Special Educational Needs & Disabilities
Special Educational Needs 'On a Page'
Burbage Primary School Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Information Report (last updated February 2023)
Throughout this report we will use the following abbreviations:
SEND – Special Educational Needs and/or disability
SENCO – Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator, that means the person in charge of Special Needs within a school.
The code of practice which is a legal document that all schools must follow states that ‘A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.
A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:
- has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
- has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools’
At Burbage, we place great importance on identifying special educational needs early so that we can help children as quickly as possible. We do not assume that a child has SEND just because they may need different support or help to other children. We recognise that some children make slower progress than others in certain areas and that teachers take account of this by looking carefully at the way in which they organise their lesson, classrooms, the books and materials they use and the way they teach. Teachers consider a number of options and then choose the most appropriate way to help each child learn. However, sometimes it becomes clear that a child needs more support perhaps because of a behavioural issue, a learning need or even a disability that means that more specialist expertise may be needed.
This report tells you all about SEN in our school, what to do if you are concerned, who to tell and the sort of help available.
Please see the information below for key SEND personnel:
Our SENCO is Helen Thompson
She is responsible for the day to day running of SEND in our school. She works closely with individual pupils, staff, parents and carers, and other agencies that may need to be involved. She provides guidance to colleagues to ensure high quality teaching for children with SEND and also provides a support role to families to guide them through their child’s education and gives them any support they may need. senco@burbage.derbyshire.sch.uk
Our SEND governor is TBC
It is their job to keep all of the governors informed about Special Educational Needs provision in our school. They are also responsible for making sure any new requirements set out by the Local Education Authority or the Government are followed and implemented and that all SEND children are making progress and being supported.
How does the school know if pupils need extra help?
The school and class teachers gather information about our pupils progress both within lessons and socially. This can then be used to identify children who may need extra help.
Evidence can include:
- Attainment levels compared to other children the same age
- The progress of each child compared to where they were when they started school, and also comparing them to how other children the same age have progressed.
- Behaviour records
- Information from other professionals (Health or Social Care)
- Observations and records of pupils taken when they join our school
- Termly assessment information in reading, writing and mathematics
- Concerns raised by members of staff and parents or the child themselves.
What should I do if I think my child has SEND?
First of all, don’t keep it to yourself and please don’t worry. The first thing to do is to speak to your child’s class teacher or, if you prefer, Mrs Thompson, the school’s SENCO.
How will I know that the school will support my child?
Every teacher in our school has the responsibility to support all the children in their class. This support includes planning and delivering an appropriate curriculum for each child as well as supporting their emotional, physical and health needs. School has a regular cycle of ADPR (Assess, Plan, Do, Review) assessments, which identify progress made by pupils and areas for further development. Following assessments and with the involvement of parents and carers, individualised support plans are put in place termly, with specific targets to meet each child’s needs.
How will the curriculum be matched to meet my child’s needs?
All teaching staff in school are responsible for providing children in their class with an appropriate curriculum. For most children this will be done through quality teaching and adjusted learning
Where children need the curriculum to be further modified, this will be done in a way which best suits the needs of the child. We will, together with parents /carers and, where appropriate the child themselves identify what the next steps will be for that child’s learning and plan how best to deliver those next steps.
In all circumstances we will ensure that children receive a broad and balanced curriculum.
How will I know how my child is doing?
As well as official parents’ evenings and the end of year report, parents of pupils with SEND will meet with their child’s class teacher at least 3 times in a school year. At these meetings, staff will discuss the progress children are making towards their individual learning targets and what the next targets should be as well as how they will be achieved. Parents views about what areas will be worked on are crucially important here. This ‘Plan, do, Review’ cycle will be repeated each term and parents and pupils will be fully involved.
Children who are on our school’s Special Educational Needs Record will have a Support Plan, on which their specific learning objectives are recorded. Each termly review will assess progress against these targets.
Parents and carers are of course welcome to come into school at any time to discuss how their children are progressing.
How will you help me to support my child’s learning?
We aim to support pupils with SEND and their families. We will help parents and carers to access materials to support learning and put parents in touch with other agencies who can offer help and support.
In consultation with parents and carers we will plan work which can be completed at home by pupils and their families.
What support will there be to support my child’s overall well-being?
In our school we are focused on developing rounded children who achieve their potentials academically and socially; children who are happy and who can get on well with others.
To this extent we aim to support our children’s overall well being. This is done by staff observing children closely and putting in place interventions to support children through difficulties they may be having. Interventions such as Nurture Group and Positive Play may be used to meet individual needs.
We also strive to ensure that all Pupils with SEND are able to take part fully in the range of extra-curricular activities we offer.
What specialist services or expertise are available at or accessed by the school?
We work with a range of professionals to support children with SEND. These professionals work with us in school providing both advice and working with children at times. Parents will be fully informed when their children work with colleagues from other agencies and are encouraged to meet with them.
We work with:
- Educational Psychologist
- Speech and Language Therapist
- Autism Outreach Service
- Physiotherapist
- Occupational Therapist
- Support Services Special Educational Needs (Teachers)
- Primary Behaviour Support Service
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
- Support Service for Hearing Impairment
- Support Service for Visual Impairment
- Children’s Paediatrician
- School Nurse
- Social Care
What training have Staff supporting pupils with SEND had?
All teaching staff and teaching assistants attend regular staff meetings where teaching and learning are the focus and so improve the standards of teaching in all classrooms for all children.
Teaching Assistants and some teachers have been trained in delivering the school’s Key Interventions: Project X – ‘Code’, Positive Play, Lego Therapy, Nessy, Doodle English.
Individual Teachers and Teaching assistants receive frequent training and development opportunities throughout the year, provided by external agencies such as the educational psychologist and physiotherapist to meet the needs of individual pupils.
Mrs Thompson, the SENCO has completed the National Qualification for SENCOs.
How will my child be included in activities outside of the classroom?
All children in school have the entitlement to take part in a range of activities. Staff plan visits and trips with the needs of all pupils in mind. Where necessary, for example on residential visits, staff will work with providers to ensure that equality of access and opportunity is maintained. All pupils in school have access to all extra-curricular activities. These include sport, music and environmental clubs.
How accessible is the school environment?
Our school has an up-to-date Accessibility Policy
All areas of the school are accessible by wheelchair and ramps are provided near steps. There is a disabled parking space in the staff car park and the reception area is accessible by wheelchair.
Each building in the school has at least one disabled toilet.
Our school is secure.
If you have a specific access query, please contact us in school.
How will the school support my child in starting school and moving on?
Our school works very closely with all the local feeder pre-school providers. Our EYFS Team leader visits all placements and has lengthy discussions about each child who joins us in reception. There is also a consultation evening where parents can discuss their children with staff. School will make contact with any professionals working with children before they start with us in school so that we can make any arrangements necessary to ensure we provide the best provision we can.
As children move through school into the next year groups and classrooms, all children have the opportunity to work with their new teachers in their new classrooms. Where children will benefit by having extra transition visits, we provide this as often as possible.
When children move to secondary school there is a comprehensive transition programme in place. Over and above this, when needed, we are able to arrange extra visits and transition activities to enable children to be confident about this big change in their educational journeys. We work closely with SEND staff in the secondary schools our children move onto.
How are the school’s resources allocated and matched to pupil’s SENDs?
In our school, resources are allocated based on need. The Headteacher, Senior Leadership Team, Teachers and Teaching Assistants identify priorities in school and individual pupils who need support and allocate resources accordingly.
How are decisions made about how much support my child will receive?
The level of support given to pupils is based around their individual needs. Where children’s needs are more specialised, more complex or rely on specific tasks then the amount of individual or small group support may be greater than children whose needs are not so great. In all cases, school will endeavour to provide the best provision possible within the constraints of the school’s overall budget.
How will I be involved in discussions and planning for my child’s education?
Parents and carers will be fully involved in every step of their children’s progress through school.
You will be involved in both the Review of progress made and in the planning for the next steps of your child’s learning.
Who can parents contact for further information?
If you require further information you should contact your child’s class teacher or Helen Thompson SENCO email: senco@burbage.derbyshire.sch.uk.
The Governor with responsibility for SEND is Katherine Kilbane.
Parents and carers are also encouraged to look at the Derbyshire Local Offer which details support available for children with SEND and their families in Derbyshire.
Follow this link to the Derbyshire Local Offer:
What can parents do if they are not satisfied with SEND provision?
Our complaints policy is available on our website, here.
In the first instance, parents should raise concerns via the class teacher and, if necessary via the SENCO, Mrs Helen Thompson. In the unlikely event that issues persist, parents and carers should refer to our complaints policy and refer concerns to the headteacher.