Our School’s Vision 

Our vision is that South Molton United Church Of England Primary School will be a secure, happy and welcoming environment, in which emotional needs will be considered and everyone can achieve their potential, as life-long learners. 

 As a church community school, we aim to embrace Christian values which enable us to be socially responsible members of our rich and diverse community, within a changing world. 

Introduction to SEND at our school. 

• South Molton United Church of England Primary School together with Devon County Council are committed to ensuring that all children and young people have a good start in life. Some children and young people have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) and these needs mean a child may require additional support at certain times during their life. 

• Our school aims to be as supportive and as inclusive as possible, with the needs of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities being met within the school setting wherever possible.  We have a committed and dedicated team to ensure good quality teaching within our school for all our pupils. 

• South Molton United C of E Primary School follows the Code of Practice (2014) in operating a graduated approach to identifying, assessing and supporting pupils with special education needs (figure 1) 

• All staff have a responsibility for identifying and supporting pupils with special educational needs. However class teachers have the overall responsibility of ensuring that the curriculum will be differentiated and delivered in an inclusive way (figure 2). 

• Our school aims to take a child centred approach where the child and their family at the heart of the process. Parent and pupil voice will be a key component to our graduated response.(figure 3).

 

Figure1 

   Figure 2 

Figure 3 

Definition of Special Educational Needs (SEND) 

A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for a special educational provision to be made for them. A child of compulsory school age or young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they; 

1. Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others the same age; 

2. Have a disability which prevent or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools. 

Special educational needs and disability code of practice January 2015 

Who is responsible for SEND at our school? 

Who has responsibility within our School for SEND? 

The Class Teacher 

Responsible for:- ·                

• Providing the very best teaching which enables all children to progress and achieve to their full potential.                 

• Checking on the progress of a child, planning and delivering any additional help a child may need (this could be direct work related or additional staff support), updating the Special Education Needs/Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENCo) on concerns/progress.  

• Writing My Plans and setting progression targets.  Reviewing these termly, updating and feeding back to parents 

• Following guidance from outside agencies on ways of teaching children with specialist needs 

• Ensuring that the school’s SEN policy is followed in the classroom. 

The SENDCo:  Mrs Natalie Oatway 

Mrs Oatway gained the NASENCO in October 2016. 

The key responsibilities of the SENCO may include:  

• overseeing the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEN policy  

• co-ordinating provision for children with SEN  

• liaising with the relevant Designated Teacher where a looked after pupil has SEN  

• advising on the graduated approach to providing SEN support  

• advising on the deployment of the school’s delegated budget and other resources to meet pupils’ needs effectively  

• liaising with parents of pupils with SEN  

• liaising with early years providers, other schools, educational psychologists, health and social care professionals, and independent or voluntary bodies  

• being a key point of contact with external agencies, especially the local authority and its support services  

• liaising with potential next providers of education to ensure a pupil and their parents are informed about options and a smooth transition is planned  

• working with the headteacher and school governors to ensure that the school meets its responsibilities under the Equality Act (2010) with regard to reasonable adjustments and access arrangements • ensuring that the school keeps the records of all pupils with SEN up to date 

Section 6.90 of the SEND code of practice 2015 

The Head Teacher – Mr Kevin O’Donnell 

Responsible for:- ·                

• The day-to-day management of the school; this includes supporting children with SEND. 

The Head Teacher will give responsibility to the SENCo, however will still be responsible for that child’s SEND progression. 

• Updating the Governing Body on issues relating to SEND children. 

The SEND Governor – Shelagh King 

What is a SEND governor? 

The Special Educational Needs (SEN) Governor plays a vital role in ensuring that SEN stays on the governing body agenda and providing a link between the governing body, its committees and the staff with regard to Special Educational Needs. 

Key responsibilities: 

• Understand and support the principles and practices outlined in the SEND code of practice, 0-25 years;  

• Understand and support the drive to improve outcomes by having high aspirations and expectations for all children and young people with SEND; 

• Ensure the governing body can show evidence of challenge and accountability to all children and young people in the school, including those with SEN and disability. 

How do we Identify additional needs at South Molton United C of E Primary School? 

Stage 1: 

Our teachers have the highest possible expectations for children within their class. If a child is not making satisfactory progress and has significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children the same age, discussions will take place as to whether to place the child on step 1 of the graduated approach.  

How will this be achieved? 

Using knowledge of the child and their family, assessment data and other relevant information to identify any barriers to success. The Devon Graduated Response tool – identification of need , for the relevant key stage should be completed as part of the information gathering process.  

Causes for assessment / information gathering. 

• Making little or no progress despite different approaches to learning being provided. 

• Child is working significantly below the level expected for their age and stage. 

• There are persistent emotional/ behavioural difficulties despite different strategies being used. 

• There may be sensory or physical problems or be little or no progress made despite additional aids, equipment and advice.  

• In addition to the above, a child may be identified as potentially requiring SEN provision as a result of the following: 

Teacher and TA observations evidence and data  

• Previous schools data/reports  

• Parental concerns  

• Records of progress  

• Screening / testing procedures   

• Information from other agencies  

• End of Foundation stage profiles/KS1 data. 

At this first stage, teachers should assess the need of the child, set up programmes of targeted activities, monitor progress and build up a bank of evidence to share with the SENDCO. Parents will be made aware of any barriers to success identified by the school and kept informed of progress through liaison with the class teacher informally and at Parents evening where advice and support for helping the child at home can be given.  

How will this be recorded at SMUPS? 

Class provision map. This will be completed at the beginning of each term and reviewed and the end of the term. (appendix 1) 

Stage 2: 

• After two terms of ongoing support and provision by the class teacher, if the child is not making sufficient progress towards the outcomes, the child will be placed on the school’s record of need.   

• A meeting will take place with the SENDCO, class teacher, parent and child to plan desirable outcomes going forward.  

• The ongoing process of assess, plan, do and review in outlined in figure 4. 

How will this be recorded at SMUPS? 

A my plan will be co produced with the SENDCO, parents, child and teacher (appendix 2) 

A one page pupil profile will be produced by the child. (appendix 2 and 3). 

Outcomes will be reviewed on a termly basis in a Team around the child (TAC) or Team around the Family (TAF) meeting. 

Stage 3: 

When reviewing progress towards agreed outcomes in the TAC/TAF meetings, if despite additional input, it is felt more specialist support is required, then referrals will be made to specialist support agencies outside of school. Consent will always be obtained before a referral is made, we will always endeavour to discuss any referral before it is made. The specialist agencies we refer to are as follows; 

• Educational Psychologist Service 

• Devon Dyslexia Outreach Service 

• Devon County Council SEND services – Learner Services e.g C and I Team and SEMH Team. 

• CAMHS 

• Single Point of Access e.g. Speech and Language Service, ASC Pathway and Occupational Therapy. 

The specialist advice we receive will be woven into a child’s personal plan (My plans). 

Stage 4: 

Education, Health and Care Plans (EHC Plan) If, despite input at the above stages, adequate progress has not been made and the child’s SEN remains significant, a request will be sent to the Local Authority (LA) to consider a Statutory Assessment. A Statutory Assessment is a multi-professional assessment of a child’s needs and the help that is required to support them. If the child meets the criteria in the Statutory Assessment for an EHC Plan, the LA will issue an EHC Plan detailing the needs of the child, what provision will be made for them, aims and objectives, and the level of support / funding required. The funding that may accompany an EHC Plan does not have to be spent on providing a teaching assistant for individual support and may be spent on providing resources/training, whatever is best to meet the needs of the child. Once the EHC Plan is issued, a planning meeting then takes place  to discuss provision and targets for the following year. The EHC Plan is then reviewed annually. 

How will this be recorded at SMUPS? 

The EHCP outcomes will be recorded in a comprehensive plan which is reviewed termly with the child, parent, teacher and SENDCO. One of the termly reviews will be the annual review and all relevant information gathered and placed on Devon’s EHCP hub. 

Liaison with Parents/Carers 

Parents/carers are invited to a termly meeting with the SENCo and class teacher to discuss any issues or concerns. Parent/carers are then updated regularly, should their child’s SEN status be changed. Parents/carers will also be kept informed through liaison with the class teacher informally, and at Parents’ Evenings, when advice and support in helping their child at home can be given. Parent/carers will be involved in reviewing their child’s Graduated Approach and any comments will be taken into account. New Graduated Approaches will be sent home as appropriate. 

Pupil Voice: 

We will endeavour to capture the child’s view through the one page profile, informal conversations and pupil conferences. 

Parent voice: 

Parental voice will be taken and recorded throughout the whole process. This maybe informally through conversations or formally at TAC, TAFs and annual reviews. 

Transition: 

At the end of each academic year, if it was felt appropriate My Plan outcomes will include a transition project and extra preparation for the next year group e.g. meet and greet the teacher or extra visits to the next class. A transition meeting will take place between staff and a transitional my plan given to the next teacher. 

When SEND children transfer between settings or to another school, where possible liaisons will take place between the relevant school staff and records sent securely to the next setting. An archived file will then remain at SMUPS. 

 

What if I have a complaint about my child’s SEND provision? 

• In the first instance speak to your child’s class teacher and SENDCO. They will then try and resolve the matter by reviewing your child’s provision. 

• If you feel the matter has not been resolved then discuss the matter with the headteacher. 

• Finally follow the schools complaint procedure and contact the Chair of Governors. 

 

 

Reviewed by Natalie Oatway 

September 2023