SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities)

Sensory circuits and rooms

At Oldmixon Primary School we recognise that there are a number of pupils whom specialist intervention and support may be required under our provision of Special Educational Needs and Disability. We have a SEND co-ordinator and Governing commitee who ensure and monitor this provision.

What is SEND?

A child has special educational needs or disability (SEND) if they have a learning difficulty or disability which means that they find it significantly harder to learn, or to do activities which children the same age are able to do. These children need extra help or support, or special provision made for them to allow them to use the same facilities as other children of the same age.

The type and level of support required for a child or young person will depend on their needs. There are four broad areas of need. Children and young people may have SEND in more than one of these areas:

● Communication and Interaction - difficulties with speech and language development and non-verbal communication (SLCN).

● Cognition and Learning - difficulties accessing learning, perhaps due to having a specific learning difficulty like dyslexia.

Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD)
Moderate Learning Difficulty (MLD)
Severe Learning Difficulty (SLD)
Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty (PMLD)

● Social, Emotional, and Mental health (SEMH) - difficulties with emotional regulation, social interaction, or forming positive relationships.

● Sensory and Physical - hearing, visual, and multi-sensory impairments or physical disabilities.

Visual Impairment (VI)
Hearing Impairment (HI)
Multi-Sensory Impairment (MSI)
Physical Disability (PD)

Children whose needs fall into a mixture of these four categories have complex needs. A child is described as having mild or severe learning difficulties depending on the degree of their needs and the impact they have on their lives.

What if I think my child has SEND?

You know your child better than anyone else. If your child is already in school (including nursery or pre school) talk to their teacher. Ask also to speak to the school's Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENDCo), who organises extra help for children with SEND.

If you would like to get in touch with the school SENDCO, please email at:

office@oldmixon.extendlearning.org

You can find further information about SEND from your local Parent Partnership Service. In North Somerset this is: www.supportiveparents.org.uk

Schools must publish a SEN information report about their provision and support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and the information to be included in the SEN information report is set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 Schedule 1.

The SEN information report is updated annually with any changes occurring during the year updated as soon as possible. We publish this information on our school website so that young people, parents and other professionals can find it easily.

You can access our report via the link below.

The purpose of the information report is to inform parents and carers about how we welcome, support and make effective provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). We are committed to providing equal learning opportunities for all our children regardless of race, gender, special educational needs and / or disabilities (SEND). We are part of the Extend Learning Academies Network (ELAN) and some of our policies that support this document are adopted from ELAN and some are school specific.

SEND information-report-october-2024.pdf

What is our SEND provision?

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.

We understand 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 at Oldmixon are teachers of ALL children. 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 positive working partnership with us.

Who is involved with your child?

Your child's teacher:

checks on your child's progress, 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
with permission ask for further specialist help
discusses with you at all stages how your child is doing, what help and support is needed and together agreeing plans and reviews of how things are working
in partnership with parents/carers sets targets for your child.

How does the school decide who needs extra support?

Each class teacher is responsible for the progress of all children in their class. They use quality first teaching, observations and regular assessment to identify any cause for concern. The school will also check each child’s progress throughout their school year/life and refer any children who appear to be falling behind or struggling in any area. These children will be referred to the SENDCO who will decide if internal interventions will help or whether we need to refer to outside agencies.

Outside agencies may include Speech & Language, Educational Psychologist, Community Paediatrician, Occupational Therapist, School Nurse, Behaviour Improvement Programme, advisory teacher etc.

Parents will be kept informed throughout this process and are always consulted to see if they agree to the school seeking advice and/or acquiring additional support. The SENDCO will then make a referral. Parents will be invited to meet the support agencies. Information from these meetings will be copied to the parents.

What kinds of special needs are provided for at Oldmixon ?

We provide for all kinds of needs at Oldmixon, usually grouped into four categories:

Communication and interaction
Cognition (thinking) and learning
Physical and sensory
Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs.

How does the school make provision for pupils with additional needs with or without an EHC plan?

We provide support for children in many different ways. Some children’s needs will be met by adapted work or small group work with adult support. At times some children may need 1:1 support from a teaching assistant (TA) to help them access their learning. Where necessary children may have a personalised curriculum which suits their learning needs.

The Graduated Response:

What is the Graduated Response? The SEND Code of Practice 2015 states that children and young people with SEND should have their needs met and outcomes achieved in a mainstream education setting; however, it also acknowledges that a specialist provider may be another option for a few children and young people.

A key principle of the Code of Practice is that the views, wishes, and feelings of the child or young person and their parent/carers should inform the support they receive. This begins with making sure they are provided with all the information and support they need to feel confident and participate fully in decisions about their support.

The Graduated Response expects mainstream providers to make full use of all their resources and expertise before accessing increasingly specialist support provision. The Graduated Response follows four stages of action: Assess, Plan, Do, Review, as outlined in the SEND Code of Practice.

What is quality first teaching?

Quality First Teaching (QFT) means high quality inclusive teaching together with our continuous whole school processes for assessing, planning, implementing, tracking, monitoring and reviewing your child’s progress.

The teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all pupils in their class
All teaching builds on what your child already knows, can do and understand
Lessons are appropriately differentiated, which means different ways of teaching are in place so that your child can access the lesson and is fully involved in their learning. Some examples of differentiation are: additional resources to support their learning, opportunities for paired work or small group work, different ways of presenting their work
Specific strategies (suggested by the SENDCo) to support your child to learn
On-going assessment within the day-to-day framework of the classroom of your child’s progress to identify any gap or gaps in their understanding/learning

The Graduated Approach means that provision for a child with a SEND is a continuum between whole class QFT at the one end and highly personalised 1:1 teaching at the other.

All children have access to quality first teaching, but where a potential SEND has been identified, the approach to your child’s teaching and learning becomes increasingly personalised as our understanding of your child and his/her need grows. Thus, support becomes more targeted

What is an Individual Support Plan (ISP)?

Individual Support Plan (ISP)
Some children who receive more long term support will be on the school’s SEN register. Parents will be informed of this. Your child may have an individual support plan created for them which outlines their needs and support that they will receive in school. On the plan, we implement short-term, medium-term and long-term outcomes for the child, giving them achievable and aspirational outcomes to work towards whilst at Oldmixon. The content of the ISP is negotiated, as appropriate, with the class teacher, child and child's family, with a focus on the progress of 'Assess, plan, do, review.'

The ISP is reviewed three times a year with the parent, the class teacher and the SENDCO. This is where we will review the outcomes for the child and plan for next steps to further their progress. We shall also look at their strengths and barriers to learning and parent and child views as it is important to take on board external factors when reviewing these plans.

If you do have any questions about the plan, please do contact your child's class teacher, or the SENDCO - Mrs Avci.

What are the arrangements for supporting children who are looked after by the LA and have SEND?

Mrs Amanda Martin is our designated person with responsibility for Children Looked After (CLA). She will attend Personal Education Plan (PEP) meetings, PEP reviews and liaise closely with the Virtual School. Mrs Amanda Martin and Mrs Lindsay Avci (SENDCo) will liaise to oversee provision that is put into place to support the child’s special educational need and will attend child progress meetings and reviews.

How will the children with additional needs be consulted about and involved in their education?

Children who have an ISP or EHC plan will be asked their views and take part in a ‘pupil voice’ meeting at review points throughout the year.

Speech, Language and Communication

A child naturally acquires language from a very early age and goes through a recognised pattern of learning vocabulary, sentences and concepts to be able to communicate verbally. Add to this speech sound processes, attention and social development and you realise how complex communication is.

When this natural process diverges from the normal pattern, e.g. when a child has difficulty with grammar or speech sounds, poor listening or stammering, it is called a speech, language and communication difficulty.

We are in the fortunate position to be able to offer targeted speech and language provision on site from a specially trained speech and language assistant - Mrs Beth Brown.

We work with outside agencies to deliver 1:1 speech and language programmes as well as designing group activities that will cater to children's specific needs.

Our Speech and Language provision also includes delivery of intervention programmes. This includes Talk Boost which is a target intervention for children in Reception, KS1 and KS2 focused on narrowing the language gap between them and their peers.

Motor Skills

To support children with physical needs, we use Smart Moves. This is a programme full of fun activities and games to encourage children with motor coordination difficulties to succeed. Through this programme, we create a simple, effective tailored programme for each child.

Pastoral Support

Our Learning Mentors - Mrs Dawn Palfrey and Miss Chloe Daniels are available to meet with parents to discuss any social and emotional issues which they feel may be affecting their child’s ability to learn. They can work with small groups and/or with individual children depending on the child’s specific needs. Appointments can be arranged via the school office.

What resources or programs do we use to support our children in school?