Schools are required to publish, and keep under review, information about support that they expect to be available for children with Disabilities and Special Educational Needs. This is called the Local Offer. The intention of the Local Offer is to improve choice and transparency for families. St John the Baptist Primary School is an inclusive mainstream setting, with the needs of pupils with a Special Educational Need/s and or disabilities being met to ensure that all children make the best possible progress. A. PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS/ AND OR DISABILITIES IN THIS SCHOOL: School based information People Summary of responsibilities Who are the best people to talk to in this school about my child s difficulties with learning/ Special Educational Needs/Disability (SEND)? SENDCO Mrs S Drust The areas of responsibility for the SENDCO includes: The day to day running of the school s SEND policy Liaising with and advising fellow staff including support staff Co-ordinating provision for children with SEND Maintaining the schools SEND register Monitoring the progress of all pupils with SEND
Liaising with parents of children with SEND Contributing to the in-service training of staff, and liaising with external agencies Meeting with the SEND governor Class Teacher They are responsible for: providing a differentiated curriculum to meet the needs of all learners ensuring that all children have access to good/outstanding teaching identifying pupils with SEND so that early intervention can be implemented liaising with parents and SENDCO attending pupil review meetings when possible planning for learning support assistants to work with the children ensuring that the school s SEND policy is followed in their classroom Learning Support Assistant (LSA) Learning support staff can assist the class teacher in delivering work for specific children or small groups of children with special needs. This programme will be planned by the class teacher for the
learning support assistant staff, with specific guidelines for delivery of the work. The children may be withdrawn from the classroom setting with the learning support assistant if necessary. Learning support staff are responsible for feeding back to the teacher about the child s progress and about any concerns. Head Teacher Mr I Gallagher Deputy Head Mrs H Dixon He is responsible for: The day to day management of all aspects of the school, this includes the support for children with SEN and/or disabilities. He will give responsibility to the SENDCO and class teachers but is still responsible for ensuring that your child s needs are met. He must make sure that the Governing Body is kept up to date about any issues in the school relating to SEND. SEND Governor Mr R Keeling He is responsible for: Making sure that the school has an up to date SEND Policy Making sure that the school has appropriate provision and has made
necessary adaptations to meet the needs of all children in the school Making sure that the necessary support is made for any child who attends the school who has SEND and/or disabilities. Making visits to understand and monitor the support given to children with SEND in the school and being part of the process to ensure your child achieves his/her potential in school. B. HOW COULD MY CHILD GET HELP IN SCHOOL? : Children in school will get support that is specific to their individual needs. This may be all provided by the class teacher or may involve: Other staff in the school Staff who will visit the school from Solihull Specialist Inclusion Support Service (SISS) Staff who visit from Outside Agencies such as the Speech and Language therapy (SALT) Service Types of support available for children with SEN and /or disabilities in this school? Class teacher input via Quality First Teaching What would this mean for your child? The teacher will have the highest possible expectations for your child and all pupils in their class. Who can get this kind of support? All children in school receive this.
All teaching is based on building on what your child already knows, can do and can understand. Using a variety of teaching strategies so that your child is fully involved in learning in class. Putting in place specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENDCO or staff from outside agencies) to enable your child to access the learning task. Specific small group work. The teacher will plan group sessions Any child who has specific gaps in their This group may be for your child with targets to help understanding of a subject/area of taught in the classroom or outside. your child to make more progress. learning and identified as needing some taught by a Teacher or a Learning A Learning Support extra support in school. Support Assistant who has had Assistant/Teacher (or outside training to lead these groups. professional) will run these small group sessions using the teacher s These are often called Intervention groups plans, or a recommended by schools. programme. We currently use a range of intervention programmes at St John the Baptist Primary School. An intervention programme may be used to support your child. Examples include; Early Years Speech and Language Support - Wellcomm Time to Talk English interventions led by a lead
practitioner 1:1 Tuition (KS2) AGT opportunities ELS / ALS Toe by Toe Spellwise Dancing Bears Action Words Nessy Learning Nessy Fingers Touch typing Project X / CODE Paired Reading Digismart BEAM Smart Moves Good Morning Gang Good to be me Therapeutic Play Drawing and Talking Forest School Gardening projects Specialist groups run by outside agencies If your child has been identified as needing more specialist input, referrals will be made to outside agencies to advise and support the school in enabling your child to make progress. Before referrals are made you will be asked to come to a meeting to Children with specific barriers to learning that cannot be overcome through Quality First Teaching and Intervention groups.
discuss your child s progress and help plan possible ways forward. Outside agency professionals will work with your child to understand their needs and make recommendations. Specified Individual support This is usually provided via an Education, The school (with your permission) Children whose additional needs are Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or a can request that the Local Authority severe, complex and lifelong. Statement of Special Educational Needs. carry out a statutory assessment of This means your child will have been your child s needs. identified by the SENDCO as needing a The Local Authority will decide if particularly high level of individual and your child s needs are severe, small group teaching, which cannot be complex and lifelong and whether provided from the resources already to write an EHC Plan. delegated to the school. The EHC Plan will outline strategies to achieve both short and long term goals for your child. C. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS How will we support your child with identified special needs starting school? We will first invite you to visit the school with your child to have a look around and speak to staff. If other professionals are involved, a meeting will be held to discuss your child s needs, share strategies used, and ensure provision is put in place before your child starts. We may suggest adaptations to the settling in period to help your child settle more easily.
How have we made the school buildings and site safe and welcoming for pupils with SEN and/ or disabilities? All areas of the school building and school grounds are fully wheelchair accessible. School has a wet room and disabled toilet. How can I let the school know I am concerned about my child s progress in school? If you have concerns about your child s progress you should speak to your child s class teacher initially. If you are not happy that the concerns are being managed and that your child is still not making progress you should speak to the SENDCO or Head Teacher. If you are still not happy you can speak to the school SEND Governor. How will the school let me know if they have any concerns about my child s learning in school? When a teacher has concerns about your child s progress, and targeted teaching has not met the child s needs, the teacher will raise this with the SENDCO. Teachers also have pupil progress meetings with the Head Teacher every term to ensure all children are making good progress. This is another way your child may be identified as not making as much progress as they could be. If your child is identified as not making progress the school will make a decision about whether to monitor this or set up an intervention group. If your child is still not making expected progress the school will discuss with you their concerns and any further interventions or referrals to outside professionals to support your child s learning. How is extra support allocated to children? The school budget includes money for supporting children with SEND. The Head Teacher decides on the budget for Special Educational Needs in consultation with the school governors, on the basis of the needs of the children currently in the school. The Head Teacher and the SENDCO discuss all the information they have about SEND in the school including;
the children getting extra support already the children needing extra support the children who have been identified as not making as much progress as would be expected. All resources/training and support are reviewed regularly and changes made as needed. Who are the key people providing services to children with SEND in this school? The Inclusion Team at St John the Baptist School; SENDCO (Mrs S Drust) Early Years / Intervention Teacher (Mrs L Dolphin) Intervention Support Assistants (Mrs V Worth/Ms Z Cherry) Tutor/ AGT (Ms J Walker) Child and Family Support Worker (Mrs S Clarke) Learning Mentor (Mrs E Blundell) Nurture Assistant (Ms D Whitehouse) We have access to support from Solihull Inclusion Support Service - Cognition and Learning team - Social, Emotional and Mental Health team - Physical Impairment team - Sensory Service - Autism team - Under 6 team - English as an additional language team Other Professionals Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) Occupational Therapy School Nurse
Community Paediatrician Educational Psychologist The Meadow Centre SOLAR How are the adults in school helped to work with children with SEND and what training do they have? Mrs Drust (SENDCO) has a Post Graduate Certificate Vulnerable learners and Inclusion and she has completed the National Award for SEN Coordination. The school has a training plan for all staff to improve the teaching and learning of children including those with SEND. Whole staff training to disseminate knowledge, strategies and experience, to ensure consistency of the school s approach for children with an SEND. Individual teachers and support staff attend training courses run by outside agencies that are relevant to the needs of specific children in their class. How will we measure the progress of your child in school? And how will I know about this? Your child s progress is continually monitored by his/her class teacher and reviewed formally every half term. If your child is in Year 1 and above, and identified with Special Educational Needs, a more sensitive assessment tool may be used to show smaller but significant steps of progress. The levels are called P levels. Children with SEND may have an Individual Plan/ Management Plan / Needs Based Plan and this will be reviewed with your involvement. The progress of children with an EHC Plan/Statement of SEN is formally reviewed at an Annual Review with all adults involved with the child s education. How will we support your child when they are leaving this school? OR moving on to another class? We recognise that moving on can be difficult for a child with SEN/and or disabilities and take steps to ensure that any transition is as smooth as possible. If your child is moving to another school:
We will contact the new school s SENDCO and ensure he/she knows about any special arrangements or support that need to be made for your child. We will make sure that all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible. When moving classes in school: Information will be passed on to the new class teacher and a meeting will take place with the new teacher. If your child would be helped by a photo book to support them understand moving on then it will be made for them Some pupils will have their own passport outlining specific individual needs and this will be shared with the new class teacher What services, external agencies or support groups are available for Parents? Service Parent Partnership SENDIAS Phone number 0121 733 7290 07884 887250 Website http://www.solihullparentpartnership.co.uk/ http://www.family-action.org.uk/solihullsendias Outline Provide a free, confidential and impartial service for all parents and carers of children with special educational needs in Solihull.
What is Solihull s Local Offer for children with SEND? Signpost Inclusion 07534 352 754 http://signpostinclusion.org.uk/ Autism 0121 450 http://www.autismwestmidlands.org.uk/ West 7582 Midlands SOLO 0121 788 http://www.solihullsolo.org/ 3469 http://socialsolihull.org.uk/localoffer/ Signpost Inclusion offers support and training along with resources to benefit the lives of children and young people with additional needs. Charity in the West Midlands for people affected by autism. Work with children, young people and adults in the Solihull area with learning disabilities.
What are the arrangements for making a complaint? Please refer to our school complaints policy.