SEND

At Marshbrook First School, we aim to ensure that all children make the best progress that they can. Quality teaching is vital, however for some children there are occasions when further additional support may be needed to help them make progress. We believe in positive intervention, removing barriers to learning, high expectations and working in partnership with other agencies in order to support those with a special educational need or disability.

How will school support my child?

The school Governing Body has important statutory duties towards pupils with special educational needs:

The Governors, working in partnership with the Head teacher, have responsibility for deciding the school’s general policy and approach to meet the needs of SEN pupils.
Governors should ensure that objectives in the school development plan include Special Educational Needs (SEN).
Through the school’s self-review procedures’ Governors monitor the effectiveness of the school’s SEN policy and provision.
All governors will have an up-to-date knowledge of the school’s SEN provision and the SEN Governor will have a more in-depth knowledge of SEN.

In our school the Headteacher and the SENCo are responsible for ensuring all children receive the support they need to make good progress in their learning through:-

Management of the day-to-day operation of the school’ Inclusion & Special Educational Needs Policy
Co-ordination of the provision for, and the responses to, children’s special educational needs
Providing support and advice for colleagues
Ensuring accurate records are maintained for all children with special educational needs
Acting as the link with parents and with external agencies and other support agencies
Monitoring and evaluating the school’s special educational needs provision
Managing a range of resources, both human and material to enable appropriate provision to be made for children with special educational needs
Ensuring all staff receive training to enable them to provide high quality teaching & learning experiences for the children.

Teachers are responsible for planning, delivering and monitoring the effectiveness of provision and ensuring pupil progress. There may also be support from a teaching assistant or additional adult.

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

All children have an entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum which is differentiated.
This is achieved by:

Teachers setting suitable learning challenges
Responding to children’s diverse learning needs
Overcoming potential barriers to learning through assessment and intervention strategies to meet individual need
Providing other curricular opportunities outside the National Curriculum to meet the needs of individuals or groups of children (this includes programmes and advice given from outside agencies such as Occupational therapy and Physiotherapy, Speech and Language, Autism Outreach etc)

Teachers use a range of strategies to identify and meet children’s needs. Lessons have clear learning objectives and work is differentiated appropriately.  Assessments are used to inform the next stages of learning.

Teachers respond to children’s needs by:

Providing support for children who need help with communication, language and literacy
Planning to develop children through the use of all their senses and of varied experiences
Planning for children’s full participation in learning and in physical and practical activities
Helping children to manage their behaviour and to take part in learning effectively and safely
Helping individuals to manage their emotions, particularly trauma or stress and to take part in learning
Devising strategies and identifying appropriate methods of access to the curriculum
Working with the pupil and providing further help on a daily basis
Planning and delivering an individualised education programme (IEP)

Teaching Assistants

Teaching Assistants support the teaching of learning of individuals and groups of pupils throughout the school, particularly:-

Supporting pupils in achieving targets identified in APDRs and EHC Plans
Differentiating provision for groups of pupils as identified in school support strategies

Teaching assistants will be enabled to work effectively through inclusion in the planning and evaluation of individual and group programmes.

Specialist SEN Provision

The school works closely with outside agencies to ensure pupils receive specialist provision in accordance with their needs.  In addition support from Special Schools may be requested through the Key Outreach scheme.

Facilities for vulnerable pupils, those with SEN or those who are disabled

The school is committed to providing an environment that allows all children full access to all areas of learning.  All our classroom entrances are wide enough for wheelchair access and all the designated points of entry for our school also allow wheelchair access. We believe that Marshbrook has good inclusive practice and have achieve dyslexia friendly full status.  We liaise closely with outside agencies such as Autism Outreach and Behaviour Support to ensure all of our children’s needs are met.

Allocation of resources for vulnerable pupils, those with SEN or who are disabled

Funding allocations are received annually as part of the schools delegated budget to schools and include specific provision as follows:

SEN funding
Pupil Premium funding (see annual report on the school website)

Additional funding to support pupils with severe and complex needs will be allocated by the Local Authority if the pupils needs meet the specific criteria.  The school has a duty to ensure the needs of all pupils are met from the resources allocated. All resources will be employed effectively to meet the needs of individuals and groups on the basis of plans within the School Development Plans.

What are the setting’s / school’s / college’s approaches to differentiation? How will that help my child/young person?

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

We aim to give all children opportunity to succeed and reach the highest level of personal achievement.  We analyse the attainment of different groups of pupils and make ongoing assessments of each child’s progress.  Teachers use this information to target support and intervention to groups or individuals.  The SENCo and Head Teacher hold regular review meetings to review the success of provision.  The SENCo and the named governor with responsibility for Special needs also meet regularly. Success factors include the following:

Early identification of pupils with SEN
Pupil views and opinions are taken into account
The school and parents' work in a partnership
Interventions and provision are regularly reviewed and evaluated via individual progress and data collection
The school works in close co-operation with other agencies and fosters multi-agency working
That statements of Special Educational Need and Individual Educational programmes are regularly reviewed

The school’s system for observing and assessing the progress of individual children will provide information about areas where a child is not progressing satisfactorily. Under these circumstances, teachers may need to consult the SENCo to consider what else might be done’ This review may lead to the conclusion that the pupil requires help over and above that which is normally available within the particular class or subject. The key test of the need for action is evidence that current rates of progress are less than expected. Expected  progress can be defined in a number of ways. It might be progress which:

Closes the attainment gap between the child and their peers
Prevents the attainment gap growing wider
Is similar to that of peers starting from the same attainment baseline, but less than that of the majority of their peers
Matches or betters the child’s previous rate of progress
Ensures access to the full curriculum
Demonstrates an improvement in self-help, social or personal skills
Demonstrates improvement sin the child's behaviour

The school’s 'Open Door' policy ensures that parents are able to meet with teacher’ to discuss the child’s individual needs.  The school also uses Home/School diaries, email and a texting service to ensure effective communication with parents. Teachers and outside agencies liaise with parents to ensure they know how best to help and support their children. Workshops for parents can be arranged subject to demand.

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

The school has a commitment to ensuring children’s spiritual, social, emotional and physical development.
Administration of  medicines is in accordance with the school policy
Good attendance is celebrated through focused attendance.
Children’s views are  voiced through School Council meetings, Individual Education Plan reviews and Annual reviews. Children are encouraged to express their views in the classroom and in school assemblies/worship.

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

Support from specialist services is requested from the Staffordshire Local Authority, Health Service and Social Services as needed.

What training are the staff supporting children with SEND had or are having?

The school is committed to ensuring staff are highly trained. The SENCo attends termly updates.  Additional SEN training is delivered according to need.

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

All children are included in all activities whenever possible and in accordance with the school’s Inclusion Policy and Educational Visits Policy.  Risk Assessments are always carried out prior to any activity outside the classroom.

How accessible is the school environment?

How will the setting / school / college prepare and support my child/young person to join the setting / school / college, transfer to a new setting / school / college or the next stage of education and life?

For children joining our school we arrange pre-entry visits and opportunities for parents and children to meet the teacher.  Excellent transition arrangements are in place for children moving to the local Middle School.  The Trust ensures a seamless educational journey for all children from Years 4 to 19. Teachers will liaise with receiving schools for children moving away from the local area. This provides information regarding all areas of the child’s development with additional visits planned for children on an individual needs basis.

How are the setting’s / school’s / college’s resources allocated and matched to children’s/young people’s special  educational needs?

Resources are allocated in accordance with need and this may be in the form of additional classroom adult support, resources and  specialist equipment.  A report can be found on the school website identifying expenditure and the impact on pupil progress of pupil premium funding.

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

The class teacher is responsible for identifying, and implementing additional support which could be through a differentiated curriculum and with  adult support and resources where needed.   The SENCo and Outside Agencies will be contacted when needed.

How are parents involved in the setting / school / college? How can I be involved?

Marshbrook First School values the involvement of parents and encourages parents to be active in supporting their child with support from the class teacher and /or SENCo.

Who can I contact for further information?

The Class Teacher would be the first point of contact for parents.  The SENCo (Mrs Williams) and Headteacher (Miss Nixon) are also available to support parents and address any concerns or worries.

Staffordshire County Council’s Local Offer is available on the Staffordshire County Council Website.

Parent Partnership, your GP, the School Nurse, Health Visitor are also useful points of contact.

Our SENDCo is Mrs J Williams. She can be contacted via the School Office by email to

office@marshbrook.staffs.sch.uk or by telephone on 01785 712780.