The aim of this Information Report is to explain how we implement our SEND policy. In other words, we want to show you how SEND support works in our school.

As educational professionals, we are all working towards the ultimate goal of growing independent young people as they prepare for adulthood. All provision and support we provide is working towards achieving the Kent Children and Young People (CYP) Outcomes Framework:

 

 

Phase 1	If you think your child might have SEND, raise your concern with the school so that the SENCO is aware. You can raise your concerns with your child’s class teacher or the SENCO directly. Acorn Class (Reception) Miss Evans : acorn@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk Willow Class (Year 1) Miss Pring : willow@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk Beech Class (Year 2) Mr Mackinnon / Mrs Mackinnon : Beech@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk Maple Class (Year 3) Mrs Smallcombe : maple@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk Chestnut Class (Year 4) Mrs Barter : chestnut@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk Lilac Class (Year 5) Dr Charles : lilac@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk Oak Class (Year 6) Mr Goodyer : oak@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk SENCO Mrs Maguire : jmaguire@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk
Phase 2	We will meet with you to discuss your concerns and try to get a better understanding of what your child’s strengths and difficulties are. Together we will decide what outcomes to seek for your child and agree on next steps. We will make a note of what’s been discussed and add this to your child’s record.
Phase 3	We will implement the agreed strategies and monitor these over an agreed period of time. These are likely to be universal strategies set out in the mainstream core standards. A copy of this can be found here: https://www.kelsi.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/117257/Special-educational-needs-mainstream-core-standards-guide-for-parents.pdf . This will initiate the ‘Graduated Approach’ where support will be continually reviewed. See next page for more details.
Phase 4	If we decide that your child needs SEND support, we will formally notify you and your child will be added to the school’s SEND register. They will receive additional support and this will be reviewed using the assess, plan, do, review model.

4. What happens if the school identifies a need?

The same process is followed if a concern is raised by the school.

 

All our class teachers are responsible for the monitoring of all pupils who have been identified as having SEND. They also review those who are not making the expected level of progress in their schoolwork or socially. If the teacher notices that a pupil is having difficulties, they try to find out if the pupil has any gaps in their learning. If they can find a gap, the school will provide appropriate support. Pupils who don’t have SEND usually make progress quickly once the gap in their learning has been filled.

If the pupil is still finding it difficult to make the expected progress, the teacher will talk to the SENCO, and will contact you to discuss the possibility that your child has SEND, and the school will follow the graduated approach (see previous page).

5. How will the school measure my child’s progress?

At St Barnabas, we measure children’s progress in a variety of ways.   These include:

• Day-to-day classroom assessment – Teachers watch how your child participates, completes tasks and interacts with others.  Notes or checklist may be kept to keep track of skills and understanding.
• Formal assessments – These take place 3 times a year.  Results are kept on our central record Arbor and used to inform Pupil Progress Meetings.
• Standardised Assessments – Sometimes the school use standardised tests to compare progress to age-related expectations.  These help to identify learning gaps or strengths. 

We follow the ‘graduated approach’ to meeting your child’s SEND needs.

The graduated approach is a 4-part cycle of assess, plan, do, review. 

 

Assess	If your child is not making the expected level of progress, we will make an assessment to find out what strengths and difficulties your child has. We will ask for you and your child’s input, as well as getting help from external professionals where necessary.
Plan	In discussion with you and your child, we will decide what outcomes we are hoping to achieve. We will make a plan of the support we will offer your child to help them meet those outcomes. We will make a record of this and share it with you and all relevant school staff.
Do	We will put our plan into practice. The class teacher, with the support of the SENCO, will be responsible for working with your child on a daily basis, and making sure the support we put in place is having the impact we intended.
Review	We will assess how well the support we put in place helped the pupil to meet the outcomes we set. We will use our improved understanding of your child’s needs to improve the support we offer; this may mean the Plan, Assess, Do, Review cycle continues.

 

How will I be involved in decisions made about my child’s education?

We will provide annual reports on your child's progress.  

A member of staff who knows your child well will meet you 3 times a year, to:

• Set clear outcomes for your child’s progress
• Review progress towards those outcomes
• Discuss the support we will put in place to help your child make that progress
• Identify what we will do, what we will ask you to do, and what we will ask your child to do

 

The SENCO may also attend these meetings to provide extra support. 

We know that you’re the expert when it comes to your child’s needs and aspirations. So, we want to make sure you have a full understanding of how we’re trying to meet your child’s needs, so that you can provide insight into what you think would work best for your child.

We also want to hear from you as much as possible so that we can build a better picture of how the SEND support we are providing is impacting your child outside of school. 

If your child’s needs or aspirations change at any time, please let us know right away so we can keep our provision as relevant as possible.

If you have concerns that arise between these meetings, please contact either the class teacher or the SENCO on the contact details on page 8.

7. How will my child be involved in decisions made about their education?

The level of involvement will depend on your child’s age and individual needs. We recognise that no two pupils are the same, so we will decide on a case-by-case basis, with your input.

 

We may seek your child’s views by asking them to:

• Attend meetings to discuss their progress and outcomes
• Prepare a presentation, written statement, video, drawing, etc.
• Discuss their views with a member of staff who can act as a representative during the meeting
• Complete a survey

 

 

8. How will the school adapt its teaching for my child?

Your child’s teacher is responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all the pupils in their class.

High-quality teaching is our first step in responding to your child’s needs. We will make sure that your child has access to a broad and balanced curriculum in every year they are at our school.

We will adapt our approaches to how we teach to suit the way the pupil works best. There is no 'one size fits all’ approach to adapting the curriculum, we work on a case-by case basis to make sure the adaptations we make are meaningful to your child and are guided by the Mainstream Core Standards in the first instance.

These adaptations may include:

• Adapting our approaches, for example, giving longer processing times, pre-teaching of key vocabulary, reading instructions aloud, etc.
•  Adapting our resources and staffing
•  Using recommended aids, such as visuals, coloured overlays, visual timetables, larger font, laptops etc.
• Teaching assistants or support staff will support pupils appropriately depending on their presentation of need
• Scaffolding lesson materials

We may also provide the following interventions:

C&I Communication and Interaction	Language for Learning Time to Talk Socially Speaking Quality Circle Time Speech and Lang Programs PECs Cards Communication Boards Communication Books Lego Therapy Visual Resources Alternative methods of recording Social Stories Teachers Toolkit (visual resources) Speech Link
C&L Cognition and Learning	Number Stacks Numicon Reading support Writing support Phonics groups Maths groups 1-2-1 targeted support Number Shark Work Shark Sounds Progress Words First Purple Mash Touch Typing Precision Teaching
SEMH Social, Emotional and Mental Health	ELSA Zones of Regulation Drawing and talking FLO Lunch Club Quality circle time Zippy’s Friends Apple’s Friends Young Careers Therapy dog - Betsy
S / P Sensory and / or Physical	Sensory Circuits BEAM Jump Ahead Write from the Start Fine Motor Groups Write Dance Wobble cushions, headphones, weighted cushions and blankets, pencil grips, ergonomic pencils, chew toys and writing slopes are available

These interventions are part of our contribution to Kent County Council’s local offer.

9. How will the school evaluate whether the support in place is helping my child?

We will evaluate the effectiveness of provision for your child by:

•   Reviewing their progress towards their goals each term
•   Reviewing the impact of interventions at the end of each seasonal term (approx. 12 weeks)
•   Using pupil questionnaires
•   Monitoring by the SENCO
•   Using provision maps to measure progress
•   Holding an annual review (if they have an education, health and care (EHC) plan)

 

10. How will the school ensure my child has appropriate resources?

As part of our budget, we receive ‘notional SEN funding’. This funding is used to ensure that the

quality of teaching is good in the school and there are sufficient resources to deploy additional and

different teaching for pupils requiring SEN Support.

The amount of support required for each pupil to make good progress will be different in each case.

It may be that your child’s needs mean we need to provide additional resources such as:

• Additional resources to support their learning
• Adaptations to in class support
• Further training for our staff
• External specialist expertise

Where appropriate, we will consult with external agencies to get recommendations on what will best help your child access their learning and use our best endeavours to ensure these are supplied.

 

11. How will the school make sure my child is included in activities alongside pupils who don’t have SEND?

The expectation is that all schools providing an inclusive provision for all pupils. It may be necessary for some pupils to receive interventions in addition to a broad and balanced curriculum.

All of our extra-curricular activities and school visits are available to all our pupils, including our before and after-school clubs.

All pupils are encouraged to go on our school trips, including our residential trip in year 6. In the case

of residential trips, the needs of the child are discussed with their families and decisions will be made

on an individual basis about the overnight aspect of the stay.

All pupils are encouraged to take part in the wide range of extra-curricular activities at St Barnabas, including sports day, swimming opportunities, clubs, theatre trips, Christmas nativity and carol events.

No pupil is ever excluded from taking part in these activities because of their SEN or disability and we will make whatever reasonable adjustments are needed to make sure that they can be included.

12. How does the school make sure the admissions process is fair for pupils with SEN or a disability?

If you are considering a school place for your child at St Barnabas, please book a tour through the school office.  This will give you a chance to visit the school and speak to members of staff about the needs of your child.  Individual tours are offered throughout the year.  Tours for parents considering a Reception Class place are grouped together in small tours during the application window.  If your child has additional needs or you have concerns, please mention this at the time of booking and the SENCO will aim to speak with you.

Children with an EHCP have their application managed through the SEN office.  The school will be in touch for further information at the time of consultation.

For further details on our admission criteria, please refer to the policy found at:

https://www.st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk/page/?title=Policies%26%23160%3B&pid=48

 

13. How does the school support pupils with disabilities?

You’re disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.

St Barnabas is proud to be an inclusive school.  We offer access to a broad and balanced curriculum for all pupils regardless of disability.  We strive to ensure all pupils can access all learning opportunities within and beyond the school. 

School has regular contact with parents and various outside agencies, including Specialist Teachers, who provide advice and recommendation around necessary adaptions, adaptive resources and support.

Our Accessibility Plan can be found here:

https://www.st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk/page/?title=Policies%26%23160%3B&pid=48

 

14. How will the school support my child’s mental health and emotional and social development?

We provide support for pupils to progress in their emotional and social development in the following ways:

•  Pupils with SEND are encouraged to be part of the school council.
• A whole school approach to Zones of Regulation to support identification of emotions and strategies to support.
• ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) working with selected groups and individuals.
•  Pupils with SEND are also encouraged to be part of the school clubs on offer to promote teamwork/building friendships.
• We provide extra pastoral support for listening to the views of pupils with SEND through the use of our FLO (Family Liaison Officer).
• We have a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to bullying. For further detail please refer to the policy found on the school website.

15. What support is in place for looked-after and previously looked-after children with SEND?

The SENCO is responsible for supporting children who are looked-after or have been previously looked after.  She will make sure that all teachers understand how a looked-after or previously looked-after pupil’s circumstances and their SEND might interact, and what the implications are for teaching and learning.

Pupils who are looked-after or previously looked-after will be supported much in the same way as any other child who has SEND. However, looked-after pupils will also have a personal education plan (PEP). We will make sure that the PEP and any SEND support plans or EHC plans are consistent and complement one another. 

16. What support will be available for my child as they transition between classes or settings or in preparing for adulthood?

Between years

To help pupils with SEND be prepared for a new school year:

• Children participate in a ‘Moving up day’ where they meet their new teachers and see their new classroom.  This takes place in the summer term.

• For children with SEND and medical needs, a transition meeting is held where the current staff and future staff present. Parents and SENCO may also attend.

• A transition booklet is produced for all children entering Reception Class and for selected individual higher up the school.

• The current class teacher meets with the next year’s teacher to discuss each child and the class

teachers meet with the SENCO to discuss SEND provision.

• Two taster sessions are offered to all new Reception children

Between schools

When your child is moving on from our school, we will ask you and your child what information you want us to share with the new setting.  We may also contact the previous/on-going school to discuss information and support.

Transition to Secondary School

 • When requested, the SENCO supports SEND children and parents with school tours prior and applications

• Pupils attend open days at the secondary school they have been allocated in the summer term.

 • For pupils identified as vulnerable (who may or may not have special educational needs) additional support is provided such as additional visits, photo books, and preparation sessions.

• Secondary staff visit to meet all Yr 6 children in their primary setting to discuss transition.
• The Primary SENCO will meet with the Secondary SENCO to discuss need and provision of pupils with SEND or those who may require additional consideration.
• Additional transition paperwork is completed by staff who know the children well.

 17. What support is available for me and my family?

If you have questions about SEND, or are struggling to cope, please get in touch to let us know. We want to support you, your child and your family.

To see what support is available to you locally, have a look at Kent’s local offer. https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educational-needs

Our local special educational needs and disabilities information advice and support services (SENDIASS) organisations are:

Information Advice and Support Kent (IASK)

 Information Advice and Support Kent (IASK) provide a free and confidential information, advice, and support service for parents of a disabled child or child with special educational needs and to children and young people up to the age of 25 who have a special educational need or disability.

They can be contacted on:

Helpline: 03000 413 000

Office: 03000 412 412

E-Mail: iask@kent.gov.uk

Web: www.kent.gov.uk/iask

 

Local charities that offer information and support to families of pupils with SEND are:

https://kentpactnew2022.co.uk/

https://www.kentautistictrust.org/

 

National charities that offer information and support to families of pupils with SEND are:

• IPSEA
• SEND family support
• NSPCC
• Family Action
• Special Needs Jungle

18. What should I do if I have a complaint about my child’s SEND support?

In the first instance, we encourage parents to discuss their concern with the class teacher or SENCO. If this does not satisfactorily resolve the complaint, then parents are encouraged to meet with the Head Teacher (or Deputy Head in her absence) to resolve the issue before making any formal complaint to the Chair of the Governing Body.

St Barnabas’ Complaints Policy can be found at:  https://www.stbarnabas.kent.sch.uk/page/?title=Policies%26%23160%3B&pid=48

To see a full explanation of suitable avenues for complaint, see pages 246 and 247 of the SEND Code of Practice. 

If you feel that our school discriminated against your child because of their SEND, you have the right to make a discrimination claim to the first-tier SEND tribunal. To find out how to make such a claim, you should visit: https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-school/disability-discrimination

You can make a claim about alleged discrimination regarding:

•  Admission
• Exclusion
• Provision of education and associated services
• Making reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services

Before going to a SEND tribunal, you can go through processes called disagreement resolution or mediation, where you try to resolve your disagreement before it reaches the tribunal.

19. Supporting documents

• Equality Information and Objectives Policy
• Child protection and safeguarding policy
• Behaviour Policy
• Accessibility Plan
• Attendance and punctuality policy
• SEND policy
• SEN & Disabilities Code Of Practice 2015
• Mainstream Core Standards

20. Glossary

• Access arrangements – special arrangements to allow pupils with SEND to access assessments or exams
• Annual review – an annual meeting to review the provision in a pupil’s EHC plan
• Area of need – the 4 areas of need describe different types of needs a pupil with SEND can have. The 4 areas are communication and interaction; cognition and learning; physical and/or sensory; and social, emotional and mental health needs.
• CAMHS – child and adolescent mental health services
• Differentiation – when teachers adapt how they teach in response to a pupil’s needs
• EHC needs assessment – the needs assessment is the first step on the way to securing an EHC plan. The local authority will do an assessment to decide whether a child needs an EHC plan.
• EHC plan – an education, health and care plan is a legally-binding document that sets out a child’s needs and the provision that will be put in place to meet their needs.
• First-tier tribunal/SEND tribunal – a court where you can appeal against the local authority’s decisions about EHC needs assessments or plans and against discrimination by a school or local authority due to SEND
• Graduated approach – an approach to providing SEND support in which the school provides support in successive cycles of assessing the pupil’s needs, planning the provision, implementing the plan, and reviewing the impact of the action on the pupil
• Intervention – a short-term, targeted approach to teaching a pupil with a specific outcome in mind 
• Local offer – information provided by the local authority which explains what services and support are on offer for pupils with SEND in the local area
• Outcome – target for improvement for pupils with SEND. These targets don't necessarily have to be related to academic attainment 
• Reasonable adjustments – changes that the school must make to remove or reduce any disadvantages caused by a child’s disability  
• SENCO – the special educational needs co-ordinator
• SEN – special educational needs
• SEND – special educational needs and disabilities
• SEND Code of Practice – the statutory guidance that schools must follow to support pupils with SEND
• SEND information report – a report that schools must publish on their website, that explains how the school supports pupils with SEND
• SEND support – special educational provision which meets the needs of pupils with SEND

Transition – when a pupil

If you want to know more about our arrangements for SEND, read our SEND policy alongside this Information Report.

You can find our SEND policy on our website https://www.st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk/.

Note: If there are any terms we’ve used in this information report that you’re unsure of, you can look them up in the Glossary at the end of the report.