Statement of Intent for Supporting Equality

Laurel Avenue Community Primary School values the contribution that every child can make and welcomes the diversity of culture, religion and intellectual style. All children are valued, respected and welcomed to the school whatever their additional educational need. We will support their learning and ensure they are fully included in all school activities, making full use of externally provided facilities where appropriate. We are committed to offering an inclusive curriculum to ensure the best possible progress for all of our pupils whatever their needs and abilities. The school seeks to raise achievement, remove barriers to learning and increase physical and curricular access to all.

How we support SEN

Mrs S Tew is the Special Educational Needs Coordinator who achieved the National Award for SEN Coordination in 2016.

click for information about staff expertise and training

During their school career, many children will face barriers to learning that will require support. These needs can be met in various ways.

Quality First Teaching

Most children receive their support through good classroom practice (QFT). This will include:

• Changing the way lessons are planned and delivered
• Matching activities to the ability / need of your child (differentiation)
• Adapting learning materials, books and activities to suit your child’s needs
• Small group support

The teacher may also work in partnership with the SENCO to find ways to support your child, including offering ideas on how parents can help to support children at home.

For children with a more complex special educational need, the level of support may require more intensive or specialised support. The school may need to liaise with external agencies in order to seek advice or specialist support for the pupil. The interventions used at this stage will be recorded on a costed provision map and support timetable. Support may include:

• Continuation of all help your child receives during Quality First Teaching.
• Teachers, teaching assistants and the SENCO will continue to work together to find ways to support your child in school including intervention and individual programmes
• The school should seek additional advice from outside specialists such as health professionals, specialist teachers or educational psychologists who would:

• Carry out further assessment of your child’s needs
• Provide advice to schools on how to best support your child
• Suggest resources that would help your child make progress

Waves of Support

The waves of intervention model describes how different levels of intervention can be understood and systematically implemented.

• Wave 1 describes quality inclusive teaching which takes into account the learning needs of all the children in the classroom. This includes providing differentiated work and creating an inclusive learning environment.
• Wave 2 describes specific, additional and time-limited interventions provided for some children who need help to accelerate their progress to enable them to work at or above age-related expectations. Wave 2 interventions are often targeted at a group of pupils with similar needs. Programmes such as Early Literacy Support or Springboard would be regarded as Wave 2 interventions.
• Wave 3 describes targeted provision for a minority of children where it is necessary to provide highly tailored intervention to accelerate progress or enable children to achieve their potential. This may include one to one or specialist interventions.

Specific group work within a smaller group of children

This group or one to one support may be:

• Run in the classroom or outside.
• Run by a teacher or most often a Teaching Assistant who has had training to run these groups.

Stage of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice: SEN Support

This means they have been identified by the class teacher and/or SENCO as needing some extra support in school which could include the support from outside professionals.

For your child this could mean:

• He/ She will engage in group sessions with specific targets to help him/her to make more progress.
• A Teaching Assistant/teacher or outside professional (like a Speech and Language Therapist) will run these individual sessions
• You will be asked to come to a meeting to discuss your child’s progress and help plan possible ways forward.
• You may be asked to give your permission for the school to refer your child to a specialist professional e.g. a Speech and Language Therapist orEducational Psychologist. This will help the school and yourself understand your child’s particular needs better and be able to support them better in school.
• The specialist professional will work with you, your child, class teacher and SENCO to understand their needs and make recommendations, which may include:

1. Making changes to the way your child is supported in class e.g. some individual support or changing some aspects of teaching to support them better
2. Support to set specific targets which will include their expertise
3. A group run by school staff under the guidance of the outside professional e.g. a social skills group

This type of support is available for a child who has specific gaps in their understanding of a subject/area of learning and who therefore has been identified as requiring SEN Support.