SEN Report
This report is contributing to Manchester Local Authority’s Local Offer and complies with section 69 (2) of the Children and Families Act 2014 and Regulation 51 and Schedule 1 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
At Chapel Street Primary School, we work hard to provide a caring, stimulating and inclusive environment where every child can reach their full potential.
We recognise that you know your child best and you may feel that they need some additional help or support for some or all of their time at school. The information included here is to inform you of the types of support available for your child at Chapel Street. It will help you to understand who can help and how this support can be accessed.
How does the school know if children need extra help?
All pupils in school receive quality first teaching. This means that a range of teaching and learning styles are used and that appropriate learning objectives are set for all children with a curriculum matched to their needs. All classes are supported by teaching assistants and pupils are also frequently offered additional small group work or interventions where needed. Children are tracked and monitored regularly to ensure that they are working at age related expectations.
If a child is assessed as well below age related expectations, has a high level of difficulty when they join us or as they change during their school life, they may be considered to have a special educational need or disability (SEND). Progress is monitored closely to help inform any decisions around special educational needs, with concerns from parents/carers and staff in school being used to initially identify a possible need. A health diagnosis would be used to identify a child as being SEND due to a disability. Children with SEND have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn than most children of the same age. They will need extra or different help. Schools and other external agencies can help most children overcome their difficulties quickly and easily. A few children will need extra help for some or all of their time in school.
SEND stages and terminology
The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice gives guidance to schools in meeting the needs of pupils. It sets out how help should be given in a step-by-step approach. You will be consulted at all stages of this graduated approach and staff will inform you of the additional work they do with your child, through the SEN review meetings. Class teachers will assess your child to identify their strengths, needs and the extra help they require. If they need extra or different support than most children their age they may get extra support through school, this may involve:
- differentiated work;
- small group or individual support;
- alternative resources such as specific ICT programmes or visual prompts;
- Individual sessions with a Specialised Teaching Assistant
- support at playtimes and lunchtimes.
If your child continues to have difficulty even with this support, we may look at offering support through our Inclusion team in school or talk to you about asking for advice from people outside school such as a Speech and Language Therapist, Hearing/Visual impairment Teacher, Play Therapist or an Educational Psychologist. Your child would continue to get a high level of extra support in school guided by the advice of these professionals.
Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC)
If your child’s needs are complex or severe we may suggest that we ask the Local Authority for a statutory assessment. This may result in your child having an ‘EHC’ which describes your child’s SEND and the special help they should receive.
EHC’s usually involve the Local Authority recognising the extra resources needed to help your child, although the school continues to fund a significant proportion of this. Additional resources often include staff time, specialist support and/or equipment.
How will staff support my child?
Class teachers plan for every child within their class and children with special educational needs are given a One Page Profile to meet their needs. This One Page Profile is developed alongside the child. The plan has two or three key targets which are small, measurable and relevant.
The targets may include strategies to support both parents and staff within school who may work with the child. The plan also utilises advice from any outside agencies who may be involved with the child. The child is able to identify areas he or she wants to work on and this is shared with parents/carers. One Page Profiles are reviewed every term with the child and shared with parents. All correspondence about any child is passed to the school’s SENCO who also monitors all One Page Profiles termly.
How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s/young person’s needs?
Through ‘Quality First Teaching’, school provides a curriculum to meet the needs of all children. All lessons offer the challenge and support necessary for each child to learn and where necessary differentiation occurs through planned activities, appropriately framed questioning or the support given. However, on occasions, a child may require more specific activities working in a small group or individualised support.
We offer a wide range of interventions to support the different areas of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. The areas of need, as set out in the SEN Code of Practice, are: Cognition and Learning needs; Speech, Language and Communication needs; Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs; and Physical and/or Medical needs.
Before any therapeutic intervention is started a pre-intervention assessment is carried out. This allows us to meet specific areas of need and to set clear targets of the intervention. Following the intervention a post-intervention assessment will be carried out, which will allow us to identify and evaluate the impact that the intervention has had.
We regularly inform parents/carers about the intervention and support that their child is receiving. You are also welcome to make an appointment to meet with either the class teacher or our SENCO Kate Ortoft to discuss your child’s progress and any concerns you may have. Our specialist staff can also offer advice.
What support will there be for my child’s overall well-being?
Chapel Street ensures that all children are supported socially and pastorally by staff who know the children.
School offers a wide range of activities both within school and the community to support their social and emotional development such as school visits, educational trips, and links with the community and a range of cultural visits.
School has a medicine policy which supports parents/carers with the management of their child’s medication within school and staff are regularly trained in key areas such as Asthma, Epilepsy and the use of Epi pens. If a child comes into school with a specific need, the school nurse will provide the relevant staff with training. The school also trains all staff within school as first aiders and so we always have trained staff on any visit outside of school.
School has a positive behaviour policy which centres around the Relational Approach, and is known, used and adhered to by all staff across the school. Exclusions are rare in school and this is due to the high expectations school has of children’s learning and behaviour and the support from parents/carers. Children who need specific support with their behaviour will be identified and support will be provided. This support may range from additional support in the classroom, to interventions and support from Bridglea Outreach service.
Good behaviour is celebrated across school through class rewards and certificates.
Incentives to promote excellent school attendance include ‘Star of the Week Assembly’.
Good attendance is celebrated across school and rewards range from a whole class certificate and in certain circumstances an end of year school prize. School will ring home to query a child’s non-attendance at school. School has a Family Work Team who will support school and parents with ensuring children attend school regularly and on time.
What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the school?
Our SENCO is Kate Ortoft. She has a strategic overview of the needs of our pupils with inclusion needs and the interventions that are in place to support these needs, and manages inclusion on a day-to-day basis to ensure the provision is in place to allow children to access their learning.
Support will also be given by your child’s teacher, who will always make sure that tasks set are appropriate and accessible for your child, Teaching Assistants (TAs), who support all pupils in class and 1:1 Learning Support Assistants, who help and support individual children with their learning.
We also, when necessary, seek support from external agencies. We have close links with:
- Our link School Nurse who we can contact to advise and assess any medical needs.
- Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) – Laura Donelan is in school one day a week to assess and work with children with speech and language difficulties. If you or your child’s teacher are concerned that your child has difficulty pronouncing some sounds or words, we can also refer them to SALT clinic.
- A few children may need advice or input from our Educational Psychologist (EP) – Jude Joughin – (Footsteps EP service).
What are the options for staff training?
All staff receive regular training from the health service around key medical issues which could arise for children e.g. delivering physiotherapy to individual pupils. Certain staff are trained in First Aid and are strategically placed around school. The SENCO attends L.A. training which is then shared with all staff. Staff are all trained on the effects of attachment and trauma which provides staff with ‘a framework to equip individuals with attitudes, skills and knowledge to facilitate environments that are free from fear and safe from harm.’ The SENCO provides in-house training on developing One–Page Profiles and around specific requests from staff, or as necessary to support a particular child or group of children.
Where necessary for specific situations, specialist training is bought into the school. For example Early Communication Training to support pupils with limited language from Grange Specialist Provision Outreach to provide training around a range of social and emotional needs.
How will my child/young person be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips?
Chapel Street is fully-inclusive and all children attend all events and trips and are encouraged to take part in all activities both within and outside of school. Where necessary, extra support will be provided to ensure full participation by all children and parents are fully-informed as to the trips and activities open to every child. Some of the trips and educational visits may be subsidised by the school to ensure all children can access these extra-curricular activities.
How accessible is the school environment?
Chapel Street has wheelchair/walker access at all points of entry. Steps within the school are all fitted with handrails. There are facilities for disabled changing and toilets which can accommodate wheelchairs/walkers and support individuals with a disability.
The use of computers and laptops/Ipads enable all children to have access to new technologies to support their learning.
How will the school prepare and support my child to join the school or to transfer to a new school or the next stage of education and life?
School encourage parents and children to visit the school and meet their new teacher prior to joining the school. A member of staff will show the child and parents around school and be available to answer any questions.
Meetings are organised in the summer term prior to entry into EYFS. Kate Ortoft meets with SENCOs from feeder schools to discuss individual needs prior to the Year 6 pupils leaving in July.
The arrangements for the admission of disabled pupils
Children are admitted to Chapel Street Primary School according to our Admissions Policy. The admission of pupils with disabilities is the same as those applied to pupils without disabilities. The school complies fully with the Equality Act 2010 in relation to the arrangements for the admission of pupils with disabilities. Where a pupil is disabled school will make reasonable adjustments to ensure that no disabled child is placed at a disadvantage compared to other pupils.
Handling complaints from parents of children with SEND
Parents/carers with any concerns regarding the SEND policy or the provision made for their child at Chapel Street Primary School should, in the first instance, speak to the class teacher or the SENCO – Kate Ortoft. If the matter is unresolved, parents/carers should follow the school complaints procedure.
Further details
Please see our Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Policy here for more information regarding SEND.
The details of our accessibility plan can be found in our Equality Policy. To view this policy, click here.
If you would like to view Manchester’s Local Offer please click here.
If you want advice from professionals outside school you may find the following contacts helpful:
Parent Partnership: 0161 209 8356
School Admissions: 0161 245 7166
Manchester Families Service Directory: http://manchester.fsd.org.uk
You may also find the following documents, produced by the Department for Education (DfE), useful:
- Special Educational Needs and Disabilities guide for parents and carers
- Easy read information on SEND reforms
