Special Educational Needs and Disability

At Honley Junior, Infant and Nursery School, all teachers are teachers of children with additional needs and receive appropriate support to enable children to access the curriculum.  Our broad and balanced is differentiated according to the needs of children. Appropriate classroom environments are provided which enable all children to access provision inclusively. A variety of resources is available to support a range of learning styles. Additional support may be provided including; teaching assistants, computer programmes, peer learning, practical aids, specialist resources and teacher support. Specific interventions and additional support, where provided, are regularly reviewed and their impact identified. Where appropriate, access arrangements for tests and exams are made according to the relevant requirements for the exam board concerned. The school has a Disability and Access Plan which reviews and responds to identified needs of the school community – find this on the school website in the Policies and Provisions tab.

 1.    How will you know if children or young people need extra help?

The first point of contact if you have concerns regarding your child is the class teacher. In partnership with you, the school will explore your concerns about your child and make any additional assessments that may be needed. Similarly, if we are concerned about your child we will contact you to arrange a meeting to plan the best way to support them.

The school’s assessment cycle involves teachers reviewing children’s progress each half term, alongside their ongoing evaluation of planning, feedback to children, and general class observations. This is carried out initially by the class teacher, but the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator), subject leaders and senior management team also have an overview of all children’s attainment. Children may experience difficulty in many different areas of learning and development and these difficulties are often transient and resolved with appropriate monitoring and support.  However, there may be occasions where ongoing difficulties are observed and these may require longer-term support.

The four areas of special needs identified by the government are:

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and learning
• Social, mental and emotional health
• Sensory and/or physical

Referrals may also be made to school or to you from outside agencies eg your doctor, Health Visitor, School Nurse.

If you are considering sending your child to our school and wish to discuss any concerns about your child before they begin school, please contact our Headteacher, Linda Goodall, or our SENCOs, Karen Atkinson (EYFS and KS1) or Penny Kingston (KS2).

 2.    How will you support my child or young person with SEND (Special Educational Needs or Disabilities)?

All teachers are responsible for meeting the needs of the children they work with. Any children requiring a little extra support in a given area, or an intervention programme to fill some gaps are recorded on the school’s ‘Provision Map’. Children who have more significant needs that form an ongoing barrier to their learning are identified as ‘School Support’ and an Additional Needs Plan is drawn up to specifically meet those needs.

The class teacher is responsible for the class provision or Additional Needs Plan in consultation with the parents/carers, SENCO, other relevant staff and outside agencies. The class teacher retains the overview of your child’s learning but this may be delivered by other appropriate members of staff e.g. Learning Mentor, Teaching Assistants. This support may be within class, a small group or individual work, as identified in planning meetings for your child.

The class teacher will meet with you to discuss how your child’s learning will be planned for and delivered and which members of staff will be involved. Ideally, within school we strive to provide consistent support from staff who are familiar to the child. This may vary according to the needs of the child, for example to prevent over-dependence, or if a specialist or external intervention is required. Appropriate staff are identified at the planning stage to deliver provision according to the needs of the child, strengths of the staff and deployment arrangements within school.

Annual reviews are held for children with Education, Health and Care Plans in accordance with the SEN Code Of Practice 2014.

There is a linked SEN governor who meets regularly with the SENCOs to gain an overview of SEN across the school and to help ensure that all the statutory duties are being fulfilled.

All teaching staff have designated Planning, Preparation and Assessment time (PPA) in order to deliver the learning for the whole class.

The SENCO maintains an overview of SEN children across the school, and reviews the impact of interventions to ensure that they are appropriate and making a difference.

3.    How will the curriculum be matched to the needs of my child or young person?

Children and young people who feel happy, safe, confident and successful in their learning will make the best progress. We believe that if a child feels ownership and understands their own targets they will be more enthusiastic and empowered to achieve them .Therefore, it is essential that we meet with you and your child to ascertain your aspirations and needs.

We have many ways in which we find out the views of our children. For example, we have School Forum every 4 weeks, where all children across school give their opinions, an ‘ethos’ group (who guide us in making the school a Christian environment), and carry out pupil interviews on key aspects of the curriculum or SEN. We also use our ‘circle time’ to discuss issues and ascertain their views.

4.    How will both you and I know how my child or young person is doing and how will you help me to support their learning?

As part of the school’s assessment cycle we track the progress of all children. In addition to this, the progress of children involved in specific interventions is monitored in a range of ways, e.g. observations, assessment of work, tests, discussions with the child and parents/carers as appropriate. There will be an opportunity each term to discuss your child’s progress with the class teacher (and SENCO as appropriate).  However, arrangements for extra communication can be made as and when necessary through a range of formats e.g. email, meetings, informal chats, telephone conversations, home/school link book.

If you have any concerns about your child’s progress, your first port of call is always the class teacher using one of the methods described above.  You are also welcome to contact the SENCOs with any concerns you may have about the progress and support for your child. The school’s complaints policy is available via the website or as a hard copy upon request in school, if you feel your views are not being addressed.

The link between home and school is important for the development of the whole child and we want to build on this relationship.  Information will be shared about how to support your child at home through general correspondence, including half termly learning letters to inform you of the curriculum to be covered in that half term and ways you can support your child with this, Additional Needs Plans, My Support Plans and home/school link books (as appropriate to the child).

Alongside this, we offer different opportunities for you to be involved in learning events within school. We organise information evenings linked to SEN and key curriculum areas, subject-specific workshops, class assemblies to share learning, parents’ evenings, interactive homework and opportunities for parents to volunteer on trips.

5.    What support will there be for my child or young person’s overall well-being?

Your child’s overall well-being is of key importance to us and we appreciate that there may be specific difficulties for children with SEN to face. We work closely with parents/carers and families to provide appropriate care and support.

Your child is at the centre of their own learning and we involve them as much as possible, appropriate to their age and ability. This may include talking with the child to ascertain their views, inviting them to attend meetings, supporting them in providing a written response.

If your child has difficulties with behaviour or attendance, we will work closely with parents/carers to support the family and child with this. We work with outside agencies to help parents/carers deal with attendance issues, including the educational psychologist, Attendance and Pupil Support Officers, and specialist provisions (eg pupil referral unit, Children’s Emotional Wellbeing Service).

We work with children with emotional, social or behavioural difficulties in the same way as with children facing other barriers to their learning. In addition to the support given in class, we have a Learning Mentor and teaching assistant who have different ways of working with identified children according to their needs. For example, they may teach them a new board game which they then teach and share with others (to encourage social skills and self-esteem), or organise a small group circle time using activities to boost the “Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning” (the title of one of our intervention programmes).

Where appropriate, additional support may be provided at breaks and lunchtimes to ensure the safety and well-being of all our children.

We may also link with and seek support from outside agencies, or signpost our families to services that may provide help, such as autism outreach, Children’s Emotional Wellbeing Service, Children and Adults’ Mental Health Service, Parent Partnership, Parents of Children with Additional Needs or the school nurse.

We follow the Kirklees Guidance on Medical needs. The policy is available on request and on the school website.

To keep your child safe, we have a Designated  Safeguarding Officer and all members of the school staff are aware of the procedures to follow if they have any safeguarding concerns about a child.

Where risk assessments are needed for specific situations or individuals these are done on a case-by-case basis.

First aiders are available and respond appropriately to medical needs. Where appropriate, further specialist training will be provided for relevant staff e.g. managing diabetes, Epipen training.

Specialist health services e.g. occupational therapist, physiotherapist, school nurse, Speech and Language Therapist and counselling services may access school to work with children based on prior referrals, where a referral has been accepted by the service.

Relevant policies including  Behaviour Policy, SEN, are all available on the school website.

 6.    What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the setting, school or college?

We have suitably experienced and qualified SENCOs, who work closely with the other SENCOs in the Honley group of schools, to share expertise and collaborate. We have suitably experienced/trained teachers and support staff, with an ongoing programme of training. Effective working links are maintained with health and social care services, and services are accessed as necessary in accordance with the child’s needs.

We have an experienced ETA (Educational Teaching Assistant) team with a range of skills and up to date training.

We have a Parent Liaison Link person, who runs regular parent forum meetings, coordinates voluntary helpers and supports families/carers in whatever ways we can.

Contact details for support services can be found in the school’s SEN policy and through the Kirklees Local Offer.

 7.      What staff training is in place to support children and young people with SEND?

In accordance with Section 6 of the SEN Code of Practice (2014) our SENCOs are qualified teachers working at our school and have statutory accreditation.

All staff have access to appropriate training and Continuous Professional Development opportunities. We have a Learning Mentor. Relevant training is given to staff from specialist support services as appropriate.

8.      How will my child/young person be included in activities outside the classroom, including school trips?

We believe that it is essential, wherever possible, to provide access for all children to activities outside the classroom including school trips. Reasonable adjustments will be made to enable children to access activities as inclusively as possible.  The needs of individual children will be considered when planning the destination and learning intentions of any school trips. Where necessary appropriate risk assessments will be carried out to ensure that procedures are in place to minimise the risk to all those attending events.  School will liaise closely with parents/carers throughout this process. We will ensure that no child is disadvantaged due to economic reasons.

9.      How accessible is your environment?

In order to respond to the needs of our school population we collect information about access issues as part of our school data at the beginning of each year. Our Accessibility Plan is available through the website.

Due to the age of our School Street building, there are some accessibility restrictions although the main school building is accessible by wheelchair if necessary.  Reasonable adjustments would be made to ensure appropriate provision for children and parents/carers with accessibility difficulties.

10.   How will you prepare and support my child/young person to join the setting/school/college and how will you support them to move on to the next stage of education?

Ensuring that transition into and from our school is as smooth as possible is very important to us. Children and their families are invited to visit the school prior to admission and we arrange ‘settling in’ visits as appropriate for the child.  Opportunities for transition will be available prior to joining the setting. We link closely with our feeder settings and high schools, and identify any children who may need some extra transition sessions or support.  Additional visits, or small projects can be organised where appropriate. All relevant information will be shared with the new setting, and the SENCOs meet together to discuss the individual needs of children prior to the move, to ensure we have the right resources and strategies in place ready for September.

Transition meetings will also take between year groups, key stages and new settings to help facilitate as smooth a transition as possible.

11.   How are your resources allocated and matched to children or young people’s special educational needs?

The Head Teacher, Governor Finance Committee & bursar manage the budget, in consultation with other members of the school Leadership Team as appropriate.

When specialist equipment or a high level of staffing support is required to support a pupil with special educational needs, our school will fund this as additional SEN support up to £6000 per annum for each individual pupil.  Thereafter if the cost is higher and the provision of these facilities is likely to be prolonged, the school will apply to the Local Authority for High Needs Block Funding as part of the EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) process.

Specialist Equipment and expertise in relation to its use will be purchased/hired /commissioned by the school from the open market, subject to guarantees, service level agreements and quality assurance criteria.  Our school will, wherever possible, join with other schools in joint purchasing/hire of equipment, in accordance with the local offer.

All staffing appointments to support vulnerable learners will be carried out in accordance with equal opportunities legislation, employment law, safer recruiting and best practice.  All vacancies will be competitively advertised and recruited.

 12.  How are decisions made about what type and how much support my child or young person will receive?

Decisions about the provision a child or young person needs will be made on the basis of the child’s identified needs.  Areas of need will usually be identified by school, sometimes with outside agencies and agreed in partnership with parents/carers.

Judgements about the effectiveness of provision will be made on the basis of regular progress checks.  Progress may be measured in several ways, including discussions with parents/carers, talking with the child, comparisons with peer group progress, targets set on Additional Needs Plans, observations and/or input from outside agencies.

13.  How are parents involved in your setting, school or college?

We have an inclusive approach to school life. All parents and carers are an important part of the school community and are welcomed to take an active part in the life of the school.

It is important that parents/carers and school staff work together to benefit the child. We have parents’/carers’ evenings in Autumn and Spring terms, and for children with SEN an additional review meeting in Summer term. This is in addition to any communication/meetings that are needed as the child develops.

We have many ways in which parents/carers can come in and celebrate their child’s achievements, including sports days, weekly celebration assemblies, class assemblies, church services, Friends of Honley Junior Infant and Nursery School (FOHJINS) events (including the amazing SummerFest!), certificates and letters/phone calls home and parents’ eve.

We operate a texting communication system, so that we can keep parents/carers informed, as well as the usual letters and information posters around the school. We keep our website updated with letters, events and curriculum information. An overview of all aspects of school life can also be found in our School Prospectus on the website. If parents/carers need a more individual contact about their child/ young person this will be arranged as necessary.  Parents/carers are always welcome to contact school.

It is also important to us to hear your views and comments to help us shape our school life. There are parent/carer questionnaires annually, to seek your views and these are collated by the governing body. There is a celebration book for your comments on events and children’s assemblies etc. Our governors are always available by phone, email or letter, but are also there to meet you on parents’/carers’ evenings and at events. We encourage your input into Additional Needs plans, reports, EHCP etc, and include your comments in the overall plans.

We have a very active, committed team of parents/carers/volunteers (all fully DBS checked) who work alongside us with children on a range of programmes, including classroom support, sharing their love of books, playing educational board games and art activities.

14.  Who can I contact for further information?

 Within school a range of staff may be involved in supporting your child e.g. class / subject teacher and teaching assistants.  There may also be visiting specialist staff e.g. teachers from specialist provision units in Kirklees, NHS therapists, educational psychologists who may provide ongoing support or one-off visits to offer advice and assessments.

If you are worried about your child then you should contact the class teacher in the first instance.

If you are looking at schools for your child and are considering our school, the first point of contact is the school office.  If your child already has diagnosed Special Educational Needs then you should let us know at this point.  We will usually arrange a tour of the school and a discussion of your child’s needs and the provision we can offer will take place before you have to make a decision. 

The SEN coordinators are Mrs Karen Atkinson (EYFS and KS1) and Mrs Penny Kingston (KS2) and can be contacted through school on 01484 501800, or email Karen.atkinson@honleyjin.co.uk or penny.kingston@honleyjin.co.uk .

A range of other support services are available – see also the Kirklees Local Offer.

The Kirklees Council offer is available via the link from our school webpage and also from this link: https://www.kirkleeslocaloffer.org.uk/