S.E.N.D

Tibshelf Infant & Nursery School is a school, which provides education for 3 to 7 Years (Nursery to Year 2). At Tibshelf Infant & Nursery School we provide provision to meet the needs of children with different needs, including; moderate and severe learning difficulties, children with specific special educational need such as; Autism, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Language and Communication, Behaviour and Sensory difficulties. We also provide further provision for children with dyslexic, dyscalculic and dyspraxic tendencies.

At Tibshelf Infant & Nursery School all class teachers differentiate for the needs of their pupils in every lesson. If a child is highlighted as struggling with a particular area of learning they are added to the class provision map, which indicates how and when they will receive additional, targeted support for the area of difficulty. It is hoped that with additional support, the child would develop in this area and become stronger in it. If a child continues to find a particular area(s) a difficulty we would contact parents and arrange for a consultation with the class teacher, parents and SENCO. We would then agree on specific targets for the child to work on over the term. We would record the child’s specific targets on the provision map. This would allow us to track the child’s progress, giving us all a clear picture in their developments. Provision maps are reviewed periodically and will run for a maximum of one term. For some children, further targeted intervention may be required and a SEND Plan will be created, which will be reviewed termly. If a child continued to require additional support we may decide that we need to apply for further support – for example behaviour support, inclusion funding or an Education and Health Care Plan Assessment. All pupils who are on the SEND register have their own Pupil Passport, which identifies need, support and some broad targets to support their learning or emotional health.

Tibshelf Infant & Nursery School have a range of resources and development profiles that may be used to judge a child’s abilities. We also have a number of professionals that we are able to approach to support both the school and the child in their area of need. For example, we have a number of children who receive support from Physiotherapists, Speech and Language Therapists, School Nursing Team, Occupational Therapists, Family Resource Workers and Specialist teachers for a variety of areas. The school finds it extremely beneficial to receive support from outside agencies.

All children’s progress is rigorously tracked by members of the school’s Senior Leadership Team. The SENCO specifically tracks the progress of all SEND children and those children who may not be making expected progress. The SENCO puts aside specific time regularly  to support and liaise with staff, to ensure that school is providing effective provision for these pupils. The school is tracking the provision of interventions, such as; Little Wandle, Nurture Groups, Anxiety Gremlins, to ensure that these are having an impact on children’s development. Governors are kept informed of the progress of these and all children at regular committee meetings.

TThose children who are receiving additional support through provision mapping are constantly being assessed and reviewed. Provision maps are reviewed as a minimum every term. Children who have an individual Passport are also continuously involved in assessment of their learning. They have their Passport reviewed regularly each term, with 3 Passports written. If a child needs adjustments making to their Passport this can be done as and when is needed. Pupils who have a personalised plan will also have targets reviewed each full term, in conjunction with parents. If a child has an Education and Health Care Plan these are formally reviewed annually. However, these children will also have provision maps in place as well as Passports, personal plans and/or Behaviour plan if this is required or a risk assessment.

We aim to meet with parents at regular points throughout the year. Your child’s needs will be a factor in the level of contact that we will require from you. As a school we hold three parent consultation evenings each year. We send out at the beginning of the year expectations for each year group and you will receive an annual report at the end of the school year. However, longer meetings and separate meetings are offered for SEN. If your child has an Education and Health Care plan, this will be reviewed annually. For some children they will require a Home – School Diary. This allows daily interaction between parents and teaching assistants / class teachers. As a school we hold an ‘open door policy’, therefore parents are invited to contact the school with any problems or queries, as and when is necessary.

The support your child receives will be dependent upon your child’s needs. For example, if your child has an Education and Health Care Plan they will have been given a specific number of hours support. If your child has a personal plan, Passport or class provision map they will receive support specific to their needs and development. Therefore, children do not all receive the same amount of support. Children may receive 1:1 support, small group targeted support – in or out of the class, by either a teacher or a teaching assistant or intervention and booster groups which may take place over one or two terms. Class teachers are responsible for differentiating to the different needs of their pupils. Therefore, children will be fully integrated into classroom life, whilst receiving an appropriately challenging curriculum.

As all children are individuals the curriculum will be adapted to their needs. This may be by providing children with different tasks or different resources to carry out their learning challenges. Thought is given to where children are seated in classrooms for a range of reasons. The school has a number of additional rooms separate to the classrooms, which enable children to participate in some activities where it is quieter or less visually stimulating. Some children will carry out intervention work in these rooms, whilst others will do this in class: each case will be based upon the individual child’s needs.

If your child has a Health Care plan their needs will have been identified through this. This will indicate how much support your child needs. As a school we have provided additional support at times, when we feel necessary. If your child is receiving support through class provision maps or a Passport their level of support will be very specific to their needs. For example, if your child is being supported on a class provision map for one specific target it would be normal for this to be targeted a couple of times throughout the week. If the school has discussed with you a range of difficulties for your child you should expect your child to receive a greater level of support. Individual timetables are made for children who do not have an Education and Health Care Plan, but do have a range of learning needs.

All year groups access trips and visitors throughout the year. The school will fully include all children. It may be that children require additional adult support or resources – such as pushchairs / wheelchairs for visits out of school. This would be discussed and planned with parents prior to any trip. Any adaptations required for these trips would also be carried out prior to a trip commencing. As all trips are individual, necessary arrangements for lunch, toileting and breaks would be discussed with you as necessary.

We plan for all children to begin with their peers. If a child enters school with an EHC Plan we would plan a range of activities into school. For example, we may arrange additional sessions in school, have professional meetings and make a picture Passport with important people and places in the school to be shared during the summer break. If a child joins us from another school or setting the SENCO would liaise with the previous SENCO to ensure we have as much information as possible about the child. On occasions, we have provided children with a reduced timetable on entry, this is planned for individual circumstances where appropriate.

We have a robust safeguarding policy in place. Pupil’s health and well-being is paramount. We work closely with medical practitioners. If your child has a medical / health need we will write a health care plan specifically for them. If children require medication during the school day, a consent form will have to be completed prior to the administration and all medicines are kept securely in the main office. If children require support with personal care this is conducted discreetly and aims to foster independence whenever possible. We also provide all staff (including lunch time staff) with information that may be needed to specifically support your child. We work closely with a wide range of professionals, which enables us to recommend or provide additional support to children and families. Within school we have staff trained in emotional support.

Our staff have a range of experiences and expertise for supporting children with SEND. These include: behaviour, Dyslexia, Autism, Communication, Physical Literacy and many others. All staff have received basic Behaviour management training, whilst some have further expertise in this area. Derbyshire County Council have introduce an Inclusion Support Advisory Service, which provides a support team for class teachers, teaching assistants and whole school development. Currently, the Support Service works in school regularly, at least once per half term. We are committed to developing staff’s knowledge and keeping their skills up to date, therefore regular training takes place throughout the year.

Our school is fully accessible. We have dedicated toileting facilities and ramps where needed. We work closely with the Physical Impairment team to make adaptations and provide additional resources for children who require these.

We offer a full induction for any disabled pupils and liaise with external agencies, parents and staff to ensure the children settle in quickly and access all areas of the curriculum.  For more information please contact us.

We hope to meet new parents when you are deciding on your choice of junior school. We encourage all parents to come and have a visit where they will be shown around with chance to speak to the SENCO or a member of the senior leadership team.

The school PTA (Tibshelf Friends) provides many social events and fundraising activities over the year, such as Summer Fayre, Christmas and Discos, coffee mornings and many more. Please see the school office or our website for more information.

When it is appropriate your child will be fully involved in reviewing and setting their new targets. Children are involved in the reviewing process of Passports and Education and Health Care Plan reviews. In school we also encourage children to take control of their day-to-day learning. This is done by giving them choices about how to tackle learning challenges, the style in which they complete a learning challenge or the level of the challenge that they are completing.

We have a school council, which is made up of representatives from every class, from Year 3 – Year 6. These children meet with the designated teacher every two weeks. They have been responsible for developing play times as well as other important issues around the school.

This year we are ensuring that our Annual reviews are person centred with the children fully able to be part of the review in a more relaxed and inviting environment.

We work closely with the following to support the needs of children in our school:

• Inclusion Support Advisory Service
• Speech and Language Therapists
• Physiotherapists
• Occupational Therapists
• Educational Psychologist
• Physical Impairment
• Multi Agency Teams
• Family Resource workers
• Educational Psychologist
• School Nurse
• Social Workers
• CAMHS
• Hearing Impairment
• Vision Impairment
• SEND Officers for Bolsover Area and Derbyshire County Council

If you have any enquires regarding support for your child and SEND please contact Mrs Ashall – SENCO or Mrs Rachel Boswell – Executive Headteacher via SEND@tibshelf-inf.derbyshire.sch.uk

If you have a concern regarding the school provision, please contact Mrs Ashall – SENCO.

For specific behaviour and curriculum issues please contact either Mrs. Rachel Boswell or Mrs Banyard (Head of School).

In the event that your concern is not resolved then please contact our Chair of Governors and SEND Governor, (via the school office) –  Mrs. K Waring. You can access our complaints policy via this page.

In the event that your concern is not resolved by governance, contact can be made directly to the SEND Team at Derbyshire County Council.  Please use the Call Derbyshire helpline on 01629 533190 and ask for the SEND Team.

The information in this report forms a part of Derbyshire County Council’s local offer. This can be accessed at: http://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/education/schools/special_educational_needs/support_aspiration/local_offer/default.asp

The DFE SEND Code of Practice can be accessed at:

A copy of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations (2014) can be accessed at:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1530/pdfs/uksi_20141530_en.pdf