SEN Local offer

LOCAL OFFER: MIDDLE PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL

All Greenwich maintained schools have a similar approach to meeting the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and/or disabilities, and are supported by the Local Authority to ensure that all pupils, regardless of their specific needs, make the best possible progress in school.

All schools are supported to be as inclusive as possible, with the needs of pupils with a Special Educational Need/s being met in a mainstream setting wherever possible, where families want this to happen. Nearly all children with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) go to a ‘mainstream’ school.

At Middle Park Primary School we recognise that many children may need some extra help or support at some time during their journey through school. We feel it is essential to the child’s development that children who do have a Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND) are identified as early as possible. This is known as early intervention and makes sure they get the help they need. This School offer should be looked at together with:

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A: PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS/ DIFFICULTIES WITH LEARNING IN THIS SCHOOL:

Who are the best people to talk to in this school about my child’s difficulties with learning/ Special Educational Needs (SEN)? And how can I talk to them about my child if I need to

The Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator (SENCO) He/she is responsible for:

  • Coordinating all the support for children with special educational needs (SEN) and developing the school’s SEN 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 – part of planning ahead for them.
  • 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 SEN register (a system for ensuring all the SEN needs of pupils in this school are known) and making sure that there are excellent records of your child’s progress and needs.
  • To provide specialist support for teachers and support staff in the school so they can help your child (and other pupils with SEN in the school) achieve the best possible progress in school.
  • Class/subject teacher He/ She is responsible for:
  • You can contact her through the School Office.
  • Ensuring that all children have access to excellent classroom teaching (also known as quality first teaching) and that the curriculum is adapted to meet your child’s individual needs (also known as differentiation).
  • 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) and letting the SENCO know as necessary.
  • Setting targets for your child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP), reviewing these at least once each term and planning for the following 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 SEN Policy is followed in their classroom and for all the pupils they teach with any SEN.
  • Headteacher He/she is responsible for:
  • You can arrange a meeting with your child’s teacher at any time through the School Office.
  • The day to day management of all aspects of the school, this includes the support for children with SEN.
  • She will give responsibility to the SENCO and class/subject teachers but is still responsible overall 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 SEN.
  • SEN Governor He/she is responsible for:
  • You can make an appointment to see the Headteacher at any time through the School Office.
  • Making sure that the school has an up to date SEN Policy
  • Making sure that the school has appropriate provision and has made necessary adaptations to meet the needs of all children in the school
  • Making sure that the necessary support is made for any child who attends the school who has SEN.B: HOW COULD MY CHILD GET HELP IN SCHOOL?
  • Children in school will get support that is specific to their individual needs. This may be all provided by the class teacher or may involve:
  • You can contact the SEN Governor through the School Office.
  • Other staff in the school
  • Staff who will visit the school from the Local Authority central services such as the ASD Outreach Team or Sensory Service ( for students with a hearing or visual need)
  • Staff who visit from outside agencies such as the Speech and Language therapy (SALT) Service.Class teacher input via excellent targeted classroom teaching also known as Quality First Teaching.
  • “What are the different types of support available for children with SEN in this school?”
  • Ensuring that the teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all pupils in their class.
  • Ensuring that all teaching is based on building on what your child already knows, can do and can understand.
  • Putting in place different ways of teaching so that your child is fully involved in learning in class. This may involve things like using more practical learning etc..
  • Putting in place specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENCO or outside staff) to support your child to learn.”Specific group work within a smaller group of children. This group may be”
  • All children in school should be getting this as a part of excellent classroom practice when needed.
  • Run in the classroom or outside.
  • Run by a teacher or a Teaching Assistant who has had training to run these groups. Stage of SEN Code of Practice:
  • School Action, which means they have been identified by the class teacher as needing some extra support in school.
  • These are often called intervention groups by schools.
  • Your child’s teacher will have carefully checked on your child’s progress and will have decided that your child has gaps in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress.
  • The class teacher would discuss these issues with  the SENCO . He/ She will plan group sessions for your child with targets to help your child to make more progress.
  • A Learning Support Assistant/teacher will run these small group sessions using the these plans. Children will be at the stage of the SEN Code of Practice called School Action, which means they have been identified by the class teacher as needing some extra support in school. for your child of 20 hours and below in school Stage of SEN Code of Practice: School Action Plus, which means they have been identified by the class teacher/SENCO as needing some extra specialist support in school from a professional outside the school. This may be from:
  • “Specialist groups run by outside agencies e.g Speech and Language therapy OR Occupational therapy groups” AND/OR  Individual support
  • Any child who has specific gaps in their understanding of a subject/area of learning.
  • Local Authority central services such as the ASD Outreach Team or Sensory Service ( for students with a hearing or visual need)
  • Outside agencies such as the Speech and Language therapy (SALT) Service. This is usually provided via a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This means your child will have been identified by the class teacher/SENCO as needing a particularly high level of individual and  small group teaching (more than 20 hours a week), which cannot be provided from the resources already delegated to the school.
  • Usually, if your child requires this high level of support they may also need specialist support in school from a professional outside the school. This may be from:
  • Specified Individual Support for your child of more than 20 hours in school.
  • Local Authority central services such as the ASD Outreach Team or Sensory Service ( for students with a hearing or visual need)
  • Outside agencies such as the Speech and Language therapy (SALT) Service, Occupational therapy service, Physiotherapy and/or CAMHS
  • Your child will have been identified by the class teacher/SENCO (or you will have raised your worries) as needing more specialist input instead of or in addition to excellent class room teaching and intervention groups.
  • You will be asked to come to a meeting to discuss your child’s progress and help plan possible ways forward.
  • You may be asked to give your permission for the school to refer your child to a specialist professional eg. a Speech and Language Therapist or Educational Psychologist. This will help the school and yourself understand your child’s particular needs better and be able to support them better in school.
  • The specialist professional will work with your child to understand their needs and make recommendations, which may include:
    • Making changes to the way your child is supported in class eg. some individual support or changing some aspects of teaching to support them better
    • Support to set better targets which will include their specific expertise
    • A group run by school staff under the guidance of the outside professional e.g a social skills group or memory group
    • A group or individual working with outside professional
    • The school may suggest that your child needs some agreed individual support or group support in school. They will tell you how the support will be used and what strategies will be put in place.
    • Children with specific barriers to learning that cannot be overcome through Quality First Teaching and intervention groups.
  • The school (or you) can request that the Local Authority carry out a statutory assessment of your child’s needs. This is a legal process and you can find more detail about this in the Local Authority based Local Offer, on the LA web site.
  • After the school have sent in the request to the Local Authority (with a lot of information about your child, including some from you), they will decide whether they think your child’s needs (as described in the paperwork provided), seem complex enough to need a statutory assessment. If this is the case they will ask you and all professionals involved with your child to write a report outlining your child’s needs. If they do not think your child needs this, they will ask the school to continue with the support at School Action Plus.
  • After the reports have all been sent in the Local Authority will decide if your child’s needs are severe, complex and lifelong and that they need more than 20 hours of support in school to make good progress. If this is the case they will write a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an EHC Plan. If this is not the case, they will ask the school to continue with the support at School Action Plus and also set up a meeting in school to ensure a plan is in place to ensure your child makes as much progress as possible.
  • The Statement or EHC Plan will outline the number of hours of individual/small group support your child will receive from the LA and how the support should be used and what strategies must be put in place. It will also have long and short term goals for your child.
  • The additional adult may be used to support your child with whole class learning, run individual programmes or run small groups including your child.
  • Children whose  learning needs are:
  • Severe, complex and lifelong
  • Need more than 20 hours of support in school
  • “How can I let the school know I am concerned about my child’s progress in school?”
  • If you have concerns about your child’s progress you should speak to your child’s class teacher initially.
  • If you are not happy that the concerns are being managed and that your child is still not making progress you should speak to the SENCO or Headteacher
  • If you are still not happy you can speak to the school SEN Governor.
  • How will the school let me know if they have any concerns about my child’s learning in school?”
  • When a teacher or a parent has raised concerns about your child’s progress, and targeted teaching has not met the child’s needs, the teacher must raise this with the SENCO.
  • Schools also have meetings every term between each class teacher and a senior staff member in the school to ensure all children are making good progress. This is another way your child may be identified as not making as much progress as they could be.
  • If your child is then identified as not making progress the school will set up a meeting to discuss this with you in more details
    • To listen to any concerns you may have
    • To plan any additional support your child may receive
    • To 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 Greenwich LA, includes money for supporting children with SEN.
  • The Head Teacher decides on the budget for Special Educational Needs in consultation with the school governors, on the basis of the needs of the children in the school.
  • The Head Teacher and the SENCO discuss all the information they have about SEN 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.A: Directly funded by the school
  • “Who are the other people providing services to children with SEN in this school?”
  • Learning mentors
  • SAO (Pupils and Families)
  • Additional Speech and Language Therapy input to provide a higher level of service to the school
  • Additional Educational Psychology input to provide a higher level of service to the school
  • Learning Support Assistants Programme Managers for interventions
  • B: Paid for centrally by the Local Authority but delivered in school
  • Autism Outreach Service
  • Educational Psychology Service
  • Sensory Service for children with  visual or hearing needs
  • STEPS (Assessment, advice and resources for children with literacy or numeracy difficulties including Dyslexia)
  • Speech and Language Therapy (provided by Health but paid for by the Local Authority).
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Physiotherapy
  • Professional training for school staff to deliver medical interventions
  • C: Provided and paid for by the Health Service (Oxleas NHS Trust)  but delivered in school
  • School Nurse
  • Occupational Therapy (some Special schools only)
  • Physiotherapy (some Special schools only)
  • “How are the adults in school helped to work with children with an SEN and what training do they have?”
  • The SENCO’s job is to support the class teacher in planning for children with SEN.
  • The school has a training plan for all staff to improve the teaching and learning of children including those with SEN. This includes whole school training on SEN issues such as ASD, dyslexia  etc..
  • Individual teachers and support staff attend training courses run by outside agencies that are relevant to the needs of specific children in their class e.g from the ASD Outreach service, STEPS and Sensory service.
  • “How will the teaching be adapted for my child with learning needs (SEN)?”
  • 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 support staff can adapt the teacher’s 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.
  • “How will we measure the progress of your child in school? And how will I know about this?”
  • Your child’s progress is continually monitored by his/her class teacher.
  • His/her progress is reviewed formally every term and a National Curriculum level given in reading, writing, numeracy and science.
  • 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’.
  • 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 School Action and School Action Plus will have an IEP which will be reviewed every term and the plan for the next term made.
  • The progress of children with a statement of SEN/ 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.
  • “What support do we have for you as a parent of child with an SEN?”
  • We would like you to talk to your child’s class teacher regularly so we know what they are doing at home and we can tell you about what we are doing in school.  We hope this will make sure that we are doing similar things to support them both at home and school and can share what is working in both places.
  • The SENCO (or Head teacher) is available to meet with you to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns/worries you may have.
  • All information from outside professionals will be discussed with you with the person involved directly, or where this is not possible, in a report. The SENCO will also arrange to meet with you to discuss any new assessments and ideas suggested by outside agencies for your child.
  • 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. “How will we support your child when they are leaving this school? OR moving on to another class?” We recognise that ‘moving on’ can be difficult for a child with SEN and take steps to ensure that any transition is a smooth as possible.
  • In addition: If you child is undergoing statutory assessment you will also be supported by the Children’s Services SEN Team.  They will ensure that you fully understand the process.
  • If your child is moving to another school:
    • We will contact the new school’s 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.
  • If your child would be helped by a book to support them understand moving on then it will be made for them.
  • The SENCO will attend the Primary Transition Day to discuss the specific needs of your child with the SENCO of their secondary school, and the specialist session for students with an ASD, as appropriate.
  • Your child will attend a small group in school, to support their understanding of the changes ahead. This may include creating a ‘Personal Passport’ which includes information about themselves for their new 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.
  • In Year 6

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