Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Report

HEAVERS FARM PRIMARY SCHOOL SEN INFORMATION REPORT 2021/22

AIMS

Our SEN information report aims to:

  • Set out how our school will support and make provision for pupils with special educational needs (SEN)
  • Explain the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved in providing for pupils with SEN

LEGISLATION AND GUIDANCE

This information report is based on the statutory Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice and the following legislation:

DEFINITIONS

A pupil has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.

They have a learning difficulty or disability if they have:

  • A significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
  • A disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools

Special educational provision is educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for other children or young people of the same age by mainstream schools.

At Heavers Farm Primary School we believe that each and every pupil has the right to equality of access to, and achievement in, an educational setting that will enable them to reach their full potential. The school will work hard to ensure the necessary provision is made for any pupil with SEND.

WHO DO I CONTACT TO FIND OUT MORE?

If you are concerned about your child and would like to talk to someone, please contact your class teacher who would be delighted to meet you. Your child’s class teacher is the person who knows your child best and they can discuss your concerns and suggest ways of us offering more support for your child in the classroom.

If you feel that you would like to discuss your concerns further then please make an appointment with your child’s class teacher to see our SENCo (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator), Rob Harnett, who can advise you on the different ways that we can meet your child’s additional requirements.

Our SENCo is one of a team of people we have here at school to support children who have additional needs.

SEND & INCLUSION TEAM

Rob Harnett: Assistant Head/SENCo

Donna Haywood: Lead Nurture Teacher

Lisa Atkinson: Independent Speech and Language Therapist

Louise Lombardi: Independent Educational Psychologist

Erica Ruse-Whalley: School Counsellor

Rachel Evans: Deputy Headteacher (Designated Teacher for Looked After Children)

Stephanie Reid: Attendance Officer

Sheena Horner: Education Welfare Officer

Tanya Dennis: SEND Governor

You can contact any of these members of staff through the main school switchboard: 020 8653 5434

OUTSIDE AGENCIES AND SERVICES

We use a range of outside agencies, depending on the individual needs of pupils and their families. Some of the agencies we use offer support to pupils and families in school; others offer support out of school for families of children with additional needs.

Here are the agencies and services that we use most frequently:

Educational Psychology

Our Educational Psychologist, Dr. Louise Lombardi, works for Total Inclusion which is part of our independent service contract. Louise visits Heavers Farm at least once a month.

Children are referred to Louise if teachers, or parents, feel that a child is not making expected progress given the amount of support they are receiving or have identified a barrier to learning.

Louise observes and assesses the child and then, in consultation with the parent, works with the school to identify the best way forward for the pupil.

The local authority also provides Education Psychology advice to children with Education and Health Care Plans. Our link Psychologist is Susan Moore.

Speech and Language

Our school has an Independent Speech and Language Therapy Service, Love to Communicate. The school’s therapist is Lisa Atkinson, who visits Heavers Farm once a week. Lisa is a fully qualified Speech and Language Therapist who specialises in providing bespoke services to primary schools.

Children’s language and communication needs are assessed on entry to Reception or referred to Lisa if teachers, or parents, feel that a child is demonstrating difficulties with their attention and listening, understanding and/or use of language, speech sounds or social communication skills. Referrals are made through the SENCO.

Once a child has been referred, Lisa will assess the child’s communication skills and liaise with the SENCO, teachers and parents about the findings and whether the child would benefit from input from the Speech and Language Therapist. Therapy input can involve direct 1:1 or group therapy sessions with Lisa during the school day. In addition, individualised programmes of supporting therapy activities are provided for parents and teachers to carry out.

Lisa provides training to teaching staff to increase their knowledge and understanding of speech and language difficulties, and how to support these in the classroom. Lisa also trains teaching assistants to run a variety of targeted therapy groups to develop children’s attention and listening, language and social communication skills.

The school also has access to NHS Speech and Language Therapy services. The school’s link therapist is Emma Cawardene. We use this service in cases where a child has significant language and communication needs.

Nurture

We have a fully equipped nurture classroom called Crystals Class. This is staffed by our nurture team which is led by Donna Haywood and is used for a range of programmes and interventions including small group sessions aimed at developing children’s emotional literacy, a lunchtime club to support children who have difficulties coping in the main playgrounds, a Year 6 youth club and parenting support. For more information on our nurture programme, follow the link on this website.

Counselling

We currently share a school counsellor with our partner school, Selsdon Primary School.

We offer a counselling service to both children and parents and a specialist therapeutic sand therapy technique for children experiencing emotional difficulties.

Weekly thirty minute sessions are offered, and for longer term work, sessions may take place every other week. Assessments twice a year will determine whether further sessions are needed.

Parents may also be referred through the SENCo for counselling or “Webster-Stratton Trouble shooting for parents” advice.

The counsellor is a fully trained counsellor accredited with the British Association of Counsellors and Psycho-therapists and a trained Jungian-Kalffian Sandplay Practitioner.

Referrals to our counsellor, Erica Ruse-Whalley, are made through our SENCo.

The Visual Impairment Service

The Visual Impairment Service is part of Croydon’s Communication Support Service. Specialist teachers and support staff work with pre-school and school age children with a diagnosed visual impairment to promote visual development and assess functional vision. Advice and support is offered to children, parents and teaching staff on visual access strategies that can be used at home and in school.

CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service)

Croydon CAMHS offers a diagnostic assessment and therapeutic intervention to children and adolescents who have a serious mental health disorder or psychological difficulties, and to their families.

They provide assessment and treatment where the disturbance of functioning may result in physical and mental harm to the child; especially if without therapeutic input there might be deterioration in the child’s mental health or in achieving optimum developmental potential

Parents in Partnership (PIP)

Croydon Parents in Partnership (PIP) offers services free of charge to parents of children and young people with a special need or disability living in Croydon. They can help you with a range of services if your child or young person is between 0 – 25 years old

Family Link Workers support families on an individual basis, providing information and coordinating services when families feel stuck. They will also provide emotional support, make referrals and liaise with services on the family’s behalf. Family Link Workers will support you in confidence, on the telephone, by email, through home visits or at a venue convenient to you.

Virtual School for Children who are Looked After

This service oversees and monitors provision for children who are in care of the Local Authority. The core purpose of the Virtual School is to drive up improvements in the educational progress and attainment of all children looked after by Croydon, including those that have been placed in schools in other authorities.

Outreach Department of St Nicholas Special School.

St Nicholas School offers high quality education to primary age pupils with a wide range of needs including moderate learning difficulties, communication difficulties and autistic spectrum disorders. The school offers an outreach programme to mainstream schools across Croydon for pupils who have complex special educational needs.

Occupational Therapy

Croydon Children’s Occupational Therapy Service provides therapy, advice, equipment and adaptations for children who have disabilities or difficulties with everyday tasks. The service is based at the Crystal Centre and they also work in a variety of settings including schools, nurseries, Croydon University Hospital and the child’s home.

Occupational therapists are specially trained to assess and provide advice and intervention for children with any disability and children who experience difficulties with everyday tasks at home, school and at play.

Woodside Bereavement Service: The Listening Ear

Woodside Bereavement Service (WBS) – The Listening Ear grew out of an increasing need in the area for a supportive Christian-based bereavement service for all who have suffered loss. They are volunteers, trained as bereavement counsellors, who give one to one support on a regular basis. They offer support to whole classes of children or support on a one to one basis.

SUPPORT IN THE CLASSROOM

Class teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all pupils in their class. All pupils receive high quality teaching, differentiated for their individual needs. This means that class teachers are well trained, lessons are well planned, engaging and differentiated to ensure that all pupils can access the learning at their own level.

For pupils with additional needs this could mean that they are given a slightly different task, given different strategies and/or equipment to help them complete the task. Some may require additional support from the class teacher or teaching assistant as part of small group, paired work or on an individual basis.

ACCESSIBILITY

Heavers Farm Primary School is a fully accessible school. It is an architect designed open plan building with lots of natural light. There is ramp access to every main entrance. We have disabled toilets that are easily accessible at both ends of the school and a lift to the lower floor. We also offer modifications for pupils who have specific arrangements within their class-room; they may need a particular type of chair, wider aisles to allow for mobility, a writing slope, footstool or a pencil grip. We work closely with parents and the occupational therapy service to ensure that we meet children’s needs.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR PUPILS

Identifying pupils with SEN and assessing their needs

We will assess each pupil’s current skills and levels of attainment on entry, which will build on previous settings and Key Stages, where appropriate. Class teachers will make regular assessments of progress for all pupils and identify those whose progress:

  • Is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
  • Fails to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress
  • Fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers
  • Widens the attainment gap

This may include progress in areas other than attainment, for example, social needs.

Slow progress and low attainment will not automatically mean a pupil is recorded as having SEN. 

When deciding whether special educational provision is required, we will start with the desired outcomes, including the expected progress and attainment, and the views and the wishes of the pupil and their parents. We will use this to determine the support that is needed and whether we can provide it by adapting our core offer, or whether something different or additional is needed.

Additional Reading Support

Every child has one to one reading with an adult once a week. If a child has been assessed as needing extra support they will be given additional reading time with an adult. We run booster groups in Year 6 to support children to reach their full potential in the end of Key Stage 2 test papers.

Occupational Therapy

Teachers will identify children who need additional support for their fine and gross motor skills. Time is spent on cutting, threading, writing, sticking etc. Anything to get those fingers working!

Some children may require additional apparatus to help them achieve. We take advice from our occupational therapy to ensure that our children have the correct pencil grips, writing slopes, chairs etc.

Speech and Language

We have regular visits from the NHS speech and language therapist who models the speech and language care plans to the 1:1 TAs who then carry out speech and language interventions in the classroom according to needs.

Additional Maths Support

We run booster groups in Year 6 to support children to reach their full potential in the end of Key Stage 2 test papers.

1:1 Teaching Assistant Support

Some children might need 1:1 support to help them achieve academically or to help them manage their physical or behavioural needs. We have a team of well-trained 1:1 TAs who are deployed according to needs to offer this support.

Social and Emotional Support.

We know that a child cannot learn unless he or she is ready to do so emotionally. We identify children that may need additional support and will contact parents to discuss the child’s needs. We offer a counselling service to look after our children’s emotional needs which is delivered by a trained counsellor, who is also a trained teacher. We also run an extensive nurture programme to support children’s emotional develop to make sure they are prepared to learn.

How do I know if the additional support is successful?

Children’s progress is carefully and continually monitored by their class teacher and reviewed formally with the school leadership team every term to ensure that they are making expected/exceeded progress.

At the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage One and Key Stage Two all children are formally assessed and their results reported to parents. In Year 1 all pupils are tested on their phonics knowledge and in Year 4 children’s times tables knowledge is assessed using the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC). These test results are reported to parents.

Children on the Special Needs Register have an Additional Support Plan (ASP) which is reviewed with parents every term and new targets set for the next term.

The progress of children with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) is formally reviewed at an annual review with all adults involved with the child’s education.

SUPPORT FOR PARENTS

Heavers Farm Primary School has an open door policy. The class teacher is available to discuss your child’s progress or concerns you may have. It is also useful to share information with the teachers about what strategies work well at home so that we can use similar strategies at school. The SENCo is available to meet parents to discuss a child’s progress or any worries that parents may have.

Every child has a reading diary that can be used to communicate with the class teacher. In addition some children may need a home/school contact book for daily contact where this has been agreed to be useful to you and your child.

HELP FOR CHILDREN WITH TRANSITION

Moving on to new class or a new school can be an anxious time for any child.

Moving to a New Class and/or a New Year Group

An information sharing meeting will take place with the receiving teacher every year. Your child will have the opportunity to meet the new teacher and other new staff prior to the September start. Parents have an opportunity to meet the new class teacher at the summer parents evening. Transition sessions are planned for the new teaching staff and the children to get to know each other at the end of the academic year.

Moving to a New School

We will contact the new school’s SENCo and share information about special arrangements and support that has been made to help your child achieve their learning goals. We will ensure that all records are passed on as soon as possible.

Moving to Secondary School

School staff attend the Croydon Information Sharing Meeting for Potentially Vulnerable Pupils including those with SEND each year to make transition arrangements. Multi-agency meetings can be arranged to create a more detailed plan. Successful arrangements and interventions currently used to support your child can be shared with the receiving school and additional visits to the new setting may be planned to help your child become familiar with the new setting and to reduce any anxieties. Your involvement with this process will be critical to supporting a successful move. We review and update our arrangements for supporting pupils on a regular basis.

This information report will be updated in September 2022. This document works in conjunction with the school’s SEND Policy, which is available in the School Policies section on the website.

Here is a link to Croydon’s Special Educational Needs offer.