Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

SENDCO - Miss L Boland

If you have a question or concern about your child, please contact the class teacher through the school office.

Tel: 0121 4684351
Email: enquiries@yorkswoodprimary.co.uk

Miss L Boland Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo)

Tel: 0121 4684351
Email: lboland@yorkswoodprimary.co.uk

Graduated Approach

SEN Support at Yorkswood

Identifying barriers to learning
The class teacher identifies any barriers to learning that may be affecting a child’s progress, participation or wellbeing.
Classroom support and reasonable adjustments
The class teacher puts appropriate adaptations, strategies and reasonable adjustments in place to support the child within the classroom.
SENCo involvement
Where concerns continue, the SENCo may observe the child and work alongside the class teacher, parents/carers and SEN staff to provide further advice, guidance and support.
Monitoring the impact of support
The impact of the strategies, adaptations and support is monitored and reviewed to determine whether the child is making appropriate progress.

Does the child have a Special Educational Need (SEN)?

A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which requires special educational provision to be made for them.

A child of compulsory school age has a learning difficulty or disability if they:

have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities generally provided for children of the same age in mainstream schools.

SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years

Identification of SEN
Where it is agreed that the child has SEN and requires SEN Support, parents/carers are informed and the child is added to Yorkswood’s SEN Register.
Planning support
A personalised plan of support is developed in partnership with the child, parents/carers and relevant staff. This may include a Pupil Profile and SEND Support Plan, identifying the child’s strengths, needs, desired outcomes, strategies and provision.
Reviewing progress
The child’s SSP, provision and overall progress are reviewed regularly, including termly discussions involving the class teacher, SENCo and parents/carers. The views of the child are also included wherever appropriate.
Seeking specialist advice
If the child is not making sufficient progress despite appropriate support, if more specific or complex needs are identified, or if concerns persist, Yorkswood may seek advice and support from relevant external professionals. Parents/carers will be involved in this process.

Throughout this process, Yorkswood follows a graduated approach of Assess – Plan – Do – Review, working in partnership with children and their families to ensure that support is appropriate, purposeful and responsive to each child’s individual needs.

Pupil Profiles
All children on Yorkswood’s SEND Register have a Pupil Profile. This provides an accessible overview of the child’s individual strengths and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and helps ensure that staff have a clear understanding of how best to support them.

The Pupil Profile may include the child’s strengths and identified needs, appropriate provision and reasonable adjustments, relevant assessment information and professional advice where applicable. It also reflects the voice of the child and their parents/carers, ensuring that their views are central to the support provided.

Pupil Profiles are reviewed and updated regularly to ensure that they continue to reflect the child’s needs.

SEND Support Plans

All children on Yorkswood’s SEND Register have a SEND Support Plan. The plan is developed by the child’s class teacher, with support and guidance from the SENCo and in partnership with the child and their parents/carers.

SEND Support Plans identify the child’s individual outcomes and targets and clearly set out the provision, strategies, interventions and reasonable adjustments that will be put in place to support their progress.

The impact of this support is carefully monitored through Yorkswood’s Assess – Plan – Do – Review approach.

SEND Support Plans are reviewed termly with parents/carers, the class teacher and SENCo. The child’s progress towards their agreed outcomes is discussed, alongside what is working well and whether any changes to provision or support are needed. The child’s views are included in this review process wherever appropriate.

Where a child is not making sufficient progress despite appropriate support, or where further assessment or specialist advice is required, the SENCo may seek support from relevant external professionals in consultation with parents/carers.

Professional Advice

We work very closely with SENTAA (Special Educational Needs Teaching Assessment and Advice) who offer a variety of assessments and professional advice, as requested by the school. This can include informal observations, monitoring of progress or focussed assessments.

Further information about SENTAA can be found via their website: http://www.sentaa.co.uk

Yorkswood Primary School also seeks advice from the Solihull Community Educational Psychology Service (SEPS) and Specialist Inclusion Support Service (SISS):

Autism Team
Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) Team
Sensory and Physical Impairment Team

In consultation with parents, the SENCo will make referrals to appropriate NHS services as follows:

Occupational Therapy
Speech and Language Therapy
ADHD Nurse (Assessment and Diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
Specialist Assessment Service (Assessment and Diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder)
SOLAR (Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Services)

Further information can be found via the Solihull Local Offer: https://socialsolihull.org.uk/localoffer