Special Educational needs (SEND)
Springfield prides itself in being an inclusive school. We have high expectations for all of our children and strive to create a challenging yet supportive learning environment.
The school follows the Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs. Our Special Needs Co-ordinator is Mrs Cook and our Special needs Governor is Ms Gisella Vignali. We also have an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) Team who work within the SEN Team to specifically support children’s social and emotional needs.
Special or additional needs are identified through several routes. It may be that parents raise initial concerns about their child to their child's class teacher. These concerns will then be investigated by the class teacher in partnership with the SENCo. Alternatively, it is the class teacher who will pick up on specific difficulties within the classroom. In this case, the class teacher will alert the SENCo, who would normally observe the child and then, if appropriate, carry out an assessment. Occasionally children arrive at school with a diagnosis already in place. In these circumstances, information will be collated and shared with staff and an initial meeting will be held with the class teacher and the parents to ensure the school are fully up to date with any previous provision or involvement from outside agencies.
Once a child’s additional needs have been identified, a support and achievement plan (SAP) or pupil passport will be put in place. Parents are informed when their child is added to the SEN register but by this point, parents should have been made aware of any concerns verbally by the class teacher. The SEN Register is a list of the children currently identified as having special educational needs or disabilities who are in receipt of additional support. The register is used by the SENCo to track and monitor the progress and attainment of all SEN children as well as to inform termly census information required by the DfE.
It may not always be appropriate to include children receiving additional provision to be inlcuded on the SEN register. For example, the ELSA team may be supporting a child through a family break-up or bereavement or helping them through a difficult time in their social/ emotional development. These interventions are tracked separately by the ELSA team and impact is monitored and shared with parents. Similarly, a child might receive additional targeted support for a short amount of time, which would be monitored by the class teacher. If, as a result of the intervention, they make good progress and no further intervention is needed, then there would not be a need to add then to the SEN register.
We think that it is important to discuss any barriers to learning fully with parents so that we can work together in partnership to support a child’s individual needs and ensure every child reaches their full potential in a supportive environment.
Where possible, needs will be met through personalised targets and adjustments within the classroom. In some cases, more focussed intervention is needed and a child may be taken out of lessons to work 1:1 or in a small group. The impact of any additional provision is tracked and monitored by our SENCo. Parents can request a meeting with the SENCo at any time, should they have concerns over their child’s progress. However, class teachers are responsible for the progress and attainment of all children in their class and should be the parents' main point of contact.
Occasionally it is necessary to seek advice from other professional agencies such as the Educational Psychologist, Speech and Language Therapy Service, specialist advisory teachers or the West Berkshire Cognition and Learning Team. These services can help to identify specific problems and advise on support strategies for the child. Again, parents will be kept informed and, where appropriate, will be fully involved in any discussions about their child.
Our SEN Information Report includes a more detailed description of how we provide for children with special educational needs or disabilities.
Please click here to read the SEN information report/local offer
If a parent of a child with Special Educational Needs has a complaint, how does the school deal with it?
Complaints about SEN provision in our school should be made to the SENCO, Mrs Cook, in the first instance. We would aim to work with parents to resolve the issue. If a resolution cannot be found parents will then be referred to the school’s complaints policy.
Our Named Governor for SEND is Ms Gisella Vignali Our Chair of Governors is MrsClaire Warren. Both can be contacted via the school address
The parents of pupils with disabilities have the right to make disability discrimination claims to the first-tier SEND tribunal if they believe that our school has discriminated against their children. They can make a claim about alleged discrimination regarding:
- Exclusions
- Provision of education and associated services
- Making reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services
Our school and governing board take complaints seriously and will act upon these on an individual basis; a copy of our complaints policy is available via the 'Statutory Information' policy section on the web site.
Please click on this link http://fis.westberks.gov.uk/kb5/westberkshire/fsd/localoffer.page , to access the West Berkshire local offer. This is the general page which has details of all SEN services.