SEND and the Local Offer

Shine - St Vincent's Inclusion Newsletter - Spring Term 2024

The Local Offer

Trafford's local offer gives information about support and activities on offer for parents and children with SEND. Please find Trafford's local offer using the link: https://www.trafforddirectory.co.uk/kb5/trafford/fsd/localoffer.page

Please find the SEND Information Report below:

SENDCo: Mrs Farrell (EY/KS1) Mrs Sutton (KS2) SEND Governor: Mrs Kilburn

How we support those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND):

Our school provides adaptive teaching for a range of needs in line with the SEND Code of Practice: 0-25 years, including:

Communication and interaction, for example, autistic spectrum disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, speech and language
Cognition and learning, for example, dyslexia, dyspraxia and global developmental delay
Social, emotional and mental health needs, for example, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and mental health support
Sensory and/or physical needs, for example, visual impairments, hearing impairments, processing difficulties, epilepsy and cerebral palsy.

If your child has SEND and you would like to apply to our school for admission, please contact our SENDCo for the admission of disabled children.

Identifying pupils with SEND and assessing needs

We assess each pupil’s skills and levels of attainment on entry, which will build on previous settings and Key Stages, where appropriate. Class teachers will make regular assessments of progress for all pupils and identify those whose progress:

Is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
Does not match or better the child’s previous rate of progress
Does not close the attainment gap between the child and their peers

This may include progress in areas other than attainment, for example, social needs. Slow progress and low attainment will not automatically mean a pupil is recorded as having SEND. When deciding whether special educational provision is required, we will start with the desired outcomes, including the expected progress and attainment. We ask pupils and parents to share their views. This engagement is essential for us to work in partnership based on the guidance of outside agencies where necessary.

Consulting and involving pupils and parents

We ask parents to work in partnership with the school. Parents should let us know about life at home and how their child is accessing their learning so that school has the full overview in order to provide support and guidance. We will have an early discussion with the pupil, parents and teacher when identifying whether they need special educational provision. These conversations will make sure that:

Everyone develops a good understanding of the pupil’s areas of strength and difficulty
We take into account the parents’ views
Everyone understands the agreed outcomes sought for the child
Everyone is clear on what the next steps are

Assessing and reviewing pupils' progress towards outcomes

We will follow the graduated approach and the four-part cycle of assess, plan, do, review. The class teacher will work with the SENCO to carry out a clear analysis of the pupil’s needs. This will draw on:

The teacher’s assessment and experience of the pupil
Their previous progress and attainment and behaviour
Other teachers’ assessments, where relevant
The individual’s development in comparison to their peers and national data
The views and experience of parents, life at home and school
The pupil’s own views
Advice from external support services, if relevant

The assessment will be reviewed regularly. All teachers and support staff who work with the pupil will be made aware of their needs, the outcomes sought, the support provided, and any adaptive teaching strategies or approaches that are required. We will regularly review the effectiveness of the support and interventions and their impact on the pupil’s progress. This will be drawn up on a plan with SMART targets which is reviewed on a termly basis and new targets set.

Supporting pupils moving between phases and preparing for adulthood

We will share information with the school the pupil is moving to. For pupils in Y6 moving to secondary education, the SENDCo from the chosen school will be invited to attend the transition review. Pupils will also be given additional opportunities to visit the new school and prepare for this transition.

Our approach to teaching pupils with SEND

Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all the pupils in their class. High quality first teaching is our first step in responding to pupils who have SEND. This will be adapted for individual pupils. We will also provide the following interventions:

Speech and Language interventions e.g. Social Communication Group; Block or Lego Therapy; Specific speech intervention – narrative therapy, comprehension.
Pastoral interventions
Support in accessing the curriculum via adaptive teaching

We are a Dyslexia Friendly School and achieved reaccreditation in March 2022. We ensure that all of our classrooms and workspaces are dyslexia friendly.

Adaptations to the curriculum and learning environment

We make the following adaptations to ensure all pupils’ needs are met:

Adapting our curriculum to ensure all pupils are able to access it, for example, by grouping, 1:1 work, teaching style adaptions for the lesson.
Adapting our resources and staffing
Using recommended aids, such as laptops, coloured overlays, visual timetables, larger font and prompt scaffolds.
Adapting our teaching, for example, giving longer processing times, pre-teaching of key vocabulary and reading instructions aloud.
Wheelchair access and disabled toilets.

Additional support for learning

We have teaching assistants who are trained to deliver interventions such as IDL, Lego Therapy and specific speech and language intervention. Teaching assistants attend training as required on different areas of SEND e.g. autism and social communication, dyslexia, social, emotional and mental health needs. Whole school staff training is organised according to need and has most recently focused on supporting pupils with anxiety and training staff on emotion coaching. Where specialist advice is required, training is also provided for staff. Teaching assistants will support pupils on a 1:1 basis where required and in consultation with the SENDCo. Teaching assistants support pupils in small groups where required, overseen by the Leaders of Learning and regularly discussed with the SENDCo. We also work with other agencies to support children’s learning and development. Equipment and facilities are used effectively to support children with SEND. Advice is sought from SENAS when supporting pupils with physical needs and an accessibility audit is carried out.

Evaluating the effectiveness of SEND provision

We evaluate the effectiveness of provision for pupils with SEND by:

Reviewing pupils’ individual progress towards their goals each term
Reviewing the impact of interventions half termly
Using pupil feedback
Monitoring by the SENDCo
Using provision maps to measure progress
Understanding life at school and home
Holding annual reviews for pupils with EHC plans

Enabling equality of opportunity for pupils with SEND to participate in activities available

All of our extra-curricular activities and school visits are available to all our pupils, including our before-and after-school clubs. All pupils are encouraged to go on our residential trip to Robinwood in Year 5. Our school is fully inclusive and reasonable adjustments are made where possible. If additional adult support is needed to ensure a child can access what is on offer, this will be provided where appropriate. Close liaison will take place between school, parents and staff involved in providing the activity or hosting the trip, so they are always fully aware of a child’s needs. All pupils are encouraged to take part in sports day/school plays/special workshops. No pupil is ever excluded from taking part in these activities because of their special needs or disability. We take seriously our need to carry out accessibility planning for disabled pupils as required by Schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. We have prepared an Accessibility Plan which plans for:

Increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the school’s curriculum.
Improving the physical environment of the school to enable disabled pupils to take better advantage of education, benefits, facilities and services provided.
Improving the delivery to disabled pupils of information which is readily accessible to pupils who are not disabled.
Children with disabilities or special educational needs are included in all we do. We have accessible toilets and buildings have wheelchair access.

Please see our accessibility plan: http://www.stvincents.trafford.sch.uk/uploads/120/files/Accessibility%20plan%202021-24.pdf

Support for improving emotional and social development

At St Vincent's we have a Pastoral Care Team. The Pastoral Care Team work with children who may lack self-esteem or confidence or need support with their emotional or social development. In each department, we have set up quiet, reflective and calming places to go. We have trained our pastoral staff in a programme called "Happy to be me". We belief that investing time in developing children’s emotional and mental health impacts on their concentration, wellbeing, confidence and in their educational development.

In February 2023, we gained the Wellbeing Award for Schools (WAS) accredited by Optimus assessors. Children have weekly PSHE lessons delivered through our ‘Jigsaw’ scheme and regularly attend yoga and mindfulness sessions run at lunchtime or as clubs.

We provide support for pupils to improve their emotional and social development in the following ways:

Understanding life at school and home
Pupils with SEND are encouraged to be part of the school council
Pupils with SEND are also encouraged to be members of other pupil groups e.g. Wellbeing Ambassadors, Mini Vinnies etc to promote teamwork/building friendships.

We have a zero tolerance approach to bullying. Please see our anti-bullying adult and child friendly policy for further details http://stvincents.trafford.sch.uk/uploads/120/files/Anti%20Bullying The school is committed to developing an anti-bullying culture where the bullying of children or adults is not tolerated in any form. In addition to promoting kindness, we actively promote anti bullying throughout the school year and within our curriculum. The school is a member of the Anti-Bulling Alliance and school staff have received training on anti-bullying. We also hold the Altogether Anti-bullying Gold Award.

Working with other agencies

We work with the following agencies to provide support for pupils with SEND:

Education:

SEN Advisory Service (SENAS)
Sensory Impairment Support Service
Educational Psychology Service
Longford Park Outreach Team

Health:

Speech and Language Therapy
Language Outreach Service
Health Visitor
School Nurse
Community Nurse
Physiotherapy
Occupational therapy
CAMHS Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service
Young Minds
Epilepsy nurse
Diabetes nurse
Asthma nurse

Complaints

We want to work with the children and their wider families to offer a curriculum for children to reach their potential. If you have questions about a SEND matter, please talk to the respective SENDCo and they will be happy to help. If you feel concerned then please follow the guidance in the complaints procedure and we will work with you to resolve the matter as soon as possible.

Contact details of support services for parents of pupils with SEND

Trafford Parent and Young People's Partnership Service (PYPPS) provide information, support and advice for children young people with SEND and their parents on SEN, disability, health and social care http://traffordpypps.co.uk/Welcome.aspx

If you are a parent, carer or young person that needs help or information, including advice about your Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and the processes involved contact Trafford SENDIASS. SENDIASS is an independent organisation in Trafford. They have local knowledge about how the process works in Trafford and can offer guidance and advice on the support available. Trafford Parents Forum is a forum of Trafford parents supporting other Trafford parents who have children and young people with SEN and Disability. The Family Information Service can provide information and advice about services which make up the local offer in Trafford. Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Organisations Group (SENDIOG) is a national network of organisations who provide free and impartial advice to children, young people and their families.

The local authority local offer can also be found here.

Our local authority’s local offer is published here: https://www.trafforddirectory.co.uk/kb5/trafford/fsd/localoffer.page