Class Teacher Responsibilities:

If you have concerns about your child you should speak to your child’s class teacher first. You may then be directed to the SENCO.

He/she is responsible for:

• Adapting and refining the curriculum to respond to strengths and needs of all pupils. Checking on the progress of your child and identifying, planning and the delivery of any additional support.
• Contributing to devising personalised learning plans to prioritise and focus on the next steps required for your child to improve learning.
• Applying the school’s SEN policy.

Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo)

Mrs L Brooks and Miss J Major - Email: sen@midfield.bromley.sch.uk

She is responsible for:

Coordinating provision for children with SEN and developing the school’s SEN policy

Ensuring that parents are:

• Involved in supporting their child’s learning and access to the curriculum
• Kept informed about the range and level of support offered to their child
• Included in reviewing how their child is doing
• Consulted about planning successful movement (transition) to a new class or school
• Liaising with a range of agencies outside of school who can offer advice and support to help pupils overcome any difficulties
• Providing specialist advice and facilitating training to ensure that staff are skilled and confident about meeting a range of needs.
• Evaluating, along with other teaching and learning staff, the effectiveness of the school’s provision for pupils with special educational needs. This takes place through regular monitoring including observations of interventions, tracking of pupil progress and written/verbal feedback from those involved.

Headteacher : Mr D Osborn

He is responsible for:

• The day to day management of all aspects of the school, including the provision made for pupils with SEN

The Local Advisory Council are responsible for:

• Doing their best to make sure pupils with SEN get the help they need to access the curriculum and participate fully in the life of the school.
• Supporting the school to evaluate and develop quality and impact of provision for pupils with SEN across the school.

Where parents and carers are unhappy with the provision offered to their child, they are invited to use the school's complaints procedure, and contact the Clerk to LAC, Miss Edmunds, when other avenues to resolve issues have been exhausted.

Assessment, Planning and Review

Ongoing monitoring by class teachers for all pupils helps to identify those children who are not making progress or who have needs which are affecting their ability to engage in learning activities.

After discussions with key staff, additional support will be put into place to provide enhanced resources and targeted small group and / or individual support to help overcome any difficulties. This will be discussed with parents/carers at Parents’ Evenings and additional meetings as appropriate.

Any additional support is documented in one or more of the following ways: on the class provision map /a Support Plan / an Additional Support Plan / a Pupil Resource Agreement / a Behaviour Support Plan.

In consultation with the SENCO and parents, short term targets are agreed which prioritise key areas of learning or behaviour to address and by which progress can be measured. Where external agencies are involved, their advice and recommendations are included in these support programmes. Actions agreed take into account each pupil’s strengths as well as their difficulties.

In some cases teaching assistant support may be allocated. This support is deployed to ensure your child can engage in lessons and wider school activities and to facilitate independent learning to support transition to adulthood.

Formal review meetings are held at least termly. Parents, relevant external agencies and, when appropriate, pupils are invited to this review. During these reviews we discuss:

• The impact of support offered
• The progress towards targets set
• Any updates/revisions to support arrangements. If not involved already, this might include referral to external agencies.
• The outcomes of these meetings will be formally recorded.

If your child continues to have significant difficulties, further external expertise may be requested. Additional funding may be available dependent on the provision required. Further details about this process will be explained in the LA Local Offer.

Tests: Access Arrangements

For some pupils additional arrangements and adjustments can be made to enable them to fully access a range of tests. This might include additional time, rest breaks or the use of a scribe or word processor.

N.B. Only tests and assessors authorised by the school and recognised by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) can be accepted for access arrangements for public examinations.

Curriculum and Teaching Methods (including groupings and interventions)

Teachers are well skilled at adapting teaching to meet the diverse range of needs in each class. Daily planning takes into account individual pupil’s needs and requirements. Differentiation is approached in a range of ways to support access and ensure that all pupils can experience success and challenge in their learning.

Grouping arrangements are organised flexibly with opportunities for both ability and mixed setting to maximise learning opportunities for all.

Additional adults are used flexibly to help groups and individual pupils with a long term goal of developing independent learning skills. Monitoring takes place to avoid pupils becoming over reliant and dependent on this adult support.

Intervention

Access to learning and the curriculum

• In all year groups
• Regular intervention programmes in class
• Learning support groups/clubs
• Intensive programmes for key skills

Strategies/programmes to support speech and language

• Speech and Language Therapist to work directly with set groups of children
• Speech and Language Therapist advice disseminated to & followed by teaching staff
• Specific differentiation or modification of resources e.g. use of symbol processing software
• Speech therapy individual or group work delivered by support staff following speech therapist advice
• Vocabulary books/cards/packs for pre-learning of concept and topic words

Strategies to support/develop literacy including reading

• Read Write Inc programme
• Small group intervention programmes
• Access to trained support for dyslexia & specific literacy difficulties/ structured programme

Strategies to support/develop numeracy

• Maths Mastery
• Small group intervention programmes
• Use of Numicon in small groups where appropriate

Strategies/support to develop independent learning

• Mentoring by P.I.T Stop staff
• Alternative  recording methods
• Visual timetables for class & individuals

Pastoral Support

Strategies to support the development of pupils’ social skills and enhance self-esteem

• P.I.T Stop groups from EYFS – Year 6
• Lunch-time club
• Mentoring
• Worry boxes
• Drop in sessions
• Year 6 Transition
• Regular ‘celebration of success’ opportunities
• Paws.b Mindfulness
• Play Leaders

Strategies to reduce anxiety/promote emotional wellbeing (including communication with parents)

• P.I.T Stop
• Transition support, visits and events
• Reduced or modified time-table (Temporary Arrangement)
• Photo-stories, especially for transition
• Regular contact & liaison with parents

Strategies to support/modify behaviour

• School sanctions and reward system as set out in School Behaviour policy
• Behaviour Support Service
• P.I.T Stop

Support/supervision at unstructured times of the day

• Breaktime SEN staff on duty
• Lunchtime club
• Trained staff supervising during break periods

Planning, assessment, evaluation and next steps

• Regular reviews with Parents
• Pupil progress reviews termly
• Support plans for pupils as needed
• All lessons and homework differentiated to take account of  individual needs
• Provision map for each class

Personal and medical care

• Identified medical administrative staff available for pupils through-out the day
• Care Plans for pupils with medical need
• System for administration of medication
• Support staff to assist pupils with personal care as specified by clinical plans
• Modified toilet facilities for individual needs
• Stair life to access first floor classrooms

Increasing Accessibility - Getting About

Access to strategies/programmes to support occupational/physiotherapy needs

• Advice of professionals disseminated and followed
• Use of any recommended equipment
• Funky Fingers/Funky Feet; Motor Skills United
• Handwriting interventions

Access to modified equipment and IT (including sound-field systems, enlarged text; magnifiers)

• Specialist equipment as required on an individual basis to access the curriculum
• Software to support learning
• Chromebooks and tablets as appropriate to age and need of child

Working in Partnership

Liaison/Communication with Professionals/Parents/Carers, attendance at meetings and preparation of reports

• Regular meetings as required
• SENCO available at all Parents Evenings
• Referrals to outside agencies as required
• Speech and Language Therapist for specific individual pupils
• Sensory Support; Educational Psychologist; School Nurse; Social Communication Team all attend school at regular intervals to see specific pupils

Access to Medical Interventions

• Use of individualised Care Plans
• Referral to Paediatrician
• Referrals to CAMHS
• Referrals to Paediatric Occupational Therapy
• Access to whole staff training if required via School Nurse

Transition

Children and young people with SEN can become particularly anxious about ‘moving on’ so we try to ensure a smooth transition by:

Moving from pre-school/nursery to Hayes Primary School:

• Home visits by Early Years staff, and the SENCo when appropriate, are made prior to the children starting at Midfield Primary School.
• Attendance by the SENCo and class teacher will, if notified, at the summer term review of any pre-schooler with a Pupil Resource Agreement, an Education Health Care Plan or a Statement of SEN who is due to transfer to Midfield Primary School

When moving classes in school:

• An information sharing meeting will take place between the present teacher and the new teacher.
• Opportunities to visit the new class
• Transition booklet provided

When moving to another school:

• If a pupil with special educational needs transfers schools to another primary school, the SENCo ensures that all SEN information is sent to the new school in good time once official notification of transfer has been received. Information about the support and any special arrangements that have been made to enable access to the curriculum and progress towards learning goals is forwarded to the new school’s SENCo

Transferring from Year 6 to secondary school:

• The SENCo ensures all SEN information is forwarded to receiving secondary schools in good time before transition takes place. Meetings with the SENCos of these secondary schools also take place whenever possible in order to discuss the needs of transferring pupils who have special educational needs.
• A Transition to secondary school programme is put in place for pupils with SEN. (Some of the activities are organised by receiving secondary schools)
• P.I.T Stop Transition groups