How we identify, assess and review children with special educational needs
Most children and young people in mainstream schools will have their special educational needs met through good classroom practice. This is called Quality First Teaching.
Early Identification of Need
Through discussions, observations, assessments and data analysis the SENCO, class teachers, and support staff will identify any children who appear to have Special Educational Needs. Children with SEN may also be identified by outside agencies and organisations. Parents and Carers may also inform the SENCO or teaching staff of any concerns and possible Special Educational Needs. When a child is identified as having SEN they will be placed on our school’s SEN register as ‘SEN Support’.
When a class teacher or the SENCO identify a child with Special Educational Needs, the class teacher will provide interventions through ‘Quality First Teaching’ that are additional to those provided as part of the school’s usual classroom practice. If teachers and parents feel that Quality First Teaching is not meeting the needs of pupils, through discussions we consider next steps. The next step may be a Short Note, referral to outside agency or implementing a Support Plan.
SEN Support
Where a pupil is identified as having a special educational need we follow a graduated approach which takes the form of cycles of “Assess, Plan, Do, Review”.
This means at Pittington Primary School we will:
- Assess a child’s special educational needs
- Plan the provision to meet your child’s aspirations and agreed outcomes
- Do put the provision in place to meet those outcomes
- Review the support and progress
As part of this approach, every child with SEN will have an individualised SEN Support Plan that describes the child’s needs, outcomes & provision to meet those needs. Parents/carers and child/young person (where appropriate) views are integral to this process.
A small percentage of children and young people with significant and/or complex needs may require an assessment that could lead to an Education, Health and Care Plan.
Children with complex difficulties may require school to make a request for an Education Health Care Assessment. The process of applying for an EHC assessment requires substantial evidence from school and professionals to be submitted to Durham Authority for consideration. Durham Authority have twenty weeks to make a decision if an assessment is granted or not. This may or may not lead to an EHC Plan. Each case is dealt with on an individual basis. All children with an EHCP will have short term targets set for them that have been established after consultation with parents and the child. The Short term targets are set from the longer term outcomes taken from the EHCP and are documented on an Individual Learning Plan. An EHCP will be reviewed annually and will last until the child is 25 years of age.
At Pittington Primary School we do have pupils who have been granted an EHCP and the provisions in place for them are bespoke to their needs. The EHCP is reviewed annually although we review their Individual Learning Plans termly. Currently we have pupils with EHCPs working across our school.
For more detailed information see the Local Offer
Details of Identification and Assessment of Pupils with SEN
Initial concerns about a pupil may be recorded on a Short Note. A Short Note is a short document which highlights a pupils strengths and areas of concerns, it is a document that is shared between school and parents.
If children are not seen to be making progress with the support of a Short Note then they may need a SEND Support Plan. If a Support Plan is to be implemented it is with the agreement of parents/ carers. The child’s name will then be added to our schools SEND register. Support Plans are reviewed termly and at Pittington Primary School we encourage child’s voice and Parent voice on the reviewed documents. SEN Support Plans may also include in school provisions to highlight transitions to new year groups, changes to routines such as new activities (swimming) as well as including advice from professional agencies. Modifications to any statutory testing will be anticipated and subsequently planned for so that reasonable adjustments can be made. For example, preparing the child for the ICT aspect of the Year 4 multiplication tests.
We always encourage parents to come into school and discuss any concerns with us face to face. We strive to ensure access to appropriate high quality teaching, differentiation and intervention for all of our pupils as needed. All planning and assessments are monitored and scrutinised by Subject Leaders, the Senior Management Team and SENCO. Learning walks take place daily across the school to ensure high standards for all of our learners.
For further information please view or download our Accessibility Plan which can be found in the School Policies section of our website.
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