We believe that staff, parents and outside agencies should work together to identify and support children with ‘Special Educational Needs and Disabilities’. There are a number of interconnected routes by which a child with additional needs may be identified.

Observation and assessment by class teachers: If our teachers think your child may not be making their age expected progress and consider this may be the consequence of a special educational need, they will discuss their concerns with you and with our Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo). Our SENDCo may then carry out observations, implement more specific assessments and gather further evidence from school and home. This information will be used to help put in place the support required to best meet your child’s learning needs.

Parental/Carer input: Parents/Carers know their child better than anyone else. If you tell us you think your child has a special educational need, your class teacher will discuss this with you. We will observe your child closely and assess what may be the cause of their difficulty. We will share with you what we find out and what we will do next.

 Input from a Pre-school or previous school: When a child has an identified SEND before they start at Sinnington Primary School, we work with the people who already know about them and use the information already available to identify how we can meet their needs at our school.

Input from a specialist outside professional: Sometimes, with your consent, we may ask for help to assess and support your child via NYCC’s Inclusion Hubs, which allows us to access the expertise of Specialist Teachers. We may also ask for help from the Educational Psychologist or medical professionals such as Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists or the School Nurse. This will never happen without your consent and you will be kept fully informed of their findings and recommendations.

At Sinnington Primary School we endeavour to meet the needs of all pupils to make the best possible progress in school. We support all areas of need. The four broad areas of need identified in the SEN Code of Practice (2015):

- Communication and interaction

- Cognition and learning

- Social, mental and emotional health

- Sensory and/or physical

High quality support for learning within mainstream lessons is the most important factor in helping pupils with SEND to make good progress alongside their peers. Class teachers plan lessons according to the specific needs of all groups of children in their class and will endeavour to ensure that your child’s needs are met.  All pupils at Sinnington Primary School receive ‘quality first teaching’. This means that a range of teaching styles and approaches are used and that learning objectives are matched to individual needs. All children have access to different types of support in lessons, through tasks and resources and often work in small groups or one to one with a teacher or teaching assistant.  We are committed to providing the highest standard of support and all our staff engage in regular professional development related to supporting students with additional learning needs.  Some staff have specialist training to be able to support specific areas of need, recent examples include training in Makaton, speech and language interventions and social and emotional regulation support.

Pastoral support is provided to all pupils by the class teacher and other adults within the school.  We have a comprehensive personal development curriculum and we also offer bespoke pastoral/social and emotional support as and when needed. All students are encouraged and supported to take part in all aspects of school life and we also offer a range of extra-curricular activities which are fully inclusive and help build a strong sense of belonging.

Some children need further additional support to make progress and this is developed following an assess-plan-do-review cycle and follows a graduated pathway. Additional support may include extra help from a Teaching Assistant in class, small group or individual support out of class (intervention), alternative resources such as ‘Help packs’, home school books, specialised work stations or equipment, ICT access, visual prompts, support to manage own behaviour or social, emotional /pastoral support from Teachers, Teaching Assistants or Buddies (older children - friendly mentors who are there to help).  We may also, at this stage, request guidance or input from a specialist outside professional.  Currently we work with Specialist Teachers from Vision Support, Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational therapists, Physiotherapists, Health Visitors, the Healthy Child Team and the Educational Psychology Service.

At every stage of the process, the pupil’s voice is at the centre of decision making and provision. Your child will be listened to and supported, and their views will be taken into account along with those of teachers, families and professionals.  When a child is placed on the SEND Register an Individual support plan will be established.  This outlines what a child finds difficult, what classroom adjustments help to support learning and what additional support your child is receiving.  Short term targets will also be discussed and agreed in regular meetings involving the child, parents/carers and the class teacher and these will be recorded on the Individual support plan.

Sometimes it becomes clear that a child may have more complex needs and more specialist guidance and support is required. If your child’s needs are more complex, we may suggest that we ask the Local Authority for a Statutory Assessment. From September 2014, all children who have significant special needs will undergo an Education Health and Care (EHC) Assessment. This may lead to an EHC Plan if it is decided that your child needs additional support beyond that provided through established school support. Where a child does have more complex needs we work with a range of professionals to develop the appropriate support which will help your child make progress.

Your child’s progress is continually monitored by their class teacher.  Progress is reviewed formally each term and a measurement against age related expectations is made.  Progress meetings for all pupils are held termly and a data report will be shared as part of this meeting.  Targets are discussed during these meetings and assessed in the subsequent term.  A more detailed report is also issued at the end of the year.  In addition, any parent can request a meeting to discuss their child’s progress at any time during the year with the class teacher or the SENDCo.

If there is outside involvement with a Specialist teacher there may be additional meetings which are held alongside the SENDCo.  If a child has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) this is formally reviewed each year at an annual review with all adults involved and where appropriate the child. 

Where a child is involved in an intervention the progress made during the intervention is measured by the class teacher or SENDCo and is used to inform planning in the classroom and next steps of support, if needed.

We recognise that transitions can be difficult for a child with SEND and take steps to ensure that any transition is as smooth as possible.

For children joining Sinnington Primary School the SENDCo and/or class teacher will communicate with the previous setting and parents to discuss the specific needs of the child.  A transition package will be put together and the SENDCo and /or class teacher will liaise with all relevant parties during the transition period to gather information and become familiar with the needs of the child.

When moving classes within school, information will be passed onto the new class teacher and in some cases a planning meeting will take place. If your child would benefit from additional transition support such as a social story being written or additional visits this will be organised.

If your child is moving to another school we will contact the school SENDCo to ensure they know about any special arrangements or support that needs to be established for your child.  We will make sure that all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible.

 We have strong links with Ryedale School, as part of the Ryedale Learning Trust, and conversations around transition start at beginning of Year 6.  Ryedale School has a comprehensive transition programme and they are happy to arrange a more bespoke transition for those pupils who need it.  Transition planning meetings with parents/carers are arranged for those students who may need additional support with transition.  Detailed information about your child’s learning needs will be passed on to Ryedale School and they will continue to be supported in this setting.  If your child is attending a different secondary school we will contact the school to discuss your child’s learning and transition needs.

As a school we aim to support parents and signpost additional support for individuals or families when needed.  We also welcome parents seeking external support and work closely with SENDIASS (SEND information, advice and support service).

SENDIASS can be contacted through on 01609 536923. The SENDIASS co-ordinators can offer impartial advice and support which could include making a home visit to listen to any concerns you may have, or attending meetings with you. They may also be able to put you in touch with other organisations or parent support groups.

There is also the NYCC Early Help Service which can offer early support to families:

https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/early-help

North Yorkshire Local Offer:

https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/send-local-offer

If you have any concerns or questions your child’s class teacher is often best place to help initially and on a day to day basis.

Our SENDCo, who oversees the provision for students with additional needs alongside the Head of School, the Executive Leadership Team and the SEND Governor, is Dr Carolyn Williams and she can be contacted by email at cwilliams@ryedale-rlt.co.uk or by phone on 01439 771665.  Dr Williams is not based full time in school but meetings or phone calls can be arranged via the contact details above or via school.  You are also able to arrange a meeting with Mr Neil Roden, Head of School, to discuss any concerns you may have.

We value the partnership with parents/carers and should a problem or concern with provision arise, parents/carers are asked to contact the SENDCo in the first instance to discuss any concerns they have. Any complaints will be treated in accordance with the school complaints procedure which is on the school website.

Our SEND Policy can be found here.

Our Anti-bullying policy can be found here

Our Accessibility Plan can be found here