SEN Information Report 2020 to 2021

All schools need to provide a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Information Report and a school offer. The school offer is part of the wider Local Authority Offer, and is based on the requirement for all schools to outline the support available to children with SEND. We have decided to combine these two documents into one, and include information on our SEND Policy also, so you have one place to find out all the information you need.

To make it as easy as possible to find the information you require, we have laid it out as a series of questions parents/carers often ask about a school and what happens for children with SEND.

If there is a question you would like answered that

isn’t included below or you would like additional information,  please let us know!

VISION/MISSION

Will my child go to our local school?

To support you in making a decision about whether you would like your child to attend Bellenden Primary School, we want you to know our vision for children with SEND.

We believe all children are unique and all children are special. We recognise each child as a unique individual with his or her own personal talents, experiences, learning styles and needs.  We value their abilities and achievements, and are committed to providing an effective learning environment, which promotes their intellectual and personal development. We are an inclusive school – we wish to see children of all abilities, talents and disability educated together. We aim to enable all children to participate fully in school life.

Our experience has helped us realise the positive benefits that inclusion brings, enriching and strengthening our community. Where children have additional needs, the whole school community is committed to supporting them. All teachers here are teachers of children with SEND. We seek to support all children’s’ access to the curriculum so that they have the opportunity to progress and achieve success. We strongly believe in involving the children and you as their parent/carer in a helpful working partnership with us.

WHOLE SCHOOL/SETTING APPROACHES

Information on policies, people and statutory guidance

What kinds of special needs are provided for in this school?

We provide for all kinds of needs at Bellenden, usually grouped into 4 categories:

• Communication and Interaction
• Cognition (thinking) and Learning
• Physical and Sensory
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs.

Who is involved?

Everyone at school is involved in making sure your child is supported and achieve their full potential. Your child’s class teacher:

• Checks on your child’s progress and (where needed), identifies, plans and delivers any additional help your child may need
• Plans for all children who need extra help
• monitors this help to make sure it is making a difference for your child
• Asks, with your permission, for further specialist help if your child isn’t making progress – for example, they may ask you if they can include the Speech and Language Therapist in an assessment of your child’s speech, language and communication needs
• Discusses with you at all stages how your child is doing, what help and support is needed and agreeing together plans and reviews of how things are working

The SENCO/Inclusion Manager, Ms Ann Marie Gittens-Obika

• Co-ordinates all of the support that we provide for children with SEND and their families and develops our approach so that all children get the best quality help
• Ensures children and their parents/carers are included in knowing what’s happening and are involved in checking what’s working/ what’s needed next
• Works with the outside agencies that we sometimes need support from – Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Paediatrics, School Nursing, Educational Psychology, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and so on
• Keeps our school systems up-to-date so we know who in school has SEND and what we are doing about it
• Makes sure teachers and support staff have what they need to help children with SEND in the school achieve the best progress possible

Contacted by sending an email to agittensobika@bellenden.southwark.org.uk or by calling the school’s office.

Mr Gregory Doey (Executive Headteacher) is involved in SEND, as are the rest of the Senior Leadership Team. Mr. Doey has overall responsibility for ensuring that your child’s needs are met. While your child’s class teacher, the  SENCO/Inclusion Manager and the SEND staff do this on a day-to-day basis, he is still an important link for you in school – especially if you have a compliment, concern or issue you would like to raise.  Mr. Doey also ensures that the governing body is kept up-to-date about SEND in the school, and works closely with our SEND Governor, Gill Roberts and Julie Ireland (Head of School). The Deputy Headteacher, Alex Turnbull, is equally involved in SEND, especially in assessment, achievement and measuring progress. She ensures that every half term a progress meeting is held with class teachers, the SENCO and on a termly basis the Executive headteacher. At this meeting, she checks that all children are making expected levels of progress, and if they aren’t, makes sure additional assessments are undertaken to ensure we know why. The Executive Headteacher can be contacted by calling the school’s office to arrange an appointment.

Wider World of School: Approaches to extra-curricular activities and pastoral care

How accessible is this school for my child?

• Our school is a single storey, purpose-built one form entry school – this means we have one class in each year group with a bulge class currently in Year 2. We have no steps or stairs inside the building and wide corridors
• We are wheel-chair accessible, we have toilets for people with disabilities and we ensure that equipment and adaptations are put in place to support each child’s individual needs

• The school has staff trained to suit children with a range of needs.
• The specialised provisions provide space for the identified needs for children with these difficulties e.g. intervention rooms for children with literacy difficulties

• The school has interactive whiteboards in every classroom and there is access to laptops and iPads for all children
• Our classrooms are communication friendly.

• If you have a specific concern please make contact with the Inclusion Manager, agittensobika@bellenden.southwark.sch.uk or telephone 02076327107

Admission

What arrangements do you have for the admission of pupils with special educational

needs and/or disability?

If a child with SEND has an Education Health and Care Plan:

• The Local Authority informs the Head teachers that it is considering a parental preference to place a child with special educational needs and/or disability in our school.
• We invite parents to visit the school with their child to have a look around and speak to
• Where appropriate, we communicate with the other school when a child transfers to       ensure that sufficient information

is gathered about the child’s special

education needs   and disabilities.

• If other professionals are involved, a Team Around the Child (TAC) meeting will be held to discuss your child’s needs and share strategies that have worked.
• The SENCO/Inclusion Manager, Early Years Co-ordinator, and/or your child’s key person may make a home visit or visit your child if they are attending another  provision  g. Nursery

If a child has SEND but do not have a statement of an Education Health and Care Plan they are admitted via the normal school admission criteria

http://www.southwark.gov.uk/schooladmissions

How will my child be supported to be part of the school?

• Most children with SEND are supported through the regular opportunities provided to all children – high quality teaching, excellent play opportunities and supportive and empathetic staff who want to listen to your child
• We have key support staff on playground duty to focus on and support identified pupils with emotional and social difficulties
• There is TA support during breaks for children with current Statements of Educational Needs or Health, Education and Care Plans or for vulnerable children, This is part of the weekly timetabled support for more vulnerable children who are unable to cope independently in the playground. This can be organised in a small group or a pair of children where the targeted child can develop their interaction and social skills.
• Children also receive support through social skills and friendship groups.
• We also provide play therapy sessions for children who need emotional support.

They provide individual and group-based support covering areas such as self-esteem/confidence, social skills and making friends, anger management, coping skills and learning to relax and so on.

How is behaviour managed?

• We want all of our children to grow into responsible adults, who respect themselves and each other
• Self-discipline is important for learning and behaviour, as is your child learning about cooperation and friendship. To help make this happen, we feel is it essential for staff to establish a consistent approach to behaviour, including attitudes and behaviours for learning
• We want children to want to behave
• well, and to achieve, because they see the benefits for themselves
• We need to teach children about social and emotional aspects of development and we use a range of opportunities to do so. For example, every child in the school has weekly PSHE lessons, where we provide opportunities for your child to think critically about and discuss important social issues. PSHE lessons also gives your child the opportunity to value others and explore their feelings.

We use a range of strategies to manage behaviour:

• The most important strategy to ensure good behaviour is to provide the highest quality teaching that fully engages your child
• We listen and attend to what children say and do, as this provides us with important clues for why they behave as they do
• We praise them when they have done well – the children have an opportunity to be recognised for their efforts through the school’s merit system
• Children are provided with warnings if their behaviour is not in keeping with what is expected of them
• There are sanctions that teachers and support staff apply when a child is not making good choices
• Our behaviour management approach allows children to have a fresh start each day, and that it is always the behaviour that is ‘undesirable’- not the child.

• We feel it is important to promote these values through creating a warm, caring supportive atmosphere in the school in which all members of the school community know they are valued.
• Incidents of bullying are treated seriously and as a matter of urgency. Because beating bullying is a crucial element in achieving and promoting the above values.

Please see our Anti bullying policy

We cannot manage behaviour effectively without your support and it is essential that you understand and support the policies of the school with regard to learning and behaviour. We need you on board with our system for rewarding good behaviour and sanctioning challenging behaviour and to work together with us. Supporting your child’s learning at home to help them achieve their best is a very important part of the help we get from you.

What support do we offer you as a parent/carer of a child with SEND?

Engagement with parents/carers is very important to us and we make use of a variety of strategies to do this:

• Monthly newsletters
• Website
• Parents’ evenings
• Team around the child/ family meetings
• Parent Governor
• Coffee mornings/afternoons
• School productions
• Parent workshops
• Text messaging service.

Your child’s class teacher is available to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns you may have. We have regular parent-teacher meetings also, where you and the teacher share information about what is working well at home and in school so everyone uses strategies that work for your child. If your child has an individual plan, this is also a chance for you and the teacher to look at targets that have been set for your child, the support we gave and how it’s made a difference.

The SENCO/Inclusion Manager is available to meet with you to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns/worries you may have. All information from outside professionals will be discussed with you, or where this is not possible, provided in a report. Please make sure you keep your contact details up-to-date with the school office to make sure we can always get in touch with you for meetings, sending reports and so on.

What extra-curricular activities can my child participate in?

We do not discriminate against children with SEND, and all extra-curricular opportunities available for children without additional needs are available to those children with SEND. We have a range of excellent extended services (both before and after-school) – breakfast club, Football Club, Gymnastics Club, Spanish Club and so on. To see the section on the website about this kind of provision go to our website.

It is important to us that children with SEND access school visits and trips, which are such exciting and interesting learning opportunities for children. We conduct a review of each visit/trip beforehand to ensure we have everything in place to make it a success (e.g. some children with SEND may find periods of walking difficult, or find new environments upsetting); and we make adjustments to our plans to meet their individual needs.

In Key Stage 2, school journey is a milestone in your child’s school life.  We expect that all children attend school journey and will work with your child and you early on in the planning process to make sure they are able to attend and participate fully alongside the rest of their class. If you have any concerns that you want to discuss about a visit/trip, please speak in the first instance to your child’s class teacher or to the Headteacher/Deputy Headteacher.

What support is available at less structured times of the day (e.g. playtime, lunch)?

• We have a play supporter scheme, which allows older children to support others during lunch times.
• If needed, we provide a Learning Mentor or teaching assistant to support children with complex SEND who find playtime more challenging
• We also ensure that children who would find such an approach beneficial have jobs and responsibilities at lunchtime

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

How will teaching be adapted to meet the needs of my child?

All teachers adapt their teaching for every child – we aim to give each child the most personalised learning experience possible. As such:

• class teachers plan lessons according to the specific needs of all groups of children in their class, and will ensure that your child’s needs are met
• specially trained support staff can adapt the teachers planning to support the needs of your child where necessary
• specific resources and strategies are used to support your child individually and in groups
• planning and teaching is adapted on a daily basis, based on your child’s responses to the previous teaching and what needs to happen next.

How will I know how my child is doing?

You are always well informed about your child’s progress in learning and development, and you have regular opportunities to discuss him or her with those who know them best! For example,

• class teachers meet and greet all children every morning at the classroom door
• every term there is a parent-teacher meeting where you get the opportunity to speak to your child’s class teacher on an individual basis about your child’s progress
• at the end of each year, you receive a written report of your child’s achievements and their suggested next steps for learning
• there is a programme of parent workshops and briefings across the year where you can come in and learn more about children’s learning and progress in core subjects such as literacy and numeracy
• you are most welcome to make an appointment at any time in the school year to discuss your child’s progress and any concerns you may have
• if there are significant concerns about your child – e.g. a sudden deterioration in their progress or emotional well-being – we do not wait until the end of term to discuss this with you. We meet with you to find out how he or she is at home, whether there have been any changes in family life, what we can do to help and so on.

What skills do staff members have to meet the needs of my child?

Bellenden is deeply committed to ensuring that your child is educated by high quality, professional staff members who have the key skills and abilities to meet their needs. For example,

• all class teachers are qualified teachers who are well supported by specialist staff – theSENCO/Inclusion Manager, the literacy coordinator (Lyndsey Monaghan), the numeracy coordinator (Walatta Trew) etc. – in working with your child. They work with the teacher in planning for children with SEND and provide in house training where needed
• the school also has a school development plan that addresses the identified training needs for all staff to improve the teaching and learning of children including those with SEND
• this may include whole school training on SEND issues or to support identified groups of learners in school, such as attention difficulties, dyslexia and so on. We are keen to provide whole staff training to disseminate knowledge, strategies and experience to ensure consistency of the school’s approach for children with SEND
• teachers and support staff also attend training courses run by outside agencies that are relevant to the needs of specific children in their class
• this training takes place on a regular basis. If you would like to hear about the training which is currently taking place or has taken place by the staff members in the school, please speak to the Deputy Headteacher or the Inclusion Manager

Information about early identification, assessment and intervention

What happens if I am worried about my child?

If you are worried about your child’s progress, please speak to the class teacher. We can then work together to identify what specific concerns you have, what we have observed in school and what we can do next.

How do you identify children who may have special needs?

We use a range of strategies to identify children who have SEND:

• some children come to school with their needs already identified by their previous setting/school or specialists working with them (e.g. community paediatrics, Speech and Language Therapy and so on)
• we always contact these practitioners to find out what goals they have been working towards, how your child has responded and what needs to happen next
• for other children, we first provide high quality teaching and observe their response to this
• it is only when your child doesn’t make the expected progress after having had good quality teaching that we start to further assess whether your child has SEND
• for example, we may analyse their work for errors they’ve made – e.g. their spelling mistakes – and work out what might be holding them back
• we also use specialist assessments to help us pinpoint specific needs (e.g. we use a test called the Dyslexia Screener when we are identifying further difficulties with literacy)
• most importantly, we talk with your child and with you about their learning, what is working/where the gaps are and work together on setting targets

How will my child manage tests and exams?

In England, schools are responsible for checking whether a child is working at the level of a test (e.g. Key Stage 2 SATS) but is unable to access them. The Headteacher makes the final decision about this, for example if your child has:

• a physical or sensory disability (e.g. a visual impairment)
• spent lots of time in hospital towards the end of the Key Stage.

Specific arrangements can be put in place to enable children to access the tests. Detailed information about each access arrangement and how it can be used is available on the DfE’s website at www.education.gov.uk/ks2.

SEN SUPPORT including students with EHC Plans

What happens if my child does have some difficulties?

The best thing that can happen if your child has SEND is for them to have excellent classroom teaching, known as High Quality Teaching. For your child this would mean that:

• the teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all children in their class
• all teaching is based on building on what your child already knows, can do and can understand
• different ways of teaching are in place so that your child is fully involved in learning in class.
• specific strategies  are in place to support your child to learn

All children in school should be getting this as a part of excellent classroom practice when needed.

Your child may also benefit from specific group work with a smaller group of children. These kinds of groups, often called interventions, may:

• be run in the classroom or outside
• be run by a teacher or teaching assistant who has had training and is supervised to run these groups
• include clear assessment before and after to measure progress
• have specific targets or goals set for the children involved.

We also sometimes provide specialist groups or individual support as advised by external professionals if children would benefit from this approach. For your child this would mean:

• your child will have been identified by the class teacher (or you will have raised your worries) as needing more specialist input in addition to High Quality teaching or in place of intervention groups
• you will be asked to come to a meeting to discuss your child’s progress and help plan possible ways forward
• You may be asked to give your permission for the school to ask for the involvement of a specialist e.g Educational Psychologist. This will help the school and you understand your child’s particular needs better and be able to support them in school. The specialist will work with your child and make recommendations, which may include:

• making changes to the way your child is supported in class
• support to set better targets which include the area of their specific expertise
• a group run by school staff under the guidance of the outside professional e.g. a social skills group

How will you find out more about what my child needs?

We work with you, your child and their previous teacher and assessment results to find out what they already know, how they learn best and what is next in learning. We then use a variety of engaging and interesting teaching approaches to stimulate your child’s participation and engagement. Through observing their responses to teaching – both what is taught and how it is taught – we find out more and more about what they need and how best to provide it.

What will you do once you know what my child finds difficult?

Once we have assessed what it is they are finding difficult and why, we plan together a range of strategies and approaches to address any gaps. We then implement the plan and monitor it, reviewing at the end whether it is has made a difference. Usually, this approach is enough to support most children in making adequate progress; it is only when we are not making the difference we would expect that we may ask you for permission to bring in another expert to work with us in meeting your child’s needs.

What extra support can be brought in to help the school meet the needs of my child?

There are a range of services that we draw upon – Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Paediatrics, school nursing, Educational Psychology, specialist teachers in literacy and numeracy, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), audiology and so on.

Who makes sure everything is happening?

You and the class teacher working together are critical to ensuring everything is happening. Every class teacher teaches all of the children in their class, including the children with SEND and they are responsible for your child’s progress. If we need to involve external professionals, we may need you to take your child to appointments, share information with the practitioners concerned and let us know what they have told you. We also need you to keep your child motivated and engaged in their learning!

If your child requires specialist assessment and intervention, this is discussed at termly progress meetings with the Class teacher, Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher, and the Inclusion Manager. The Inclusion Manager checks to make sure external agencies are working together as they should be and makes requests for additional resources if they are needed.

How will I know if the provision is making a difference for my child?

You will notice positive changes in whatever areas of need had been identified; that is why our initial identification and assessment is so important. It may be improvements in their reading, spelling and writing; or it could be that they tell us that have less fights at play-time or that they are happier in school. Listening to what your child has to say, as well as what you notice in their behaviour at home, is important in knowing whether the provision we’re making is working.

What if it isn’t working as much as I’d hoped?

It can be difficult, especially at the beginning of working together, to know exactly how much progress a child is going to make with extra support. It is important to have high expectations for them, and also to be reasonable and realistic in what we all think can be achieved each term or year.

What we do if an intervention isn’t working as we might have hoped depends on the reason for lack of expected progress. If the extra support isn’t working, it may be that we haven’t given it enough time, or it wasn’t the right intervention for your child or that we uncover another barrier to learning while were providing the support.

The most important thing if you are worried is communication – talk to your child’s teacher or the Inclusion Manager. We have to ensure that everyone has a shared understanding of what happening – do we all have the common goals and timeframes? Have we shared these with each other? Do we share high and realistic expectations for your child? Working together we will come up with a plan for what to do next, and hopefully that revised plan will lead to success for your child!

 What happens if I am still worried or disagree?

Again, it depends on what you are worried about – do you feel your child needs further assessment? Do you feel a different sort of specialist advice needs to be provided? Does your child need more time in a different intervention? Talking through your concerns with the Inclusion Manager will help you identify what’s worrying you and what we can do about it. Remember that the option of requesting an assessment for an Education, Health and Care Plan is always open to you, there is more information about this here.

If you cannot reach agreement with the class teacher and the Inclusion Manager, you can arrange to meet Mr Borthwick or Ms Kelly and discuss with them your concerns and what could happen next. You can also seek advice from the Parent Partnership Service in the local authority, or through Contact a Family.

What if I think my child needs more help than the school can provide?

If you think that your child needs more help than the school can provide, there is the option of asking the local authority for an assessment to decide whether an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan is needed. These plans used to be called Statements of SEN. Having an EHC Plan means your child needs a very significant amount of individualised support that cannot be provided from the budget available to the school. It also usually means their needs are very severe, complex and likely to have a lifelong impact on their learning and development.

For your child this would mean:

• The school (or you) can request that the local authority carry out an assessment of your child’s needs. This is a legal process which would set out the amount of support that will be provided for your child if they had an EHC Plan
• After the school have sent in the request to the Local Authority (with a lot of information about your child, including from you), they will decide whether they think your child’s needs are complex enough to need an assessment. If this is the case they will ask you and all professionals involved with your child to write a report outlining your child’s needs. If they do not think your child needs this assessment, they will ask the school to continue with school-based support
• After the reports have all been sent in, the local authority will decide if your child’s needs are severe, complex and lifelong. If this is the case they will write an EHC Plan. If not, they will ask the school to continue with school-based support and also set up a meeting in school to ensure a plan is in place to ensure your child makes as much progress as possible.

What if I disagree with some aspect of the plan, or I disagree about them conducting the assessment?

The best thing for you to do is to talk to the local authority about why they have made the decision they have. The Parent Partnership Service are also available to help you, and there are routes you can go down if you remain dissatisfied – please see the relevant local authority’s procedures for this.

Arrangements for supporting transitions for pupils with significant SEND

How will the school help my child to manage the transitions into the school, into a new class or on to a different school/adulthood?

We firmly believe in using the Team Around the Child or Team Around the Family approach at all stages of a child’s time with us at Bellenden. This means we work together with the family and all of the other practitioners working with them to plan, deliver and review an action plan that is based on the family’s priorities. Relationships are central to this approach – building connections between you and the school, as well as trust and openness.

At times of transition, whether into the school or on to secondary, we meet together as soon as possible to plan the kinds of experiences that the child and family would feel would best help making the transition go as smoothly as possible. It is particularly important for secondary transfer that we include the child as much as possible in the transition and they participate in making the decisions about what works for them.

When your child moves classes in school:

• information is passed in advance to the new class teacher and a planning meeting takes place. All of the individualised planning is shared with the new teacher so they know what has been tried, what’s worked and what’s next for your child
• he/she visits and meets with their new teacher before the end of the school year
• any external professionals working with your child advise the new teacher of the extra help your child needs to make progress

If your child is moving to another school:

• we contact that school’s SENCO and ensure he/she knows about any special arrangements or support that need to be made for your child
• we make sure that all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible.

For secondary transfer:

• school staff work with you as early as possible to identify the choices for secondary school that you and your child would like, including accompanying you to visit a school if that would be helpful
• we advise you on the processes, deadlines and the paperwork that needs to be completed in advance
• we get the team working with your family together to plan the transition about a term before your child is due to leave, always trying to ensure we have included staff from the new school in this meeting
• we work together with your child on focused learning about aspects of transition to support their understanding of the changes ahead.

Information about funding and resources

How will the school fund the support needed for my child?

The school budget includes money for supporting children with SEND and the Headteacher decides on the SEND budget in consultation with the school governors, on the basis of needs in the school. All of the evidence and research suggests that one of the most effective ways of using funding for SEND is to use it to improve the quality of teaching. We use the funding we have in a variety of ways:

• helping every class teacher to improve their teaching so that they provide the best learning experiences for children with SEND
• high quality small group interventions such as sounds write
• our PDC and so on.

We also have some personalised provision for children with severe and complex needs.

How are decisions made about funding and what can I do if I’m unhappy with this?

The Headteacher and the Deputy Headteacher discuss all the information they have about SEND in the school, including:

• the children currently getting extra support
• the children needing extra support
• the children who have been identified as not making as much progress as would be expected

then they decide what resources/training and support is needed. This happens after each progress meeting and parent-teacher meeting (termly) so that all of the information about children’s progress and achievement is used to make decisions about funding. All resources, training and support are also reviewed regularly and changes made as needed. Please see below for what to do if you would like to raise a concern or a comment with the school.

Information on where to find further support

Where can I or my child get further help, information and support?

• The first port of call is your child’s class teacher or the  SENCO/Inclusion Manager
• The school website is also regularly updated, and is an important source of information for parents/carers, as well as links to other helpful sites – make sure your regularly check in for updates!
• There are local drop-in services for parents/carers for children with SEND (e.g. the drop-in at Sunshine House Child Development Centre on Friday mornings)
• Please speak to the SENCO/Inclusion Manager for further information on drop-in services

Where can I find out about what is available locally for me, my family or my child?

• Each local authority is producing their own local offer, depending on which borough you live in you will be able to find out more information by clicking here for Southwark and here for Lewisham
• You can also contact the Parent Partnership Service in your authority click here for Southwark, the Family Information Service click here and the national charity Contact a Family click here

Complaints procedures

How do I complain if I am not happy with what is happening for my child?

We hope that every parent/carer is happy with what is in place for their child. If you have anything you are not sure about, or have a concern with, the first thing to do is always discuss this with your child’s class teacher. In most instances, issues are resolved at this stage. However, if you remain unhappy you can also speak to the SENCO (Ms Gittens-Obika), the Deputy Headteacher (Ms. Turnbull), and Head of School (Ms Ireland and Executive Headteacher (Mr. Doey)