Question

Information

People involved

Who are the best people to talk to in school about my child’s difficulties with learning or Special Educational Needs or Disability (SEND)?

• Your child’s class teacher.
• The SENCo – Miss Jenny Bunkle j.bunkle@st-marys-jun.hants.sch.uk.
• The Head teacher – Mrs Gemma Lillywhite
• The SEN Governor –  Dr. Philip Hiorns

If you would like to discuss your child’s learning, please make an appointment at the school office (01256 465092)

 Type of school

What type of educational provision is provided for children with special educational needs at our school?

• St Mary’s C of E Junior School is a main stream school.
• As a mainstream school, we aim to provide an inclusive environment.
• We provide education fitting for children with a wide range of abilities.
• Our aim is to enable pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) to reach their full potential, to be fully included in our school community and make a successful transition to secondary school.

Identification and Assessment

How do we identify children with special educational needs?

• Some pupils arrive at the school having already been identified as having special educational needs.
• Some pupils have and Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) after assessment by the Local Education Authority.
• Jenny Bunkle, who is the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo), and other members of staff will liaise with the previous setting as to the needs of the pupil.
• Other pupils may be identified after starting at St. Mary’s. This maybe be as a result of screening tests and/or observations and concerns raised by parents or teachers.
• Initially, additional class based support will be provided and the pupil’s progress monitored.
• A special educational need maybe suspected if a pupil is performing well below the average level, is failing to progress in spite of additional support, has an uneven pattern of attainment or has emotional, social, physical or communication difficulties.
• Further tests may be carried out by the school and outside agencies such as Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Educational Psychology, who become involved with the agreement of the parents. 
• A child will only be put on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Register when he/she requires interventions that are additional to or different from those provided as part of the school’s usual differentiated curriculum.
• It is not always the case that low attainment or slower progress means a child has SEND. Neither if a child has English as an additional language. However, if a targeted approach to the child’s area of weakness has made little or no progress, a child maybe then placed on the SEND register.

Parental involvement

How will the school let me know if they have any concerns about my child’s learning?

• Teachers closely monitor children’s progress and attainment against age-related expectations. If your child is having difficulties meeting these expectations then the class teacher will arrange to meet with you to discuss this further. They will work in collaboration with you as your knowledge of your child is vital so take this is a chance to share your views and any concerns. 
• Should your child require any further support the class teacher will work with the SENCo. It may be that your child might need a referral to an outside agency or will have additional support that is different to what they would normally receive in the everyday classroom. If this is the case your child may be given an Individual Education Plan known as an ‘IEP’. 
• At all stages, we keep parents informed of what is happening and parental involvement and communication are key to providing the support a child needs.  

Children’s involvement

How will my child’s view be taken into account?

• As an RRE (Rights Respecting Education) school, all children are given the opportunity to share their views on all aspects of their school life. 
• Pupils can share their views or worries through the school council system or through the ‘Heart Smart’ boxes within their classrooms. Regular pupil interviews and surveys are carried out by the school staff.
• If a child has an Individual Education Plan (IEP), with specific  targets to support their learning, the targets are written so the child can understand clearly, what they are working on. They form part  of their ‘Learning Profile’, which is shared with the child, parents  and staff who support the child.
• Targets are shared with pupils and they are encouraged to be involved in identifying when they are meeting them and helping to decide on their next steps.
• When a child has achieved a target it is always shared with them so they are aware of how they are improving.
• If your child has an EHCP, this will be reviewed annually. The children play an important role in this, as their views of their strengths and where they feel they need helping feed into the information which will go into their plan for the following year.  They attend some or all of the meeting as their views 

Types of Special Education

What types of special educational needs may be identified?

The Special Educational Needs Code of Practise (2014) identified four broad areas of special educational needs:

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and Learning
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health.
• Sensory and/or physical.

Evaluation and Provision

How does the school know how well my child is doing?

• Children with SEND are identified as early as possible. There is close liaison with Old Basing Infant School and other schools, as necessary, to identify transferring children who need additional support and know where their starting points are. 
• At St. Mary’s Junior School, we follow a graduated approach to SEND. High quality, inclusive teaching should always be a first step.
• The child’s class teacher remains responsible for working with the child on a daily basis and for planning and delivering an individualised programme within the classroom. 
• If additional provision is needed, we work with a pupil in the following way: Assess where they are, Plan a programme of work or activities, Do the work over a given period of time and the Review the progress.
• There are regular meetings and discussions between school staff to identify appropriate support and interventions and a range of interventions are available, some for intensive 1 to 1 support. 
• Individual Education Plans reviewed as a working document, but once a term, they are thoroughly looked at to consider the effectiveness of the provision in place for each child.
• We evaluate progress in many ways. Teachers’ assessment is key, but we also look at standardised test scores for reading, spelling and maths. We track pupils’ progress against the National Age-Related expectations.  Teachers continually assess progress and record results on a termly tracking system.
• Pupil Progress meetings are held within year group teams, with the SENCo and with members of the leadership team where children who are not progressing are highlighted. This gives further opportunity to review support and look for ways to improve provision.
• The school governors are involved in monitoring the progress of all pupils, including those with special educational needs.

Supporting children with SEN

How can I support my child?

• Your involvement in your child’s education is highly valued and we encourage all parents to be part of the process of supporting them.
• We invite parents of children with IEPs to discuss targets with class teachers, usually during parents’ evenings. This means we can work on targets collaboratively, both at home and at school. Your child’s teacher can give you ideas and resources to support your child at home.
• You can also book an additional meeting at Parents’ Evening, with the SENCo, Jenny Bunkle if your child has special educational needs.
• We can provide access to parenting courses, knowledge of local support groups or links to other outside agencies that can support families.
• Most importantly, is fostering a positive attitude and celebrating all achievements, no matter how big or small.

Matching the curriculum

How will the curriculum be matched to the needs of my child?

• We use a variety of teaching strategies and approaches to provide differentiated work to meet individual needs in the classroom. This ensure that all pupils are provided with a balanced curriculum and still closely follow their termly topics. 

• The LSAs work closely with the teachers to ensure that all pupils are supported in the classroom. The class teacher will adapt the level  of support needed, depending on the task, while also being mindful of the importance of encouraging independence and resilience.

Emotional support

How will the school support my child’s overall well-being?

• As a school we are working on being ‘Heart smart’ as part of our Christian ethos. This is a creative new approach to delivering the PSHE curriculum that primary schools use to build character, emotional health and resilience in children. It aims to equip pupils with foundational principles, skills, habits and a mind-set that will improve their mental health, relationships and academic achievement. Within lessons and shares Acts of Worship, children are given the opportunity to learn and explore such strategies to help their emotional well-being.
• We have an Emotional Support Assistant, Mrs Alverez, who works with individual pupils and small groups if a child is identified as having a specific need.
• Some pupils may have the opportunity to work with Mrs Malone who supports small groups of pupils in her ‘Music for Me’ sessions. She uses music as a way to support pupils increase the resilience and confidence.
• Jenny Bunkle, the inclusion manager, has completed the SMHL.Pro course which means she has taken on the role of Senior Mental Health Lead in school. Her role ensures that teachers are fully supported to help children with emotional needs.

Training of staff.

What training have the staff supporting special educational needs had?

• The Inclusion Manager has completed the National Qualification for SENCos.
• Jenny Bunkle, the inclusion manager contributes to INSET training to help improve the knowledge and understanding of a range of areas of SEND.
• Time is always given to new teachers to meet with the Inclusion Manager as part of their induction.
• Training for school staff is relates to the needs of the school and individual pupils and is done either in school or through external courses. Jenny Bunkle meets with the LSAs regularly and these meetings are used to provide in house training and support.

• We liaise closely with a range of professionals who offer additional expertise, such as the Hampshire SEND team, Occupational Therapists, Behaviour Support, Maple Ridge School, the Speech and Interaction Team, the school nurse and Educational Psychologists. 

Accessibility

How accessible is the school?

Please see our Accessibility plan which can be found in the Policies section.

Complaint procedure

What happens if you are not happy with the special needs provision for their child?

• Parents must never hesitate in contacting us at the school if they have any concerns about their child or the education they are receiving.
• In the first instance, we encourage you to contact your child’s class teacher. You can also email or make an appointment to see the Inclusion Manager, Jenny Bunkle.
• We deal with all complaints according to the procedures laid down by Hampshire County Council.  Please see our Complaints Policy which can be found in the Policies section.

Transition

How will the school support pupils when they arrive and when they move to their next school.

• St. Mary’s work closely with Old Basing Infant School, Costello School and other schools, to ensure that transition is a smooth process. 
• Many of our year three pupils are from Old Basing Infant School and there is an excellent working relationship between the two schools. The year 2 and 3 staff work closely together and there are visits between the two schools. The SENCo of the infant school and the Inclusion Manager from St. Mary’s meet to discuss pupils moving up to the school, both those on the SEN register and any pupils causing a concern.  The ELSA from the infant school meets with our ELSA, Miss Bunkle and members of the year three team. They work together to support more vulnerable children, providing extra visits, opportunities to meet staff and booklets to support the process. The infant school invite the Inclusion Manager to transition meetings and any Annual Reviews that are held in the summer term.
• At Secondary level, our main feeder school is The Costello School. Year 5 children visit the summer term. During year 6, children have an opportunity to visit again and a member of the school staff will come into St. Mary’s, giving the pupils an opportunity to share their questions and concerns. 
• Information about SEND pupils and other vulnerable pupils is passed on to secondary colleagues and extra visits to the new school are arranged as appropriate. As with transition from infant school, we will invite secondary colleagues to attend meetings where we set up ‘Transition Partnership Agreements’ (TPA), and any Annual Reviews for pupils with an EHCP.
• When receiving and transferring pupils to and from different schools, we liaise closely with SENCos and staff from the different schools to ensure any records or paperwork are passed on and all needs are discussed and understood..
• Most local secondary schools off additional transfer activities and visits for pupils with Special Educational Needs.

Further support for parents

The Local Offer – https://fish.hants.gov.uk/kb5/hampshire/directory/localoffer.page

• One of the most important sources of information for parents in Hampshire is the Local Offer. 
• Local authorities and schools are required to publish and keep under review information about services they expect to be available for children and young people with SEND ages 0 to 25.  This is called the ‘Local Offer’.
• The intentions of it to improve choice and transparency for families. It is an important resource for parents in understanding the range of services available in the local area.

       SENDIAS

• This service provides independent and impartial advice on special educational needs.  They can be contacted Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm on 0808 164 5504 or visit the website on https://www.hampshiresendiass.co.uk/

Family Support Service

• The Basingstoke Family Support Service is a county service which offers a range opportunities to help parents and children, including one to one support, access to parenting programmes and local surgeries and groups.  If you would like any further details on any of the services they offer, please speak to Jenny Bunkle.