monitoring both the academic and social welfare of all children within our school to ensure that all children can access the curriculum and achieve their potential. School staff make continuous observations of all children in their care, both academically and in their wider school lives. These observations, along with various assessment data, may highlight issues or concerns for particular children. Where this is the case, in the first instance, teaching staff will have a conversation with parents/carers, and with the SENCO (Mrs O’Boyle). If after that conversation and a sharing of concerns, we agree that further investigation or intervention is required, then and only then will we proceed. Through effective transition procedures with nursery and other settings we will be aware of a child’s needs at the earliest stage.

If your child is identified as not making expected progress or if there are any concerns, the school will set up a meeting to discuss this with you in more detail to:

• Give parents/carers an opportunity to voice any concerns they or their child may have
• School will work in partnership with parents and/or carers to develop a plan to ensure children receive the right levels of support
• It can sometimes be thought necessary to involve outside agencies to support your child’s learning, this will only be done with informed parental consent.

Class teacher

Responsible for:

• Checking on the progress of a child and identifying, planning and delivering any additional help a child may need (this could be things like targeted work, additional support) and liaising with the SENCO.
• Assessing programmes of work (APDR), and sharing and reviewing these with parents
• Ensuring that all staff working with a child in school are helped to deliver the planned work/programme for a child, so they can achieve the best possible progress. This may involve the use of additional adults, outside specialist help, and specially planned work and resources.
• Ensuring that the school’s SEND Policy is followed in their classroom and for all the pupils they teach with any SEND.

The SENCO (Mrs. O’Boyle)

Responsible for:

• Coordinating all the support for children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) and developing the school’s SEND Policy to make sure all children receive a consistent, high quality response to meeting their needs in school. *Writing all individual programmes of work for children with SEND (APDRS) including those with EHCs
• Supporting the teachers to ensure that parents are: involved in supporting their child’s learning, kept informed about the support their child is getting and involved in reviewing how they are doing.
• Liaising with all the other people who may be coming into school to help support a child’s learning e.g. Speech and Language Therapy, Educational Psychology etc.
• Updating the school’s SEND record (a system for ensuring the SEND needs of pupils in this school are known) and making sure that there are effective records of a child’s progress and provision.
• Completing EHC application for assessments and EHC annual reviews for those children assessed at a significant level of need *Providing support/ training for teachers and support staff in school - so they can help children with SEND in the school achieve the best possible progress.

Headteacher (Mrs. Whitton)

Responsible for:

• The day to day management of all aspects of the school, this includes the support for children with SEND.
• Mrs. Whitton gives responsibility to the SENCO and class teachers, but is still responsible for ensuring that a child’s needs are met.
• Mrs. Whitton makes sure that the Governing Body is kept up to date about any issues in the school relating to SEND from information shared by the SENCo

Governors / SEND Governor (Mrs. Roughley/Mrs. Lovett):

Responsible for:

• Monitoring that the necessary support is made for any child who attends the school who has SEND

If any parent has concerns about a child’s learning or development, please arrange to meet with firstly the child’s class teacher who will then liaise with the SENCO (Mrs. O’Boyle)

Both the class teachers and the SENCo can be contacted via the school office or at 01942 674312.

There are various different types of support at Twelve Apostles. These include outstanding quality first teaching:

Specific group work with in a smaller group of children: (Target Groups)

This group, often called Intervention/target groups

• Children will engage in group sessions with specific targets to help them to make more progress.
• A teaching assistant/teacher would run these small group sessions using specific plans
• Planned, targeted support, delivered in the classroom or outside in the resource area, with work carefully planned by the teacher/ other professional to meet the needs of the children
• Delivered by a teacher or a teaching assistant who has had training to run these groups.

If any outside expertise is needed, Mrs. O’Boyle will arrange this.

SEND Support

A child will have been identified as needing further support the class teacher/SENCO (or parents / carers will have raised worries) as needing more specialist input in addition to quality first teaching and intervention groups

• A parent / carer will be asked to come to a meeting (often at parents’ evening) to discuss their child’s progress and to help plan possible ways forward; an individual plan for the child will be written (APDR) with specific targets
• A parent/ carer may be asked to give their permission for the school to refer a child to a specialist professional e.g. Educational Psychologist / TESS/ Sensory support etc. This will help the school to understand a child’s particular needs better and be able to support them better in school
• The specialist professional may work with the child to understand their needs and to make recommendations. For example:
• Making changes to the way the child is supported in class e.g some individual support or changing some aspects of teaching to support them better, resources (essential provision) to meet their needs
• Support to set better targets which will include their specific expertise
• A group run by school staff under the guidance of the outside professional e.g a social skills group
• A group or individual work with an outside professional

This type of support is available for children with specific barriers to learning that cannot be overcome through quality first teaching and small intervention groups.

Specified Individual high level support

This level of need is assessed by the Local Authority and is usually provided via an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This means the child will have been identified by the class teacher, SENCO, external professionals as needing a particularly high level of individual or small group teaching, which cannot be wholly provided from the budget available to the school. Usually the child will also need specialist support in school from a professional outside the school eg. Targeted Education Support Service or the Educational Psychologist. The professionals will firstly make recommendations that will be implemented, monitored and evaluated. Then at a review meeting, if it is decided that support needs to continue and that the cost of support needed for the child goes beyond £6000, then the school or parents/carers can apply to the Local Authority for an Educational Health Care Assessment.

For a child this would mean:

• The school (or parent / carer) requests that the Local Authority carry out a statutory assessment of a child’s needs. This is a legal process which sets out the provision for the child.
• After the school / parent carer has sent in the request to the Local Authority, the LA will decide whether they think the child’s needs, seem complex enough to need a statutory assessment. All professionals involved with the child write a report as part of the assessment outlining the child’s needs. After the reports have all been collated, the Local Authority will decide if the child’s needs are severe, complex and lifelong. If this is the case and is agreed at a Local Authority professional panel, they will write an EHC Plan. If this is not the case, they will ask the school to continue with the support provided.
• The EHC Plan will outline the provision that the child will receive. It will also have long and short term outcomes for the child. An additional adult may be used to support the child with whole class learning or provision may be made in small groups. The provision made is all dependent on the child’s complex needs and the outcomes written by the LA in the EHC Plan.

We firmly believe in the early identification of children with SEND and at Twelve Apostles we identify four broad areas of need: Communication and Interaction; Cognition and Learning; Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties; Sensory and Physical Needs. (as outlined in the Code of Practice); however, we give priority on assessing each child’s individual needs rather than placing them into specific categories.

• The school has a training plan for all staff to improve the teaching and learning of children including those with SEND. (teachers and teaching assistants) This includes whole school training on SEND issues such as ASD and Speech and language difficulties, and the categories of need outlined above.
• Individual teachers and support staff attend training courses run by outside agencies that are relevant to the needs of specific children in their class. Professionals may work closely with individual teachers and advise them on strategies to use
• The SENCO contacts and liaises with outside agencies where necessary to support a child’s individual needs

Depending on the needs of the child, they may work with either or both an educational service or the health service. A child will have access to these services through school or through referral by the parents / carers. The following is a list of some of the agencies school works with.

School Pastoral Mentor: Mrs. Stones

At school we believe that support should be provided for all children to improve their emotional and social development. Within school, the Pastoral Mentor works with those children who have health, mental health or behavioural difficulties; her training enables her to offer opportunities for children to process their feelings and develop coping strategies. Mrs. Stones ensures the children who need specific well-being / mindfulness sessions are allocated this provision and she will liaise with the parents accordingly. Mrs. Stones also works closely and supports the parents, families and carers of children who may have specific barriers to learning and / or SEND. This is often through Early Help Meetings.

School Well Being Sessions / drawing therapy – Miss. Hancock works in school with targeted children.

Mindfulness sessions – These are provided in school with a trained therapist, to support those children with anxiety or SEMH difficulties

Targeted Support Service – Outside expertise from the Local authority that can provide specific support based on the child’s individual needs

Educational Psychology Service - Referrals are made by the SENCo according to need

Sensory Service - for children with visual or hearing needs

Speech and Language Therapy - provided by the Health Care Service or working with the school based Speech and Language programme ELKLAN delivered by the SENCo and supported by TAs

School Nurse / Health Visitor - provided by the Health Care Service they work closely with Mrs. Stones to support families / children

Specialist Nurses - for specific medical conditions

CAMHS - (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services)

Outreach / Inreach - Professionals from specialist provision (Rowan Tree, Landgate, Willow Grove etc) supporting children and teachers with specific strategies

Occupational Therapy - supporting children and teachers with strategies for physical / sensory needs

Physiotherapy - supporting children and teachers with strategies for physical needs

Social Care / Startwell - supporting children and families. Mrs. Stones is the school link for social care and Startwell

• The use of adaptive teaching/ differentiated work, along with different and appropriate teaching styles to meet the needs of the children. Planning and teaching may be adapted if needed and reasonable adjustments made to meet your child’s learning needs; this is documented on the child’s agreed individual plan (APDR) Children may attend Nurture Provision if they need further group support
• The encouragement of peer support through mixed ability grouping and paired and group reading and writing activities
• The development of pupils’ self- esteem through praise, rewards, merits and a caring ethos in the class and throughout the school
• The use of teaching assistants to provide extra individual or small group attention. Specific resources and strategies (reasonable adjustments / essential provision) will be used to support a child individually and in groups, based on a child’s individual needs
• Liaison with parents to share in the child’s learning and to discuss the child’s work
• The use of target setting and individual planning: APDR, class teachers plan lessons according to the specific needs of all groups of children in their class, and will ensure that a child’s needs are met. Assessments will be made through Bsquared to highlight small steps of progress and evidence based interventions include: Soundswrite, Maths Recovery, Nurture Provision and Precision Monitoring

• Before school provision and extra- curricular activities are accessible to children and best endeavours are made to enable all to access them safely. Occasionally some conditions can call for extra risk assessments on school trips, e.g. if a wheelchair is needed etc. If your child’s circumstances call for a teaching assistant or carer, then they may also attend most trips. The school endeavours to be as fully inclusive as is possible.

• A child’s progress is continually monitored by the class teacher through ongoing formative assessments
• The child’s progress is reviewed formally every term and an outcome of: at the expected level or below / above the expected level for the year group given in the core subjects
• A child with additional needs may also be tracked using the schools B squared assessment alongside assessing the targets set on the APDR to provide more information of smaller steps of progress.
• Children at SEN support will have an individual plan with specific targets for the child - this is called an APDR – this will be reviewed with parental / pupil involvement
• The progress of children with an EHC Plan is formally reviewed on an annual basis with the child, parent/carers and all professionals involved with the child’s education.
• The Head teacher (Mrs. Whitton), Deputy Head teacher (Mrs. Whitton), Assistant Headteacher (Mrs. Marsden) and the school SENCo (Mrs. O’Boyle) will also check that a child is making good progress through monitoring the progress and attainment that children are working at and in discussion with the class teachers every half term (pupil progress meetings-one of which is specifically dedicated to the progress of children with additional needs)

SATS: At the end of each key stage (i.e. at the end of year 2 and year 6) all children are required to be formally assessed using Standard Assessment Tests (SATS). This is something the government requires all schools to do and the results are published nationally. All other classes complete end of year assessments, these could be optional SATs, or other formal assessments, these are given to the senior leadership team and to the next class teacher so there is a continuous understanding of the child’s progress, attainment and areas of need. If the child is not yet working within National Curriculum age related expectations a more sensitive assessment tool may be used which shows smaller but significant steps of progress. Teachers ensure that they follow current advice from the DfE Statutory Guidance concerning formal assessments

• The Head Teacher decides on the budget for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in consultation with the school governors, on the basis of need in the school
• The Head Teacher and the SENCO, discuss all the information they have about SEND in the school. They then decide what resources/training and what support is needed alongside considering the budget required
• All resources/training and support are reviewed regularly and changes made as needed.

• The LA provides support for children and parents with SEND. This is called SENDIASS. They offer a free and impartial advice and support to families and young people 0-25 who have SEND. They can be contacted on 01942 233323
• The class teacher is available to discuss a child’s progress or any concerns and to share information about what is working well at school so similar strategies can be used at home. Planning for the child will be reviewed with parent / carers involvement (APDR) Homework may also be adjusted as needed to meet a child’s individual needs
• A regular home/school message through class dojo may be used to support communication, when this has been agreed to be useful.

The SENCO and Headteacher are available to discuss a child’s progress or any concerns or worries. The Pastoral Mentor is also available to meet with parents and carers to discuss any concerns or worries. They can be contacted via the school office.

• The building is accessible to children with a physical disability via ramps. The infant area, junior area and hall can all be accessed without the use of stairs, using the ramps provided. There is a disabled toilet for those children with a physical disability. Risk assessments have been completed for areas in school ( for further information see Health and Safety Policy)
• Equipment used is accessible to all children regardless of their need. Reasonable adjustments and essential provision is made when needed as detailed on the children’s APDR. For those children with hearing needs / visual needs equipment is provided for support through the sensory service
• Before school provision is accessible to all children including those with SEND
• Extra- curricular activities are accessible for children with SEND

For those parents whose first language is not English, every endeavour will be made to ensure all information is understood. This usually involves consultation with the EMAS team / school / parents carers/ pastoral mentor to consider how to communicate appropriately based on need

Our school has a comprehensive pastoral system which aids the holistic approach of the school.

This includes:

Nurture Provision

Twelve Apostles Nurture Provision is founded on evidence-based practice and offers an inclusive, focused intervention. The nurture group is a class of between five - ten children who attend on a part time basis for sessions throughout the day. The group is run by two members of staff led by Mrs. O’Boyle (SENCo) Children attend the nurture group but remain an active part of their main class group; they spend appropriate times within the nurture group according to their need and typically return full time to their own class within two to five terms; however, some children may attend for longer periods of time based on their individual need.

In the nurture group, we assess learning and social and emotional needs and give the necessary help to remove the barriers to learning. There is great emphasis on language development and communication. Nothing is taken for granted and everything is explained, supported by role modelling, demonstration and the use of gesture as appropriate. The adults provide a role model that children observe and begin to copy. Food is shared at ‘breakfast’ or ‘snack time’ with many opportunities for social learning, helping children to attend to the needs of others, with time to listen and be listened to. As the children learn academically and socially, they develop confidence, become responsive to others, learn self-respect and take pride in behaving well and in achieving.

Nurture support is not limited to the nurture group, as all the school embed the nurturing principles and practice at a whole school level, providing appropriate support for all pupils attending This includes:

• Pastoral Mentor support, focusing on social and emotional development, delivered 1:1, paired or in a group as appropriate, either in or out of class.
• Tailored intervention programmes
• Intervention from the LA for children and their parents/carers on referral, delivered both in school and in the home.
• Intervention from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) for children and their parents
• Intervention from the School Well Being sessions / Mindfulness sessions, based on the child’s individual need

• Pre-school meetings are held in the summer term (May/June) prior to the child beginning school in the September – this enables staff to learn more about a child’s needs and for parents to provide any information they would like to share
• A home-school meeting may be organised in the September of the new academic year, with the parent / carer, child and the reception teacher, so that there is a further opportunity to discuss a child’s needs
• A transition meeting is held between the nursery staff and the reception teacher/ SENCo so that information can be passed on and discussed in detail before a child begins school
• A meeting is held between the Local Authority Early Years Leader and / or the SENCO and the reception teacher, prior to a child beginning school so that any SEND information can be shared
• As each child begins a new class, a pupil profile meeting is completed between the existing teacher and the next teacher so that SEND children can be discussed in detail, to ensure there is a smooth transition and that the child’s individual needs are shared
• As each child progresses to secondary school, the Year 6 teacher shares all relevant information with the Head of Year and the Pastoral Manager of the chosen secondary school so that there is a smooth transition between schools and to ensure the child’s individual needs are shared. The SENCo shares all the SEND information at planned transition meetings
• There are a number of occasions where the children visit their secondary school so that they are more confident when they begin the next stage of their education. The Pastoral Mentor also completes a number of activities with the children to prepare them for the next stage in their education
• Further visits to the child’s secondary school can be arranged if needed, and meetings with the parent / teachers/ Pastoral Mentor /SENCO can be made to share further relevant information as required and for parents to share any concerns/ worries they may have. For those children who join or leave school mid- year information will be shared via the transfer system and consultations with previous settings

• For any concerns about the provision or progress of a child please initially contact the child’s teacher who will be more than willing to discuss them
• The SENCO or the Headteacher can then be contacted
• If you are still not happy the SEND Governor can be contacted

All the above can be contacted through the school office or on 01942 674312

The Virtual School Team work with every school that is educating a child looked after by Wigan Council. Every school has a designated teacher tasked with tracking, supporting and promoting the educational achievement of those children. The designated teacher is Mrs. Whitton

https://www.wigan.gov.uk/Resident/Education/Educational-support/Virtual-School-Team.aspx

• The needs of all the pupils who may have special educational needs either throughout, or at any time during, their time at XII Apostles will be met and provided for in the most suitable and appropriate way. Those children who are classed as ‘looked after’, because they are not living with their parents, will be monitored and tracked carefully. Their progress will be reported to the Head teacher, assessment manager and Governors
• A designated teacher (Mrs. Whitton) attends Local authority meetings where further information is given on how best to provide for this group of children. Mrs. Whitton monitors the provision and progress for looked after children including those with special educational needs
• All children who are’ Looked after’ with SEND working at SEN support or with an EHC, will have a Personal Education Plan, this is reviewed regularly supported by Mrs. Whitton

The Local authority have published further information (the Local Offer) as to the services they provide for families of children with SEND, these can be accessed here:

https://www.wigan.gov.uk/Resident/Education/Special-Educational-Needs-and-Disability/Local-Offer/Parent/index.aspx

12 Apostles SEND Policy