SEND

“Pupils are happy at this inclusive school. They say that everyone is welcome and quickly becomes part of the school family. Pupils respect their caring teachers, who frequently go above and beyond to help them.” Ofsted 2023

At Queen Eleanor, we endeavour to create an inclusive, supportive and aspirational learning environment that is responsive to the diversity of children’s backgrounds, interests, experience, knowledge and skills. Therefore, we are committed to working together with all members of the school community. We enjoy sharing and celebrating the achievements everybody and believe in participation for all!

We firmly believe that, what is necessary for some, is beneficial for all.

Our school SENDCo is Ms Sarah McMahon. You can contact her by emailing sarah.mcmahon@queeneleanoryacademy.org.uk

What is SEND?

At different times in their school career, a child or young person may have a special educational need. The Code of Practice defines SEND as:

“A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:

a) have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age: or

b) have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.”

My child is identified as having SEND, what happens now?

We will provide provision that is ‘additional to or different from’ the normal differentiated curriculum, intended to overcome the barrier to their learning.

We work in collaboration with parents, children, teachers, support staff and the school SENDCo to gather views, identify barriers to learning and put in place the appropriate support for the learner. The Graduated Approach uses 4 stages: Assess, Plan, Do and Review.

More information about the Graduated Approach here at Queen Eleanor Primary Academy, and how we involve the parents and children in this process, can be found in the PowerPoint below.

GRADUATED APPROACH

For some leaners, we may want to seek advice from specialist teams and services to provide support, intervention and expertise. These specialist teams include, but are not limited to

Educational Psychologists
SEND Support Services (SSS)
Speech and Language Therapists
Occupational Health Therapists
Physiotherapists
Community Paediatrician
Visual or Hearing Impairment specialists
Mental Health Support Team
JoGo Behaviour Support Team

The school will always inform you of any referrals or request for consultation with any outside agencies or professionals. It is sometimes hard to know what happens next and waiting times can be frustrating, here are some helpful guides to ‘What happens now’ referral guides for parents.

Referral guides for parents

Educational health & Care Plans

Some children and young people may not make the progress expected of them even with this help. When this happens, the local authority can carry out an EHC needs assessment.

You or the school, can ask the local authority to make an EHC needs assessment. When this assessment is finished, the local authority must decide whether to issue an EHC plan.

The SEND Code of Practice says:

‘In considering whether an EHC needs assessment is necessary, the local authority should consider whether there is evidence that despite the early years provider, school or post-16 institution having taken relevant and purposeful action to identify, assess and meet the special educational needs of the child or young person, the child or young person has not made expected progress.’

Educational Health & Care Plans and Annual Reviews explained

Links to support from the Local Authority

https://www.iassnorthants.co.uk/education/ehc-plans/Pages/frequent-questions-about-ehc.aspx

IASS (Information Advice Support Services for SEND in Northamptonshire) can be very helpful for parents wanting more support and advice around EHCPs and other SEND information.

SENDIASS Home

SENDIASS stands for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service.

It’s a free, impartial, and confidential service offering information to young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and to their parents and carers.

https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/local-offer

The Local Offer:

provides information for families with children who have a special educational need or disability
improves choice and transparency for these families
helps professionals to understand the range of local services and provision
improves joint commissioning arrangements for services by setting out (in a single place) what is available locally

Courses from Send Support Services for Parents and Carers https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/specialist-send-support-services/send-support-service-courses-parents-and-carers

sendias link