This SEN report from Governors gives information about how we implement our policy for children with Special Educational Needs ( SEN) at  Torpoint Nursery and Infant School. 

All governing bodies of maintained schools and maintained nursery schools have a legal duty to publish information on their website about the implementation of the governing bodies policy for pupils with SEN ( Special Educational Needs) 

This has been produced, together with our local offer, by members across our school community including staff, governors and parents.

 The Head teacher maintains overall responsibility for pupils with special educational needs.

The designated Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators are :  

• Miss Gail Palmer 
• Mrs Stephanie Lock

They can be contacted via your child's class teacher or directly through the school office.

They are supported in their work by all members of the school staff together with professionals from external agencies

The Governing Body

The governing body works with the Head to determine appropriate staffing and funding arrangements for Special Educational Needs. The appointed SEN governor works with the school in supporting the development of high quality provision and evaluating the impact for pupils with SEN. This appointed governor is currently Mrs Nicola Moran

Arrangements for working with parents and carers of children with SEN 

Partnership with parents plays a key role in enabling children with SEN to achieve their potential.

We have an open door policy in our school which enables any parent or carer to talk to class teachers, office staff or the head teacher if any day to day concerns arise

All parents are able to discuss their child’s progress at termly parental consultations; for parents/carers of children with SEN the SENCO will be present at these meetings.

Arrangements can be made to speak in more detail to the class teacher or  a SENCO at any time by requesting this directly to the class teacher or a SENCO.

In order for parents to be active partners it is essential that they are supported to fulfil the following responsibilities:

• attend parent consultation and review meetings;
• meet with other agencies/services as required;
• support work at home;
• keep the school fully informed of assessments conducted outside the school and provide copies of any reports written ( physical, psychological, behavioural social and emotional) .

Our approach to teaching and providing additional support for children with SEN 

Torpoint Nursery and Infant School is an inclusive school that welcomes and values the different experiences, cultures, talents, interests, capabilities and strengths of each child.

We are committed to ensuring that every child is offered full access to a broad, balanced and relevant education, including an appropriate curriculum for the Early Years Foundation Stage and the National Curriculum. 

It is our expectation that every child will reach his or her potential in a caring supportive environment that provides equal opportunities for all.

In some cases pupils will have individual provision maps and/ or intervention plans to clarify they support they are receiving in class, in small groups or as individuals.

The kinds of SEN that are provided for

Our commitment to the “unique child” in terms of development, inclusion, safety and well-being moves the identification of need away from the “special” category into the belief of fostering positive outcomes for all our children

Some children may experience difficulty with their learning at some point during their time in school.  This  may be a short term or longer lasting difficulty.  This is identified if 

a child finds it significantly more difficult to learn than the majority of children of the same age. This may be linked to

• speech, language or communication needs;
• cognition and  learning;
• social, mental and emotional health;
• sensory and or physical needs ( medical

or

a child has a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in schools within the Local Authority

Identifying children with SEN, assessing and meeting their needs (including reviewing progress)  

We have highly trained teachers and teaching assistants who can help and support children who are experiencing any difficulties and the  SENCOs coordinate this work across the whole school. If we feel a child is experiencing particular difficulties we will, of course, talk to patents about this so that they are aware of what we are doing to support the child and can help with this at home.

We ensure that we keep up to date with new research which may help us to help children more effectively

The key responsibilities of the SENCO include:

Our SENCOs are responsible for the operation of the Special Educational Needs Policy and co-ordination of specific provision made to support individual children with SEN.   They liaise with staff to monitor the child’s progress and plan further interventions where progress is slower than expected. They regularly have contact with a wide range of external agencies that are able to give more specialised advice. 

• overseeing the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEN procedures including maintaining records of progress and attainment and  reporting to governors
• coordinating provision for children with SEN;
• liaising with the relevant designated teacher where a looked after pupil has SEN;
• advising on a graduated approach to providing SEN Support; 
• advising the head teacher and governing body on the deployment of the school’s delegated budget and other resources to meet pupils’ needs effectively;
• liaising with parents of children with SEN;

• liaising with early years providers, other schools, educational psychologists, health and social care professionals, and independent or voluntary bodies;

• being a key point of contact with external agencies, especially the Local Authority; including through use of the Early Help Hub and Local Authority Local Offer support services;

• liaising with parents  and  potential next providers of education to ensure a young person and their parents are informed about options and that the child experiences  a smooth transition into the next phase of education.

Class teachers

Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the pupils in their class, even where pupils access support from teaching assistants or specialist staff.

Where a pupil is not making adequate progress, teachers should collaborate with parents and the SENCO on problem-solving, planning support and teaching strategies for individual pupils.

In line with the Teachers Standards 2012 the task of identifying and providing support for each child’s need is central to the teacher’s role. S/he will:

• gather information about the child and make initial assessments in order to identify the specific area(s)  of need and then discuss these concerns with the SENCO;
• consult with the child and parent at all stages;
• choose and implement additional support and different learning opportunities in consultation with the SENCO, giving due regard to the opinions and insights  of the parents;
• use a range of strategies to provide extra support including  extra differentiation in the way that information is presented, by breaking tasks down into smaller steps, using more concrete apparatus or visual resources to aid concept development, planning for peer support, use of ICT and the targeted use of additional adults;

Improving Emotional and Social Development for children with SEN

The school offers a variety of pastoral support for children who may be encountering emotional difficulties, starting with the support offered to children in class.

Friendly Lunch Club is available for those who find lunchtimes a challenge or who just prefer a quieter experience .

Accessibility 

The school is housed in a range of 6 single storey buildings. In each year group there is at least one classroom accessible by a flat or ramped access. There is a disabled toilet in the main building. Public areas of the school have double doors or doors that are wide enough for a wheelchair. In each year group there is at least one classroom accessible through double doors or doors that are wide enough for a wheelchair All reasonable adjustments would be made for a child with additional accessibility requirements should it be necessary.

The school has children with a range of disabilities which include Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Global Developmental Delay, Medical Needs and Speech Language and Communication Difficulties. When children enter school with specific disabilities, the school contacts the local authority professionals for assessments, support and guidance for the school and parents. We are an Inclusive Dyslexia Friendly School. Our SEN team includes two SENCo’ s. We work with a range of professionals including the Cognition and Learning Team, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and educational psychologists to meet the needs of individual pupils. All staff receive regular training and support to meet these diverse needs. We have a growing suite of documents for staff to help them support parents and children these include sensory needs, autism and attachment.

We have some children who have asthma, allergies and food intolerances. All staff are aware of these children. Inhalers are kept in classrooms and a record of use is noted. All medical information is collated and available to staff (class and lunchtime staff as well as office staff). We have competent First Aiders who hold current First Aid certificates. All medication is kept in a central safe and secure place which has easy access for First Aiders and staff members. Administration of Medicines consent forms are filled in by parents outlining the illness and amount and time of medication. All medication is administered by a First Aider, witnessed by another member of the school staff and recorded.

All activities including After School Clubs, performances and educational visits at our school are open to all pupils currently on roll.

We use a sans serif font and blue on white for documents used with children and for parents to improve readability. We use cream for labels and coloured backgrounds on interactive whiteboards. The vast majority of our range of reading books are wide spaced, sans serif and have coloured backgrounds on pages