SEND

SEND Information Report

Kinds of SEN

Our SEN Provision

There are four broad areas of special educational need, these are:

Communication and Interaction
This area of need includes children with Autism Spectrum Condition and those with Speech, Language and Communication Needs
Cognition and Learning
This includes children with Specific Learning Difficulties, Moderate Learning Difficulties, Severe Learning Difficulties and Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties
Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties
This includes any pupils who have an emotional, social or mental health need that is impacting on their ability to learn
Sensory and/or Physical Difficulties
This area includes children with hearing impairment, visual impairment, multi-sensory impairment and physical difficulties

The Kinds of SEN

At Collierley Primary School, we have experience of supporting children and young people with a wide range of needs including:

General Learning Difficulties – children whose learning progresses at a slower pace
Speech and Language Difficulties
Behavioural Difficulties
Dyslexia (difficulties with reading, writing and spelling)
Dyspraxia (problems with motor skills, organisation)
Hearing Impairment
Autism
ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder – ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
Downs Syndrome
Cerebral Palsy
Other Physical or Medical Needs

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.

At Collierley Primary we believe that inclusive education means providing all pupils with appropriate education and support alongside their peers. The Curriculum is all the planned activities that the school organises in order to promote learning, personal growth and development.

It includes not only the formal requirements of the National Curriculum but also the range of additional opportunities that the school organises in order to enrich the experiences of our children. Our curriculum also includes the social aspects that are essential for life-long learning.

You can view or download our Teaching and Learning Policy from the School Policies section of our website.

Please visit Our Curriculum section for further information on our teaching and learning.

How we adapt the curriculum and learning environment for children & young people with SEN

Our overall aim is to support children with additional needs in becoming independent learners. We achieve this by using a variety of teaching methods and approaches tailored to their individual requirements.

We adapt the curriculum and learning environment for pupils with SEN by:

Providing additional support through small group sessions or targeted interventions
Using tailored strategies such as precision teaching, sensory breaks, touch typing, movement groups, individual visual timetables, and access to counselling or emotional support
Adapting the physical environment to ensure accessibility for all pupils, including the use of individual workstations and sensory areas.

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 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:

Work in partnership with parents/carers, pupils
Consult with relevant external agencies
Use assessment tools & materials
Use observations
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:

Assess a child’s special educational needs
Plan the provision to meet your child’s aspirations and agreed outcomes
Do put the provision in place to meet those outcomes
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 the 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.

A request to the local authority for an Education, Health and Care Plan assessment would usually be undertaken by the school with the agreement of parents when a child is demonstrating a significant level of need.

Parents can ask the local authority to carry out an assessment if they think that their child needs an EHC (Education, Health and Care) plan.

If the local authority decide to carry out an assessment parents may be asked for:

any reports from your child’s school, nursery or childminder
doctors’ assessments of your child
a letter from you about your child’s needs

The local authority will tell you within 16 weeks whether an EHC plan is going to be made for your child.

A child does not need to be attending school for a request for an EHC plan assessment to be requested. If parents and health visitors are concerned about a child’s development it is recommended that this process is started before a child starts school.

When a child is given an EHCP we provide adjustments to the provision to support the child in meeting their targets as outlined in the plan.

For more detailed information see the Local Offer

Details of Identification and Assessment of Pupils with SEN

Children may be identified as struggling to make academic progress by their class teacher through ongoing teacher assessment
Where teachers are concerned they raise these concerns with the SENDCo and appropriate actions are agreed
Progress of children is formally discussed with SENDCo and class teacher
Parents are asked to raise any concerns as soon as they arise with their child’s class teacher, SENDCo or headteacher
Through rigorous quality assurance of teaching and learning we ensure a high quality of teaching and intervention.
The progress of children identified with special educational needs is monitored through the assess, plan, do, review cycle.
Parents are invited to feed in to and review the SEN support plans through parents’ evenings.
Targets set for children with SEND are planned for in specific lessons as well as whole class teaching (where appropriate).
When providing additional short bursts of targeted support for children we consider carefully if withdrawing a child for support from the classroom is the best course of action.
All SEN support plans have measurable targets so that progress can be measured and carefully tracked by the class teacher and SENDCo.
Support for children may be in the form of in class support, individual withdrawl from lessons for short bursts of intervention, additional TA teaching using specific targeted resources and small group work.
The quality of teaching for pupils with SEND, as well as the implementation of SEN support plans, is monitored by the SENDCo and headteacher.
Progress of children with SEND is measured in relation to their starting points and tracked on whole school tracking system.
Within our behaviour policy we have 3 school rules: Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Ready – all children are expected to follow these rules in line with their SEND
Assistive technology is utilised by children where this will support them academically, socially and emotionally.
Fixed play equipment is installed for 2 year olds to support children in developing their core strength.
Adjustments are made to activities where necessary to ensure that they are accessible to pupils with and without SEND e.g. using a bright orange ball in netball to ensure that visually impaired children can see them.
When taking tests, where appropriate/necessary adjustments are made to the test materials/environment/timings to support pupils with SEND
The curriculum is modified to support children with SEND meeting their full potential and grasp the basic skills of reading, writing and maths in order for them to learn in the wider curriculum
CPOMS is used to keep all staff aware of any changing needs of pupils on a day to day basis
Staff training is planned to ensure that staff have the skills and knowledge necessary to support children with a wide range of needs.

For further information please view or download our Accessibility Plan which can be found in the School Policies section of our website.

SEN Activity Engagement

How do children with SEN engage in all activities?

We enable all children to engage fully in all aspects of school life. To do this, we:

Ensure that all children with SEND are fully included in all activities of the school in order to promote the highest levels of achievement.
Ensure that all pupils have access to the school curriculum and all school activities.
Ensure every child has the entitlement to a sense of achievement.

Evaluation of SEN Provision

How do we evaluate the effectiveness of SEN Provision?

We aim for the provision to have a positive impact on the outcomes for all of our children/young people. We do this in a variety of ways, including:

Robust evaluation of policy and practice
Book scrutinies
SENDCO/SLT/Governor monitoring
Learning walks
Performance management
Staff appraisal
Continuous staff training and development
Pupil progress reviews
Staff coaching
Working closely with the school’s educational psychologist for advice and support.

Emotional and Social Development Support

Within our school, staff have a wide range of expertise in supporting children with a range of difficulties. We draw on expertise from other agencies to provide support and recommendations where necessary.

We have a designated sensory/break out area which is used by identified children on a timetabled basis. Within the Early Years and key stage one classes, the children have a curriculum which is very practical which supports children who may need to take time out from intense learning at times.

Children, parents and staff can refer children in to our school counselling service.

Positive praise is a fundamental part of our school and all children are supported in focussing on the positives. Throughout school we have worry boxes which are checked daily to ensure that worries are addressed as soon as possible.

We have a strong focus on the teaching of PSCHE and children learning to identify emotions in themselves and others from early years onwards.

Restorative Approaches are utilised by all school staff, encouraging children to understand the implications of their actions on others and supporting them in improving this in the future as well as giving the victim a strong voice.

Looked After Children with SEND

We have a Designated Teacher for Looked after Children, Mrs Angela McDermid, who ensures all teachers in school understand the implications for those children who are looked after and have SEN.

As soon as a child moves in to care, a PEP (Personal Education Plan) is written in coordination with social worker, foster family, parents and school within 10 days. This is recorded on the Welfare Call system which all agencies feed into. The PEP is then reviewed alongside the SEN support plan/EHCP. It is the responsibility of the designated teacher to ensure that the resources of the Virtual School are utilised to support the child.

SEN Transition

How do we support children/young people with SEN starting at our school?

When a child has already been in education we liaise with the outgoing setting and hold a meeting at our school with parents and the school or nursery if the child’s needs are felt to be more complex.

If a child is new to education, the early years lead and/or SENDCo will meet with parents to plan provision for the child on entry to school. When it is felt necessary links will be made with the child’s health visitor and other agencies to gain a clearer picture of any adjustments required.

How we support children/young people with SEN moving between classes in our school:

Transition between year groups for children with SEN may look very different depending on the needs of the individual child. There may be any of the following:

Regular short visits to the new classroom with a trusted adult
The new class teacher spending more time with the child in and out of the classroom
The child developing a photo album/social story for the new classroom and class teacher
Joint review meeting with class teachers, parents and external agencies

For all children with SEN:

One whole day transition in new class with new class teacher prior to September
The opportunity to come in to school with their parents in September the day before all children return to school. The school is open for children to visit their classrooms and informally meet their class teacher
Class teachers meet to discuss the needs of child and agree provision

How do we support children/young people with SEN leaving our school?

When transiting to secondary school we liaise with the SENDCo for the relevant school and where a child’s needs may be more complex hold a joint meeting with all agencies and parents.

If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.

SEN Specialist Expertise

SENCO and SEN Staff

Our SENCO is Mrs Angela McDermid, is a qualified NASEN SENDCo (2022) and Miss Sarah Dews is also SENDCo qualified (NASEN 2019). We have a team of teaching assistants that support children with additional needs under the guidance of the SENDCO, class teacher and other professionals. 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:

Act in an advisory capacity
Extend expertise of school staff
Provide additional assessment
Support a child directly
Suggest statutory assessment is advisable
Consult with all parties involved with the child

These include:

Durham County Council Local Offer
Durham SEND Information, Advice and Support Service
Educational Psychology Service
CAMHS Assessment Team
Speech and Language Therapy
ASD
Behaviour Support Services
Crisis Response
Durham Movement Difficulties Service
Tree Tops Occupational Therapy
The Service for the Hearing Impaired
Durham SEND Information, Advice and Support Service
The Service for the Visually Impaired
Counselling Service
Stanley ONE Point Hub
Health Agencies
School Nurse Service
Educational Social Workers

How We Secure Specialist Expertise

Our Notional Special Needs Budget is used to support children and young people with SEN. In 2024/25 this amount is £71,580.65

The allocation is used to support children and young people with SEND by:

Prioritising to tailor learning to ensure the small steps of progress are continually made by all learners with SEND
Buying into Service Level Agreements, such as Educational Psychology and school counselling, to support our most vulnerable pupils and to identify any additional support for children
Providing appropriate additional staffing support for children who require it
Buying in appropriate resources and licences to support children’s development

If a child has complex special educational needs, we could also receive additional funding from the Local Authority to meet the agreed outcomes.

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:

Termly parents/ carers evenings
Ongoing discussions with a class teacher and/or SENCO
An ‘open-door’ policy, where parents and carers are welcome to come into school to discuss any concerns they may have
Through regular reviews of their child’s SEN Support Plan/ EHC Plan

Compliments, Complaints and 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 County Council Local Offer website. If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.

Key Policies

All of our school policies can be found on the website in our School Policies section.

Approaches to Teaching

Adapting the Curriculum

Identify, Assess and Review