Children and young people will have their SEND needs met in mainstream schools through good classroom practice. This is called Quality First Teaching. The teaching of most pupils can be met through quality first teaching in the classroom however for a small number of pupils additional differentiation or support may be needed to accelerate progress and/or meet pupil need.
At Cockton Hill Junior School we follow a graduated support approach which is called “Assess, Plan, Do, Review”. This means that we will:
- Assess a child’s special educational needs
- Plan the provision to meet the child’s aspirations and agreed outcomes
- Do put the provision in place to meet those outcomes
- Review the progress and the impact that this has
As part of this approach, school staff, parents or carers will discuss initial concerns with the class teacher and the SENDCo. We aim to identify children with SEND as early as possible in their school career. The SENDCo may suggest that the class teacher should monitor the child’s progress or behaviour for a period of time. Once this concern has been registered the class teacher will work closely with the child in the classroom context, observing the child’s progress and behaviour and ensuring any extra support available will be utilised.
This is monitored over a period of time via the class teacher and in discussion with the SENDCo. If it is felt that the child requires support above quality first teaching then together we will produce a SEND Support Plan that details the provision that we will make to meet a child’s SEND needs and agreed outcomes. The SENDCo will then communicate with parents and carers about the child’s needs. A support plan would be developed in conjunction with parents, carers, pupil and all staff involved so that areas of concern can be targeted and progress closely monitored. The child will then be placed on the SEND register.
This support plan may initially provide additional support within school, for example a dedicated reading scheme or support through a social skills group. However the needs of the child or the progress they are making may require the support from additional professionals who will provide parents and school with further specialist support.
A child’s support plan will describe the areas of concerns and detail provisions that we will make to meet a child’s SEND needs via agreed outcomes. Parents, carers and children will be fully involved in this process. We then use the assess, plan, do and review process at regular intervals across the year to ensure that the support plan outcomes meet the needs of the child. A small percentage of children and young people with significant learning difficulties may require a higher level of assessment and provision that could lead to an Education, Health and Care Plan.
Progression to Statutory Assessment
If after advice from the Educational Psychologist and/or other professionals, the school and parents may consider that help is needed from outside the school’s resources therefore the SENDCo completes the form requesting Statutory Assessment by the Local Authority. Papers are forwarded to an SEND Caseworker, who with a SEND panel, will decide whether to proceed with Statutory Assessment. Should the Panel decide against statutory assessment it is then up to the school to look again at provision for the child and to formulate new strategies and a new support plan. If the Panel agrees to proceed with Statutory Assessment the SENDCo prepares further documentation about the child, in consideration with similar documents from other involved professionals, and an Education Health and Care Plan may be issued.
Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan)
If a pupil’s needs are deemed broad and complex and cannot be met through a school’s general provision then an Education Health and Care Plan may be issued. The family will be allocated a SEND caseworker from the local authority that is responsible for coordinating the assessments for the child. Once all the documents are collated there will be a multi-agency meeting held where the plan will be discussed and very specific outcomes will be decided upon for the child.
These outcomes are measurable, achievable and tailored to the pupil with the long term aspirations for the child at the forefront of them.
If, after the multi-agency meeting, an EHC plan is not issued the local authority will provide a support plan for the child. All EHC plans are reviewed annually with parents, cares and children involved. Pupils with broad and complex needs previously held ‘statements of special educational need’. These have now converted to EHC plans.
If you would like to discuss your child’s needs in more detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment or via email at c.h.j@durhamlearning.net
The County Durham Local Offer can be found here. The full range of local support available for children and young people with SEND and their families within and outside of school can be found here.
