Cestria Primary School

Church Chare, Chester-le-Street, Co Durham, DH3 3PZ

Cestria Primary School
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SEND

This section is dedicated to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

LOOKED AFTER CHILDREN WITH SEND

We have a Designated Teacher for Looked after Children Mr. G. Duncan who works closely with the SENCO to ensure all teachers in school understand the implications for those children who are looked after and have SEN.

How We Support Looked After Children with SEND

Cestria Primary School prides itself in being very inclusive and will endeavour to support every child regardless of their level of need.  All pupils follow the National Curriculum at a level and a pace that is appropriate to their abilities. At times and when it is felt appropriate, modifications to the curriculum may be implemented.
To successfully match pupil ability to the curriculum there are some actions we may take to achieve this:

  • Ensure that all pupils have access to the school curriculum and all school activities.
  • Help all pupils achieve to the best of their abilities, despite any difficulty or disability they may have.
  • Ensure that teaching staff are aware of and sensitive to the needs of all pupils, teaching pupils in a way that is more appropriate to their needs.
  • Pupils to gain in confidence and improve their self-esteem.
  • To work in partnership with parents/ carers, pupils and relevant external agencies in order to provide for children’s special educational needs and disabilities.
  • To identify at the earliest opportunity, all children that need special consideration to support their needs (whether these are educational, social, physical or emotional)
  • To make suitable provision for children with SEND to fully develop their abilities, interests and aptitudes and gain maximum access to the curriculum.
  • Ensure that all children with SEND are fully included in all activities of the school in order to promote the highest levels of achievement.
  • To promote self worth and enthusiasm by encouraging independence at all age and ability levels.
  • To give every child the entitlement to a sense of achievement.
  • To regularly review the policy and practice in order to achieve best practice.

We understand that children learn and develop in different ways. Teachers and teaching assistants recognise this and use different teaching styles, resources and plan different levels of work in the classroom to cater for the various ways children learn. However, many children, at some time in their school life, need extra help.

We talk to parents/carers if they think their child has a special educational need and let them know what special help the school is giving. Mrs. P. Towers is appointed as the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO)

We have a written Special Educational Needs Policy – a copy should be made available for parents and is included on this website.

Each child’s teacher will be finding ways to support them such as:

  • Changing the way activities are planned and delivered
  • Matching activities to the ability / need of each child (differentiation)
  • Adapting learning materials such as equipment and activities to suit each child’s needs
  • Offer small group support to promote skills identified in the child’s Individual Education Plan

With the permission of parents we may seek additional advice from outside specialists such as health professionals, specialist teachers or educational psychologists who would:

  • Carry out further assessment of the child’s needs
  • Provide advice to schools on how to best support the child
  • Suggest resources that would help the child make progress

Our teachers/teaching assistants’ work in partnership with parents and the SENCO to find ways to support each child with their needs, including giving parents ideas on how to help their child at home

Our school staff will set targets for Looked after children with SEND which will be shared with parents, either during Target Setting Meetings or a Review Meeting.
If your child has Special Educational Needs our SENCO will:

  • Ensure the right support is put in place for each child
  • Advise other teachers and teaching assistants on how to help each child and ensure they have an up to date Individual Education Plan detailing how their needs will be met in school
  • Arrange training for staff so they understand each child’s needs
  • Work closely with parents on a regular basis to talk with them about their child’s needs and listen to any ideas or concerns they might have
  • Work with other professionals (if necessary) who may be able to help individual children, e.g. speech and language therapist /medical professional/educational psychologist

An Individual Education Plan (IEP) / Provision Map details what the school, the class teacher and the SENCO plan to do to help individual children learn. All teachers should be aware that children learn in different ways. Some need to work at a slower pace to ensure they fully understand one thing before they move onto something new.

An Individual Education Plan will be written especially for any looked after child with SEND. It should include:

  • Short term targets for the child which are linked to their needs
  • Details of any extra support the child will get
  • Who will give the child help
  • How often the child will get help
  • How and when the school will look at the child’s progress again (usually at least twice a year)

It is good practice for schools to share copies of Individual Education Plans with parents / carers.

If a child’s needs are very complex and/or severe we may ask the Local Authority to carry out an Education, Health and Care Assessment:

  • This is a very detailed assessment of each child’s needs. Parents or carers, the school and a range of professionals will all be asked to provide written reports.
  • At the end of the assessment phase the Local Authority will consider these reports to help decide whether or not to issue an Education, Health and Care Plan for the child.
  • Parents/carers also have the right to ask the Local Authority to carry out this assessment although it is usually best if you can do this with the support of the school.
  • Education, Health and Care Assessment is only appropriate for a small number of children. Your school SENCO or the Parent Partnership Service will be able to advise you about this.

 

Individual Education Plans will be reviewed termly through consultation with parents/carers and linked to PEP.

ePEPS are completed termly by the class teacher and shared with parents/carers. They are submitted electronically and reflect the progress and attainment of the child along with their next steps in learning.

How children with SEN engage in all activities

We enable all children to engage fully in all aspects of school life. To do this, we:

  • Ensure that all children with SEND are fully included in all activities of the school in order to promote the highest levels of achievement.
  • Ensure that all pupils have access to the school curriculum and all school activities.
  • Adapting activities for children with SEND
  • Ensure every child has the entitlement to a sense of achievement.

Further information can be found in our supporting policies.

Consulting with our SEN Pupils, Parents and Carers

Consultation with Children and Young People with SEND

Teachers/SENCO and Support Staff will work with children and young people to identify the support needed to meet agreed outcomes.  The provision is planned and interventions are allocated to individual needs. The children take an active role with setting their outcomes and discussing them with the class teacher/SENCO.  The children have regular meetings with staff to discuss their progress and support.

Consultation with parents and carers of children and young people with SEND

We are committed to working with parents and carers to identify their child’s needs and support.  Parents and carers will be involved throughout the process.

There is a range of ways this can be done, for example:

  • Termly parents/ carers evenings;
  • Ongoing discussions with a class teacher and/or SENCO;
  • An ‘open-door’ policy, where parents and carers are welcome to come into school to discuss any concerns they may have;
  • Through regular reviews of their child’s SEN Support Plan/ EHC Plan.
  • Parental Questionnaire
  • Parent/ Carer voice through SEND Parental Questionnaire

SENCO and SEN Staff

Our SENCO is Mrs.P.A.Towers who can be contacted through school 0191 3882483 or via e-mail p.towers100@durhamlearning.net

More details of the SENCO’s role can be found in the SEN Policy which you can find in the School Policies section of our website.

Members of staff have Paediatric First Aid and Safeguarding Level 1 qualification. Some staff have undertaken Team Teach training.

In addition, our SEND support staff  have a selection of training relating to Movement Difficulties Programmes and specific training from Speech and Language Therapists. Staff have also received training in Autistic Spectrum disorder and Dyslexia.  Each year the needs of children within our school are carefully considered and training organised to up-skill staff e.g. diabetic training.

External Specialists and Other Bodies

The school enjoys good working relationships with a wide range of people who provide services to children with SEND and their families.

The external specialists may:

  • Act in an advisory capacity
  • Extend expertise of school staff
  • Provide additional assessment
  • Support a child directly
  • Suggest statutory assessment is advisable
  • Consult with all parties involved with the child

These include:

Our SEN Information Report – which is part of Durham County Council’s Local Offer – provides details about how we support children and young people with Special Educational Needs in our school.

The SEN Information Report was reviewed and updated on 11.09.19

Cestria Primary School prides itself in being very inclusive and will endeavour to support every child regardless of their level of need.  All pupils follow the National Curriculum at a level and a pace that is appropriate to their abilities. At times and when it is felt appropriate, modifications to the curriculum may be implemented.

At Cestria Primary School, we recognise that all pupils are entitled to a quality of provision that will enable them to achieve their potential. We believe in positive intervention, removing barriers to learning, raising expectations and levels of achievement and working in partnership with other agencies in order to provide a positive educational experience for all our pupils including those with a special educational need or disability.

This SEND Information Report should be read alongside the school’s SEND Policy, the Equalities Information and Objectives and the Accessibility Plan.

Key Contacts

  • L.Gowland Headteacher  who can be contacted through school 0191 3882483 or via e-mail l.gowland100@durhamlearning.net
  • Our SENCO is Mrs.P.A.Towers who can be contacted through school 0191 3882483 or via e-mail towers100@durhamlearning.net
  • SEN Link Governor is Mrs. C. Walklate who can be contacted through school 0191 3882483