Sen Information

Welcome to Our SEN homepage and team - Mrs Catterall is the SENDCO, Mrs Regan is the Assistant SENDCO, Mrs Gaskel is SENCO support and Mrs Jackson is the Relax Kids Coordinator. We have a SEN Governor, Mr Graham Gooch.

At  Longton Primary we believe that all children have the right to an education that will enable them to reach their full potential. We believe that each child has individual and unique needs and acknowledge that some children require more support than others. A child has special educational needs if he/she requires additional or different provision from the provision made generally for children of their age in that school.  In order to support these children we recognise their needs and plan accordingly.

The Head Teacher, Staff, and Governors of our school, in partnership with our parents and children, are committed to the inclusion of children with Special Educational Needs.

We aim to provide access to a broad and balanced curriculum, but also to offer small group support, or individual help, where children have specific needs.

All children will be valued, and we aim for all children to experience success, confidence and achievement, and to reach their full potential. We involve parents, carers and the children in the planning and support at all stages of the pupil development.

Our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator manages our Special Educational Needs system, guiding staff in the formulation of Individual Learning Plans in partnership with children and parents to ensure that effective provision is made.  We have a positive relationship with our external agencies and use them for additional guidance, assessment and support when necessary.

We support parents in the provision for their children , however, if you are ever unhappy with our arrangements, you can contact school and follow our arrangements for handling complaints document ' Listening to your concerns'.

 

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Schools in Lancashire have a similar approach to meeting the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and are supported by the Local Authority to ensure that all pupils, regardless of their specific needs, make the best possible progress in school.

We endeavour to be as inclusive as possible, with the needs of pupils with a Special Educational Need/s being met at Longton Primary wherever possible and where families want this to happen.  However, we are not too proud to say that for some children specialist provision for some children offers a better opportunity to maximise life chances.  We will always go the extra mile for our SEND children.

 

Who are the best people to talk to in this school about my child’s difficulty with learning, Special educational needs or disability (SEND)?

Class Teacher/ Assistant Teacher

Responsible for:

  • Checking on the progress of your child and identifying, planning and delivering any additional help your child may need (this could be things like targeted work, additional support, tutor time) and letting the SENCO know as necessary.
  • Writing Individual Education Plans (IEP), and sharing and reviewing these with parents at least once each term and planning for the next term.
  • Ensuring that all staff working with your child in school are helped to deliver the planned work/programme for your child, so they can achieve the best possible progress. This may involve the use of additional adults, outside specialist help and specially planned work and resources.
  • Ensuring that the school’s SEND Policy is followed in their classroom and for all the pupils they teach with any SEND.

The SENCO

Responsible for:

  • Coordinating all the support for children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) and developing the school’s SEND Policy to make sure all children get a consistent, high quality response to meeting their needs in school.
  • Ensuring that you are:
    – involved in supporting your child’s learning
    – kept informed about the support your child is getting
    – involved in reviewing how they are doing 
  • Liaising with all the other people who may be coming into school to help support your child’s learning e.g. Speech and Language Therapy, Educational Psychology etc…
  • Updating the school’s SEND register (a system for ensuring all the SEND needs of pupils in this school are known) and making sure that there are excellent records of your child’s progress and needs.
  • Providing specialist support for teachers and support staff in the school so they can help children with SEND in the school achieve the best progress possible.

Headteacher

Responsible for:

  • The day to day management of all aspects of the school, this includes the support for children with SEND.
  • She will give responsibility to the SENCO team and class teachers but is still responsible for ensuring that your child’s needs are met.
  • She must make sure that the Governing Body is kept up to date about any issues in the school relating to SEND.

SEN Governor

Responsible for:

  • Making sure that the necessary support is made for any child who attends the school who has SEND.

Who can I contact outside of school to support my child’s difficulty with learning, special educational needs or disability (SEND)?

  • If parents and carers feel they would like some impartial information, advice or support on any issues relating to their children’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), you can contact the Cumbria SEND Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) who can offer a range of support. They will help parents, carers and young people to prepare for meetings with school or the local authority and practically support you at the meetings in an appropriate and impartial manner.  They also signpost to other relevant support networks.
  • For more information on SENDIASS and how to find support, please click on this link: https://lancssendias.org.uk/about-us/

 

What are the different types of support available for children at Longton Primary?

Class teacher input via excellently targeted classroom teaching also known as Quality First Teaching.
 

  • For your child this would mean:
  • That the teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all pupils in their class.
  • That all teaching is based on building on what your child already knows, can do and can understand.
  • Different ways of teaching are in place so that your child is fully involved in learning in class. This may involve things like using more practical learning.
  • Specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENCO or outside staff) are in place to support your child to learn.
  • Your child’s teacher will have carefully checked on your child’s progress and will have decided that your child has gap in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress.
  • All children in school will be getting this as a part of our excellent classroom practice. Children on the SEND register also have daily tutor sessions tailored to support their developmental needs and ensure that exceptional progress is made.

 

How can I let the school know I am concerned about my child’s progress?

  • If your child is then identified as not making progress the school will set up am meeting to discuss this with you in more detail and to:
  • listen to any concerns you may have too
  • plan any additional support your child may receive
  • discuss with you any referrals to outside professionals to support your child’s learning

How is extra support allocated to children and how do they move between the different levels?

  • The school budget, received from Lancashire LA, includes money for supporting children with SEND.
  • The Head Teacher decides on the budget for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in consultation with the school governors, on the basis of needs in the school.
  • The Head Teacher and the SENCO discuss all the information they have about SEND in the school, including:
    – the children getting extra support already
    – the children needing extra support
    – the children who have been identified as not making as much progress as would be expected
    And decide what resources/training and support is needed.
  • All resources/training and support are reviewed regularly and changes made as needed.
  • We do not see our limited funds as a barrier. We will always seek to support a child’s needs in the best way we can.

 

Who are the other people providing services for children with SEN in this School?

Directly funded by the school:

  • Relax Kids Specialist teacher
  • Behaviour Consultant for learning and behaviour needs
  • Confident Me Coach
  • Assistant Teachers delivering high quality tutor sessions e.g. Phonics, Maths, Reading, Fine and Gross Motor development.
  • School counsellor
  • Educational Psychologist

Paid for centrally by the Local Authority but delivered in school:

  • Speech and Language Therapy

Provided and paid for by the Health Service but delivered in school:

  • Heath visitor
  • School Nurse
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Physiotherapy

How are the Teachers in school helped to work with children with SEND and what training do they have?

  • The SENCO’s job is to support the class teacher in planning for children with SEND.
  • The school has a training plan for all staff to improve the teaching and learning of children including those with SEND. This includes whole school training on SEND issues such as ASD and Speech and language difficulties.
  • Individual teachers and Assistant Teachers attend training courses run by outside agencies that are relevant to the needs of specific children in their class.
  • Teachers are also supported in school by specialist agencies who may visit a child and offer advice and support to school.

How will the teaching be adapted for my child with SEND?

  • Class Teachers plan lessons according to the specific needs of all groups of children in their class, and will ensure that your child’s needs are met.
  • Specially trained Assistant teachers can adapt the teachers planning to support the needs of your child where necessary.
  • Specific resources and strategies will be used to support your child individually and in groups.
  • Planning and teaching will be adapted on a daily basis if needed to meet your child’s learning needs.
  • Daily Tutor sessions tailored to the needs of each SEND child.

How will we measure the progress of your child in school?

  • Your child’s progress is continually monitored by his/her class teacher.
  • His/her progress is reviewed formally every term  if they are in the Early Years (to the end of Reception) against the EYFS development matters statements and if they are in Key Stage 1 ( Year 1 or 2) against National Curriculum level programmes of study and a judgement made if they are making excepted progress.
  • If your child is in Year 1 and above, but is not yet at National Curriculum levels, a more sensitive assessment tool is used which shows their level in more detail and will also show smaller but significant steps of progress. The levels are called ‘P levels’.
  • If your child needs a more accurate assessment of their progress and they are working below the year group expectations (if they are perhaps making very slow progress) this can be done using PIVATs assessments in the same National Curriculum areas.
  • At the end of each key stage (i.e. at the end of year 2 and year 6) all children are required to be formally assessed using Standard Assessment Tests (SATS). This is something the government requires all schools to do and are the results that are published nationally.
  • Children at SEN Support will have an IEP which will be reviewed with your involvement, every term and the plan for the next term made.
  • The progress of children with an EHC Plan is formally reviewed at an Annual Review with all adults involved with the child’s education.
  • The SENCO will also check that your child is making good progress within any individual work and in any group that they take part in.
  • Termly reports are provided to help you understand where your child is with the academic learning. These are specific for SEND pupils to enable small progress steps to be seen and celebrated.

What support do we have as a parent of a child with a SEND?

  • The class teacher is regularly available to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns you may have and to share information about what is working well at home and school so similar strategies can be used.
  • The SENCO is available to meet with you to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns/worries you may have.
  • The SEN Team (Mrs Regan, Mrs Gaskell and Mrs Jackson) are available to meet with you to discuss your child.
  • All information from outside professionals will be discussed with you with the person involved directly, or where this is not possible, in a report.
  • IEP’s will be reviewed with your involvement each term.
  • Homework will be adjusted as needed to your child’s individual needs.
  • A home/school contact book may be used to support communication with you, when this has been agreed to be useful for you and your child.
  • The Headteacher is available to meet with you to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns/worries you may have.

How is Longton accessible for children with SEND?

  • Our school building is accessible to children with physical disabilities. Our school building is on one floor.
  • We ensure that the equipment used is accessible to all children regardless of their needs.
  • After school provision is accessible to all children including those with SEND.
  • Extra curricular activities are accessible for children with SEND.

How will we support your child when they are leaving this school or moving to another class?

  • We recognise that transitions can be difficult for a child with SEND and take steps to ensure that any transition is a smooth as possible.
  • If your child is moving child to another school:
    – We will contact the school SENCO and ensure he/she knows about any special arrangements or support that need to be made for your child.
    – We will make sure that all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible.
  • When moving classes in school:
    – Information will be passed on to the new class teacher IN ADVANCE and in most cases, a planning meeting will take place with the new teacher. All IEPs will be shared with the new teacher.
  • All children will spend some time in their new class before they move up
  • Your child will do focused learning about aspects of the transition to support their understanding of the changes ahead.
  • If appropriate, transition groups can be set up with children from other schools in order to familiarise your child further with children they are likely to work with at the secondary school.
  • Where possible your child will visit their new school on several occasions and in some cases staff from the new school will visit your child in this school.

Where can I find information about the authority’s local offer?

  • You can find out more information about Lancashire’s Local Offer by clicking the link below

 www.lancashire.gov.uk/send.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Contact the School

Longton Primary School

School Ln
Longton
Lancashire
PR4 5YA

Main Contact: Linda Masterson

Tel: 01772 612 495
Bursar@longton.lancs.sch.uk

SEN Contact: Rebecca Catterall and Di Regan

SEN Email: Senco@longton.lancs.sch.uk