SEN Info Report

SEN Information Report 2023-2024

Welcome to our ‘School Offer’ information. On these pages you will find answers to many frequently asked questions (FAQ) s relating to what we offer children in our school who have a special educational need or disability (SEND). St Ippolyts CE (Aided) Primary is an inclusive school with an Anglican foundation, and are proud of the ethos that permeates throughout.  We believe that each child is unique and we seek to provide academic, emotional, social and spiritual support for each one, working in partnership with parents and families. Some children may need additional support during their time in school, a few will require more specialist support but our main aim is to ensure that all children are taught in a fully inclusive environment.  

The school is required by law to follow the guidance and statutory requirements set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice (2014) as part of the Children and Families Bill that came into force on 1 September 2014.

This information has been put together by a wide range of people:

Headteacher : Mrs R. E Peddie – head@stipps.herts.sch.uk

Assistant Head – Inclusion (InCo):  Mrs G Stewart – senco@stipps.herts.sch.uk

Governor : Mrs H MacInnes – contact via the School Office

Office Manager: Mrs L Joyce – admin@stipps.herts.sch.uk

Class teachers can be contacted via class emails or appointments made via the school office.

This report will be reviewed annually. If you do not find what you are looking for then please ask us.

  1. How does the school know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child may have special educational needs?

At St Ippolyts School we work in partnership with families. If you have any concerns about your child’s progress or feel that they may have a special educational need, please contact your child’s teacher in the first instance. The class teacher, supported by the Inclusion Manager, will discuss your concerns with you and together will plan a way forward.

The SEND Code of Practice (2014) defines a pupil as having SEND where ‘their learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision, namely provision different from or additional to that normally available to pupils of the same age.’

We believe that all children with special educational needs should be identified and assessed as early as possible so that we can work together to provide the very best outcome for your child. We look at a range of information to assess whether a child may have special educational needs. This includes:

  • Views of the parents/ carers
  • Views of the pupils
  • Evidence received upon entry to the school, from feeder nurseries, previous settings and teachers
  • Data from termly Assessment Weeks which leads into termly Pupil Progress Meetings with members of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) where a discussion will take place about the progress of all
  • End of Key Stage results (SATs) and annual reports.
  • Continuous assessment of a child’s learning
  • Class teacher and other adults’ observations about how children learn and behave in different situations.

If a child needs additional support and different resources or teaching in order to make good progress, then the child may be recorded on the SEND Register. If this is recommended, then parents will be fully involved in this decision and what it might mean for their child, before this happens. We may then request the support from a range of outside agencies.

During parental consultations or at a more mutually convenient time a meeting will occur to discuss things further.

  1. How will school staff support my child?

At the centre of your child’s development is the learning they do in the classroom. We work hard to ensure that all teachers provide quality first teaching to both support and stretch children. Teachers follow a specific ‘inclusion checklist’ to ensure their classrooms have the right resources in and are used appropriately by the pupils. There are always a range of practical resources freely available to all children, and lessons are structured in a way that allows children to learn in a variety of different ways, building their learning powers.

Regular marking and verbal feedback is another important way in which staff can support pupils; encouraging them to build a relationship with teachers, where they can mutually respond to adult comments. As much as possible pupils will be supported in class –we aim to keep children in their classrooms and can support them within the whole class in a variety of ways. Pupil voice is also gathered throughout the academic year too.

From time to time, some children may require additional support to help them access the curriculum and to make as much progress as they are able. We may then be able to offer a more personalised approach which may include providing more specialised resources or adaptations, or teaching in a small group or on an individual basis. Some children will require the support of specially planned interventions which might take place in the class or outside the class in a group or individually, if we feel that children are not making adequate progress. These interventions can be carried out over a 6-12 week period, before being formally reviewed.

A few children require more specific provision and it may be appropriate to seek advice from external professionals in order to best support these children to make good progress in school. 

There is a school governor for SEND – Mrs H MacInness, who is informed about SEND issues and who oversees the school’s work for children with SEND. The quality of SEND provision is regularly monitored within Governor Meetings throughout the year.

 

  1. How will I know how my child is doing?

 If we feel your child requires additional support (which is over and above the inclusive and adaptive classroom teaching and learning provision), then you as parents or carers will be informed of this.

Additional support and targeted intervention details will be written down in a Personal Support Plan (PSP). These will be reviewed and updated termly following Assessment week with new targets to reflect the updated learning needs of the child.   The PSP will detail the type, duration and frequency of support and who is responsible for delivering the support. We ask parents to support these learning objectives at home as much as they are able to, as regular repetition and overlearning has been proven to be especially valuable to children with SEN.

All parents/ carers can discuss their child’s progress at parent consultation meetings in the Autumn and Spring term, and will receive a detailed written school report in the Summer term.  In addition, for some children who have a PSP, parents can choose to arrange a formal appointment with the Inclusion Manager termly due to the  (this can be the same date as the parent consultations or at a mutually convenient time after the meeting with the class teacher). The Inclusion Manager is also available for informal conversations at the Open Sessions, which are planned in the Autumn and Spring terms, where parents are able to view their child’s work in a welcoming manner.

In addition, you are always welcome to come and have a chat, formal or informal at an equally convenient time. We encourage you to ask for informal updates whenever you feel you need more information, and we particularly encourage you to share new information about your child if their needs change.

On some occasions it may be necessary to have daily contact with parents. In these situations it is effective to have a home/school book in place so that things that have happened at home or at school can be shared with both staff and parents.

All attainment and progress data is tracked closely and discussed during termly Pupil progress meetings which are attended by the Class Teacher and Inclusion Manager and either the Head Teacher or relevant Assistant Head Teacher for the Key Stage.

The effectiveness of the school’s provision for children with SEND is evaluated, reported to governors and monitored by OFSTED. 

  1. How will the learning and development provision be matched to my child’s needs?

A cyclical approach, of assess, plan, do, review (APDR) is integral to the process of meeting the needs of children with SEND. This is called the ‘graduated response’. The school identifies the needs on Class Action Plans and any adaptations are noted on teacher’s planning and is monitored by SLT.

Each intervention is carefully weighed up to ensure it is the most effective for each individual child with their own particular needs before it is implemented. Children are involved in the process and their interests, likes and feedback will be used to tailor interventions to maximise impact.

A detailed assessment which draws on the teacher’s assessment and experience of the child, their previous progress and attainment, their development in comparison to their peers, the views and experiences of parents and the pupils’ own views takes place. This ensures that any barriers to learning are identified and effective provision suited to a child’s specific needs is implemented, calling on outside agencies where appropriate.

  1. What support will there be for my child’s overall wellbeing?

St Ippolyts CE Primary School is fully inclusive and we take a caring and supportive attitude towards all pupils regardless of ability, background, ethnicity or other individual circumstances. Your child’s wellbeing is of utmost importance and we pride ourselves on the inclusive environment in our school. Children are encouraged to participate in extra-curricular activities e.g. lunchtime and after-school clubs, where possible.

The school has clear policies and guidelines around such things as attendance, medical needs, personal care, equality and anti-bullying. You are welcome to read or discuss any of these further as and when the need arises.

Day to day, all children’s emotional health is well supported through our caring Christian ethos, RSHE sessions in class, regular initiatives such as ‘Wellbeing Week’ and Building Learning Powers. The school has a consistent code of conduct. Displaying a good learning attitude is rewarded in our weekly Friday Fellowship for effort, achievement and values, alongside other relevant extra-curricular or outside school achievements such as: sporting events, music grades, reading challenges. We encourage your child to share any worries they may have in a number or ways; verbally, written, within a worry box or by having time to discuss with an adult whom they wish to speak to.

This school has been successfully working with the Building Learning Powers framework for a number of years. This is a well-respected framework to help children to understand how best to learn, and to become more skilled as learners. It links around the 4 Rs – Resilience, Resourcefulness, Reflectiveness and Relationships (reciprocity). We believe that this will help produce better learners, but will also support your child’s emotional health and development. Please refer to the resources on the website to support your child at home.

Resources called ‘Zones of Regulation’ are used in school. These are a series of tools which help children to reflect and improve their ability to articulate their own emotional energy, and include strategies for aiding children in regulating their emotions when needed. Exploring time to understand a wider range of vocabulary in order to express their emotions.

The school has access to further services provided via the ‘Hitchin Partnership’ such as family support workers (FSW), who help support families in our community.  Do talk to the Inclusion Manager if you think they can help your family as this support needs to be accessed via a referral. More information about this service can be found here: http://www.hitchinpartnership.org

Year 6 pupils periodically access workshops from PHASE. A wide range of resources are available online for parents, https://phase-hitchin.org

Daily discussions with MSAs and weekly emails are circulated in order to keep staff up to date in understanding certain children’s needs during mealtimes and on the playground.

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

All teaching and support staff receive training on a variety of needs including: mental health, autism, Specific Learning Difficulties e.g. dyslexia, dyscalculia, literacy ,maths and reading interventions, visual impairment ,gross and fine motor skills difficulties e.g. dyspraxia.

The school has access to a wide range of services, dependent on your child’s needs:  Educational Psychologist consultations, Speech Therapists, and school nursing team to whom we can directly refer to.

We are able to support parents with information for GPs who can refer to different health services such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), Occupational Therapy (OT), Physiotherapy, Child Development Centre (CDC) or Communication Disorder Assessment Clinic (CDAC), The school may also access outreach services such as Hitchin Primary Outreach Support Service (HBOSS), Moderate learning difficulties (Woolgrove), Specific learning difficulties (ISL) Communication and Autism Team (ISL) and Autism Support for Families (PALMS).

If a child is identified as needing particular support for which we do not have an appropriately trained member of staff, we will do our best to access training so that we are able to provide for your child’s needs

 

  1. What training have the staff, supporting children and young people with SEND, had or are having?

Staff have been trained in a range of SEND needs including; autism, dyslexia, visual impairment, literacy and maths interventions, reading intervention, STEPS positive behaviour management strategies, gross and fine motor skills difficulties e.g. dyspraxia. Speech and Language development – Wellcomm.

The Inclusion Manager is currently undertaking the National SEN Coordination Award.

At St Ippolyts we aim to keep up-to-date with current issues around SEND. The SENCo attends termly SENCo clusters and forums, alongside DSPL area meetings collaborating with various experienced Local SENCo’s/InCo’s.

The Head, Inclusion Manager and Senior Leadership Team plan training opportunities based on the specific needs identified on both an individual and school wide basis. This is audited to source what support they would like, either accessing courses outside school or training in –house.

We ensure that staff have an up to date working knowledge of SEND issues and current legislation.

All staff complete annual First Aid Training along with updates on other medical conditions. The school may also use various online resources such as those provided by The Autism Education Trust, NASEN, The Bell Foundation and CPD opportunities sourced from SENDcast – a wide range of podcasts focusing on Special Educational Needs, to keep up to date with all the different areas within SEND, best practices and to improve staff knowledge.

 

  1. How will you help me to support my child’s learning?

Parent Consultations are held in the autumn and spring terms to keep parents fully informed of their child’s progress and an annual report is written for each child in the summer. Parents are involved in reviews of the Personal Support Plans (PSPs) and their views are sought at each opportunity to help support their child’s learning.

Our school believes that home learning is part of the partnership between school and families in our continuing endeavour to promote children’s learning. We aim to provide parents with opportunities to find out more about helping children at home. Policies can be found on our website. Information evenings take place at the school (eg: Class One Curriculum Information Evening and Yr 6 SATs Evening.  Maths calculations strategies are provided and available to download from the school website.

Home Learning is facilitated primarily through Google Classroom alongside Bug Club and Times Tables Rockstars. We welcome parents’ questions and are more than willing to provide advice on how parents can support their child’s learning at home.

Frequent daily bursts of reading, via the systematic synthetic phonics programme – Bug Club and spelling practice, using Essential Spellings is shown to have a positive impact on your child’s progress. Please ask your child’s class teacher if you would like more information about reading or spelling strategies to use with your child.  There are resources on our website about how to support your child, including the maths calculation policy, and recommended reading books by year group.

Our school website is another source of information where Curriculum overviews are available at the beginning of each term so that you will know which topics will be covered. Parents are welcomed in to meet their child’s new teacher informally during Open Sessions and are invited to a class/year group assembly each year. We post relevant curriculum information on our website, and the Head’s weekly newsletters cascade highly useful ideas and school information eg. recommended web links, parents training courses and online safety guidance.

 The Family Support Work team has access to a wide range of support from local agencies and services and is able to signpost parents effectively. Support has ranged from behaviour support to helping your child to sleep.

  1. How does the school enable constructive partnership working with families?

There are formal occasions during the school year such as Parent Consultations where parents are involved in discussions about their child’s education. We will always seek your permission first if a decision is made to involve outside agencies. However we have an ‘open door’ policy where parents are able to speak to their class teacher by email or phone to pass on quick messages or pieces of information.

Working parents are able to telephone to arrange for a teacher to call them back or email if there is a particular issue they wish to discuss. Parents are represented on the school governing body.

Alongside discussions with parents, it is vital that the child is at the heart of the support and are regularly involved in discussions to ensure support meets their needs.

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

For all school trips, a risk assessment is undertaken, following guidance from County’s Risk Assessment and individual assessments where needed,  to ensure that each child is kept safe from harm. All children with SEND are included on all school trips (including residential trips), and, when appropriate, reasonable adjustments are deployed. Parents are consulted to ensure the full participation and active engagement of all children.  Where the outings are run by outside agencies staff are made aware of each child’s needs so that they are able to meet them in a sensitive and appropriate manner.

We appreciate that changes to routine may be difficult for some children with SEND, so, where appropriate, we will also prepare the child for the trip by explaining what will happen using at times ‘social stories’. This will detail how they will be helped and remind them how to ask for help on the day.

We also participate in a number of Stevenage Sporting Futures Team (SSFT) Inclusive Festivals and sporting events. Some children may require additional sensory support, particularly for children with physical and sensory issues. Sensory circuits provide a way for children to receive a controlled input to calm and organise them for the day ahead ready for learning.

  1. How accessible is the school environment?

The school continues to make reasonable adjustments for all children and those with more specialist SEND needs where necessary. The building is wheelchair accessible and has disabled toilet facilities. Specialised equipment is provided where appropriate for children with SEND needs and advice is sought from medical/health professionals where needed.

The school can access an interpreter and arrange for school documents to be translated if necessary.

All classrooms are reviewed regularly to ensure that they are as inclusive as possible to all children – this might include things like easily accessible equipment to support learning, and useful information available on displays/working walls for children to access.

  1. Who can I contact for further information?

You may feel it is more appropriate to speak to your child’s teacher in the first instance who will then, with your consent, pass information on to the Inclusion Manager, who will then contact you to discuss concerns further or arrange a meeting if necessary.

The school has a non – class based Inclusion Manager, Mrs G Stewart, who can be contacted by telephone (via the school office number) or email (senco@stipps.herts.sch.uk ) and is available to meet with parents, if you have any concerns about your child. Please do communicate with us. We feel that an open, honest conversation is the best way to resolve any problem you may have. Other points of contact may include Key Stage Leaders, Assistant Head, or the Headteacher, all contactable via the school office:

EYFS/Key Stage 1 Lead: Miss K Ingle

Key Stage 2 Lead: Miss L Walker

Assistant Head: Mrs G Stewart

Headteacher: Mrs R Peddie

If you wish to make a complaint the school has a complaints procedure which is available from the school office or on our website.

You may wish to also refer to the current SEND Code of Practice 0-25 using the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25#

SENDIASS is also an impartial information, advice and support service funded by Hertfordshire County Council for parents, carers, young people (0-25) and professionals and can be contacted through the following link: sendiass@hertfordshire.gov.uk

  1. How will the school prepare and support my child to join the school, transfer to a new school or the next stage of education and life?

There is a detailed transition programme in place for children new to the school, moving to new classes or leaving the school. The level of support offered is dependent on each child’s needs, age and development. In the Foundation Stage there are visits to the child’s current setting, meetings with their current teacher or Nursery Nurse and a visit to our school for a morning. If we feel it necessary, the Inclusion Manager may accompany the teacher on these visits. In KS1 and KS2 the children have a move up day in July where they meet their new teacher and see their new classroom.

The Year 6 children also have a move up day and transitional workshops. Some secondary schools offer additional support for transition with children with SEND such as additional visits, summer school and activities planned to minimise any anxieties the child may have. The Inclusion Manager will liaise with all Secondary Schools to ensure relevant information is passed on.

Other support during transition offered may include a pupil passport to take to the next teacher, photographs of the staff and classroom to take home with them and additional opportunities to visit their new classroom. Each child will also receive a ‘Welcome to your New Class’ booklet, which outlines important routines and other important information in order to settle your child into learning as soon as possible.

  1. How are the school’s resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?

The school has an amount identified within its overall budget called the notional SEND budget which is used for resources to support the progress of children with SEND. This is predominantly used to employ teaching assistants to meet the needs of children with SEND. A smaller percentage is used to buy specialist equipment, books or stationery or to provide specialised training for staff. The allocation of the school budget is prioritised according to need.

  1. How is the decision made about how much support my child will receive?

The amount and type of support offered to a child is determined by a detailed analysis of a child’s needs, barriers to learning, stage of development, parental views, their own views and consultation with their class teacher.

This support is reviewed regularly via the Personal Support Plan process with amendments being made to the programme of support. Targets are set and progress towards targets is reported back to parents at regular intervals. Interventions typically last between 6 and 12 weeks, with the emphasis being on early identification and targeted effective support to minimise any long term need for additional support.     

Where a child requires provision which exceeds the nationally prescribed threshold or their needs have significantly changed, the school may need to apply for additional funding from Hertfordshire County’s Local High Needs Funding budget. This is called LHN. An application shall have to be submitted to a panel, where the needs will then be compared against other submission within the district.  Parents will always be consulted if the school is to try and apply for additional funding for their child. If a child has an EHCP a banding process is how additional funding is obtained.

 

  1. How can I find information on the local authority’s Local Offer of services and provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disability?

The Code of Practice (2014) legislation states that local authorities must publish their Local Offer.

The purpose behind this service is to:

  • Provide clear, comprehensive, accessible and up to date information about the available provision and how to access it
  • Make provision more responsive to local needs and aspirations by directly involving disabled pupils and those with SEND and their parents and service providers in its development and review.

The authority’s local offer of services and provision for children and young people with SEND can be accessed at www.hertsdirect.org/localoffer

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s particular needs, please speak to your child’s class teacher or the Inclusion Manager.

 

Last Updated: October 2023

Next review date: October 2024