SEND

What is SEND?

A Child or young person aged from 0 to 25 years has special educational needs or disability (SEND) if they: 

• have a learning difficulty or disability which makes it much harder for them to learn than other pupils of the same age

• they require special educational provision to be made for them

The 4 areas of need according to the SEND Code of Practice

If your child has a SEND, their needs will fall into one or more of the following 4 areas:

1. Communication & interaction 
2. Cognition & learning
3. Social, emotional and mental health difficulty
4. Sensory and/or physical needs
   
   

SEND Curriculum Intent: 

Code of practice:  Some children and young people need educational provision that is additional to or different from their peers. This is special educational provision under Section 21 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Schools and colleges must use their best endeavours to ensure that such provision is made for those who need it. Special educational provision is underpinned by high quality teaching and is compromised by anything less. 
 
Excellence and enjoyment: Great teaching is about sensitivity and adaptation, about a warm interaction between a teacher and a student, and about adjusting to the here-and-now circumstances of the classroom & child’s needs.  

What SEND teaching means at Aston All Saints Primary School

Children with SEND will be identified quickly, supported fully & access lessons which are differentiated to enable & challenge each child to meet their full potential in their progression to adulthood.  

Identifying SEND

If concerns are raised about a child, either through the school’s monitoring and review systems, or where parents have raised their own concerns about their child, we would begin to monitor the child more closely.  Common reasons for this would be:

• Failing to make expected progress despite quality first teaching and intervention.
• Struggling to meet learning milestones.
• Struggling to adhere to school and classroom boundaries.
• struggling with social, emotional and mental health issues.
  
  

Learning Support

Our learning support offer enables children to access short-term, focused interventions for particular social, emotional and behavioural difficulties which are creating a barrier to learning.

Here at Aston All Saints, SEMH groups normally consist of between 2 to 6 children, usually from Years 1 to 6. Children attending this group provision continue to access their main teaching within their classroom with their peers and remain an active part of their class. They spend short sessions within the group during the week, often as part of a structured intervention programme aimed to support specific needs.

The class teacher, SENDco and where appropriate other professionals assess learning and social and emotional needs and give help that is needed to remove the barriers to learning. The relationship between the staff and children is always nurturing and supportive, providing a role model for children. There are many opportunities for social learning, helping children to learn skills in order to attend to their own and the needs of others, with time to listen and be listened to.

As the children learn academically and socially they develop confidence, become responsive to others, learn self-respect and take pride in behaving well and in achieving. However, Nurture support is not limited to the nurture room, we aim to embed the nurturing principles and practice at a whole school level, providing appropriate support for all pupils attending our school.

The Six Principles of SEMH Groups
Children's learning is understood developmentally.
The classroom offers a safe base.
Nurture is important for the development of self-esteem.
Language is understood as a vital means of communication.
All behaviour is viewed as communication.
Transitions are viewed as significant in the lives of children.

Education, Health & Care Plans (EHCP)

What is an Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP)?

An Education, Health & Care Plan or EHCP is a document which sets out the education, health and social care needs of a child or young person aged up to 25, and the support that is necessary to help them achieve their outcomes.

Who needs an EHCP

EHC plans are for children and young people (age 0-25) who have a special educational need or disability that cannot be met by the support that is already available at their school or college

Most children and young people with special educational needs will have help given to them without the need for an EHC Plan. This is called SEN support.

The purpose of SEN support is to help children achieve the outcomes or learning objectives that have been set for them.

How do I get an EHCP?

An EHC plan can only be issued after a child or young person has gone through the process of EHC needs assessment. At the end of that process, the local authority has to make a decision to issue an EHC Plan or not. For this assessment to take place there must be evidence that a graduated response has already been put in place by the school or setting (for example appropriate assessment and interventions including support and resources available through the local offer). 
 

The local authority must complete the assessment within 16 weeks and if it decides to issue an EHCP, do so within 20 weeks of the original request.

The Special educational needs and disability code of practice 2015 is important statutory guidance. It tells us lots of the practical steps and things that should be considered when decisions and actions are made and taken in relation to children and young people with special educational needs.

If the Code says something must be done, then it is referring to a legal duty that must be complied with.

If it says something should be done, then this means the guidance should be followed unless there is a lawful reason not to.

The organisations and bodies who need to consider the SEND Code of Practice are:

• local authorities (LAs)
• the governing bodies of schools
• the governing bodies of institutions in the further education sector
• the proprietors of academies
• the management committees of pupil referral units
• section 41 schools and colleges 
• all early years providers in the maintained, private, voluntary and independent
• sectors providing free education and childcare places  
• the NHS and Integrated Care Board
• Youth offending teams and relevant youth  accommodation, and
  the SEND Tribunal

Pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities may be able to get help in public examinations.

This can include, for example, extra time or having a computer or a person to read or write for the pupil (except for exams that specifically test these skills). There is a range of other possible arrangements for pupils with visual or hearing impairments, or other difficulties.

Mind -  Mind support

Young Minds (who can provide advice and support both to parents and directly to children or young people) - Young Minds

School related anxiety - IPSEA support & advice

The law recognises the importance of parents or carers and young people being able to choose their educational setting as far as possible. Getting the right setting can be very important for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN).

There are a number of different types of school: mainstream and special, and those which are under local authority control and those which are not. If you want a particular school, it is important to know what type it is.

All children and young people with SEN are entitled to a mainstream education, if that is what their parents, or they, want.

The process of choosing a school will be different depending on whether the child or young person has an education, health and care (EHC) plan or not.

Selecting a school or college useful information

Useful Websites

Rotherham Parent Carer Forum - A registered charity run by and for families of children and young people (aged 0-25) who have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities). The Parent Carer Forum are currently running online drop ins for support during this time.
Contact on 01709 296262 or Rpcf

Rotherham Evidenced Based Hub
Support for children, young people and families to manage behaviours
Range of parenting programmes (online and face to face) to support family life. Triple-p families, contact Parenting@rotherham.gov.uk.

Rotherham Early Help - Support, prevention and early intervention for children and families when difficulties emerge.
Contact on 01709 334905 or Early Help

Children’s Sleep Charity - Award winning Charity supporting children with sleep issues. Contact on 01302 751 416 or info@thechildrenssleepcharity.org.uk

info@thechildrenssleepcharity.org.uk 

Rotherham Getting Advice - rdash

RDASH CAMHS Website - CAMHs