Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Academic year 2024-2025

Our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCo) is Mrs Davies.. Please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Davies if you have a concern about your child at your earliest convenience as we believe that Early Intervention is the biggest factor to success. We are so keen to support you as partners in meeting the presenting needs of your child and will do this through a Tiered Approach.

At Mary Tavy and Brentor School our job is to do the best we can to enable all of our children to reach their full potential. In order to do this many steps are taken to support them through their learning journey.

This information is to inform you of the types of support available to your child and signpost you to the Local Authority support where necessary.

How do I know if my child needs extra help and what should I do if I think my child has special educational needs?

A child has a special educational need if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for a special educational provision to be made for him or her.

Children with SEND have learning difficulties and/or physical difficulties that make it harder for them to learn than most children of a similar age, and they may need extra help or support. They may have difficulty with:

some or all of the work in school
reading, writing or mathematics
understanding information
expressing themselves
understanding others
organising themselves
sensory perception or physical mobility
managing their making friends or relating to adults

If a child continues to have difficulty after Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO's) offered in school, intervention or support, or has a high level of difficulty when they join us, they may be considered to have special educational need or disability (SEND) and be placed on the school's SEND Register. This will be discussed with the class teacher, Mrs Davies SENDCo and the parent/carers.

The four areas of SEND are identified in the Code of Practice as:

Communication and interaction
Cognition and learning
Emotional and social development
Sensory and Physical

The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice 2014 gives guidance to schools in meeting the needs of pupils. It sets out how help should be given in a step by step approach. As parent/carer, you will be consulted at all stages of this graduated approach and staff will inform you of the additional work they do with your child.

Class teachers will assess your child to identify their strengths, needs and any extra support they may require. If they need additional support than most children their age they may have a low level need.

Low Level Need

This may involve:

extra help from a teacher or Teaching Assistant
small group or individual support during class time
alternative resources such as access to ICT or visual prompts

If your child continues to have difficulty even with this extra support, we may seek additional advice from other professionals and your child may then be placed at high level need.

High Level Need

These professionals may be:

Visual or hearing impairment team
Health Professionals
Outreach from Specialist Provision settings
Education Psychologists (EP)
Children's disability service. This service provides a wide range of advice and support about children with a disability which may include additional or complex needs, learning difficulties, sensory impairment or children with a speech, language and communication need
Speech and language therapy
School nurse
Local Authority SEND team

If your child is on the SEND register, we may may create individualised targets known as an IEP (Individual Education Plan)relevant to your child's needs or follow recommendations/outcomes from outside agencies.

This will be reviewed by the teacher, adults working with the child and parents on a regular basis, or as necessary, and new targets may be set or further recommendations followed.

Support

How will staff support my child?

We have an experienced team of staff who are passionate about being inclusive, they will be involved in supporting your child. These include:

Your child's class teacher, who will make sure that the tasks set for are appropriate and accessible for your child. The class teacher will inform the parent/carer of any additional provision and targets that may need to be set.
Teaching Assistants who support children in class and carry out some of the interventions.
Mrs Davies (SENDCo) will ensure the school is effective in its arrangements and provision for children with SEND, attending regular local authority meetings/ training and keeping up to date with any national changes, Ofsted guidance and disseminating to all staff in school.
Our Governors on the working party for the Quality of Education monitor SEND provision very closely they works with Mrs Davies in leading SEND throughout the school. The Governors receive a termly report from Mrs Davies to keep them updated with provision in school.
Staff from other agencies can work in school to support children with a particular focus. For example, Occupational Therapist, Speech and Language Therapist, Communication Team, Outreach and Educational Psychologist.

All support, whether from a specialist agency or within school, is reviewed on a regular basis with the Inclusion Manager, the class teacher, and/or any other adults involved. Parents will receive reports carried out by specialist services and given updates at parent's evening and/or general update meeting with the class teacher depending on what has been agreed.

Local Authority funding and Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan)

All professionals and of course you as parent/carers can apply for additional funding from the local authority if we feel that it will be appropriate to meet any additional needs. , Early Year Resource funding (EYAR) or Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP).

An EHCP plan brings together all the professionals that work with your child and ensure that your child's needs are being met as much as possible. This could mean funding, extra staff time, special equipment and/or attendance at a school with specialised resourced support. This additional provision will be reviewed annually(Annual Review), or sooner if required, and would normally include parents, class teacher, Inclusion Manager, pupil and other external agencies that work with your child. More details about EHCP plans, personalised budgets and the Annual Review process are available on the local authority website, see link below.

Education, Health and Care Pathway

Where provision and support for children exceeds £6,000 per year, an Education Health and Care Plan may be considered for additional funding. This process is completed by the school and parents are kept up to date throughout the process. An EHC Plan can be applied for at any time, following the Graduated Approach. Parent/carers may also apply via the Local Authority.

The link below provides more information about Devon Council's Educational Health Care Plan

Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)

Curriculum

How will the curriculum be matched to my child's needs?

All children in school receive quality first teaching. This means that a range of teaching and learning styles are used and appropriate learning objectives are set for all children with a curriculum matched to their needs. All of our year groups are supported by teaching assistants, and pupils can participate in ELO's, interventions or small group work when necessary.

The progress and attainment of all children is reviewed on a half termly basis by class teachers, Head teacher and SENDCO at which time provision may be adjusted to meet identified needs. Mrs Davies is in contact with all staff regularly, but carries out an official meeting with the class teacher termly to discuss children in each class that have a SEND and update on their information, progress and reports.

Communication

How will both you and I know how my child is doing and how will you help me support my child's learning?

We will know if a pupil will need help if concerns are raised by parents/carers, teachers, professionals or the child; limited progress is being made; or if there is a change in the pupil's social, emotional, mental health needs or progress.

You will be informed about your child's general progress and targets through the two parents' evenings and annual end of year report. You will be informed of how your child's learning is assessed and planned and what support you may be able to provide at home.

The class teacher and/or SENDCo may speak to you more regularly depending on the need and progress.

If you are concerned about your child please contact your child's teach as soon as possible- you do not have to wait until a parent's evening to talk to a member of staff about your child. The class teacher will inform the SENDCo

We understand that you have a valuable understanding of your child's needs and wishes and we aim to involve you in every aspect of the decision making progress. Home School Communications Books are used for some children if staff and parents feel that this is appropriate.

Well Being

What support will there be for my child's/young person's overall well being?

We support every child's wellbeing on a number of different levels and in a number of different ways. All children and parents are encouraged to follow 'Our school Rules', and 'Home School Agreement'.

Mrs Davies is able to provide Pastoral Parental Support to families where appropriate. She will also support behaviour, attendance and support with completion of forms DLA, Free School Meals.

If a child has a medical need, there are trained first aiders in Early Years, Key stage 1 and Key stage 2. Mrs Davies facilitates all Health Care Plans.

Mrs Davies in her role as Pastoral Manager facilitates the pupil voice, where children have opportunities to share their views about their provision. They may do this through communication with their class teacher, support assistant or filling in a pupil voice sheet. There is a parent questionnaire for SEND on the school website for all parents to share their views at any time.

Specialist Help

What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed ?

As part of our support for all children in school we consult and liaise with all relevant professionals within our local authority.

Relevant professionals may include:

A Speech and Language Therapist who works regularly in and out of school to assess and support children.
Educational Psychologist may offer advice or complete an assessment for a child if necessary.
Professionals from Devon Single Point of Access can offer assessments and advice about how to help children manage their social, emotional and mental health needs and/or learning difficulties and support with school training.https://childrenandfamilyhealthdevon.nhs.uk/
Outreach Worker from specialist provision schools in the local authority can offer support to children and staff in school about a child's specific need and/or school training needs.
We also work with Secondary Schools SENDCOs to ensure a successful transition to Year 7. When children are moving to a new school we can arrange extra visits and we work with children to make booklets about their new school. Parents are encouraged to visit the new school and ask any questions they have that may be specific to their child. The SENDCO liaises closely with other schools to ensure continuity of provision.
GP's/ Hospital professionals
Local Authority SEND team and Early Years SEND team

Inclusion

How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips?

We pride ourselves on our inclusive policy and ethos. All children are given the opportunity and encouraged to go on school trips and take part in all activities in and out of the classroom. Thorough risk assessments are carried out for any out of school trip or activities. Individual risk assessments can be made for children with SEND that require a more personalised approach. The local authority sets out ratios for adults to children according to age groups, however if a class teacher feels additional support is required then this will be provided. This may be in the form of another member of staff, a volunteer or a parent. If it is a specific child with an additional need, school will involve the parent in planning the activity or trip.

Access

How accessible is Mary Tavy and Brentor Primary School?

We are a accessible for all due to the layout of the building. An audit of the accessibility is carried out every 3 years by an external company. If you wish to see the audit report, please contact the school.

From the audit report, an accessibility action plan is developed with key actions. This can be accessed via the accessibility Plan tab below.

We make every effort to support children and parents/carers whose first language is not English. There are services available to translate and work with children on a regular basis to support their language development where appropriate.

Who can I contact for further information?

Your child’s class teacher is your first contact if you wish to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns you may have.

Alternatively, you can arrange to speak the Mrs Davies. Please contact the school or email her directly.

cdavies@marytavyandbrentor.devon.sch.uk

For information about the support the Local Authority provide, please click the link below. Any complaints regarding SEND can be directed to the Headteacher- the Chair of Governors or the Devon Local Authority

SEND support during a period of self-isolation for your child

Your child’s class teacher will provided tasks/activities/ links/resources for the children to complete as per the Remote Education Policy. This will be carefully pitched and tailored to your child's needs.

In addition to this, please find the following useful links below:

Please contact your class teacher if you have any queries regarding your child’s home learning.

I am also contactable via email or the school office

Thank you for your continued support

Clare Davies SENDCo

Devon County Council Local Offer