Schools Extended Local Offer Response

How does the setting/school/college know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs?

• Speech and Language
• Dedicated Speech and Language professional for our Hearing Impaired pupils
• Educational Psychology
• Occupational Therapy
• Inclusion Support Services (Behaviour, disability, visual and hearing impaired, speech and language therapy)
• Reading and Number recovery programmes
• Child Action North West support including counselling service, jigsaw therapy, family wise, nurture groups
• Nursing facilities via the school nurse

How will early years setting/school/college staff support my child/young person?

We have a range of experienced staff working with our children. We provide trained staff to deliver 1 to 1 and group reading and number recovery programmes. Our teaching assistants are trained to deliver support on a 1 to 1 basis throughout the school. The school also provides a hearing impaired resource and employs 2.1 qualified teachers of the deaf as well as 4 teaching assistants to support our hearing impaired pupils within class. We also have a number of teaching assistants who support children with specific needs. The school liaises with outside agencies and the local authority to provide up to date training and to ensure our provision is successfully delivered.

This training includes:

• ELKAN training
• British Sign Lanaguage (BSL) Levels 1 and 2

Staff trained in delivering a range of baseline assessments; ABC physical assessment, phonics, early reading assessment (PERA), British vocab picture screener (BVPS), Derbyshire test and Goodenough intelligence testing (GIT)

How will the curriculum be matched to my child's/young person's needs?

Teachers in our school are continuously monitoring and assessing the children’s learning and emotional well being. There are a variety of ways in which we monitor children’s attainment and behaviour so we can identify those pupils who need extra support. Assessments are carried out each half-term, so we can monitor pupil progress. Pupil progress meetings are also held where individual children are discussed and their needs addressed. Transition information is also shared with other agencies such as the Inclusion Support Service, pre-school settings and high schools.

At key points through your child’s time in school, they will take part in:

• End of Foundation Stage stage assessment
• phonic screening (Year One)
• Statutory assessments (SATs) (Year Two and Year Six)

They assessments can be used to identify additional need. A teacher or parent can raise concerns about a child and we have a variety of test and screeners that can be used to identify areas of need. If a teacher has a concern over a child’s progress, attainment or behaviour, they will initially discuss the issue with parents/carers and with the school’s SENCO.

A follow up meeting may be arranged to explore what future support and advice may be given.   

How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support my child's/young person's learning?

If you are concerned that your child may have a special educational need, you should contact, in the first instance, your child’s class teacher or the school’s Special Educational Needs co-ordinator (SENCO) to arrange an initial meeting.

What support will there be for my child's/young person's overall well being?

At Lower Darwen, we have a SENCO who coordinates provision for children identified on the Special Educational Needs register. The SENCO works in close consultation with all staff to devise and monitor support for the children. Within our inclusion and support team we have:  teaching assistants who provide day to day support, support children with their social and emotional development and other additional needs.  Support assistants trained to deliver reading, phonics and writing interventions on a 1:1  or group basis.  An Every Child a Reader (ECaR) trained teacher delivers 1:1 teaching on a reading recovery programme. Our staff also support individual pupils with mobility and toileting issues. The school’s HI team provide individual teaching and support for our children with a hearing impairment.

Your child’s class teacher will deliver daily high-quality teaching targeted at each individual child’s needs.  Each class is supported by a teaching assistant who may run additional interventions within the classroom depending on the needs of the children.  If identified on the SEN register, an individual education or behaviour plan will be created and shared with you, with precise targets for your child and how we will support your child in achieving these.  

The school has a SEN link governor who meets regularly with the SENCO and a SEND report is shared at full governors meeting.  Regular contact with your child’s class teacher and / or SENCo to ensure that you are fully informed of progress and how we are addressing your child’s individual needs.

What specialist services and expertise are avaliable at or accessed by the setting/school/college?

The content of every lesson is differentiated (matched) to each of the children’s differing abilities and needs to enable them to access the curriculum more easily. This may take the form of: providing:

• additional adult support in a small group or 1 to 1 basis, providing  
• learning tasks that present different levels of challenge
• particular specialist equipment for the children to use.

Classrooms are resourced to support learning and where appropriate tailored to the children’s individual needs and there is  varied use of ICT to support learning throughout the school. Regular training for all staff is given on how to make learning more accessible to those with additional needs.

Where appropriate, support and advice will be sought from specialist and experts. Consistent approaches to learning throughout the school including use of visual timetables and specific intervention programmes being delivered in addition to classroom learning to support your child. Your child’s progress will be measured closely and any relevant assessments carried out to provide additional information.

What training have the staff supporting children and young people with SEND had? Are any being trained currently?

Where appropriate, teaching styles will be modified to support your child to ensure he/she makes at least progress. This may involve working 1 to 1, use of visual  and aural aids, modifying behaviour management strategies and curriculum to meet the needs of the child. The school’s Hearing Impaired resource offers specialised teaching for pupils with a hearing impairment.

How will my child/young person be included in activities outside this classroom including school trips?

We offer a high level of communication with all members of a school community. Through careful monitoring and reviewing the school has a clear picture of how your child is progressing. All the staff involved with your child’s learning are kept informed of changes and progress. This may be shared with you in a variety of ways including:

• Meetings at any time throughout the year with the class teacher, SENCo and/or headteacher.
• Home / school books, enabling communication between home and the class teacher on a daily basis.
• Review meetings regarding your child’s provision or educational plan with copies of paperwork for your own reference.
• Where appropriate, daily updates at the end of the day with your child’s class teacher.
• Regular contact with SENCo.
• Meetings with professionals
• Parent evenings
• Meetings with external agencies following observations or assessments e.g. Educational Psychologist, Advisory teachers from Inclusion Support Services.
• Copies of any reports provided by external agencies.

It is important to us at Lower Darwen, that you feel comfortable to come in and speak to any member of staff at any time throughout the school year. There is no need to wait for scheduled parents evenings to discuss your child’s needs, by contacting the school office, an appointment can be made with the relevant member of staff at any time in the term to discuss progress or concerns.

How accessible is the setting/school/college enviroment?

We encourage you as parents/carers to work with us and support any extra interventions that your child may undertake e.g. some interventions may require reading at home or playing maths games. This will be clearly explained to you and we will work with you to enable this to be implemented. We will also offer suggestions in support you can provide your child when working towards their individual educational targets.

Where appropriate, we will refer to outside agencies (with your consent) for additional advice, support and programmes. Parents /carers should receive copies of these reports and a meeting may be offered to discuss in detail the findings. Parents / carers can request a copy of these reports at any time.

How will the setting/school/college prepare and support my child/young person to join the setting/school/college or the next stage of education and life?

At Lower Darwen Primary School, we believe that a child’s social and emotional well-being is key to ensuring academic progress and ensuring your child is a successful learner. We are able to offer a wide range of support to children experiencing social and emotional difficulties including:

• A safe, caring and calm environment where all children thrive.
• Clear safeguarding procedures and policies.
• Regular safeguarding training for all staff. A clear, structured behaviour for learning policy, which is adhered to by the whole school.
• Family wise is used to support families and individual children. A weekly counseling/drop in- service for pupils in school and friendship nurture group sessions
• Personal care support. This is undertaken with the child’s modesty and privacy as our utmost priority. A detailed care plan will be drawn up by the adults supporting your child in consultation with yourselves and appropriate specialists. These are discussed and shared with all staff working with your child.
• Individual Behaviour plans are used for children who need support with their behaviour.
• Trained first-aiders and a clear medicine policy. Staff have asthma and  anasphalaxic training delivered by the school nurse.

How are the setting's/school's/college's resources allocated and matched to children's/young people's special educational needs?

The school provides a number of physical and extra-curricular activities including; dance, judo, music, chess, art club, eco-warriors, football, cricket, rounders, cross country, swimming, tennis, Mad Science, Spanish, hockey, netball, paralympic events and a residential trip to PGL in year 6. Classes also go on trips and visits throughout the school year.

At Lower Darwen Primary School, we make every reasonable adjustment necessary for all of our trips to be inclusive so all children can attend. We work closely with all involved with the child to plan and guide us in order to make the trips as satisfying as possible for our children. The accessibility of all school trip destinations are checked in advance. Risk assessments are carried out and procedures are put in place to enable all children to fully participate. Reasonable adjustments will be made so that children with special educational needs can fully participate.

After school activities are run by both school and external providers. All external providers are aware of our school’s commitment to inclusion and it is their responsibility to discuss appropriate provision with you in order to accommodate your child’s needs.

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child/young person will receive?

There are many instances of transition in a child’s school life: entering the school, moving from one year to the next, moving to another school and finally moving from primary to secondary. We will gather as much information as possible to help us prepare for your child starting our school.

If your child is joining us in Reception at the beginning of the year, we offer:

• transition meetings with pre-school settings and year one pupils when moving in to Key Stage One
• staff meet pupils and parents on home visits
• ‘move-up’ days 
• relevant staff visits to early year settings

If your child is joining us in the middle of a school year, we will:

• meet with you and the child prior to their start date
• ‘move up’ days before pupil/s start school
• Introduce your child to key staff members and give them an individual tour. Set them up with a buddy in class.
• Communicate with previous school so a clear understanding of your child is known by all staff.
• Meet with you whenever necessary to ensure that your child is settled.

Transition from one year to the next is carefully planned, your child will have a taster session with their new class teacher called ‘Move-up Day’, and teachers will communicate to ensure that a smooth transition is in place.

We have a very good relationship with the secondary schools in the area and we share all information with them about your child so they are able to plan and deliver the needed support. As part of the transition process, pupils will visit their new school. Additional visits can be arranged if needed. Our secondary colleagues will be invited to any relevant review meetings with you so the transition is a smooth event for your child. Within school, our teachers deliver transition lessons to prepare children for the move onto secondary school.

How are parents involved in the setting/school/college? How can I be involved?

As part of our general budget, we receive funding to support children with Special Educational Needs. We review this annually and the school frequently spends additional money on top of this to support our children. Needs are mapped out using meetings, reviews and provision maps and the funding is matched appropriately. In a case where a child has very significant and/or complex needs we may make a case to the local authority requesting additional funding through the high needs funding block. Such funding will then be used exclusively to provide the help and support your child needs.

Blackburn with Darwen provide additional specialist equipment for our hearing impaired or disabled pupils.