SEND INFORMATION REPORT 2024-2025
Welcome to our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) page. We hope that you will find this information useful. We aim to describe the support available for your child in order that they are able to reach their full potential and flourish: living out our Christian vision ‘for the good of all’.
The Learning Trust is committed to a policy of including all children, where the teaching and learning achievements, attitudes and well-being of all, matter.
All children, regardless of ability and behaviour, are valued equally. Children with SEND are an equal part of the whole school community and individual children’s needs are recognised and met through varied and flexible provision. Details of the percentage of pupils with SEND and their progress compared to the national average can be found on the DfE School Performance tables.
Named Contacts:
The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENDCo) is Susan Watson.
The school Governor with responsibility for SEND is Rachael Dumbell.
The Cheviot Learning Trust Directors with responsibility for SEND are TBC.
If you wish to make contact with the staff identified above please do so by calling the school office or email the admin address of the school.
Telephone: 01669 620287
Email: [email protected]
SENDCo Responsibilities:
In the first instance we would encourage you to speak to your child’s subject teachers if you have any initial concerns about how your child is progressing in their subject. Either yourself or the teacher may then decide that it is appropriate to have a discussion about these concerns with the SENDCo.
The role of the SENDCo includes:
* Overseeing the provision for SEND students and ensuring that provision and progress, and where appropriate, targets are regularly reviewed and remain appropriate.
* Supporting class teachers and learning support staff in meeting the needs of children in their care so that they make the best possible progress.
* Co-ordinating the support for children with SEND and developing the school’s SEND policy, provision and practice to make sure all children get a consistent, high quality response to meeting their needs in school.
* Ensuring that parents are:
- Involved in supporting their child’s learning
- Kept informed about the support their child is getting
- Involved in reviewing how their child is doing
* Liaising with all the other specialist professionals who may be coming into school to help support a child’s learning eg Speech and Language, Educational Psychology etc.
* Updating the school’s SEND register termly, and making sure that there are comprehensive records of your child’s needs, provision accessed and progress made.
What kinds of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are provided for?
Provision and support exists throughout the school for students with special educational needs and disabilities. The kinds of SEND for which provision is made include (but are by no means exhaustive or exclusive):
* Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
* Autism
* Cerebral Palsy
* Dyslexia
* Hearing or Visual Impairment (HI/VI)
* Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD)
* Social, Emotional and Mental Health issues (SEMH)
* Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD)
* Speech Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)
Any child identified as having SEND will be supported according to 4 broad areas of need, in accordance with the 0-25 SEND Code of Practice: 2014:
* Communication and interaction
* Cognition and learning
* Social, emotional and mental health difficulties
* Sensory and/or physical needs
All students who are placed onto the school’s SEND register will be identified as either:
* EHCP – having an Education, Health and Care plan
* K – not holding an EHCP, but having additional support as a result of a SEND in one of the 4 categories identified above.
How does the school identify students with Special Educational Needs?
When a student is in the process of transition from the previous phase, information from a range of sources is used to help identify SEND. This includes information from parents/carers, school to school liaison with the SENDCo, end of key stage data and outcomes of recent tests in reading, spelling and maths. This information is gathered both before and after entry to the new school phase and then combined to identify whether an additional level of educational support is required for a child.
During their time at school, our teacher, learning support staff, subject leaders and SENDCo closely monitor the progress and attainment of all students, including those who have or may have SEND. This continuous monitoring of students allows us to further identify students with a special educational need. We follow a staged and graduated approach to identifying and assessing needs, using the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ model, after which any member of staff is able to refer a student to the SEND Department if they continue to have concerns. If appropriate, we seek the advice or intervention of external support professionals, such as an Educational Psychologist or Speech and Language Therapist.
What is the school’s approach to teaching students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities?
For the most part students with SEND are taught in the classroom alongside their peers. Teaching techniques and strategies, including adapted resources and learning tasks, accommodate those of differing abilities. Guidance with regard to the use of these is shared by the SEND Department. This enables individual learning needs to be met and allows students to maximise their potential in all areas of the curriculum. The teaching arrangements for those pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will be determined by their EHCP.
How does the school evaluate the effectiveness of its provision for SEND?
The school rigorously and routinely monitors the effectiveness of Teaching and Learning for all students, including those with SEND, through the analysis of students progress and attainment data. Termly data analysis allows school to identify those students not making expected progress at subject level, and where a specific area might need to be further supported.
Feedback from parents and students provides qualitative information about the impact of the school’s provision, including SEND. This information is used to create and implement development plans for all aspects of school life.
What are the school’s arrangements for assessing and reviewing the progress of students with SEND?
The progress of children with SEND is monitored carefully and further support is put into place if necessary. Rigorous tracking systems inform us of any student who is not making progress and who may need further help. We aim to keep parents fully involved in the process and, equally, if parents have any concerns we encourage them to make contact with school at the earliest opportunity so that we are able to work together to best meet the needs of each child and ensure that good progress is made.
Parents will be kept informed of any support which we feel would benefit a child. The SENDCo will work with all teachers to offer further advice if necessary, so that a child is able to access and manage the curriculum that they are following.
All children with SEND have a student profile which outlines the needs of the child, the views of the child and individualised SEND teaching support strategies.
How does the school adapt the curriculum and learning environment for students with SEND?
It is a guiding principle of our school that children with SEND are valued and their needs are recognised and met through a varied and flexible provision, which begins with Quality First Teaching.
We believe that every person should be treated equally and with respect. As long as this school is the best place to meet the needs of an individual, he/she will be admitted and every care will be taken to ensure appropriate access to the full curriculum.
Some students may require a more personalised curriculum to match their individual needs and abilities. This may include additional literacy and numeracy support, intervention groups, and individualised timetable, or other additional out of class support.
All staff are aware of those children who need additional support for any reason and are provided with suggested strategies for how our children with SEND can best be supported in lessons. Work is adapted to be accessible and appropriate by the teacher to meet the students’ needs, ensuring progress. Due to a range of focused support by our SEND team and an understanding of specific needs, we endeavour to give students the very best possible chance to maximise their potential and raise their self-esteem.
As far as is practicably possible the physical needs of every student will be catered for, and all necessary steps will be taken to ensure disabled students are not treated less favourably than others, and all students have full access to the curriculum as well as the wider opportunities available in school. The school provides accessible toilet facilities for students and adults. Any student with a disability that may make movement around the building more difficult will be fully supported, with plans put in place to facilitate their access around the building. A risk assessment will be undertaken if required. Specific equipment and resources for hearing or visually impaired students will be provided as necessary.
There are members of staff within school who are first aid trained and trained in administering prescribed medication to students. All medication is stored in a locked cupboard away from the students. The school endeavours, where practically possible, to cater for all medical needs and will request any additional training or expert advice as required. Students with additional medical needs will have a Health Care Plan completed by parents/carers outlining the specific needs of the child.
What additional support for accessing learning is available to students with SEND?
The SENDCo will coordinate learning support and interventions for your child. There are different levels of support that are offered in school as outlined below.
Tier 1 in-class support by the teacher or learning support assistants:
* Working with individuals or small groups of students to ensure their understanding of the task, and support given to scaffold their learning.
* Giving immediate constructive feedback to support and extend learning.
* Adapting the task and resources to ensure the student can access the learning.
* Supporting individuals with reading and written work.
* Recording in the student’s planner where appropriate.
Tier 2 strategies may be required if a student is still not progressing:
* Numeracy and literacy additional to lesson interventions.
* Small group reading fluency and comprehension during Read lesson.
* Social skills nurture group.
* Fine and gross motor skills practise
* Lego therapy to support peer communication and interaction.
* Homework club.
Tier 3 strategies address specific individual needs that may be outlined on an Educational Health Care Plan, or which may be suggested by the SENDCo or other outside agency, examples of which are:
* A personalised timetable
* External exam concessions
* A time-out plan
* One to one social stories
* Individual mentoring/SEMH support
* Behaviour support plan
What additional support for accessing the wider enrichment curriculum and additional school activities is available to students with SEND?
All students, including those with SEND, are offered the same opportunities to access additional enrichment activities in school. Adaptations and plans will be made so that all children can access the activities. Our policy of inclusion covers all areas of the curriculum, school visits, residential trips, sporting activities and social activities.
Our SEND Policy and Accessibility Plan can be found on the Policies page of our website.
What support is available for improving the emotional, mental and social development of SEND students?
We aim to ensure that your child’s learning needs are met whilst any emotional and behavioural difficulties are also supported.
We do this by linking the various pastoral systems which are in place to support your child when appropriate if these needs occur. An active role is taken in helping students to manage themselves and their learning in school.
There are a variety of programmes in place to help your child with settling in and feeling comfortable in the school community. These include:
* Pastoral support from form tutors and learning support assistants.
* Nurture groups which run throughout the school year. These are delivered by ELSA-trained members of staff, who are highly experienced at supporting a range of emotional and behavioural needs.
* A positive behaviour programme which is used at appropriate times for students with needs in these areas.
If your child needs further support with their emotional and mental health, there are pathways that the school follows that can refer your child to specialist support provision.
What are the expertise and training provisions for school staff in relation to students with SEND, and what specialist expertise can the school secure?
We have a SEND Departments which is made up of a SENDCo, a senior Support Assistant and a team of Learning Support Assistants. Within this team we have staff who have a range of experience, training and qualifications covering various special educational needs. Training is provided to all staff, including teachers and learning support assistants, as the need arises. There is on-going training for all staff as well as many opportunities to further develop skills. Staff who are new to the school follow an induction programme which includes training and information on SEND.
If the class teacher’s or parent’s request for advice in providing for a child cannot be met from within the expertise of the staff in school, the SENDCo or Headteacher may identify the need for extra specialist support in school from an outside professional e.g. Northumberland Inclusive Education Services (NIES), Sensory Support Services or outside agencies such as EOTAS (Education Other than at School) and CYPS (Children and Young People’s Service).
For your child this would mean:
* Your child has been identified by school staff, or you may have raised your own concerns, as needing specialist input in addition to quality first teaching and intervention groups.
* You will be asked to give your permission for the school to refer your child to a specialist professional e.g. a Speech and Language Therapist or Educational Psychologist. This will help the school and yourself understand your child’s particular needs better and be able to support them better in school.
* A visiting specialist professional will work with your child to observe their work, behaviour, ask them to complete assessment tasks if appropriate and respond to direct questions.
* The specialist professional will discuss the staff’s hopes for the outcome of the visit and look at records of the child’s assessment and the targeted work to date.
* The specialist professional may give immediate verbal feedback to staff and will prepare written advice which is shared with parents.
* You will be asked to come to a meeting to discuss your child’s progress and help plan possible ways forward.
The specialist professional will work with your child to understand their needs and make recommendations, which may include:
* Making changes to the way your child is supported in class e.g. some individual support or changing some aspects of teaching to support them better.
* Support to set targets which will include following programmes in their specific area of expertise.
* A group run by school staff under the guidance of the outside professional e.g. a social skills group.
* A group or individual may work with the outside professional.
The school may suggest that your child needs some agreed individual support in school. They will tell you how the support will be used and what strategies will be put in place.
This type of support is available for children with specific barriers to learning that cannot be overcome through Quality First Teaching and intervention groups.
How will facilities and equipment to support students with SEND be secured?
If a child requires additional facilities and equipment to support their learning in school then the school will identify the best way to secure these, working with additional services and professionals as required. This may include:
* Purchasing the materials directly e.g. writing slopes, reading rulers, overlays etc.
* Looking for options to rent or lease more expensive items.
* Liaising with professional organisations to support with the provision of specialist items e.g. electric wheelchair.
* Working with our facilities team to make any reasonable adjustments that may be required to support a child’s learning.
We aim to ensure that all students who attend the school have access to the school curriculum and wider enrichment activities and that all reasonable effort is made to ensure that the facilities and equipment needed to enable this to happen are in place. Where appropriate a needs assessment and/or risk assessment will be undertaken to support this.
What are the arrangements for consulting with the parents of students with SEND and involving them in the education of their child?
Before the transition to Middle School there are opportunities for parents to arrange a discussion with the SENDCo to plan the support for their child. Once in the school, there are termly parent meetings for all parents of SEND children to make an appointment with the SENDCo to discuss their child’s provision. For those pupils with SEN Support Plans, the SENDCo will arrange termly meetings with parents to review plans. For pupils with EHCPs there is a schedule of annual reviews that the school will plan and arrange with parents. Communication between the school and parents is essential for the needs of the child to be appropriately met.
What are the arrangements for consulting with students with SEND and involving them in their education?
As with their parents, all children with SEND are asked to contribute to their Student Profile reviews. As interventions are evaluated regularly, children are involved in this process and any changes are actioned. Strong and frequent communication between all school staff and the child are essential to this process.
What arrangements are in place for supporting students with SEND transfer from their First School and then into High School?
We will do everything possible to ensure that your child’s needs are identified early, before transfer, and support measures will be put in place on entry. The SENDCo will meet with the SENDCo from the feeder school to discuss the specific needs of each child. If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), there will also be a ‘phase change’ review meeting. This is carried out at an early stage to allow parents and staff to carefully plan the transition which will take place at the end of each school phase.
Additional support will be offered to ease the transition of some children who may feel more anxious or be vulnerable. Extra visits, before transfer, will enable your child to feel confident and secure. Targeted support, after transfer, will ensure that your child does not ‘flounder’ and is given the best possible opportunity to succeed.
Year 4 children are invited to a number of transfer activities including a Mini Sports Day organised by our Young Sports Leaders, and a general transition day organised by the Middle school. All children and parents will have the opportunity to meet members of staff in the summer term.
At KEVI, an extensive transition programme is run by a senior member of the team which aims to help vulnerable students with a variety of needs to cope with any stresses or practical problems associated with changing schools.
Further visits for those children who are particularly anxious about the move from First to Middle or Middle to High, are arranged either through consultation with the feeder school, or by parental request.
What provision is in place by the Governors for dealing with any concerns or complaints from the parents of students with SEND concerning the provision made by the school?
If you have a concern then contact your child’s form teacher in the first instance. If concerns persist, then contact the SENDCo, Mrs Susan Watson.
Please provide details of your concerns and who you have discussed these concerns with and what the outcomes were.
If you are still concerned that the issues have not been addressed appropriately then please contact the Headteacher, Mr Liam Murtagh.
What are Education and Health Care Plans?
These were introduced in September 2014. Students with previous Statements of Special Education Need have had these updated and converted to EHC Plans.
The 0-25 SEND Code of Practice 2014 states that:
“The majority of children and young people with SEN will have their needs met within local mainstream early years providers, schools or colleges.
A local authority must conduct an assessment of education, health and care needs and prepare an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) when it considers that it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made for the child or young person through an EHCP. This is likely to be where the special education provision required to meet the child or young person’s needs cannot reasonably be provided from within the resources normally available to mainstream early years providers, schools and post 16 institutions. This statutory assessment should not be the first step in the process; rather it should follow on from planning already undertaken with parent and young people in conjunction with an early years provider, school, post-16 institution or other provider.
EHCPs must be focused on the outcomes the child or young person seeks to achieve across education, health and care. EHCPs must set out how services will work together to meet the child or young person’s needs and in support of those outcomes. EHCPs will be based on a co-ordinated assessment and planning process which puts the child and young person and their parents at the centre of decision making.
Statutory assessment will not always lead to an EHCP being allocated. The information gathered during an assessment may indicate ways in which the school, college or other provider can meet the child or young person’s needs from within available resources.”
If an application for an EHCP is made, this process will take at least 20 weeks to complete before a final ECP is agreed. More information about EHCPs can be accessed via the Northumberland County Council website.
What is the Local Offer?
The Local Offer is the range of provision available for young people with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in Northumberland. This requirement is laid out by the Children’s and Families Act 2014, the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and the 0-25 SEND Code of Practice, 2014. It details what other support services can be accessed by parents of children with SEND.
The Local Authority Local Offer has two key purposes:
* To provide clear, comprehensive and accessible information about the support and opportunities that are available.
* To make provision more responsive to local need and aspirations by directly involving young people with SEND, parents and carers and service providers in its development and review.
The Northumberland Local Offer can be found here:
Northumberland Local Offer SEND 0 to 25 years
What if I need more support or advice about my child with SEND?
Northumberland Information, Advice and Support Service is a free, confidential and impartial service for children and young (up to 25 years) with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), and their parents and carers.
The information, advice and support provided by the service covers the full range of education, health and social care as defined in the SEND Code of Practice 2015. The service is run at ‘arm’s length’ from the Local Authority.
The support the service can offer includes:
* Providing a listening ear and practical advice and support with understanding the SEND ‘system’.
* Information on a range of SEND topics.
* Support with preparing for meetings.
* Help with exploring the options for a child/young person’s SEND provision.
* Signposting to other services and groups, including parent groups, youth forums and national helplines.
* Support for individual children, young people and their parents that empowers them to express their views and wishes and helps them to understand and exercise their rights in matters including SEN processes, exclusion, complaints and SEND appeals.
* Training for parents, children and young people, and professionals to increase their knowledge of SEND law, guidance, local policy, issues and participation.
The website for the service provides further details and can be accessed at northumberlandiass.org.uk.
The service operates on a self-referral service basis and can be contacted by phone on 01670 623555 or by email at [email protected].
Date: January 2025
Review by: January 2026
For details on the Local Offer published by Northumberland Local Authority please use the following web link:
Our SEND Policy and Accessibility Plan can be found on the Policies page.
