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SEND Information

SEND information report

Last updated November 2024

Specified in  Schedule 1 to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014

Who is qualified to lead SEND at Shirley Infant School?

Staff Member

Role & Responsibility

University & Qualification

Year of completion

Aimee Reilly

Whole School SENCo

Winchester University - NASENCo Award

2017 - 2018

 

Contact: 023 8077 5057      or       office@shirleyschools.co.uk  Subject: FAO Miss Reilly

SEND at Shirley Infant School

At Shirley Infant School, our core values are ‘Respect, Kindness and Integrity’. We aim to provide high levels of care for all pupils, celebrate their individuality and make sure that pupils’ voices are listened to, respected and acted upon. We are committed to providing an environment that enables full access and participation in the school community for all pupils, staff and visitors with a disability, regardless of their physical, sensory, social, spiritual, emotional and cultural needs (SEND policy). Please also read our Behaviour and Relationship Policy.

At Shirley Infant School we have high expectations of all pupils. We believe that all children have an entitlement to be educated alongside their peers in their local community. As an inclusive community, we are committed to reducing and removing the barriers to learning and participation that can hinder or exclude individual pupils, or groups of pupils. We aim to prepare our pupils to be life long learners through supporting the development of their independence and preparation for the future.

 

We are committed to taking positive action in light of the Equality Act, 2010 with regard to disability (the accessibility plan from Hamwic). We are a very inclusive school and we have an ethos of support and awareness throughout the school. Every adult who works in our school is a leader of SEND and they have responsibility for ensuring every child is carefully thought about. We aim to develop a culture of inclusion and diversity in which people feel confident about disclosing their needs in the certain knowledge that they will receive a positive and supportive response which facilitates their participation in the full range of activities offered.

 

In particular, the achievement and participation of pupils with SEND is monitored regularly. We use this data to raise standards and ensure inclusive teaching.  We expect to make reasonable adjustments in relation to teaching and learning and wider aspects of academy life to make sure that the educational environment is as accessible as possible. Parents’ evenings take place in the Autumn and Spring terms, these meetings give parents/carers the opportunity to formally discuss their child’s progress.  An end of year written report is sent out in the Summer term.  This highlights the children’s academic attainment and progress along with targets for next steps. There are additional meeting points in the year, outlined in the Graduated Approach section.

Our school team ensures that children receive personalised interventions and pastoral care; whether it be for their social and emotional needs, special educational needs, disabilities, behaviour, mental health or medical needs. We support teachers and parents to identify and meet the needs of every child, providing opportunities for real-life learning and working with other agencies to ensure the best possible provision for our vulnerable pupils.

Shirley Infant School has provisions for the following areas:

  • Communication and language
  • Cognition and learning
  • Sensory and physical
  • Social, emotional and mental health

The Graduated Approach

Shirley Infant School follows the Graduated Approach. This supports teachers in identification and assessment of pupils with special educational needs.

Children on Wave 4 of the Graduated Approach will have an IEP (Individual Education Plan) with planned review pointed with the class teacher in the Autumn, Spring and Summer term. These are working documents and will be annotated by the team working with the children, this may include pictures, quotes or references to other areas.

Children on Wave 5 of the Graduated Approach will have an EHCP (Education Health Care Plan). At Shirley Infant School, children with an EHCP have a Learning Log to celebrate the work and steps towards their targets. There are meeting points throughout the year to speak with the class teacher and look through the Learning Log. Once a year there will be an annual review, where all stakeholders are invited to review the provision, strengths/needs of the children and targets.  Within the learning log there are child led information pages where children can share either aspirations, strengths, needs and how you can help them. This is prepared with the child in a way their suits their method of communication. Shirley Infant School has a SEND caseworker who can be contacted by parent/carers and the SENDCO.

Annual Reviews - Southampton SENDIASS

The Graduated Approach ensures that we maintain a high-quality curriculum for pupils with SEND at our mainstream school.

The Graduated Approach

SEND Code of Practice 

ASSESS

Paragraph 6.45: In identifying a child as needing SEN support the class teacher, working with the SENCo, should carry out a clear analysis of the pupil's needs.

PLAN

Paragraph 6.49: All teachers and support staff who with ,the pupil, should be made aware of their needs, the outcomes sought, the support provided and any teaching strategies or approaches that are required.

DO

Paragraph 6.52: The class teacher should remain responsible for working with the child on a daily basis. Where the interventions involve group or one-to-one teaching away from the main class, they should still retain responsibility for the pupil.

REVIEW

Paragraph 6.54: The impact and quality of the support and interventions should be evaluated, along with the views of the pupil and their parents.

 

The review allows for teachers to reflect on the individual progress of the child. At Shirley Infant School we celebrate the success and progress, even small steps are included in this success as we know how important it is to the child. From this, the teacher can carefully plan the next steps for the child to build on from.

Children working well-below the level of the National Curriculum

It is vital that every child at Shirley Infant School has a 'pathway' to success - a route that will support the child on their journey beyond their infant school (Early Years and Key Stage 1) education.

At Shirley Infant School our aims for pupils with SEND are just as high than those for their peers. To achieve this, we must have an accurate understanding of:

  • The pupil's need(s);
  • The pupil's current academic assessment and where this sits in relation to their chronological peers;
  • The barriers to learning that exist.

Some pupils may be working at a different stage to their peers - for example a Year 2 child may be assessed as working on the Development Matters Curriculum. Where this is the case, teachers will work alongside the SENCo to ensure that the provision matches the child's needs. Further, staff will seek to ensure that there is accelerated planning to diminish the gaps in learning between the child and peers. This is done by moving the child’s learning focus to a provision called: Building Blocks. Building Blocks break down the learning into small steps with the aim to close the attainment gap. Building Blocks are available for Reading, Writing and Maths and move from Block 1 to Block 6.

Some children will be working significantly below their peers. For these children we have a provision called: The Engagement Model. Using this pathway, the team can ensure that there is relevant and suitable knowledge and skill content delivered to enable the child to successfully implement the foundation blocks to learning.

Additional support for learning

At Shirley Infant School we have an Intervention Menu for all. This allows for the team around the child to plan appropriate support and interventions. This also supports the school in the Graduated Approach (link graduated approach).

We have a range of equipment and facilities to support children with special education needs. This can be done in a range of ways:

  • Through guidance and advice of external agencies e.g. our school link Occupational Therapist or the Visually Impaired outreach teacher
  • Working with charities e.g. Chloe and Sophie’s Special Ear Fund (Meet the Team at Chloe's and Sophie's Special Ears Fund)
  • Resources that are available within school e.g. coloured overlays, talking tins

Equipment, facilities and resources are available but planned carefully in order to support the child in the best way possible.

At Shirley Infant School, the team welcome training and development for their knowledge in relation to children and young people with special educational needs. Having external agencies in to further our good practise and provision for children with SEND is always welcomed.

Below is a list of examples of training we have accessed and a sample of some of the external agencies we work with.

Name of training

External Agencies the school works with

Autism in Schools Project

Educational Psychologist

Trauma and Attachment Aware Educational Settings Project

Occupation Therapist

Sensory Regulation Training with Jessica Robbins (Highly Specialist SEND Occupational Therapist)

Southampton Inclusion Partnership (SIP)

Diabetes Education Day

Teacher of the Deaf

EYFS SEND network

School nurse

Sensory Circuits

Speech and Language Therapist

 

ELSA

At Shirley Infant School we have an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant who provides our ELSA provision. As a setting we offer the following within our ELSA provision:

  • Trauma Informed Approach
  • Hamish and Milo
  • Touch base
  • Drop in sessions
  • Emotion coaching
  • Greeting at the start of the day
  • In class support
  • Support provided in the Rainbow Room

Our ELSA attends frequent supervision and training to ensure practise and information is up to date. She is also part of the team who are taking part in the TAAES project.

Complaints

Complaints policy

Admissions

If you choose Shirley Infant School and you are already on your SEND journey with your child then please book onto a school open morning when our SENDCO is available. We aim to have our SENDCO at a minimum of 2 open morning tours. This will be a time for you to meet her and ask questions about us as a setting. During this time you will get a feel for us as a setting, see our facilities and view the school’s physical environment.

Arrangements for admissions are individual to the child, as every child is unique and we acknowledge that from the very beginning. This will be led by Mr Lomath who oversees our admissions and will include meetings with appropriate members of the school team, social stories, pictures and discussions with the previous setting.

 

Southampton City Council

Southampton SENDIASS (Special Needs Advisory Service) is a resource for signposting parents and carers to organisations to help you in Southampton. 

https://www.southamptonsendiass.info/useful-organisations/

Southampton City Council - The SEND Local Offer. A directory to seek support, to find information related to SEND, EHC (Educational Health and Care Plans) and to locate contact information related to the SEND Team.  

https://sid.southampton.gov.uk/kb5/southampton/directory/localoffer.page?localofferchannel=0

Southampton City Council - Ordinarily Available Provision. This guidance aims to support schools to deliver on the inclusion strategy by setting clear expectations of what all schools should be providing and the support and guidance that the Local Authority will provide to enable schools to deliver on these expectations.

Ordinarily Available Provision Guidance (southampton.gov.uk)

 

Useful SEND websites

  • www.ipsea.org.uk – A useful site for free, legally based Special Education advice
  • www.autism.org.uk – The National Autistic Society website, the main UK charity for supporting people with ASD and their families (contains lots of useful advice and resources)
  • www.attentionautism.com – For more information on Attention Autism and how you can support your child to develop attention and turn-taking skills
  • www.widgit.com/resources - Symbol resources for different topics and areas of life, including resources for fire safety and about visiting the doctors/dentists
  • www.special-needs-kids.co.uk – An information directory for parents and carers
  • www.iassnetwork.co.uk – Advice and support for parents of children with SEN
  • www.autismuk.com – Lots of information on ASD
  • www.downs-syndrome.org.uk – Advice and support, including booklets to help with independent toileting, sleeping and managing behaviour
  • www.autismspeaks.org – A comprehensive site, with a useful resource library
  • www.oneplaceforspecialneeds.com/main/library_social_stories.html - A really useful set of social stories to share with children, covering topics ranging from coping with a new baby in the family to getting a haircut to making friends. The National Autistic Society website also provides guidance on writing your own personalised social stories

 

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