SEND Information Report
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.
At East Stanley School, we are committed to the equal inclusion of all pupils in all areas of school life. We recognise the diverse and individual needs of all of our pupils and take into account the additional support required by those children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
This SEND Information Report should be read alongside the school’s SEND Policy, the Equalities Information and Objectives and the Accessibility Plan.
Key Contacts
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Headteacher – Mrs. Joanne Williams
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SENCO – Miss Gillian Hall
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SEN Link Governor – Mrs. Sarah Shaw
SEND Admissions
For information on the admission of pupils with a disability, please visit the School Admissions section of our website and view the Accessibility Plan in our School Policies section.
If you would like to discuss your child’s SEN in more detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.
The full range of local support available for children/ young people with SEND and their families within and outside of school can be found in the County Durham Local Offer
Our SEN Provision
All children have a range of strengths and weaknesses, and it is expected that all children will find some elements of the whole school curriculum more challenging than others.
A child will be identified as SEN if the support they require to achieve is ‘additional to’ or ‘different from’ that of their peers.
There are four broad areas of special educational need, which help to categorise the types of difficulty children may encounter. these are:
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Communication and Interaction
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This area of need includes children with Autism Spectrum Condition and those with Speech, Language and Communication needs.
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Cognition and Learning
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This includes children with Specific Learning Difficulties, Moderate Learning Difficulties, Severe Learning Difficulties and Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties.
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Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties
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This includes any pupils who have an emotional, social or mental health need that is impacting on their ability to learn.
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Sensory and/or Physical Difficulties
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This area includes children with hearing impairment, visual impairment, multi-sensory impairment and physical difficulties.
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Whilst these areas may help us to support a child at East Stanley Primary school we believe that every child is unique and should be treated as such.
The kinds of SEN that are provided for:
At East Stanley School we have experience of supporting children and young people with a wide range of need including:
Communication and Interaction
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Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SCLN)
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Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC)
Cognition and Learning
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Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD)
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Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD)
Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs
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Mental Health Difficulties
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Social and Emotional Needs
Sensory and/or Physical needs
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Gross and Fine Motor Needs
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Sensory Processing Needs
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Hearing Impairments
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Visual Impairments
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Physical Disability
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Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
The school provides data on the levels and types of need to the Local Authority. This is collected through the school census.
Our approach to teaching children & young people with SEN
Inclusive education means supporting all pupils to learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of school life alongside their peers. Our curriculum includes not only the formal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum / National Curriculum, but also a range of additional opportunities to enrich the experiences of all pupils.
The Curriculum also included the social aspects that are essential for lifelong learning, personal growth and development of independence.
We pride ourselves in being inclusive which means supporting all pupils to learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of school life alongside their peers. All pupils follow the National Curriculum at a level and pace that is appropriate to their abilities. At times and when it is felt appropriate, modifications to the curriculum may be implemented.
The curriculum includes not only the formal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and the National Curriculum, but also a range of additional opportunities to enrich the experiences of pupils.
The curriculum also includes the social aspects that are essential for life-long learning, personal growth and development of independence at all ages and ability levels.
By encouraging independence at all age and ability levels we endeavour to develop confidence, improve self-esteem and promote enthusiasm in all our pupils.
Some of the actions we may take to achieve this are:
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Help all pupils achieve to the best of their abilities, despite any difficulty or disability they may have.
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Modify the curriculum to meet individual needs.
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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.
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To make suitable provisions for children with SEND to fully develop their abilities, interests and aptitudes and gain maximum access to the curriculum.
How we identify, assess and review children with special educational needs
Most children and young people in mainstream schools will have their special educational needs met through good classroom practice. This is called Quality First Teaching.
Early Identification of Need
In deciding whether to make special education provision to support educational, social, physical or emotional needs, we:
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Work in partnership with parents/carers, pupils
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Consult with relevant external agencies
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Use assessment tools & materials
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Use observations
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Use Short Notes
SEN Support
Where a pupil is identified as having a special educational need we follow a graduated approach which takes the form of cycles of “Assess, Plan, Do, Review”.
This means that we will:
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Assess a child’s special educational needs
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Plan the provision to meet your child’s aspirations and agreed outcomes
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Do put the provision in place to meet those outcomes
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Review the support and progress
As part of this approach, every child with SEN will have an individualised SEN Support Plan that describes the child’s needs, outcomes & provision to meet those needs. Parents/carers and child/YP (where appropriate) views are integral to this process.
A small percentage of children and young people with significant and/or complex needs may require an assessment that could lead to an Education, Health and Care Plan.
For more detailed information see the Local Offer
Details of Identification and Assessment of Pupils with SEN
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Staff in the Early Years will primarily identify any concerns with children who are displaying significant learning needs. Reception, Key Stage 1 staff and the SENCO where necessary liaise with Nursery or the child’s previous school (if applicable).
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If a child is performing below age expected levels then meetings will be held with the class teacher and SENCO. Observations of the child may also take place.
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Concerns may be raised by the class teacher. For example; if behaviour or self-esteem is affecting performance or the child’s overall mental health.
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We may liaise with external agencies for either support or advice or they may come to us with an assessment/identification of need.
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Health diagnosis through medical professionals
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Parental concerns – SEND issues can be identified by parents/carers and raised with staff.
If your child has SEND, it is important for us to carry out formal assessments to identify their strengths and identify their needs accurately.
To do this, we will use a range of methods depending on their needs.
When your child enters our school, their current attainment is assessed to give us a ‘baseline’ from where they will progress.
Depending upon their needs, other assessments may be needed. These could include:
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Speech Therapy Assessments – which may focus on sound production, language understanding, or other relevant assessments to your child’s needs
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Education Psychology Assessments – which may include memory, understanding, reasoning, logic, and general skills assessments
The outcomes of all assessments are shared with parents/carers at our Parent Evenings and during SEND review meetings. If other agencies are invited to work with your child, you will be invited to attend a meeting where the outcomes of these assessments and their next steps will be shared with you.
Children’s school achievements may be assessed against age-related expectations for children who are working on the National Curriculum (i.e. the same as the majority of other children in their year group), or they may be assessed against other measures for children who are not ready to work on National Curriculum Levels (i.e. the steps before the National Curriculum). The school now uses the recommendations from the Rochford Report to assess children for whom it is inappropriate to use the National Curriculum.
For further information please view or download our Accessibility Plan which can be found in the School Policies section of our website.
How we adapt the curriculum and learning environment for children & young people with SEN
We adapt the curriculum and learning environment for pupils with SEN:
Children learn and develop in different ways and may need extra help and support at various points throughout their time at school. Some children, at some time in their school life might have additional or different needs and it may be that they will be on our SEN register for a short period or a long period of time. However, children’s needs will be reassessed regularly in order to ensure that the provision is suitable and supports every child’s development.
There are different levels of support offered and each type of support is dependent on the individual learning needs, and is intended to enable access to learning and overcome the barrier to learning identified. These levels can be explained as a graduated approach.
Quality First Teaching and Initial Interventions
This is about what should be on offer for all children: the effective inclusion of all pupils in high-quality everyday personalised teaching. This could include:
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Differentiated and personalised work to meet pupils’ needs
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High expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
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Adapting teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils
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Behaviour managed effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment which promotes progress
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Deploying support staff effectively.
Where children need additional support they may be given some intervention to help them ‘Catch Up’ with their peers or prevent a gap from appearing. These interventions are often targeted at a group of pupils with similar needs. Intervention programmes such as The Power of Two, Lexia or additional Mathletics time would be would be regarded as Quality First Teaching interventions. Additionally, if a child requires any support for social engagement or emotional guidance, we have specific interventions tailored to these needs.
SEN Support/Interventions
If pupils continue to make inadequate progress, despite high-quality teaching targeted at their areas of weakness, the class teacher, with support from the SENCO, should assess whether a pupil has a significant learning difficulty, which may require highly- tailored interventions. This may include specialist or one to one provision.
Children will be issued with an individual SEND Support Plan which will be discussed and agreed with parents and reviewed regularly.
Children that are receiving additional support and who are involved in intervention programmes have a Support Plan.
Support for SEND
Any children whom we feel may require extra support to achieve their potential or remove any barriers to learning are quickly identified and appropriate support is implemented. Any extra support that is required is discussed with the child and their parents. If it is felt appropriate, the class teacher may involve the SENCO who in turn may seek advice from outside agencies at a later stage.
Support for children with physical needs:
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Quality First Teaching.
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Gross Motor Skills interventions.
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Fine Motor Skills interventions.
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Specialist group support from outside agencies e.g. Occupational Therapy
Support for children with speech, language and communication needs:
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Quality First Teaching.
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Speech and Language interventions.
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Specialist group support from outside agencies e.g. Speech and Language Therapy
Support for children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties:
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Quality First Teaching.
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Pastoral Care.
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Specialist group support from outside agencies e.g. CAMHs Mentoring and Counselling/ One Point Service.
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Relax Kids
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Listening Matters sessions
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School based counsellor
Support for children with cognition and learning needs:
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Quality First Teaching.
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Differentiation in lessons and activities
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Maths and English specific interventions.
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Specialist group support from outside agencies e.g. Educational Psychology Service.
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Specific individual support for children whose learning needs are severe, complex and lifelong and what this means for your child e.g. Dyslexia, Dyspraxia.
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Staff may use a range of teaching and learning styles.
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A personalized and supportive curriculum.
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A broad range of extra-curricular activities, including After-School clubs
Parents are invited into school to review and discuss support and progress with staff every term. The children also meet with their teacher and discuss their support plan and are asked what they feel helps them to make progress.
More details on how we adapt information, our environment and curriculum can be found in the Accessibility Plan which you can find in the School Policies section of our website.
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:
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Ensure that all children with SEND are fully included in all activities of the school in order to promote the highest levels of achievement.
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Ensure that all children have access to a suitable curriculum and all school activities.
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Ensure every child has the entitlement to a sense of achievement.
Support for Emotional & Social Development
We care deeply about all of our children here East Stanley School. When children seem upset or anxious, we offer excellent pastoral support. This may be in the form of speaking to an adult in school and discussing the area of concern for the child and offer some support or suggestions to solve the problems.
When children are upset more frequently for reasons which may be school or home based, we regularly chat with them to see how they are feeling.
We keep parents informed and encourage parents to let us know when children are upset about something at home.
We run ‘Listening Matters’ support which is a regular session, with a trained memeber of staff to support children struggling with emotions such as grief or anxiety as the result of a parental separation or death.
For children requiring additional social support, we have a number of small intervention groups in school including Socially Speaking, Friendship Formula and Time to Talk. These groups are arranged by Miss Hall, our SENCO, and are led by teaching assistants during curriculum time. They happen across the year with chosen children who we believe would benefit from such social intervention programs.
At East Stanley we offer a variety of opportunities for children to develop social and leadership skills through a range of Pupil Voice groups, such as the School Council, Playground Leaders and the Mini-Police.
As a school we have a very positive approach to all types of behaviour with a clear reward system that is followed by all staff and pupils. This is a graduated system which the children all understand and were involved in the development of.
We will not tolerate any form of bullying and we have a clear anti-bullying policy in place.
Looked After Children with SEND
Miss Gillian Hall is our Designated Teacher for Looked after Children (LAC).
Miss Hall ensures all teachers in school understand the implications for those children who are looked after and have SEN.
Looked after children with SEND are supported in a similar way to children in school with SEND.
They have a Personal Education Plan (PEP) which sets out support and targets. This PEP plan is reviewed regularly with the child, the local authority team and carers. The PEP is a record of what needs to happen for the child to be able to fulfil their potential and may incorporate any existing education plans, such as an EHCP or a SEN Support Plan. PEPs are written in a personalised way and aim to give the child good basic skills, emotional support and the opportunity to have high aspirations and build life chances.
The PEP is the joint responsibility of the local authority and the school.
When a child becomes looked after his/her social worker must ensure that the child’s needs are met and the services to meet these are documented in the Care Plan. The Care Plan – of which the PEP is an integral part – is made before the child becomes looked after or in the case of an emergency placement within 10 working days.
Our Designated Teacher for Looked After Children is Miss Gillian Hall and she can be contacted on 01207 233611 or emailed: eaststanley@durhamlearning.net
How we evaluate the effectiveness of SEN Provision
We continuously ensure the provision has a positive impact on the outcomes for all of our children/young people. We do this in a variety of ways, including:
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Robust evaluation of policy and practice
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Book scrutinies
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SENCO/SLT/Governor monitoring
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Learning walks
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Performance management
SEN Transition
Transition from Nursery to Reception Class is a big step for both our children and their parents. We aim to support our families through this important stage in a number of ways.
Mrs McAlinden or Mrs Storey will visit children in their current setting. Following this, parents will be invited to visit school for an induction evening. During induction parents will meet all the staff and listen to short presentations by school staff. All children who are starting Reception in September will be invited to attend ‘Moving Up’ Day in July. They will attend for half a day to meet our staff and explore our Foundation Stage Unit.
How we support children/young people with SEN moving between classes in our school.
At East Stanley School we work closely within each milestone so children become familiar with each staff team.
Transition is treated the same at every juncture and children are given the opportunity to take part in ‘Moving Up’ sessions where children spend time with their new class teacher in their new classroom.
During the summer term the SENCO, staff and parents meet to share information and for those children who require provision that is additional to or different from quality first teaching. We may make additional arrangements to support these children through the transition. This can include:
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spending additional time in their new classroom
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visiting their new classroom with their current member of support staff
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beginning transition arrangements earlier in the Summer Term
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photographs of their new classroom to take home and talk about with parents/carers during the Summer holidays.
The support provided is tailored to the needs of individual children and will be discussed with parents and carers and the child.
How we support children/young people with SEN leaving our school.
Once Secondary School places have been allocated, a Transition Worker works between our cluster of schools throughout the Spring and Summer Terms in Year 6. The transition worker liaises with children and families in order to ensure they are fully prepared for the next stage of their education.
All Durham Secondary schools have transition days where your child can meet their new class teacher and their classmates. They will also have opportunities to participate in sample lessons.
As part of our transition package, the SENCO will ensure that all SEND information is passed onto the next school to ensure that they are fully aware of any additional needs your child may have. The SENCO will work closely with families to ensure that the needs of the individual are met to the best of her ability. For example, extra transition visits for both parents and pupils, involvement of SENDIASS (formerly Durham Parent Partnerships) or support around the social or emotional well-being of the pupil.
If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.
Disability and Accessibility
We are committed to providing a fully accessible environment which values and includes all pupils, staff, parents and visitors regardless of their education, physical, sensory, social, spiritual and emotional needs. We are committed to challenging negative attitudes about disability and accessibility and to developing a culture of awareness, tolerance and inclusion.
What we do to prevent pupils with disabilities from being treated less favourably:
Our School is committed to anti-discriminatory practice to promote equality of opportunity, prevent disabled pupils from being treated less favourably and valuing diversity for all children and families.
We have low level access to the main entrance and to the classrooms in the Hub area of the school. We have a disabled toilet and a selection of specialist writing and reading resources for the children to use. We are adding a disabled parking area to the school car park in July 2018.
Our staff aims to promote the involvement of all pupils with disabilities in all classroom activities. Our staff follow Local Authority and school policies and procedures to support pupils with disabilities and ensure that classrooms have a clear and accessible layout and are communication friendly environments.
The facilities to assist access are outlined in our Accessibility Plan which you can find in the School Policies section of our website.
Our Accessibility Plan and the short, medium and long term actions, will be reviewed and adjusted on an annual basis and a new Accessibility Plan will be produced every three years.
The Accessibility Plan contains relevant actions to:
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Improve access to the physical environment of the school, adding specialist facilities as necessary.
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Increase access to the curriculum for pupils with a disability. This covers reasonable adjustments within teaching and learning, specialist aids and equipment and the wider curriculum of the school, such as after school clubs, visits etc,
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Improve the provision of information to pupils, staff, parents and visitors with disabilities. All information will be made available in various formats within a reasonable time frame.
Consulting with our SEN Pupils, Parents & 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:
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Termly parents/ carers evenings;
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Ongoing discussions with a class teacher and/or SENCO;
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An ‘open-door’ policy, where parents and carers are welcome to come into school to discuss any concerns they may have;
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Through regular reviews of their child’s SEN Support Plan/ EHC Plan.
SEN Specialist Expertise
SENCO and SEN Staff
Our SENCO is Miss Gillian Hall who can be contacted through the school office or by email – eaststanley@durhamlearning.net
Miss Hall is an experienced teacher and has the National Qualification for SENCOs. She has been working at East Stanley since September 2008. Miss Hall has experience of teaching in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 and has an excellent understanding of the Foundation Stage.
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.
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:
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Act in an advisory capacity
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Extend expertise of school staff
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Provide additional assessment
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Support a child directly
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Suggest statutory assessment is advisable
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Consult with all parties involved with the child
These include:
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Core Assets Team – SEND advice and support
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CAHMS Assessment Team
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Crisis Response
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Durham Educational Psychology Service
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Durham Movement Difficulties Service
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One Point Children’s Service
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School Nurse Service
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Looked After Children’s Service – LAC Team
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Speech and Language Therapy – SaLT Team
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Occupational Therapy Team
We also work with a number of other agencies to meet individual needs fully:
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Medical practitioners
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Social workers
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Educational Welfare Service
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Counselors and mental health workers
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How We Secure Specialist Expertise
Our Additional Needs Budget is used to support children and young people with SEN. In 2018/19 this amount is £96,400.
This is used to support children and young people with SEND by:
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Employing additional staff to promote inclusion through specific group/paired/individual provisions
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Employing and training a Special Educational Needs Coordinator to liaise with parents, other professionals and outside agencies to meet the needs of our pupils
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Allow for management release time (0.5 day each week) for our SENDCO to work with external professionals and complete duties in relation to SEND – e.g. writing/reviewing quality SENS school support plans.
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Allow teaching and support staff to attend professional training and meetings to ensure that they have the appropriate skills, knowledge and understanding to meet the needs of pupils with specific needs. Supply cover may be required to pay for additional staff
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Meet costs that are often involved in purchasing appropriate training for staff
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Ensure opportunities for staff, parents, pupils and other agencies to liaise regularly are facilitated
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Buy in’ to specialist services to work with children/and or staff to identify/meet needs or support school in meeting needs e.g. staff training, Speech and Language contracts; Educational Psychology Service
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Provide specific learning and teaching resources required by individual children.
If a child has complex special educational needs, we could also receive additional funding from the Local Authority to meet the agreed outcomes.
Compliments, Complaints & Feedback
We are always seeking to improve on the quality of education we provide for children with SEN and are keen to hear from parents about their child’s experience.
We would also like your views about the content of our SEN Information Report. If you would like to comment please complete the online form in the Contact Us section of our website.
Compliments are always greatly received and can be passed on either directly to staff and the SENCO, or formally recorded via our regular questionnaires to parents or in the form of a letter to the Head Teacher. These positive comments will be published on this area of our school website.
We hope that complaints about our SEND provision will be rare, however, if there should be a concern the process outlined in the school Complaints Policy should be followed.
Further information can be found in the Complaints Policy in the School Policies section of your website or by visiting the Durham SEND Information, Advice and Support Service website.
If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.
Key Policies for SEND
All our school policies can be found here but the most important ones for parents/carers of children with SEND are listed below.
SEND Policy
Equality Diversion and Cohesion Policy
Equality Information and Objectives
Accessibility Plan
Behaviour and relationship Policy
Supporting Pupils with Medical Needs Policy
Complaints Policy
Inclusion Policy
If you would like a paper copy (or any other format) of any of our documents on our website please speak to the school office, who will provide them to you free of charge.