Halstead Community Primary School

At different times in their school life a child may have a Special Educational Need (SEN). 

Definition of SEN

A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. 

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty if he or she:

• Has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
• Has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions. SEN Code of Practice (2014, p 4)

Definition of disability

Many children and young people who have SEN may also have a disability under the Equality Act 2010 – that is’…a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’.  This definition provides a relatively low threshold and includes more children than many realise: ‘long-term’ is defined as ‘a year or more’ and ‘substantial’ is defined as ‘more than minor or trivial’ SEN Code of Practice (2014, p5)

Types of SEN

In the Code of Practice, SEN and provision falls under four categories:

• Communication and Interaction
• Cognition and Learning
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health
• Sensory and/or Physical

This includes a wide range of needs such as:

• Moderate learning difficulties and global delay
• Autism and social communication differences
• Specific learning differences e.g. dyslexia and dyscalculia
• Speech and language difficulties
• Social, emotional and mental health difficulties
• Visual or auditory difficulties
• Anxiety, anger and depression

How is SEN identified?

When a child is making significantly slower progress than their peers or is struggling to achieve their predicted potential they could be considered to have Special Educational Needs (SEN).

In partnership with the Class teacher, SENCO and parents we will look for any barriers to learning.

Barriers could include:

• Absences or lateness
• Changing schools or moving house
• Difficulties in speaking English
• A temporary illness or injury e.g. broken arm
• Worries or concerns such as a family bereavement
• Being a young carer

We know that children who experience these types of issues may be vulnerable students but this does not mean they would be identified as a child with SEN.

The learning of all children at Halstead Community Primary School is regularly and rigorously assessed.  School leaders check books, observe lessons and monitor the achievement of the children.

We also use formal assessment to monitor progress:

• Phonics screening in Year 1
• SATs in Year 2 and Year 6
• NTS Rising Stars Tests
• SpeechLink
• Boxall Profile

After collecting information on progress and attainment and following agreement with parents; a child experiencing long term and complex barriers to their learning will be placed on the SEN register.

The Pioneer Academy Trust Mantra confirms the commitment to ‘Putting children first’ and ‘pupils succeed in a supportive environment’. This is translated into practice at Halstead Community Primary School.

All pupils are given quality first teaching. This means that class teachers are well trained; lessons are well planned, exciting and differentiated to ensure that all pupils can access the learning at their own level.

For pupils with SEN this could mean that they are given a slightly different task to achieve or are using visual clues or equipment to help them complete their task. Some may require additional support from the class teacher or teaching assistant as part of a small group, pair or individual.

As part of our budget we receive ‘notional SEN funding’.  This funding is used to ensure that the quality of teaching is good or better in the school and that there are sufficient resources to deploy additional and different teaching for pupils requiring SEN support.  The amount of support required for each pupil to make good progress will be different in each case and the interventions we offer that pupil are detailed on class provision maps.  In very few cases a very high level of resource is required.  The funding arrangements require schools to provide up to £6000 per year of resource for pupils with high needs, and above that amount the Local Authority should provide top up to the school. The top up is accessed through an online “High Needs Funding” application made by the school, but the amount provided is at the discretion of the Local Authority.

All clubs, trips and activities offered to pupils at Halstead Community Primary School are available to pupils with special educational needs either with or without an Education, Health and Care Plan.  Where it is necessary, the school will use the resources available to it to provide additional adult support to enable the safe participation of the pupil in the activity.

At Halstead Community Primary School, we actively support pupils to develop emotional resilience and social skills, both through direct teaching, for instance during PSHE and circle time, and indirectly with every interaction adults have with pupils throughout the day. 

For some pupils, with the most need for help in this area, we also can provide the following:

• consistent positive behaviour strategies detailed in our behaviour policy
• a time-out space for children to use when upset or agitated
• personalised behaviour strategies according to need
• Draw for Talk
• CBT
• Lego therapy
• training in the development of social skills through programmes such as “Talk Boost”
• referral to external support agencies such as the Bromley mentoring and befriending service, the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAHMs) or other services accessed via the Common Assessment Framework (CAF)/ Kent Family Support Framework.

Pupils in the early stages of emotional and social development because of their special educational needs will be supported to enable them to develop and mature appropriately.  This will usually require additional and different resources, beyond that required by pupils who do not need this support.

Details of additional training staff have undertaken to meet the needs of pupils are available from the Inclusion Manager and Head teacher.

Where a training need is identified beyond this we will find a provider who is able to deliver it.  Training providers we can approach are:

• Specialist Schools and schools with specialist units in Kent
• The Educational Psychology Service (Edukent)
• Kent Integrated Care & Therapy Co-ordination Services for Children (ITACC) which include Speech and Language, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy.
• School Nursing Service
• Dyslexia specialists

The cost of training is covered by the notional SEN funding.

All parents of pupils at Halstead Community Primary School are invited to discuss the progress of their children twice a year and receive a written report once per year.  In addition we are happy to arrange meetings outside these times. As part of our normal teaching arrangements, all pupils will access some additional teaching to help them catch-up if the progress monitoring indicates that this is necessary; this will not imply that the pupil has a special educational need.  All such provision will be recorded, tracked and evaluated on a Provision Map. Any additional provision will be discussed with parents at the start of a seasonal term.

Following this normal provision, if improvements in progress are not seen, we will contact parents to discuss the needs of their child further. The use of internal or external assessments may be required, which will help us to identify and address the child’s needs better.  In agreement with parents, from this point onwards the pupil will be identified as having special educational needs, because special educational provision is being made. The school records this as “SEN with Support” on the school’s register of Special Educational Needs. The parent(s) will be invited to all planning and reviews of this provision.  Parents will be actively supported in contributing to assessment, planning and review at least three times per year.

Some children, with the very highest levels of need, may require an Education Health and Care Plan (formerly known as a Statement of Special Educational Needs). Any application for an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will only be made with the full consent and involvement of parents. The issuing of a plan is entirely at the discretion of the Local Education Authority and the school cannot guarantee the success of an application.

If the child is granted an EHCP, parents will be invited to contribute to and attend an annual review. Wherever possible this will include other agencies involved with the pupil. Information will be made accessible for parents.

Information, Advice and Support Kent (IASK) provides free, impartial, confidential, advice, support and options around educational issues for parents who have children with special educational needs or disabilities (0-19).  They empower parents to play an active and informed role in their child’s education.  They can be contacted on:

HELPLINE: 3000 41 3000. Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm.

Office: 03000 412 412

E-mail: iask@kent.gov.uk

The Local Authority Offer

The local authority’s offer is published on https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educational-needs

Parents without internet accessshould make an appointment with the SENCo for support to gain the information they require.

We follow the Mainstream Core Standards advice developed by Kent County Council to ensure that our teaching conforms to best practice.

https://www.kelsi.org.uk/special-education-needs/special-educational-needs/the-mainstream-core-standards