Bedford Local Offer template for settings, schools and colleges

Transcription

1 Bedford Local Offer template for settings, schools and colleges Name of Scott Lower School School/College/Setting Type of setting Lower School Name of SENDCO Lindsey Lane Address Hawk Drive, Bedford. MK41 9LD Phone Number of SENDCO Fax Number of SENDCo Website Link to SEN Information Under the Information tab Report Link to SEN page of Under the Information tab schools website Information Attached Yes/No School s Inclusion/Mission statement Scott Lower is an inclusive school and we celebrate the fact that each and every child is unique and therefore, the educational needs of every child are different; this is especially the case for children with Special Educational Needs. We have been awarded the Inclusion Quality Mark in recognition of the fact that every child is treated as an individual. 1. How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support my child s/young person s learning? What opportunities are there be for me to discuss my child s progress with the staff? How does the setting / school / college know how well my child/young person is doing? How will I know what progress my child/young person should be making? What opportunities will there be for regular contact about things that have happened at early years setting / school / college eg a home school book? How will you explain to me how his or her learning is planned and how I can help support this outside of the setting / school / college? How and when will I be involved in planning my child s/young person s education? Do you offer any parent training or learning events? We have very strong links with our parents. We have an Open Door policy and we actively encourage our parents to talk to their child s class teacher as soon as they need to. We have Consultation Evenings in the Autumn and Spring terms and an optional Consultation Evening in the Summer term. Parents are given targets and suggestions to support their children s learning at Consultation Evenings. These targets are regularly reviewed with our parents. We hold termly Curriculum meetings for our parents, where we can share information about how parents

2 can support their children s learning. The Early Years staff write about the day s activities on a whiteboard outside the classroom doors so that parents are aware of what the children have been doing in school. Adult Learning is organised for our parents and is linked to supporting the adults to be able to support their own children s learning. We also organise a Magic Parenting course to support our parents with positive behaviour management strategies. These courses are all free of charge and are organised by our family Support Worker, who is also able to offer support and advice to parents on an individual basis. 2. How accessible is the setting / school / college environment? Is the building fully wheelchair accessible? Have there been improvements in the auditory and visual environment? Are there disabled changing and toilet facilities? How does the setting /school / college communicate with parent carers whose first language is not English? How will equipment and facilities to support children and young people with special educational needs be secured? We recognise that accessibility is not easy at Scott Lower, as the school is built on many different Levels, but our Accessibility Plan sets out our aspiration to become more accessible. We do of course, make reasonable adjustments. Our new classroom block is fully compliant with DDA requirements. There is a disabled toilet in the new classroom block. We ensure, where ever possible, that equipment used is accessible to all children regardless of their needs. After school provision is accessible to all children including those with SEND. Extra curricular activities are accessible for children with SEND. 3. How does the setting / school / college know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs? How do you identify children/young people with special educational needs? How will I be able to raise any concerns I may have? If the setting / school / college is specialist which types of special educational need do you cater for? We know when children need additional help if: Concerns are raised by parents, carers, teachers or the child. Only limited progress is being made. There is a change in the child s behaviour or progress. If you are concerned about your child in any way, the first person you should speak to, is the class teacher. If you remain concerned, you should contact the school s Special Educational Needs and Disability Co-ordinator, (SENDCo) Miss Lane through the school office on: How will early years setting / school / college staff support my child/young person? Who will oversee and plan the education programme and who will be working with my child/young person and how often? What will be their roles? Who will explain this to me? How are the setting / school / college governors or trustees involved and what are their responsibilities? How does the setting / school / college know how effective its arrangements and provision for children and young people with special educational needs are? The needs, both academic and emotional, of every child are catered for in the class teacher s planning. All planning is differentiated to suit every child s individual needs. Sometimes, this might include additional support from either the class teacher or teaching assistant, this could be within or outside the classroom. If a child has difficulties related to more specific areas of their education, they might work within a small group either with the class teacher or teaching assistant, this is known as intervention. The duration of the intervention is dependent on how much progress is made.

3 Sometimes a pupil might need some extra specialist support from a professional outside of the school. If this is the case, a referral will be made, with parents consent. Any advice given by the external professional will be implemented in school as soon as possible. Governors monitor the effectiveness of the provision in place for our pupils identified with SEND, our SEND Link Governor makes termly visits to the school and our SENDCo produces regular reports for our Governors. 5. How will the curriculum be matched to my child s/young person s needs? What are the setting s / school s / college s approaches to differentiation? How will that help my child/young person? How does the school adapt the curriculum and learning environment? Once a child has been identified as having special needs, their work will be differentiated appropriately by the class teacher to ensure that they are able to access the curriculum more easily. The curriculum will be adapted following any recommendations from external professionals. Specialist resources or equipment would be provided to ensure that the child could access the curriculum appropriately, if necessary. Further strategies would be used with the child if recommended by external professionals. 6. What support will there be for my child s/young person s overall well being? What is the pastoral, medical and social support available in the setting / school / college for children with SEND? How does the setting / school / college manage the administration of medicines and providing personal care? What support is there for behaviour, avoiding exclusions and increasing attendance? How will my child/young person being able to contribute his or her views? How will the setting / school / college support my child / young person to do this? Our school is committed to ensuring that every child s well-being is central to everything we do. We offer a wide range of support for children who are experiencing difficulties either at home or at school. These include: If the staff notice a change in a child s behaviour or social or emotional well-being, we would meet with you to discuss the situation and plan the best way forward to support the child. If a child has a medical need a detailed Care Plan is put into place with the support of a member of the School nursing Team, this would be discussed with you. These plans are shared with all staff who support the child in school. If a child has a significant behavioural difficulty, a Behaviour plan would be implemented. If a child has a significant difficulties with their social or emotional well-being, they might attend our Nurture Group, with parental consent. All children have the opportunity to develop their social and emotional skills through the use of SEAL materials, (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning). Medicines are able to be administered in school, only if they are prescribed and a consent form has been signed by the parents. Good attendance is actively encouraged by all members of staff. The class with the best attendance keep Jimbo our Attendance Teddy, in their classroom for a week and are named on the weekly newsletter. Our Attendance Officer is proactive in ensuring that our children s attendance is good. Our Family Support Worker supports identified families to improve their attendance. Our children are encouraged to express their views and respect the views of others. Our School Council represent the views of their respective classes.

4 7. What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the setting / school / college? Are there specialist staff working at the setting / school / college and what are their qualifications? What other services does the setting / school / college access including health, therapy and social care services? There are times when it is necessary to work alongside external agencies to follow their expertise. The external agencies used by the school include: Educational Psychologists. Autism Advisory Team. Speech and Language Therapy Team. Occupational Therapy Team. Social Care Team. CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service). CHUMS (Child Bereavement, Trauma and Emotional Well-being Service). Educational Welfare Officers. Sensory Impairment Team Team ( School nurses). All staff receive regular training to increase their knowledge of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Our Family Support Worker, Mrs Noble is a trained bereavement counsellor. 8. How will my child/young person be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips? Will he or she be able to access all of the activities of the setting / school / college and how will you assist him or her to do so? How do you involve parent carers in planning activities and trips? Do you welcome all children to breakfast and afterschool clubs? What plans have you in place to support children with special educational needs at these clubs? All children have access to all activities and school visits. The class teachers identify any additional support that a child might require to enable them to access school visits. This additional support, whatever its nature, is then recorded on a Risk Assessment. The School s Educational Visits Co-ordinator and Headteacher monitor this. Our Before and After School Club is available to all children, although we operate a First Come, First Served policy as places are limited. 9. 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? What preparation will there be for both the setting / school / college and my child/young person before he or she joins the setting / school / college. How will he or she be prepared to move onto the next stage? What information will be provided to his or her new setting / school / college? How will you support a new setting / school / college to prepare for my child/young person? We strive to ensure that transition to our school, within our school and from our school, is as smooth as possible. We have many procedures in place to ensure that this is the case. These include: Home visits are offered before the children start either Nursery or Reception. The staff visit local pre-schools and nurseries to discuss the children s needs and share records. Parents join their children for an hour s visit before they start Nursery and Reception. All children spend a transition morning or afternoon with their new teachers before the end of each academic year. Relevant information is shared with the receiving teachers at each transition point. Transition with the local Middle School starts early in the academic year. Additional visits are arranged for children who need more time in either their new classes or new school.

5 10. How are the setting s / school s / college s resources allocated and matched to children s/young people s special educational needs? How is the decision made about the type and how much support my child will receive? Describe the decision making process. Who will make the decision and on what basis? Who else will be involved? How will I be involved? How does the setting / school / college judge whether the support has had an impact? How is the setting s / school s / college s special educational needs budget allocated? The SEND budget is allocated each financial year and is allocated appropriately. The Headteacher, SENDCo and class teachers meet every half term, during Pupil Progress Meetings, and discuss the needs of individual children and allocate support as deemed necessary. Regular meetings are held with parents/ carers to discuss any additional support necessary for their child. Every half-term, the progress of every child is monitored to ensure that we are aware of the impact that any additional support and resources are having. 11. How are parents involved in the setting / school / college? How can I be involved? Describe the setting s / school s / college s approach to involving parents in decision making and day to day school life including for their own child or young person. We believe very much in working positively in partnership with our parents. Parents know their children better than anyone else and their views, advice and support are welcomed in school. This might be through: Discussions with the class teacher. During discussions with the SENDCo. During Parents Consultation Evenings and through informal meetings. Parents are able to become Parent Governors if a position arises. All parents are automatically able to join the PTA. 12. How are children and young people included in the planning for their support and provision? How do you involve my child in planning what their education provision and support looks like? How are children and young people supported to ensure that their voice is heard? We aim to encourage all of our children to become independent learners, who are aware of their own learning targets and know that their views are valued. If a child has an individualised plan, their own views are included on the plan, either in a written, pictorial or scribed format. 13. Who can I contact for further information? Who would be my first point of contact if I want to discuss something about my child/young person? Who else has a role in my child s/young person education? Who can I talk to if I am worried? Who should I contact if I am considering whether child/young person should join the setting / school / college? Who is the SEN Coordinator and how can I contact them? What other support services are there who might help me and provide me with information and advice? Where can I find the local authority s Local Offer We encourage our parents to contact their child s class teacher in the first instance to discuss their child. If there are any further questions, it might be necessary to arrange a meeting with the SENDCo. Are you a school specifically supporting people with: Autistic Spectrum Conditions Communication Impairment Hearing Impairment Learning Disability Mental Health Conditions Please Tick Yes Yes

6 Visual Impairment Physical Impairment Other (please specify)

7 Database Permissions In line with the Data Protection Act (1998), your consent is required in order to ensure that your information can be shared with the public and professionals. I consent to you making available the information I have supplied in the following ways: (please tick) In writing and on the telephone On the internet YES YES Data Protection: All information you send will be kept strictly confidential and used only by Bedford Borough Council and partner agencies. You have the right to ask for a copy of any data we store about you by contacting us in writing. Once completed please return this form directly to us. Thank you for taking the time to complete this form. Please return to localoffer@bedford.gov.uk Please attach any leaflets you provide or additional information for parents and young people. If you have any questions about any part of this form please contact us: localoffer@bedford.gov.uk Telephone Fax We would prefer you to return this form electronically, however if you wish to print out this form and return it in the post our address is: Local Offer Team Bedford Borough Council 5 th Floor, Borough Hall Cauldwell Street Bedford MK42 9AP