SEND Information Report
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
Mrs J Allan
Headteacher
Mrs A Miller
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo) and
Assistant Head Teacher of Inclusion
(National SENDCO award obtained Oct 2014)
Mrs Kate Holden
Governor responsible for SEND
At Brighton Avenue School every child is a star and therefore all children deserve the very best. We pride ourselves on being an inclusive school and ensure that the necessary provision is in place to cater for all groups of children including those who have SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities), language barriers or areas of vulnerability. In 2012 we were one of the first schools to achieve the National Gold Inclusion Award Standard in recognition of our efforts in this area.
School Offer
At Brighton Avenue Primary School we believe and follow the principles set out in the SEN Code of Practice (2014) that ‘all children and young people are entitled to an education that enables them to make progress so that they:-
Aims
Our aim is to ensure all children are supported in order that they may work confidently towards reaching their full potential and this will be done by:
All children are rigorously tracked and monitored in order for us to indicate children which would benefit from additional support and also to identify what their barriers to learning may be. Our SENDCo (Mrs Miller) and teaching/non-teaching staff have been trained (and are continuously updated) in specific areas of educational need and can provide tailored sessions to individuals or small groups of children in order to support them in making progress across the curriculum areas.
Children identified as having a special educational need will be given an Individual Support Plan which is a set of short term targets drawn up in collaboration with the teacher and the child. These are shared amongst all staff working with the child as well as with parents on a termly basis. Children with SEND will be given intervention sessions to work on their targets.
Key responsibilities of the SENDCo include:
How we support SEN – Provision
Children have Special Educational Needs if they have a learning and or physical difficulty. This means that the child will need educational support, which is additional to, or different from, the provision made generally for children of the same age in a mainstream school. We ensure that quality first teaching is always at the forefront for all children then we adapt our lessons to meet the needs of every child and use different teaching styles to cater for the different ways in which children learn.
Children may have needs that fall within one area or have needs that fall across two or more areas and these will be recorded on the school’s SEND register. The nature and level of the needs will impact upon the child’s ability to function, learn and succeed. The identified areas of need are:
For more information on each category please refer to the SEN Policy
At times children will require specialist equipment to support their SEND needs. School have a bank of resources/aids they can go to i.e., wobble cushions, pencil grips, fiddle toys, ear defenders, sloped boards, as well as contacts details of services which loan more specialised equipment i.e., visualisers/ magnifiers. We have a hearing loop installed in school.
For those with physical disabilities, the school has a disabled parking space, a disabled toilet, low kerbs, yellow lines marked on steps and ramps to allow children with physical difficulties to access all areas of the school. For more information please refer to Admissions Policy, Inclusion Policy and Accessibility Plan.
All children regardless of Special Educational Need or Disability are included in everything we do in school- events, performances, trips, afterschool clubs etc and we make adjustments where needed, to ensure school is inclusive for everyone.
How do we identify and assess children with SEND?
Early identification is key. The earlier a Special Educational Need is identified, the more likely that outcomes will improve for children. Pupil assessment is an on-going process and forms an essential part of teaching and is designed to promote the raising of achievement. Pupil assessments provide important information for pupil review meetings and may also be used as a basis for an initial discussion with the SENCO. At Brighton Avenue Primary School we monitor the achievement and learning of all pupils on a daily basis. We formally assess the children twice a year and hold pupil progress meetings to identify pupils who are underachieving and may require some extra support. The data from tests as well as assessment of learning opportunities carried out by teachers regularly allows us to ensure that curriculum planning is delivered and differentiated to meet the needs of all pupils, with support where appropriate. Support may be provided for Teachers or Teaching Assistants through weekly Maths and English intervention sessions, within whole class lessons or through weekly/daily SEND intervention delivered to children in small groups or on an individual basis (depending upon needs).
From September 2024 all Gateshead Education and Health services will use the SEND thresholds document to identify and assess the severity of a child’s SEND needs against a set of given criteria. Children will be levelled in each area of need if appropriate and provision will be drawn up appropriately. Children on threshold 2 or 3 will be given a support plan and generally children working on threshold 4 and above will be/being assessed for and Education Health and Care plan (EHCP’s).
Where children are requiring this higher level of support, parents will be informed at each stage of the process and external agencies will be involved with the child to add more specific and in-depth assessment. More information about EHCPs can be found in the SEND policy.
How we consult with our SEND pupils & parents
For children who are on the SEND list in school, we will support their learning through targeted support and Individual Support Plans. In the late Summer term an Individual Plan is written based on the child’s needs. This is discussed with the child, SENDCo, parents and the child’s new class teacher ready for September. Weekly sessions are put aside to work on these targets and they are reviewed half termly. At the end of each term, Support Plans are reviewed and new targets are set. Copies of Individual Learning Plans are shared and signed by parents. Children’s progress is also shared during 2 formal parents’ evenings across the year and a written report in the Summer. For those children with an EHCP ,their progress is monitored as other children but we also host annual review meetings where we invite any outside agencies that are involved with the child as well as parents. Children’s and parents views are always gathered and targets shared. We hold termly Pupil Voice sessions in school specifically for SEND children to discuss any improvements we could collaboratively make to our current systems/provision.
Pupils are consulted about their targets, their aspirations and goals and this is also incorporated into the child's Support Plan.
Parents can raise concerns at any time with the class teacher or SENDCo and we will support them and/or help direct to outside agencies or support them with referrals where necessary.
A parent survey of SEND is carried out annually. Results are collated and any areas of improvement are added into the school improvement plan for SEND.
Additional Support
It is important to realise that there may be groups of children who require some intervention for a short period of time to boost their confidence, self-esteem, emotional well-being or achievement. They may receive intervention for a term or block of weeks. This does not automatically mean they have a Special Education Need as they may make the progress required in the intervention and therefore will no longer need the extra help. However there are some children who will receive additional help and are then identified as needing help that is additional to or different from the provision made generally for children of the same age in a mainstream school. We monitor the progress of these children carefully and track targets by keeping a ‘Monitoring List’.
Emotional and Social Support
In school we recognise that there are an increasing number of children struggling with mental health issues. We are lucky to have a full time Family Support Worker (qualified as a Senior Mental Health Lead) who can work 1:1 with these children and who is also trained in delivering various therapies. Should further advice be sought we work closely with the Gateshead School Nursing team and RISE Mental Health service. Worry boxes are placed in each classroom for children to record and post their worries and these can be dealt with in a more sensitive manner. In school we promote positive mental health through weekly PSHE lessons and celebrate various National initiatives/ Mental Health awareness campaigns.
External Agencies who may work with children with additional needs
On some occasions specific children or families may need additional outside support from professionals trained in defined areas of special educational needs
Examples of specialists include:
Sometimes families may need wider support in a range of areas i.e., parenting, financial or health issues. If this is the case, parents are invited into school to discuss this and parental consent is sought to seek further support. A Common Assessment Framework (CAF) may be carried out in order to create a Team around the Family (TAF) to generate multi-agency support.
As we have a range of languages spoken in our school, we also a member of staff who supports children with English as an additional language. We have excellent procedures in place for welcoming new arrivals and translating information in order to support our new families.
Transitions
Times of transition (moving to the next year group or to Secondary school) can be particularly worrying for children and parents. We ensure that the children spend the latter half of the Summer preparing for this and spend time with their new teacher in their new classes. Information is passed seamlessly between staff to ensure continuity each year. Secondary schools are informed of any additional needs and how best to support them. SEND children receive additional visits to Secondary schools to ease any worries or concerns.
In year transfers within school are also common at Brighton Avenue. Using our electronic system CPOMS, information is usually shared safely and timely between schools. Schools will liaise with each other to ensure any information is passed on and support can be put in place where needed.
Statement of Intent for Supporting Equality
At Brighton Avenue Primary School we feel that we have a responsibility to increase each child’s knowledge, experience, and understanding as well as developing their capacity to learn. We recognise that for some children there may be more barriers to overcome in order for them to reach their full potential. The staff of Brighton Avenue Primary School believe that all members of the school should be treated with respect; have individual, diverse needs recognised, and be given the opportunity to reach their full potential, regardless of age, ability, religion, gender or culture. Discrimination or bullying will not be tolerated (see related policies).
If you do have a concern about your child or if you wish to discuss specialist provision/strategies or any of the aforementioned, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Complaints
Parents/Carers should contact the SENDCo with any complaints about the provision that the pupils are receiving at school. If the complaint is not resolved, the school has a complaints policy which can be found at www.brightonavenueprimary.org.uk
If your complaint is regarding the Local Authority's decision regarding statutory assessment please contact the Gateshead SEND team: Contact at senteam@gateshead.gov.uk Phone 0191 433 3626
Parents/carers can contact the Special Educational Needs and Disability Information and Advice Support Service (SENDIASS) which is run by Barnardos in Gateshead (tel 0191 4784667). This is a free, confidential service for young people who have SEND and their parent/carers. The service is available whether or not the young person has an Education Health Care Plan (Single Plan).
Gateshead Council has developed a Local Offer which provides information about education, health and social care support for children and young people with SEND in Gateshead. The Local Offer can be found at www.gateshead.gov.uk/localoffer.
Mrs A Miller
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo) and
Assistant Head Teacher of Inclusion
Telephone: 0191 4218080
For more information about Special Educational Needs at Brighton Avenue, please refer to the following policies:
We have also published some frequently asked questions about the school offer here at Brighton Avenue. Please click on the link below for more information:
The Government has asked all Local Authorities in the UK to publish, in one place, information about the services and provision they expect to be available in their area for children and young people from 0 to 25 who have Special Educational Needs and/or a Disability (SEND).
This is known as the Local Offer. Further information about the Gateshead’s Local Offer can be found on the links below.
For more information please click on the link below
Contacts
Autism information for parents: Useful Information for Parents/Carers
Single Point of Access: https://gateshead-localoffer.org/single-point-of-access/
(information regarding health (including mental health) referrals)
SENDIASS https://www.barnardossendiass.org.uk/gateshead-sendiass/
The above service is for parental support, they can also be contact via email to: daiss@barnardos.org.uk
SENIT (HINT&LINT) Gateshead SEND services that may be in school supporting your child https://gateshead-localoffer.org/special-educational-needs-improvement-team/
Latest News
New SEND Thresholds
From Sept 2023 Brighton Avenue was part of a pilot scheme to launch a new thresholds document for SEND in the 4 different areas of need. This new initiative aims to provide a consistent approach in identifying and assessing the severity of need of a given individual and will follow the same criteria for assessment, support and availability of external services to them across the region. Our SENCO- Amanda Miller was seconded to the Local Authority for 1 day a week to help undertake and manage this roll out across Gateshead schools.
All teaching staff in Brighton Avenue have now been introduced and trained in using the SEND thresholds and all children have been levelled using this criteria.
Parents have also been offered workshops to learn about the thresholds and will see them on their children’s new support plans. Going forward, thresholds will be discussed with parents at termly reviews and when seeking external support.
The SEND Thresholds will be used by all Gateshead Education and Health services from September 2024.
Below is a link to the document if you would like to take a further look as well as a parents/carers video which will briefly explain what the Thresholds are and how they will be used:
Asthma Accreditation
Our school recently took part in a pilot programme to gain an asthma accreditation. Following staff training, school-based asthma reviews from medical professionals and newly developed policy and procedures within school, we are now 1 of only 15 schools across the region to be accredited as an Asthma Friendly School (July 2023).
Anaphylaxis Accreditation
From September 2024 we will be part of a similar scheme to the asthma accreditation to gain a recognised anaphylaxis qualification. We know a lot of children in school have various allergies, some quite severe and we feel it is vital that we manage this medical condition in school and all staff are aware of procedures to prevent and support these conditions.