Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
Our Vision and Mission Statement applies to the whole school, and it is through this same Ethos we support children with disabilities and SEN:
Byfield is a friendly school where everybody is caring and welcoming. We provide children with inspiring learning opportunities and ensure children are encouraged, supported and challenged so they develop a love of learning. At Byfield we believe that every child is entitled to become a confident, independent, well-rounded individual who is equipped with all the skills to lead a successful and rewarding life. Children at Byfield are confident to face challenges, believe in themselves and are proud of their achievements.
Who is the best person to talk to if I am worried about SEN issues?
Firstly, please speak to your class teacher, they are responsible for planning and setting learning challenges, and ensuring every child has the appropriate next steps. They meet with the SENDCO regularly to discuss children's learning and progress.
You may want to speak to our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCO), who is Mrs Heather Hiscox. Mrs Hiscox works closely with the Local Authority Inclusion Team and attends SEND updates through network meetings held by the Fairfields Teaching Alliance. She is responsible for ensuring the school SEND policy is adhered to for all pupils, monitoring the impact of SEND provision, liaising with external agencies, supporting and advising all staff at Byfield around SEND and coordinating the provision of all SEND pupils across the school.
Our SENCO can be contacted on 01327 260349 or via email: SENCO@byfield.northants.gov.uk
The headteacher, Mr David Hibbert, will also be happy to speak to you, he is responsible for monitoring and evaluating SEND provision, managing the resources at the school to enable appropriate provision for SEND, and keeping the governing body up-to-date with the school's provision.
Our governor with responsibility for SEND is Mrs Lesley Palmer. She is responsible for ensuring the school has the correct provision and support for any child with SEND. If you have any complaints relating to the provision of children with SEND please speak to the class teacher first, then, if necessary the headteacher. In the case of an unresolved complaint the issue should be taken through the general governors complaints procedure (see the Complaints Policy.)
How will the school know if my child needs extra support?
- We liase with pre-school/previous schools and Nurseries.
- Parents can speak to teachers, SENDCO or the headteacher about any concerns.
- Teachers use their ongoing assessments to identify pupils whose progress is significantly slower than that of their peers, fails to match the child's previous rate of progress, fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers or if that gap widens.
- Teachers meet regularly with the SENDCO and Headteacher to raise concerns in ongoing assessments.
- We gather information about progress and attainment of children every 6 weeks.
- We use information from Statuary National Assessments in Foundation Stage, Year 1 (phonics), and Year 2.
- We liase with outside agencies e.g. SaLT and medical professionals.
Our first response to a pupil's learning will always be quality first teaching which will be targeted at areas of difficulty. If the gap continues to widen, the pupil will be monitored - this will also include the views of the parents and the pupil. During the information gathering period, interventions will be put in place to secure better progress and a short term Pupil Progress Plan is put into place.
Our SENDCO uses a range of different assessment materials, which help identify strengths and weaknesses of the child's learning profile.
After this assessment period, if a pupil continues to make less than expected progress or continue to work at levels substantially lower than national expectations despite support and interventions, then through Pupil Progress Plans extra support is identified, internal or external.
How does the school involve children?
We believe every child should be encouraged, supported and challenged, and recognise that all children have the right to be involved in making decisions and exercising choice. In most lessons we have layered success criteria, so children can choose to work at a level at which they can be challenged. We also endeavor to fully involve all pupils when setting targets and reviewing targets so they understand the reason for them and how these can be achieved.
How will the school let me know if they have concerns.
We meet parents three times a year through regular parents evenings. However, if we have concerns, teachers or the SENDCO will ask if you can make an appointment so we can discuss what extra provision is needed for your child and agree small step targets.
What will the school do to support children with SEND.
We set regular targets and identify the level of support needed through Pupil Provision Plans. Personalised targets are set at least every half term and personalised provision is planned for - this could include: 1:1 work, small group interventions, additional resources, extra support to access lessons, additional time for some activities, specific arrangement for outside trips to ensure all children can access this learning. These plans are reviewed every half term, to monitor every child - checking they are achieving their best and to see if there needs to be any changes of support to enable the best learning. We also work with specialist services and expertise, including Education Psychology Services, Speech and Language Therapy, Target Autism, Specialist SEN teachers, and access LA support services through the Local Offer (Please click for more information of what services are available).
Children with more complex needs may need High Needs funding or a Request for Statutory Assessment, in which the Local Authority undertake a full assessment of the child’s need to ascertain whether they need an Education, Health and Care Plan. In these cases an Educational Psychology Assessment will be commissioned to support this process.
Teachers at the school make adaptations to the curriculum and learning environment so that all children can access lessons. This may also include adaptions to resources, time provided, level of support from adults, or learning through different approaches.
How Accessible is the school environment?
We have ramps provided so full access is available to all areas of the school. Adaptations in classrooms are made to support the individual needs of children, e.g. enlarged print, coloured overlays, pencil grips etc.
Where appropriate and legitimate, we endeavour to provide different ways for all learners to access the same learning experience, rather than withdrawing pupils and providing an entirely different activity. Our deployment of additional staffing and resources funded from our devolved additional needs budget through the Local Offer, ensures that all curriculum experiences are available to all pupils in the school (eg educational visits, extra-curricular activities), particularly where a voluntary financial contribution from parents is required for the activity to run. This is in compliance with the Equality Act 2010.
We are fully committed to promoting equal opportunities throughout the school and children with SEND have access to the same clubs and activities as those children without SEND. Risk assessments are carried out and the same opportunities are offered to children with SEND who may need additional support with the activity.
All lesson planning seeks to address the learning needs of all pupils in the class. Teachers receive regular training and support to ensure they are skilled in differentiating the curriculum for vulnerable learners. When subject coordinators monitor planning, work and progress data and when they or senior leaders carry out observations of teaching and learning in classrooms, particular attention is given to whether the ongoing learning offer is inclusive.
How does the school support children who are moving between phases of education and in preparing for adulthood?
Pupils and parents are encouraged to consider all options for the next phase of education and the school will involve outside agencies, as appropriate, to ensure information is comprehensive but easily accessible and understandable. Accompanied visits to other providers may be arranged as appropriate. The school encourages parents of children with SEN to begin this process in year 5.
Support for the pupil in coming to terms with moving on is carefully planned and will include familiarisation visits. Pupils are included in all “class transition days” to the next phase but may also be offered additional transition visits.
We work hard to facilitate a smooth transition into our school from the previous phase of education and from our school into the next phase of education.
When a pupil with SEN is due to transfer to the next phase of education e.g. KS2 to KS3, the SENDCO will arrange for all pupils with SEN to have additional visits where their questions can be answered in a small group situation. All the information on the specific details of the individual needs of the pupil will be communicated to the next school's SENDCO and they will arrange a meeting with the parents so that their concerns will be addressed.
Extra support is also available leading up to the transfer to secondary school. It is usual practice for an SEN assistant from the transfer school and any external agencies who are already involved to visit the child prior to transfer.
Admission Arrangements for Children with SEN
No child will be refused admission to school on the basis of his or her special educational need, ethnicity or language need. In line with the Equalities Act 2010, we do not discriminate against disabled children and we will take all reasonable steps to provide effective educational provision (see Admission policy for the school, as agreed with the Local Authority)
Where can I find other information which may support?
Click here on the links below to find out more about:
Northamptonshire Local Offer
Educational Psychology Service
Educational Inclusion Partnership Team
Parent Partnership: IASS
Virtual School for Looked After Children
Primary Behaviour Outreach Support
High needs funding
Education health and care plans
Our SEND policy, Equality Scheme and Acessibility Plan can be found on our policies page