The local offer

Inspiring Our Rising Stars.

SEN Report for Regent Farm First School Regent Farm First School Information Report for Children with Special Educational Needs and/ or Disabilities (2014).

A new duty in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice is being placed on Local Authorities from September 2014 and this is being referred to as the ‘Local Offer’. This means that Local authorities must publish, in one place, information about provision they expect to be available in their area for children and young people from 0 to 25 who have special Educational Needs and/ or Disabilities.

The local offer must include both local provision and provision outside the area that the local authority expects is likely to be used by children and young people with special Educational Needs and/ or Disabilities for whom they are responsible.

The local offer has two key purposes: 

To provide clear, comprehensive and accessible information about the support and opportunities available.

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To make provision more responsive to local needs and aspirations by directly involving children and young people with SEND, parents and carers, and service providers.

The local offer forms a significant part of the new SEN Code of Practice and focuses on statutory duties for local authorities. The local offer is what goes on every day to support children and young people with SEN and how we ensure quality around this. This includes what we expect to be available in schools, colleges and other educational provision.

This statement sets out, the responsibilities of the school, governors and the Local Authority for meeting the needs of pupils and their parents/ carers who have been identified as having Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

By law, the Local Authority has to publish the arrangements for children with special Educational Needs and/ or Disabilities and further details are available in the Local Authority Local Offer. All schools receive funding in their budget to allow them to provide for pupils with SEN, and have the freedom to make the necessary arrangements using existing staff, or look for advice and support from outside the school. When a child has special needs, the school and its Governing body is required to fulfill the requirements set out in the Children and Families Bill 2014.

The school has systems in place which make it possible to offer a flexible range of provision which is able to meet the individual needs of every one of our pupils.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Report Summary of Provision

School entitlement offer for all pupils at Regent Farm First School who

have additional needs.

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We involve pupils, parents and staff to write, review and implement pupil-friendly profiles and needs-based plans.

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We differentiate the curriculum and resources to promote pupil progress.

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We seek support and advice from outside agencies to

ensure any barriers to success are fully identified and responded to.

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We plan for, assess and review pupil progress.

We monitor, through the school’s self-evaluation process, quality teaching and learning for pupils with SEND.

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Teaching resources are routinely evaluated to ensure they are accessible to all pupils.

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All school-related activities are evaluated in terms of their positive impact on the learning success and inclusion of pupils with SEND.

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Support staff are appropriately placed according to their

expertise and the needs of the pupils, to ensure that quality of provision and value for money is maintained.

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We have a fully qualified SENCO who can provide advice and guidance to staff.

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All staff have completed, and will continue to receive, ongoing training in relation to meeting pupils’ needs in the classroom.

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Support is offered to families and they are signposted to

services and organisations, which may offer appropriate support or advice via the Local Offer.

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We offer first to middle school transition support for pupils and parents, with special emphasis on preparing for independence.

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To be an advocate for the young person

We are a fully inclusive school. We nurture all pupils in order to promote personally, socially, emotionally and academic growth in all areas of the curriculum (regardless of their gender, ethnicity, social background, religion, sexual identity, physical ability or educational needs). This document is intended to give you information about the ways in which we support all of our pupils, including those with SEN, so that they realise holistic growth.

It may not list every skill, resource and technique we use in order to achieve this, as these are continually developed and modified to meet the ever changing needs of individual pupils.

We aim to achieve excellence through the removal of barriers to learning and participation.

Our curriculum promotes the development of the whole child as confident, resourceful and independent learners who are able to face the future with resilience and ingenuity.

Through appropriate curricular provision, we respect and acknowledge that children have different educational and behavioural needs and aspirations; require different strategies for learning and participation; acquire, assimilate and communicate information at different rates; need a range of different teaching approaches and experiences.

We want all of our children to feel that they are valued members of our school community.

Regent Farm First School is committed to working in partnership with parents/carers, external agencies and Newcastle Local Authority to ensure the best outcomes for our children identified with special educational needs and disabilities.

Every pupil is important to us and is recognised as a unique individual with particular needs.

Staff adopt a range of teaching strategies and approaches, personalising provision to address the learning needs of all pupils.

All children have an entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum, which is differentiated to enable them to understand the relevance and purpose of learning activities and experience levels of understanding and rates of progress that bring feelings of success and achievement. All children have the opportunity to be part of the School Council.

All learners have equality of provision according to their need and as such benefit equally from school policies, practices and programmes, whatever their ability. We support children with Special Educational Needs and /or Disabilities in a manner which acknowledges their entitlement to share the same learning experiences enjoyed by their peers and which maximises learning and secures future pupil progress.

The school works closely with parents/carers in the support of the children with special educational needs. We encourage an active partnership through an ongoing dialogue and regular meetings with them. Regent Farm First School is fully accessible to any person with physical disabilities.

Staff Expertise The staff of RFFS has undertaken training led by a range of professionals involved with children with special educational needs and disabilities in the following areas: Speech, Language and Communication needs: Elkland Speech and Language awareness course level three accredited.

Visual Impairment: Specialist qualified teachers of the visually impaired, who have RNIB accredited qualifications in Braille. CPD in social and emotional development, specific V.I. conditions and assessment procedures in conjunction with external agencies i.e. ophthalmologists.

Hearing Impairment: British Sign Language (level two accredited) and Makaton.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder: Autism awareness training, Makaton and concept board training.

Dyslexia : specific resource training such as the Toe by Toe programme.

Behavioural Support: ongoing continuous professional development, “Friends for Life” programme and SEAL, as well as Drawing and Talking.

Specific Medical Needs: First aid qualified staff Literacy intervention and booster sessions/ comprehensive Read Write Inc. training / Systematic Synthetic Phonics sessions Numeracy intervention and booster sessions, including Numicon Mental health issues including anxiety, stress and attachment disorder. “Friends for Life”, Drawing and Talking, Therapeutic Story Writing Pastoral care including friendship groups and nurture groups We pride ourselves on our pastoral care which includes one to one counselling, group counselling and family counselling, which takes place in our purpose-built Eco Classroom.

Staff training is on-going, relevant to the children in the school and responds to current national developments in Special Educational and Needs Disabilities provision.

Our Nursery Provision Our practitioners are welcoming and friendly, providing an inclusive, sensitive and positive approach.    

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Your child’s key person will foster a relationship with your child. They will identify individual needs and plan for the next steps in their development, accessing additional support from other professionals where necessary.

We will work in partnership with you and your child, reviewing targets, and planning for the future.

We promote an ‘open door’ policy to ensure we are welcoming and respectful to all.

Each child has a Learning Journey which contains observations, individual plans, targets and photographs of your child’s progress and development. You will be encouraged to contribute to your child’s journey via an email system, sending reciprocal information, such as photographs and memorable moments.

You are welcome to see your child’s learning journey at any time.

We will endeavour to involve your child, enabling them to make choices and engage in activities, and experiences that are of interest to them.

We will create support within the environment, such as the use of a visual timetable to support the child to understand the routine as appropriate.

The SENCO will aim to seek additional training for staff, if appropriate, to meet your child’s needs.

Assessment systems are in place including progress tracking grids and learning journeys which are all linked to Development Matters. ( link to Development Matters).

The Additionally Resourced Centre The Additionally Resourced Centre (ARC) for Children with Visual Impairment is centrally funded by Newcastle City Council and also supports some children from neighbouring Local Authorities. Personal travel budgets are available to families upon application, where appropriate.

Each child with a visual impairment is included within a mainstream class, with appropriate support from ARC staff. The curriculum is modified and tactile resources are available to enable access to classroom activities alongside their peers. Specialist staff provide an additional individualised programme of mobility and independence training, touch typing tuition and teach Braille reading and writing, according to the specific needs of each child.

ARC staff liaise closely with class teachers to ensure that all children with visual impairment make good progress and have the opportunity to participate in all areas of school life. As a result, all children at the school begin to understand the implications of visual impairment.

They learn to respect people with a disability and are always willing to help and support their friends with a visual impairment.

There are similar ARCs attached to Gosforth Junior High Academy and Gosforth Academy ensuring that children have the same access to continuous educational provision as their fully sighted peers.

Type of SEN for which provision is made at Regent Farm First.

Type of support/provision offered at Regent Farm First School.

Communication and Interaction Needs: e.g.

• Autistic Spectrum/Social Communication Disorders ( ASD) • Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)

• We adopt a topic-led curriculum which is tailored to meet the diverse needs and interests of our pupils.

• We use visual timetables according to need.

In order to give pupils structure to the day, promote independence, reduce anxiety, increase confidence, build upon pupil's strengths as a visual learner, build upon pupil's desire for routine, predictability and organisation.

• We offer support and supervision at unstructured times of the day e.g. break and lunchtime, stress balls and alternative means of communication, such as Makaton.

• We offer social skills programmes /support including strategies to enhance self-esteem and reduce anxiety, e.g. “Friends For Life” Programme, social stories.

• We offer small group targeted intervention programmes to improve skills in a variety of areas including independent life skills.

• We use ICT to reduce barriers to learning where possible.

• We use strategies/programmes to support speech and language development.

• We offer SLCN groups to give structured and time-limited interventions to vulnerable pupils.

We offer individual reward systems to promote learning and self-esteem.

• Support is offered to families and they are signposted to services/organisations which may offer support/advice where appropriate, via the Local Offer.

Cognition and Learning Needs: e.g.

• Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) • Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) (Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dyspraxia.)

We use strategies to promote and develop literacy and numeracy skills, knowledge and understanding.

• We support access to the curriculum via a variety of interventions and human resources in order to develop skills for independent learning.

• We use small group targeted intervention programmes to improve skills in a variety of areas, e.g. Read Write Inc programme, Lexia and Nessy as well as Toe by Toe, which helps support the learning of children with Dyslexia. Small group daily phonics teaching. Additional thinking time where appropriate.

• We use small group targeted intervention programmes to improve skills in a variety of areas including life skills independent living skills, making friends and building resilience.

• We use ICT to reduce barriers to learning where possible (beneficial to our Dyslexic pupils).

• We seek support and advice from specialist agencies such as SENTASS to ensure any barriers to success are fully identified and responded to. Physical resources or aids are used where appropriate.

• We offer homework support after school in certain circumstances.

• We offer curriculum support to pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL).

• We offer EAL support after school, and at break and lunchtime.

Social, Emotional and Mental Health: e.g.

• Social Difficulties • Mental Health Conditions • Emotional Difficulties

• Our behaviour management systems in school are based on encouraging pupils to make positive decisions about behavioural choices.

• The school’s behaviour policy identifies where reasonable adjustments or changes can be made to ensure the need for exclusion is kept to a minimum. 

Timely referrals are made to CYPS (children and young people’s service) which diagnose and assess with a variety of mental health issues.

• We use risk assessments and take action to ensure the safety and inclusion of all pupils in all activities.

• The school provides effective pastoral care for all pupils including counselling, fostering a good relationship with families and encouraging mutual cooperation and respect.

• We use small-group targeted programmes to improve social skills and emotional resilience in our purpose built eco classroom.

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Access to alternative curriculum options where appropriate, we provide a different approach to the curriculum, to support pupils with social, emotional and behavioural needs.

• Our Friends Programme provides structured and time-limited interventions for vulnerable pupils.  Our purpose built therapeutic eco classroom.

We provide children and parents with information and support regarding behavioural, emotional and social needs and seek guidance form agencies such as SENTASS. (Special Educational Needs Teaching and Support service).

• Our pastoral staff support all aspects of social, emotional and mental health needs.

• We seek support from outside agencies such as the School Health Advisor , behaviour support agencies Barnardos, Victim Support and Action for Children to name a few. 

We offer individual reward systems to promote learning and self-esteem.

• Support is offered to families and they are signposted to services/organisations which may offer support/advice, via the Local Offer.

Additionally Resourced Centre (ARC) for Children with a Visual Impairment.

• Regent Farm School has an Additionally Resourced Centre (ARC) for young people with a visual impairment.

• We provide support and aids to ensure access to the curriculum and develop independent learning, i.e. closed circuit televisions, Braille embosser, raised work boards, magnifiers.

• Daily living skills: Life skills are often a challenge for visually impaired young people. Pupils are supported to develop their life skills through an individual programme designed to encourage and improve confidence, self-esteem and independence.

We offer mobility and orientation skills. These skills are an essential element of the programme for independence.

Braille: The resource base is able to offer Braille transcription and Braille tuition, individualised to suit the child’s needs.

We maintain links with the local health service and specialist hospitals and local organisations. Aids and resources are used following recommendations.

We use ICT to increase access to the curriculum. V.I. pupils login to access user friendly icons and tools.

Passive monitors are used to enlarge print and make the interaction with the white board easily accessible.

Touch typing tuition encourages greater access to the curriculum.

Inclusion: Pupils are encouraged to take a full part in the school’s curriculum and recreational visits, clubs and activities.

• We seek and act upon advice and guidance for pupils who have significant medical needs.

• We provide access to medical interventions.

We seek advice and guidance from the Health Service to ensure barriers to success are reduced or removed.

• We provide support with personal and intimate care, if and when needed, and deliver Occupational Therapy under the guidance of NHS professionals.

• All entrances to our school have ramps fitted to allow wheelchair access.

• Our school has accessible disabled toilet facilities.

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We offer inclusive sports and activities.

• We use small-group targeted intervention programmes to improve skills in a variety of areas including independent living skills and independent travel training.

• Our staff receives training to ensure they understand the impact of a physical/sensory need on teaching and learning. 

Our staff understand and apply the medicine administration policy.

• Our school works hard to ensure that parents/carers are able to work in partnership with us to support their children. 

We offer individual reward systems to promote learning and self-esteem.

• Support is offered to families and they are signposted to services/organisations which may offer support/advice where appropriate, via the Local Offer.

If you have any concerns about your child’s SEN, progress or provision we would urge you to come into school and discuss matters further with your child’s class teacher or the school SENCO. Although school complaints procedures are in place (Link to school complaints procedure), we would always hope to resolve any issues or concerns informally by working in partnership with parents.

Note Parents can contact their local Parent Partnership Service for impartial information, advice and support in relation to their child’s SEN and/or disability.

Contact details: The Parent Partnership Officer can be contacted on 0191 284 0480 or by e-mail: judith.lane@newcastle.gov.uk

Helpful web sites  Children and Families act 2014 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/6/contents/enacted •

Education Healthcare Plan

http://www.ehcplan.co.uk  Extended glossary of terms: http://www.education.gov.uk/a0013104/glossary-of-special-educational-needs-sen-terminology

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National Autistic Society

www.autism.org.uk • Parent Partnerships Newcastle upon Tyne www.parentpartnership.org.uk. 

SEND Code of Practice

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/special-educational-needs-sen-code-of-practice-andregulations  Visual Impairment, Newcastle City Council www.newcastle.gov.uk/.../visual-impairment

Glossary of terms Assessment is a process over time that identifies strengths, weaknesses and needs across all areas of a child’s or young person’s life and involves both parent carers and practitioners.

Autistic Spectrum Condition The spectrum of autism covers a range of disabilities from classic autism to Asperger’s Syndrome. Autism is recognised from a variety and clear pattern of behaviours. These behaviours are common to the whole population and we could all be described as having features of autism. Some of us for example, may always follow a set routine in the morning while others may dislike large crowds of people. An Autistic Spectrum Condition diagnosis is given however when there is a pattern of behaviours showing significant and persistent impairments in the three areas of communication, social interaction and rigidity of

behaviour and thinking. Individuals with ASC will vary significantly according to their personalities, general level of intelligence, the degree of the impairment in the three areas and any additional learning difficulties. The combination of these elements will affect how the pupil learns, how the environment needs to be organised and the pupils’ general functioning.

( ASD ) Autistic Spectrum Disorder Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder, marked by multiple symptoms that include atypicalities in: -social interactions (ie people with autism would often find it difficult to understand others' mental states and emotions, and respond accordingly) -verbal and non-verbal communication repetitive behaviour (ie people with autism might repeat certain words or actions over and over, usually in a rigid rule-governed manner). There is a wide variability in the degree to which these symptoms manifest themselves, leading to the use of the term 'autism spectrum disorders' (ASD).

Carer For the purpose of the SEND Code of Practice, a carer is a person named by a local authority to care for a child for whom the social services department has a parental responsibility.

Centiles Educational Psychologists and Speech & Language Therapists may refer to centiles. These describe how your child functions compared to 100 children. If they are on the 75th centile, 74 children out of a hundred would have more difficulties than them, and 25 children would have fewer difficulties than them. It is a benchmark from which progress can be measured.

Clinical Psychologist A clinical psychologist can offer advice on eating, toileting and behavioural difficulties. Parents may also find it helpful to talk to them about how their child's difficulties impact on the daily life of the whole family.

CYPS Child and Young People’s Services Child and adolescent services which provide assessment, treatment and care when a child or young person experiences continued emotional or behavioural difficulties which impact on their mental health and wellbeing.

DFE Department for Education.

Dyscalculia Pupils with dyscalculia have difficulty in acquiring mathematical skills. Pupils may have difficulty understanding simple number concepts, lack an intuitive grasp of numbers and have problems learning number facts and procedures.

Dyslexia Pupils with dyslexia have a marked and persistent difficulty in learning to read, write and spell, despite progress in other areas. Pupils may have poor reading comprehension, handwriting and punctuation.

They may also have difficulties in concentration and organisation, and in remembering sequences of words. They may mispronounce common words or reverse letters and sounds in words.

Dyspraxia Pupils with dyspraxia are affected by an impairment or immaturity of the organisation of movement, often appearing clumsy. Gross and fine motor skills are hard to learn and difficult to retain and generalise.

Pupils may have poor balance and coordination and may be hesitant in many actions (running, skipping, hopping, holding a pencil, doing jigsaws, etc). Their articulation may also be immature and their language late to develop. They may also have poor awareness of body position and poor social skills.

Early Intervention This is the process of intervening when a child or young person first shows signs of having difficulties.

The aim is to ensure that help is received as soon as possible, to prevent any difficulties escalating.

The role of Educational Psychologists Educational Psychologists (EPs) bring a specialised perspective to working with children. They are concerned with children's learning and development and they aim to bring about positive change for children. They have skills in a range of psychological and educational assessment techniques and in different methods of helping children and young people who are experiencing difficulties in learning, behaviour or social adjustment.

EHC Plan A single Education, Health and Care Plan, to be used from birth to 25 years of age. EHCP It is a Statutory Assessment.

This is the formal process whereby the Local Authority assesses a child's Special Educational Needs and / or Disabilities (SEND) and may result in a Statement of SEND being drawn up. This is a legal document which details a pupil’s Special Educational Needs and the provision required to meet those needs.

Inclusion Inclusion is a term which ensures equal learning opportunities for all children and young people.

Key Worker The key worker coordinates the assessment, planning and provision for the child or young person and their family. The key worker helps to maintain relationships between the family and practitioners and helps the family through the process. The key worker is a consistent presence for the child or young person and their family.

LA Local Authority.

LAC – Looked After Children The term used to describe a child in local authority care or in social accommodation for more than 24 hours.

Multi-agency

Multi-agency working is a true partnership between workers from two or more (normally statutory) agencies based on common goals and strategic vision. Multi-agency working means that parent carers, children and young people are offered appropriate support in all areas of their life where this is needed.

Multi-Agency Team around the Family Meeting A meeting which brings together parents and professionals from a range of different services and agencies, to help and support an individual child or young person and their family.

Multi- disciplinary Multi-disciplinary working is where practitioners from different professional backgrounds work together in an integrated way.

Planning Planning is a process where parent carers and practitioners come together to agree how their desired outcomes for the child or young person and the family can be achieved.

Personal Budget A personal budget is the amount of funding available to meet the desired outcomes set out in the single plan for an individual child or young person. It will enable the child and their family to make choices to suit their particular circumstances about the way the outcomes are achieved. The personal budget can be held by the parent carers through a direct payment, held on their behalf by an agency or other organisation or a combination of these.

Parent Carer Participation Parent carer participation is welcoming parent carers to the strategic decision making process as full partners from the start.

Practitioner A practitioner is someone who is employed by an agency to work with children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities and their families.

Parent Partnership Service (PPS) The Parent Partnership Service exists to give confidential, impartial help and support to parents and carers who have a child aged 0-19 who needs extra help with pre-school or school education. This might be because the child or young person: is disabled, has a learning difficulty, has a social, emotional or behavioural difficulty or finds it more difficult to learn than other children the same age PRU – Pupil Referral Unit Pupil Referral Units are centres for children who are not able to attend mainstream or special schools.

SEND Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Single Assessment A single assessment process is one in which parent carers and practitioners pull together the range of assessment information and use this to identify their desired outcomes for the child or young person and their family. The single assessment process will be the basis for the development of the single support plan. The single assessment process will cover all areas of need and all relevant agencies will contribute to it.

Single Plan A single plan is one in which the parent carers and practitioners build on the single assessment process to set out their desired outcomes for the child or young person and their family. The plan will identify the agreed the priority of each of these outcomes and set out how they will be achieved. The single plan will cover the contribution of the family and all relevant agencies and set out clear responsibilities and accountabilities with timescales.

SEN - Special Educational Need

A learning difficulty or disability which makes it more difficult for a child to learn or access education than for most children in the same age group.

SENCO - Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is responsible for coordinating special educational provision within mainstream schools.

Transition Transition is a change in a child’s or young person’s life where some or all of their support is undertaken by new services or other practitioners. This will include the transition between stages of education and the move from children’s to adult services.

Transition Plan This is a plan for a young person who already has a Statement of SEN, which looks at their future education, training and support after the age of 16.