SEND Information Report

How does Parkside School know if children need extra help?

An Individual Special Education Needs (ISEN) sweep of the school is conducted twice a year, when the needs of all pupils are discussed with the SENCO, Head or Key Stage Leader. The SENCO will also discuss any concerns you may be having about your child at home. SEN advice is given for those pupils who are not making expected progress or whose development is causing concern. The next step will be to draft some personalised learning targets that may be incorporated into a SEND Support Plan and will likely include internal intervention support. We may also seek advice from external agencies such as the Educational Psychologist, Speech and Language service, Autism Advisory service or SpLD base, as well as any support necessary for emotional or behavioural issues.

Assessments are updated each term and are monitored by the Head, SENCO and Senior Leadership Team. Teachers regularly monitor children’s progress and will discuss with yourself and the SENCO if they have concerns at any point throughout the year. The SEND Support Plans and provision maps are reviewed at least termly and shared with parents during consultation evenings. They are then used by teachers to inform their planning and provision in class.

All new pupils to the school complete a questionnaire designed to identify any barriers to learning for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 and in line with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 definition of having a disability. From this pupils are identified on the school’s provision maps and lessons are adapted accordingly to ensure inclusion.

What should I do if I think my child may have special educational needs?

Please discuss at the earliest opportunity with your child’s class teacher or the SENCO if you are worried about your child prior or during the time at the school. Staff always seek to be understanding and have a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw upon.

How will school staff support my child?

The new Code of Practice for SEND states that it is the teacher’s responsibility to provide for SEN in the class and to follow school procedures for identifying, assessing and meeting those needs. Where interventions include teaching away from the class it is still the class teachers responsibility to ensure that progress is being made. The SENCO supports the class teacher by providing advice, monitoring and links with outside agencies. If a child has been identified as making less than expected progress the first response is high quality teaching targeted at their areas of weakness. Following that, it may be necessary for the class teacher to organise specific intervention programmes or additional support. This could be in the form of extra group work or individual support by a trained adult. Here are some of the interventions that we offer groups or individual pupils:

• Phonics catch up interventions
• Maths catch up Interventions
• Reading/Writing interventions
• 1:1 reading support
• Individualised reading/writing interventions e.g. Secure Start/Fischer Family Trust
• Nurture groups

How will I know how my child is doing?

Where a child requires additional support, parents are informed by the class teacher, SENCO or Head and targeted interventions are put into place. If this is new for your child then this will first be discussed with the SENCO and parents. Progress is then reported back to parents at termly consultation meetings or more frequently if required. The effectiveness of the school’s provision for children with SEND is evaluated, reported to Governors and monitored by Ofsted. There is also a school governor responsible for SEN who regularly monitors the quality of provision in this area.

How will the learning and development provision be matched to my child’s needs?

Teachers continually plan differentiated lessons throughout the curriculum to support all children’s learning in the classroom. In addition, small group interventions are run which target specific areas necessary to move children towards age related expectations. These may be literacy or numeracy based but could involve a nurturing aspect if children struggle with appropriate behaviours. Interventions are detailed on our exemplary class provision maps, which are updated and evaluated each term and used to plan resources and additional support where needed. Where advice has been sought from various external agencies, this will be incorporated into a SEND Support Plan. In all cases children are regularly assessed to ensure that their needs are met and that they’re making progress.

What support will there be for my child’s overall wellbeing?

Parkside School has a pastoral care coordinator to support overall wellbeing for children. All staff members are highly skilled in behaviour management and training, which is updated regularly by the local authority (Herts Steps). All staff members have safeguarding training when starting at the school, and this is updated every three years. Staff are trained in basic first aid and paediatric first aid. We have a brand new Sensory Room and Nurture Area which are used to support pupils’ needs in a variety of ways such as lunchtime support for pupils who have social and emotional difficulties or who find unstructured time/change difficult. We also run Nurture group interventions to support pupils with Social, Emotional and Mental Health difficulties. We work closely with outside agencies to ensure that children’s wellbeing is met. This may be via:

• Family Support Workers (who work with families when their children are struggling with school life, as this is often linked to home life.)
• Children and Adult Mental Health Services (children may be referred to CAMHS for further advice/support)
• Counsellor onsite – Herts Counselling Service

What specialist services and expertise are available at, or accessed by the school?

The school has access to many outside agencies and regularly seeks advice from or refers children to these services which may include:

• Autism advisory service
• Speech and language advisory team
• Communication Disorders Team
• The Park ESC (BST)
• Watling View School
• Summerswood BST Primary Support Base
• Parkside SpLD base
• Educational Psychology Service
• Specialist Dyslexic Teacher
• School counselling service
• Herts Sensory and Physical Impairment Team
• Occupational Therapy
• School Health

What training have the staff supporting children with SEND had or are having?

All teaching staff and teaching assistants have undergone a wealth of training to support children with specific needs, including:

• Social, emotional and mental health
• Behaviour management
• Autism
• Dyslexia and dyscalculia
• Literacy and maths interventions
• Reading interventions
• Fine and gross motor skills
• SafeguardingTraining is updated regularly and opportunities for additional training are available to ensure that staff have an up to date knowledge of SEND issues and legislation.

How can I help support my child’s learning?

The class teacher and/or SENCO will discuss with you your child’s learning needs and will share your child’s targets with you regularly. We will also suggest ways that you can help your child at home. Parkside School offers a range of workshops or meetings that parents are invited to throughout the year.

How will I be involved with discussions about, and planning for my child’s education?

We strongly believe that in order for children to achieve their potential partnership between parents and school is essential. You are welcome to speak to your child’s teacher or the SENCO with any concerns or questions. SEND Support Plans or Provision Maps with personalised learning targets are discussed and reviewed with parents at least termly. For children who present with more complex SEND we work very closely with families to ensure that we are meeting their needs and a detailed SEND Support Plan will be formulated. If your child has an EHCP you will be invited to review this annually with other professionals involved. If an outside agency has offered advice you will see a written report with any recommendations made.

How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips?

We operate a fully inclusive school and realise the importance of visitors and visits to enhance and support learning. All classes regularly take part in trips and a variety of different visitors (such as music specialists and PE coaches) visit the school weekly. Children with SEND may sometimes require additional support and their needs will be looked at individually to assess how this is achieved. Very occasionally we may ask a parent to accompany their child on a school trip if we have concerns about their safety whilst off site.

How accessible is the school environment?

The school is fully compliant with the equalities act and reasonable adjustments are made for all children with SEND where necessary. Specialised equipment is provided where appropriate for children and advice is sought from the appropriate medical/health professionals to ensure that all children’s health and physical needs are catered for within the school environment. An annual audit of the school environment takes place to inform the process of updating our Accessibility plan.

Who can I contact for further information?

The school has a SENCO who can be contacted by telephone or email and is available to meet with parents should any concerns arise. You may feel it is more appropriate to speak with your child’s teacher in the first instance.

How will the school prepare and support my child to join the school, transfer to a new school or the next stage of education and life?

Meetings are held with the Head teacher and parents before children begin school. Questions or queries are often resolved at these meetings although it may be necessary to have separate meetings with parents if your child has additional needs. New Nursery and Reception children are also given a photo book explaining about their new school and teaching staff.

Children starting school mid-year will be invited to meet with a senior member of staff, usually the Head, to discuss provision amongst other things. Information is always shared with schools if children are moving in-year.

For secondary school transition, staff meet with the Head of Year 7 and the secondary school holds meetings at Parkside to talk with children and parents who are transitioning to secondary schools. All reports are shared and SEND files accompany the children as they move through different schools. Transition is aided with support from the Park who run a series of lessons at Parkside which give children opportunities to express any concerns. In addition, the SEN department at the local secondary school hold ‘tea parties’ at the end of Year 6 to support children in being familiar with surroundings and to address any specific concerns.

For children moving up to the next class within the school, comprehensive transition takes place. This could involve meeting early with their new teacher, spending time in their new classroom to get used to the environment, or photos and information about their new class. In addition, all assessment and information regarding children moving class is communicated with the new teacher before the end of the Summer term.

Vulnerable children with SEND have a One Page Profile detailing their likes/dislikes, needs and support needed to inform their new class teacher. They will also complete a transition pack to support them with adjusting to new surroundings and new adults.

How are the schools resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?

The SENCO audits resources each year, which forms part of the SEND action plan. Teaching assistants are deployed in each class and occasionally specialised teaching assistants are used to support children on a one to one basis or in small group interventions. Our SpLD base regularly assesses the needs of children within the school and deploys support as necessary in consultation with the SENCO in order to best support SEND children. Early intervention in Key Stage 1 supports children to learn and understand basic number. Where external agencies are involved, the school will receive written advice with regards to resources needed.

How is the decision made about how much support my child will receive?

The amount and type of support offered to a child is determined by a detailed analysis of a child’s needs, barriers to learning, stage of development, parental views, their own views and consultation with the class teacher and SENCO. The progress made and support given is reviewed regularly with the SENCO. Interventions typically last between one and two terms with the emphasis on early identification. Parents are regularly involved in the decision making process.

How can I find information about the local authority’s Local Offer of services and provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disability?

The Local Education Authority’s Local Offer can be accessed at www.hertsdirect.org/localoffer

Glossary

SEN – Special Educational Needs

SEND – Special Educational Needs and Disability

SENCO – Special Educational Needs Coordinator

Ofsted – Office of Standards in Education

SpLD – Specific Learning Difficulty (dyslexia/dyscalculia)

BST – Behaviour Support Team

SLT – Senior Leadership Team

Contact

SENCO – Karen Smith

senco@parkside.herts.sch.uk

Last Updated January 2023