Our SEN Information Report – which is part of Durham County Council’s Local Offer – provides details about how we support children and young people with Special Educational Needs in our school.
At Easington CofE Primary School, we are committed to the equal inclusion of all pupils in all areas of school life. We recognise the diverse and individual needs of all of our pupils and take into account the additional support required by those children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). We believe in positive intervention, removing barriers to learning, raising expectations and levels of achievement and working in partnership with other agencies in order to provide a positive educational experience for all our pupils, including those with a special educational need or disability. At Easington C of E Primary School we ensure that all pupils, regardless of their specific needs, make the best possible progress.
This SEND Information Report should be read alongside the school’s SEND Policy, the Equalities Information and Objectives and the Accessibility Plan.
For information on the admission of pupils with a disability, please visit the School Admissions section of our website and view the Accessibility Plan in our School Policies section.
If you would like to discuss your child’s SEN in more detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.
The full range of local support available for children/ young people with SEND and their families within and outside of school can be found in the County Durham Local Offer
There are four broad areas of special educational need, these are:
At Easington C of E Primary School, we have experience of supporting children and young people with a wide range of need including:
We also manage a range of medical conditions such as epilepsy, diabetes, severe allergies and asthma.
Medical conditions are managed through IHPs (Individual Healthcare Plans) which are shared with parents and the school nurse, and are reviewed annually. The School Secretary is in charge of managing the IHPs.
The school provides data on the levels and types of need to the Local Authority. This is collected through the school census.
At Easington C of E Primary School, we pride ourselves in being inclusive which means supporting all pupils to learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of school life alongside their peers. All pupils follow the National Curriculum at a level and pace that is appropriate to their abilities. At times and when it is felt appropriate, modifications to the curriculum may be implemented.
Our curriculum includes, not only the formal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and the National Curriculum, but also a range of additional opportunities to enrich the experiences of pupils. The curriculum also includes the social aspects that are essential for life-long learning, personal growth and development of independence at all ages and ability levels. By encouraging independence at all ages and ability levels we endeavour to develop confidence, improve self-esteem and promote enthusiasm in all our pupils ensuring every child is happy, healthy and fulfilled.
At Easington C of E Primary School, we:
Children learn and develop in different ways and may need extra help and support at various points throughout their time at school. Some children, at some time in their school life may have additional or different needs and it may be that they will be on our SEND register for a short period or a long period of time. However, children’s needs will be reassessed regularly in order to ensure that the provision is suitable and supports every child’s development.
We adapt the curriculum and learning environment for pupils with SEN in a number of ways, depending on the nature of each child’s needs. Such strategies include:
Pupils may have a medical or genetic condition which may impact on their learning or life in school. Such needs can affect gross and fine motor skills; visual or hearing impairment; the ability to access the curriculum, without adaptation; physical access to the school building or equipment; over-sensitivity to noise / smells / light / touch / taste and issues with toilet / self-care.
At Easington C of E Primary School we offer a range of support to meet the needs of children with physical and sensory difficulties;
We believe that supporting all children to learn and participate in all aspects of school life is important. In addition to the formal requirements of the National Curriculum.
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.
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.
In deciding whether to make special education provision to support educational, social, physical or emotional needs, we aim to identify children who have any difficulties as soon as possible so that appropriate support can be given from an early age. Full use is made of information passed to the school when a child transfers from early education provision and we use assessments during the Early Years Foundation Stage to identify pupils and any difficulties they may have.
Other strategies used by our teachers to identify SEN include:
All children at Easington C of E Primary School are reviewed for their progress termly. At the end of each term children are assessed and progress against their outcomes is reviewed. In termly pupil progress meeting between Class Teachers and the Head Teacher, individual children’s progress is discussed along with any additional requirements.
If a teacher has concerns relating to any aspects of a child’s academic, social or emotional progress they will approach parents for a meeting. During this meeting a short note will be completed. This is simply a record of the meeting, and actions to be taken. This is reviewed regularly to ensure progress is being made and appropriate intervention in place.
Where a pupil is identified as having a special educational need we continue to follow a graduated approach which takes the form of cycles of ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review‘.
This means that we will:
We use ongoing and termly assessment strategies as listed above to identify individual needs. This is carried out by staff who know the children, and who work together to identify progress and to identify gaps in learning. As mentioned above, this may be documented on a short note or, as support progresses, a support plan may be put in place.
Short note and support plan outcomes and interventions are planned and recorded by the appropriate adults (Teacher or Support Staff). Different children require varying levels of support to achieve age related expectations, and we expect that parents/carers would work with us and alongside any other appropriate external agencies to ensure this happens.
All outcomes are reviewed, at minimum, each term and parents are invited to do this with us. Children’s views are also taken into consideration throughout the process. All information is shared with parents/carers at Parent Consultation events, or in specifically organised review meetings.
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.
In some cases it may be felt by the Local Authority that an EHC is not required and the child’s needs can be met within the setting with a SEN Support Plan and some top up funding to meet the child’s special educational needs.
For more detailed information see the Local Offer
Easington C of E Primary School works hard to ensure it is an inclusive school. Quality First Teaching is provided in all classrooms across the school, and all children are treated as individuals throughout the learning process.
Teaching and learning is observed and monitored for quality and inclusivity by the Head Teacher, Mr Appleby. Through individual and whole-staff discussions, pupil progress is tracked, often more regularly where a child has identified additional needs. Differentiation is used as needed across the curriculum; often this is by resource or support, but can also be by task or outcome following structured adult input.
Interventions are both responsive and planned. Daily booster, catch-up or pre-teaching sessions, for whole class, individuals or small groups, occur at key points during the day and are carried out by both teachers and support staff, depending on need. More structured, longer-term interventions are planned in half-termly blocks and additional needs are met on a rolling program of intervention sessions. These are planned in discussion with the SENCO, individual teachers and the Head Teacher who manages the support staff timetable. Interventions may be 1:1, although some may be small groups where the need may be similar, or for the development of social skills.
As part of the SEN procedures within school, all children on the SEN register have their own Support Plan. These are written and evaluated as part of the ‘assess, plan, do, review’ schedule. Teachers identify specific targeted outcomes for the children and support staff help with provision. All intervention work is written onto an adapted ‘Short Note’ for school records. Teacher assessments at the end of each half-term are used to track progress. Records are kept of all interventions and staff can use these to plan, or re-plan, upcoming sessions.
Children are consulted throughout their intervention sessions so that staff can improve or alter provision as needed. Parents are invited each term to evaluate their child’s progress and provide input into future outcomes. Teachers also discuss progress at Parent Consultation events. We strive to meet the additional needs of the children to enable them to make at least expected progress.
All learners with SEN are included when teachers are planning their curriculum and activities which take place both in and out of the classroom. It is our intention that all children should have equal access to everything provided in school, and we will do our best to provide support to ensure this is possible (i.e. education visits, after-school clubs). This is in addition to providing timetabled in-class support where necessary.
When discussing approaches to be taken to address needs and provide additional support, all necessary staff are involved from the outset. This ensures that everyone is aware of the provision available to the children, and how the provision or interventions have been decided upon and timetabled.
Children with SEN are assessed, where appropriate, by the same means as the rest of the school. They are carefully tracked through both internal and external (statutory) data. Often, additional assessments are carried out as part of a baseline for intervention, or for staff to plan appropriate provision.
Most assessments across school are carried out as part of normal classroom practice. Where children reach statutory testing age, we administer tests according to the guidance provided. Where children qualify for additional time, or other adaptations, we ensure that this is provided. Where children are working below the standard of the tests, they may be withdrawn.
Adaptations are made for children where we think appropriate. For example, our Accessibility Plan describes our good practice in the key areas to ensure children of all abilities can participate in the curriculum, and in school life in general.
Additionally, policies (such as the Behaviour Policy) may be differentiated or adapted for children who struggle to conform due to additional needs which require support.
We adapt the curriculum and learning environment for pupils with SEN in a number of ways, depending on the nature of each child’s needs. Such strategies include:
We believe that supporting all children to learn and participate in all aspects of school life is important. In addition to the formal requirements of the National Curriculum, our children are offered a range of experiences and opportunities in which they can develop social skills including resilience and independence.
For further information please view or download our Accessibility Plan which can be found in the School Policies section of our website.
We enable all children to engage fully in all aspects of school life. To do this, we:
We continuously ensure the provision has a positive impact on the outcomes for all of our children/young people.
We do this in a variety of ways, including:
At Easington C of E Primary School, we have a reputation for providing excellent care, guidance and support in an environment where the staff know all of the children, and the children learn, work and have fun together.
Our classes are mostly mixed age so children are already used to working with older/younger children during their time with us. We also use a ‘House’ system where children from Reception to Year 6 are mixed, taking part in challenges and sporting events together. We also have Pupil Voice groups within school, e.g: School Council (incorporating Rights Respecting), Eco-Group and FROG group. In each of these children’s views are listened to and result in many projects, and opportunities, arising across the school year.
Mr Appleby, Head Teacher, is our Designated Teacher for Looked after Children. He ensures all teachers in school understand the implications for those children who are looked after and have SEN.
The designated teacher will work alongside the SENDCo within school to support as needed by:
The designated teacher will monitor each child’s achievement and ensure that they have the support they require within school:
How we support children/young people with SEN starting at our school
Before children start in our Early Years setting we encourage visits to the school so that they can get to know the environment and staff. Our Reception Class teacher will also go to visit children in their Nursery (familiar setting).
We ask parents/carers to share relevant information about their children with us, so that we can provide any support necessary. We explain to all new families about our SEN procedures and that they will be involved and supported at all stages. We request any SEN information from Nursery settings to assist with the transition to our school.
How we support children/young people with SEN moving between classes in our school
Our school is quite small and transition does not normally cause any problems. Children work with all staff across the year, and all staff are generally aware of the needs of all children.
Where children have specific needs, they will often make additional visits to their new classroom, and can be provided a transition booklet to support further.
At the end of the summer term, all children make the transition to their new class for at least two days. This gives us the opportunity for children to settle into new groups and to meet their teacher. We also place support staff in their new roles for the coming year.
How we support children/young people with SEN leaving our school
We support children when moving to local Secondary schools.
Each school makes its own transition arrangements, however our Year 6 teacher meets with either the Year 7 lead, the transition manager or the SENCO of each school where needed. Individual child profiles are completed with all relevant information for transfer to the school. Children with SEN or who are more vulnerable, are highlighted and we support any further transition arrangements to support these pupils.
If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.
Our SENCO is Mrs Appleby.
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.
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:
These include:
Our Additional Needs Budget is used to support children and young people with SEN.
This is used to support children and young people with SEND by:
Our notional budget for SEND has been allocated to provide adults who can undertake specific 1:1 and small group support in areas such as intensive interventions (reading; phonics), improving social and communication skills and other additional academic or pastoral support.
This support always takes place with the full involvement of both children and parents.
Elements of this funding is also used for the provision of appropriate resources which children with additional learning needs may find beneficial, and training which supports individual or all staff.
If a child has complex special educational needs, we could also receive additional funding from the Local Authority to meet the agreed outcomes.
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.
Pupil voice is extremely important to us. Pupil Voice group meets regularly and there is no discrimination in which children take part – they elect to, or are elected to participate by peers.
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:
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 SEND Information, Advice and Support Service website.
If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.
All of our school policies can be found on the website but the most important ones for parents of children with SEND are listed below:
If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.
