Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

The school has and does support learners with a wide range of SEND including; Specific Learning Difficulties such as Dyslexia and Dyspraxia; Speech, Language & Communication Needs; Attention difficulties such as ADD and ADHD; Social and Communication difficulties including Autism; Behavioural, Emotional or Social difficulties; Mental Health Difficulties; Hearing Impairment, Visual Impairment, Physical Disability and a wide range of Medical Needs. This is not an exclusive list and there are many other needs which we are able to cater for.

The school has two internal hubs; Oak Hub and Willow Hub. Oak Hub supports children with Social Communication Difficulties and Speech and Language Needs. Willow Hub supports children with Social communication difficulties alongside complex speech and language needs including Autism.

We pride ourselves on early intervention and aim to identify special needs when children enter school. Our Early Years Team are skilled in identifying children who have difficulties with learning, speech and behaviour. Early intervention is the key in achieving successful outcomes for children and their families.

The school follows the SEND Code of Practice 2015: 0 to 25 years graduated approach regarding the Identification, Assessment and Review of children with Special Educational Needs. In Y1-Y6, children’s needs are usually identified by the class teacher. Parents may also express concerns about their child’s learning or additional needs and share these concerns with school.

As a school we have access to a range of services such as; the Early Years Inclusion Team, Educational Psychology Service; the Autism Team, Step Forward Psychology and Sheffield Speech and Language Therapy Service. These services then fully assess pupils following a referral, with parental consent, being made.

Communication with parents happens in a variety of ways such as face to face conversation, letters, e mails, and phone calls. Home-school link books can be set up for those parents who are not always able to get into school. We have a SEND section on the school website with information for parents including the school Local Offer and sign posting of advice and support agencies.

For children on the SEND Register, regular reviews with appropriate staff members and outside professionals are carried out at least 3 times a year to discuss children’s individual needs, outcome targets and the provision in place. Parents are invited to attend these reviews, either in person or by phone, and are asked prior to the meeting if there are any specific outcomes they would like the school to focus on. Copies of paperwork are given to parents and for any who cannot attend, the paperwork is sent home. Children with high needs may have an Extended Support Plan or an Education, Health and Care Plan. These plans are initially compiled following at least one parent meeting, where detailed information about the child is gathered. In addition to general SEND Reviews, Education, Health and Care Plans are reviewed annually. Pupils with EHCPs in early years are reviewed every six months.

We communicate with parents in a range of ways such as face to face conversation, letters, emails, and phone calls. Seesaw communication is established for all parents, especially for those who do not always get into school. We have a specific SEN section on the school website with information for parents including the school Local Offer. Parents views are gathered on each parent’s evening where anonymous questionnaires can be completed.

All pupils have the opportunity to talk with teachers and teaching assistants on a daily basis and where possible can express their views. Pupils have access to the Learning Engagement Team (LET Team) who they can talk to about any difficulties and children may also be encouraged to work with a specific learning mentor or the school behaviour support assistant on difficulties such as behaviour. Where possible pupil views are gathered prior to their SEN review meeting and this information is shared in the review meeting. One-page profiles are completed annually with all children on the SEND register where their views, likes and things that are important to them are recorded. This is completed towards the end of the academic year with the child’s current class teacher and is used as an important transition document to inform the child’s next teacher.

SEN review meetings are held each term and the class teacher, SENCO and relevant support staff attend, along with parents. Targets are reviewed, new targets are set and any necessary actions, such as outside agency referrals, are identified. The meeting minutes are recorded and shared with relevant staff and parents. Children’s progress is also reviewed at Pupil Progress Meetings at least termly and support and interventions are identified for those pupils making less than expected progress. The SENCO  reports SEN progress and attainment to governors each term.

The school follows the SEND Code of Practice 2015: 0 to 25 years graduated approach regarding the Identification, Assessment and Review of children with Special Educational Needs.

The four key actions are:

Assess: A range of assessment strategies are used in school including Foundation Stage Assessments, Teacher assessments, SATS results, Y1 phonics test scores and Read Write Inc assessments. Children who are failing to make expected progress are discussed at Pupil Progress Meetings and placed on a monitoring register. Parents are informed of this decision by the class teacher.

The Class Teacher and SENCO s then clearly analyse a child’s needs before identifying a child as needing SEND support. At this stage, an assessment by an outside professional, such as the Speech and Language Therapist, or Learning Support Teacher may be carried out.

Plan: Where a SEND need is identified, an outcome-focused plan is developed, making sure that the child and their needs are at the centre. The Class Teacher will discuss with parents that their child requires additional support and provision. Do: The agreed plan developed in response to the assessment process is implemented. The Class Teacher works closely with the SENCO s to plan and assess interventions put in place.

Review: Regular reviews take place to discuss outcomes for each child. Progress against outcomes is evaluated to determine the effectiveness of the support provided. The review will question what is working well, what the barriers to learning are and what needs to change. Parents and the child are asked to contribute to all these stages. We are proactive in seeking out their opinions and views so that provision and outcomes can be child and family centred. Children’s progress is also reviewed at Pupil Progress Meetings which take place at the end of each term. These meetings are attended by the Headteacher, Assistant Head Phase Leader, SENCO , class teacher and Teaching Assistants/ Inclusion Staff as appropriate. Required support and interventions are identified and agreed for those pupils making less than expected progress. Targets are reviewed and new ones are set and any necessary actions such as outside agency referrals are identified; this is all done in consultation with parents.

The Assistant Headteacher for Inclusion reports SEND progress and attainment to governors each year.

Transition arrangements are put in place for Y6 pupils when secondary school places are allocated. The secondary school SENCO  contacts the SENCO  at the feeder school and makes arrangements for transition meetings. The meetings allow for the sharing of information and paperwork. It also ensures arrangements such as additional visits are put in place. The children also participate in the secondary school’s transition programme.

If children are allocated a place at Meynell and transfer from a different school at short notice, the SENCO  makes contact with the SENCO  or class teacher at the previous school to gather information about the child. All relevant paperwork is passed on from the previous school and the SENCO  ensures the class teacher has copies of this. If the transfer is longer term and planned in advance, meetings between the SENCO  and the SENCO  of the previous school are held to transfer information and paperwork.

The Assistant Headteacher for Inclusion is responsible for overseeing the provision and interventions for SEND learners.

Class teachers are responsible for Quality First Teaching and planning lessons which cater for all learners in their class. Children have access to an adapted, broad and balanced curriculum with a focus on their needs and on removing barriers to learning. This is supported by Teaching Assistants, including a highly trained Speech and Language teaching assistant, three Learning Mentors and a Senior Behaviour Coordinator. The school also supports children by providing; specialist equipment, such as ear defenders and writing aids; visual resources including word mats, Communicate in Print and shape-coding resources; individual work-stations for learners; small group and 1:1 opportunity for learning and social/emotional interventions; sessions with support staff trained in nurture-based principles; and access to counselling and therapy services from outside providers. We have two fully functioning sensory rooms based in Nursery Building and the Main School Building for our children with most significant need. It is at the school's discretion to change the routine for SEND learners. With parent agreement, children may access a reduced timetable if this is felt to be beneficial. This is always seen as a short-term measure.

The school has two in-house Hubs to support children who need a reduced stimulation environment;

• Oak Hub provision supports children to access the mainstream curriculum alongside Forest School and Life Skills based on nurture principles.
• Willow Hub provision supports children with highly-complex communication and language needs. Children who access Willow Hub have a bespoke curriculum to meet their individual needs.

There are a number of interventions running in school to support SEND learners. These include

• Small group additional phonics
• Booster groups focusing on reading, comprehension, maths etc
• Gross motor skills.
• Fine motor skills. The group uses handwriting practice, manipulation of small objects and exercises to improve hand strength, scissor skills, handwriting and other fine motor skills.
• Small groups with the LET Team to improve social skills and emotional difficulties.
• Small groups with the Learning Engagement Team to improve behavioural difficulties
• Thrive small groups and 1:1

We also run a number of speech and language interventions recommended by the speech and language service. The majority of our Teaching Assistants and Learning Mentors have been trained by the speech and language therapy service to deliver speech and language interventions.

• NELI – (Nuffield Early Language Intervention) which improves children’s language and early literacy skills.
• LEAP (Language Enrichment Activity Programme) which teaches basic vocabulary around a range of key topic areas such as animals and mainly targets children in the early years.
• VIP (Vocabulary Improvement Programme) which develops language and vocabulary in older children.
• NIP (Narrative Improvement Programme) which is based around the theme of Shaun the Sheep. The children watch a DVD and answer questions and tell the story of what they have watched.

If children require 1-1 speech therapy one of our highly trained teaching assistants will deliver a block of therapy. This may cover the pronunciation of speech sounds.

At Meynell Primary School, we feel it is important to source and find the best possible research-based training available for all staff. Training is ongoing in order to maintain and update skills as well as keep abreast of new initiatives. Both SENCOs are currently undertaking the Post Graduate Qualification for Special Educational Needs Co-ordination.

We have staff trained and able to deliver support for speech and language interventions, nurture-based principles, gross and fine motor programmes, precision teaching, autism, dyslexia, emotional well-being, mental health difficulties and a variety of medical/other needs. If a specific need arises that we may have not supported before we will work with other services to source appropriate training.

Currently, we have staff trained to deliver a wide range of interventions including:

Speech and language interventions – The programmes are recommended by the Speech and Language Service following assessment and include

• LEAP (Language Enrichment Activity Programme)
• VIP (Vocabulary Improvement Programme)
• NIP (Narrative Improvement Programme)
• Specialised 1:1 intervention advised by the Speech and Language Service and run by Communication Teaching Assistants in school.
• Precision Teaching – 1:1 daily, short intensive teaching sessions
• Gross and Fine motor skills – including the delivery of an individual package set by a Physiotherapist, handwriting practise, manipulation of small objects and exercises to improve strength and coordination, scissor skills. 
• Social and Emotional interventions -such as Circle of Friends, Lego Therapy, Yoga, Anger management, Rainbows and sessions based on Nurture principles, 
• Booster groups - Maths and Literacy focus also take place across the school.
• Thrive - supporting pupils who need support with strategies to regulate and understand theirs and others' emotions.

Key members of staff have previously been trained to use Positive Handling Techniques and Restrictive, Physical Intervention (RPI). However, all staff have a duty of care and may need to physically intervene in an emergency.

The office staff are responsible for administering medication to pupils e.g. inhalers, ADHD medication.

There are two sensory rooms in school that can be timetabled for sessions who may benefit from this.

Teachers are also given information for their year group that outlines all the children's additional needs including SEN, safeguarding, attendance and identifies pupil premium children.

The progress of all pupils is monitored each term and information is shared at Pupil Progress Meetings. These are attended by teachers, the headteacher, Assistant Headteacher Phase leaders and SENCO s. Discussions regarding the progress of all pupils takes place and children not making progress in line with expectations are identified. Next steps for interventions are agreed with interventions having specific entry and exit data and progress is measured against this.

The majority of children are assessed against the year group expectations for their year group, but for some children this is not appropriate. For a few of our children who are working significantly outside of their year group, we are using the Birmingham Toolkit to monitor small steps of progress. The Birmingham Toolkit is used in years 2 -6 where all children on the toolkit have been baselined to identify gaps and to monitor small steps of progress. Where progress falls below that expected, we adjust provision accordingly to ensure children have the best possible opportunities to fulfil their potential.

Meynell Primary School is committed to providing equal opportunities for all, regardless of race, faith, gender or capability in all aspects of school. We promote self and mutual respect and a caring and non-judgemental attitude throughout the school.

We aim to include all learners in school trips, residential visits and after school clubs. Planning for this is done in conjunction with parents/carers. A trained first aider attends each visit and can administer medication where necessary. Some parents may be asked to accompany their child on a day trip. We have previously adapted the length of time children attend a residential and children have just attended part of the residential where this is appropriate.

Our Learning Engagement Team is made up of 3 Learning Mentors and a Senior Behaviour Co-ordinator. The learning Engagement Team lead a number of small groups, targeting children’s self-esteem, emotions and social skills alongside behavioural issues. There is a strong focus on social and life skills and the children are supported in improving their behaviour.

We have seven qualified Thrive practitioners throughout school, who deliver Thrive sessions in small groups or 1:1.

Every class has a weekly Jigsaw PSHE lesson where children are given the opportunity to discuss any issues, feelings and emotions.

We have good relationships with a number of external agencies including Educational Psychology, Speech and Language Therapy, the Autism Team and MAST. This list is by no means exhaustive. In their first instance the SENCOs will contact the relevant agency for advice and support, make referrals and coordinate their working in school. These external agencies are used to identify a child’s barriers to learning and provide advice for both school staff and parents.

We monitor their emotional well-being, presentation in school and learning progress in school. We regularly liaise with foster carers, social workers and the Local Authority.  We have regular PEP meetings and update their targets, assessing impact throughout the year. The views of children are always sought and shared at all meetings and where appropriate the child or child’s advocate attend the meeting. The Designated Teacher for Looked After Children is our Assistant Headteacher for Inclusion Gemma Smith.

Meynell Primary School will ensure it meets its duties under the Schools Admissions Code of Practice by:

• Not refusing admission for a child that has named the school in their EHC plan.
• Adopting fair practices and arrangements in accordance with the Schools Admission Code for the admission of children without an EHC plan.
• Considering applications from parents of children who have SEND but do not have an EHC plan.
• Not refusing admission for a child who has SEND but does not have an EHC plan because the school does not feel able to cater for those needs.
• Not refusing admission for a child on the grounds that they do not have an EHC plan.