SEND
Below, you’ll find the answers to many frequently asked questions about the support we offer pupils with a Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND).
If you don’t find what you are looking for here, or have any suggestions or comments, please let us know so we can make sure our families are as supported as possible.
If your child is already a pupil at the school and their class teacher can’t answer your question, the best people to speak to about SEND support at Wymondley are:
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Head Teacher: Special Educational Needs Coordinator: Senior Mental Health Lead: SEND governor: |
Ally Chadwick Emily Payne Ella Chegwyn Barry Burningham |
All children can expect a fully inclusive, well differentiated education at our school. Some children may need additional support during their time with us and a few children will need more precise, specialist input. This input will be discussed holistically with the child, parents or carers, teachers, SENCo and any other significant people for the child.
When reading about SEND at our school or elsewhere, you may come across terms such as “reasonable adjustments,” “interventions” and “provision.” These are just ways of talking about general or specific support for your child.
Abbreviations
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SEND |
Special educational needs or disabilities |
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SENCo |
Special Educational Needs Coordinator |
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PCP |
Person Centred Plan |
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EHCP |
Education, Health and Care Plan |
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PSHE |
Personal, Social and Health Education |
What is the SEND Information Report?
The 2014 SEND reforms placed a legal duty on schools and local authorities to publish information about the extra support that is available for children and young people.
Every school has a SEND Information Report which includes information about how they identify, assess and make provision for pupils with SEND.
At Wymondley School, we take great care to offer our pupils and their families a range of support to ensure each pupil makes progress. This Information report – along with other information including our SEND policy – answers key questions about what that support looks like.
Understanding SEND classifications
The four broad areas of special educational need recognised under the SEND Code of Practice 2014 are:
- Cognition and Learning
- Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Communication and Interaction
- Sensory and Physical needs
At Wymondley JMI School, we embrace the fact that every child is unique and so are their educational needs. The Code of Practice (2014) states that ‘a child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her’.
A child of compulsory school age or a young person is considered to have a learning difficulty or disability if they:
- have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
- have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools.
Typical Parents’ Questions
1. What should I do if I think my child may have a special educational need?
Please speak to the class teacher first. They spend the most time with your child and so will have the best understanding of how they’re getting on, and whether they’d benefit from extra support.
The school also has a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo), named Emily Payne. You can contact her by telephone or email through the school office team. If you’re a parent, you can arrange to meet with Mrs Payne if you’d like to discuss any concerns about your child.
Contact Telephone: 01438 354583
Email: senco@wymondley.herts.sch.uk
If you’ve already shared concerns about your child with their GP, or your child is being supported by a specialist service like speech therapy, please let us know so we can support your family at Wymondley too.
The Class Teacher is responsible for:
- Checking the progress of your child and identifying, planning and delivering any additional help your child may need (this could be targeted work or additional support)
- Setting targets, and sharing and reviewing these with parents at least once each term, while planning for the next term
- Personalised teaching and learning for your child
- Ensuring the school’s SEND Policy is followed in their classroom and for all the children they teach with a special educational need
The SENCo, Mrs Emily Payne, is responsible for:
- Developing and reviewing the school’s SEND policy
- Co-ordinating all the support for children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND)
- Ensuring you’re involved in supporting your child’s learning, kept informed about the support they’re getting and involved in reviewing how they’re doing
- Liaising with or making referrals to services which may help to help support your child’s learning, such as Speech and Language Therapy or Educational Psychology
- Updating the school’s SEND register (a system for ensuring that all the SEND needs of children in this school are known) and making sure that the school is keeping clear records of your child’s progress
- Providing specialist support for teachers and support staff in the school, so they can help pupils with SEND achieve their potential
The Headteacher, Mrs Ally Chadwick, is responsible for:
- The day-to-day management of all aspects of the school, including support for children with SEND
- The headteacher will delegate responsibility to the SENCo and class teachers but is responsible for ensuring that your child’s needs are met
- The headteacher must make sure that the Governing Body is kept up-to-date about issues relating to SEND
The SEND Governor, Mr Barry Burningham, is responsible for:
- Liaising with the SENCo and keeping up-to-date with SEND policy and provision
- Making sure every child with SEND gets the support they need at the school
- Supporting the SENCo with implementing policies and provision for children with SEND
If you have a concern or a complaint you wish to discuss, please read the school’s complaints policy – available from the school office or on our website.
2. How does the school know if children need extra help?
At Wymondley, we continually assess all pupils in a variety of ways. Every term, the class teacher will meet with a member of the senior leadership team and the school SENCo to discuss the outcomes of these assessments for each child. These sessions are known as pupil progress meetings.
Where a pupil is not making the progress we’d expect, we’ll plan for any reasonable adjustments to their learning experience to offer additional support. We’ll put these in place and then review them every half-term.
If your child continues to make less than expected progress following these adjustments, it may be appropriate for your child to be added to the school’s SEND register and receive tailored SEND support. The SEN Code of Practice states; “A pupil has SEN where their learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision, namely provision different from or additional to that normally available to pupils of the same age.” The SENCo will observe the pupil and review assessment information provided by class teachers. If it is decided that the pupil needs special provision, parents or carers would be invited to attend a meeting to establish a PCP (Person-centred plan).
3. How will school staff support my child?
All staff have a duty to support all children within the school, with our SENCo overseeing the extra support that some children need. School staff will use an ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ approach to planning the provision for pupils.
Assess
Teachers (and sometimes other staff and professionals) will assess the child’s strengths and difficulties
Plan
A plan will be developed, called a PCP, at a meeting between the parents/carers and the teacher and SENCo. The child will be consulted on their views prior the the meeting. Targets will be set with support measures to help the child to achieve the identified goals.
Do
The PCP plan will be implemented by school to support your child in the agreed way.
Review
As the term progresses, ongoing assessments will be made to review progress against targets. These assessments will feed into the next cycle of ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’.
This extra support may take the form of some simple adjustments to classroom teaching (e.g. additional aids or simplified instructions) while other children may need further help with their learning. A teacher or teaching assistant may offer extra support or the child may benefit from taking part in small-group interventions, for example. Teachers will share updates on any additional support for your child at our termly parents’ evenings.
Interventions can range from a short daily session to longer focussed sessions depending on the needs of each child. It is the teacher’s responsibility to provide effective teaching for SEND pupils in their class, following the school’s procedures for identifying, assessing and meeting those pupil’s needs. Where the interventions involve teaching away from the main class, the teacher still retains responsibility for the child and works closely with support staff to plan and assess the impact of the interventions and how they can be linked back to classroom teaching.
Some children may require very specific or personalised provision, and we may seek advice from professionals outside of school to give these children the support they need. These professionals may visit the child in school (with parental consent) or provide tailored training to school staff, equipping them to support the specific needs of a particular child.
The SENCo provides advice and monitoring, and is the link to these outside agencies.
Tier 1 provision: Quality First Teaching
All teachers at Wymondley have the highest possible expectations for your child and their classmates. We design our teaching around what your child already knows, can do and can understand. We use a mix of teaching strategies to make sure your child is fully involved in learning in class; this may involve using more practical learning and specific and differentiated strategies (which may be suggested by the SENCo) to support your child to learn.
Your child’s teacher carefully monitors their progress. They may identify that your child has a gap or gaps in their understanding/learning/development and requires some extra support to help them make the best possible progress.
Tier 2 provision: Short-term group or individual support
These sessions may be held within the classroom or a separate area and will be led by a
teacher or a teaching assistant. The aim of these interventions is to try and improve the children’s knowledge or skills in specific areas, such as reading, maths, social or communication. There may also be groups of children that benefit from using additional resources such as task planners or cue cards.
For a few children, progress may be hindered by barriers that require more significant intervention and the children may benefit further from tailored, SEN support or specialist advice from external agencies.
Tier 3 provision: Individual support / External agencies
If your child has been identified by the SENCo and class teacher as requiring SEN support in school, we’ll discuss this with you and add them to our SEND register. We’ll draft a plan to support your child and share it with you so you have an opportunity to share your views. This document will include termly targets for the areas your child finds difficult, along with information about how we’ll support them in school. We’ll review these targets each term.
For a specific need such as delayed speech, the SENCo may instead refer your child to a specialist, such as a Speech and Language Therapist so that you and our staff can get advice on how to support your child more effectively.
If, following at least two terms of SEN support, your child continues to make little progress and the gap between them and their peers continues to widen, we’ll seek advice from external agencies. If an external professional is already working with your child, and there are clear and significant barriers to learning, you may want to consider applying for an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment through the local authority. (We explain this in more detail in the next section.)
There is more information on this in the Appendix at the end of this document.
Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)
Education, Health and Care Plans are granted by the local authority to children with significant barriers to learning that cannot be overcome through quality teaching and SEN support. The child’s needs may also be severe, complex and life-long.
To request an EHCP, the school (or you) can ask the Local Authority to carry out an Educational, Health and Care Needs assessment. This is a legal process, which – if successful – determines the support that must be provided for your child in school.
After you or the school have submitted the request, a panel of professionals will decide whether they think your child’s needs seem complex enough to require a statutory assessment. If they do, they’ll ask you and all professionals involved with your child to write a report outlining your child’s needs.
From here, there are two possible outcomes:
- The panel decides they do not think your child needs an EHCP. They will ask the school to continue with the current support and give advice on any further steps.
- The panel decides your child does need an EHCP. Finalising the content of the plan itself usually takes about 20 weeks and will involve a range of professionals. The EHCP will outline the support and resources your child needs, state how the support should be implemented and what strategies must be put in place. It will also contain long-term and short-term goals for your child.
4. How will I know how my child is doing?
We hold two formal parent consultation evenings over the year.
You’ll have the opportunity to understand the progress your child is making against the curriculum at our parent consultations every term. Remember that your child can make good progress in relation to their starting point but may still be working below curriculum related expectations.
If your child is on the SEND register, your meetings will be held with the teacher and the SENCo and the PCP will be reviewed during these consultations. Parents of pupils on the SEND register also have a PCP meeting in the Summer Term.
You’ll also receive a detailed written report in the summer term.
Occasionally, we may also set up a home-school communication record if you feel that increased, regular communication would help your child make progress.
5. How is provision matched to my child’s needs?
All teachers use an ongoing assessment cycle to deliver the curriculum with appropriate adaptations to meet and challenge the needs of all pupils. Termly pupil progress meetings are also a good opportunity for staff to review the provision for individual pupils.
Where additional support is in place for some children, the class teacher, teaching assistants and SENCo monitor and review progress of such interventions through provision mapping, PCP reviews and data analysis.
6. What support will there be for my child’s wellbeing?
Your child’s wellbeing is paramount and we are proud to see ourselves as an inclusive school with a strong focus on supporting the mental health and wellbeing of all pupils.
Ella Chegwyn is our school’s Senior Mental Health Lead. She is supported by Jennie Walton, who is an NHS Education Mental Health Practitioner who offers support to parents and families.
We believe that our children’s emotional health is well supported through weekly PSHE lessons, assemblies and extensive training for staff. We also have a team of staff who are trained to deliver wellbeing-related support to children who would benefit. You can find out more about this type of support in our Mental Health and Wellbeing policy.
If you’re concerned about your child’s wellbeing, you can ask for a meeting with our SENCo, who may be able to offer advice or refer you to external support services.
We use a therapeutic approach to behaviour management, which we explain in more detail in our Behaviour Policy that’s available on our website.
We follow the DfE’s guidance to prevent and respond to any incidences of bullying behaviour. Parents should contact their child’s teacher if they have any concerns about bullying.
We also adhere to the statutory guidance ’Supporting Pupils at School with Medical
Conditions.’ For pupils with significant medical needs, we work with families to create Health
Care Plans which are shared with every member of staff who work with that child. The Public Health Nursing Team can also work with parents and staff to develop a Health Care Plan and provide training on administering medication.
Pupil voice is central to all decision-making at Wymondley, where we invite pupils’ views on all matters about school life.
7. What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the school?
We work with a wide range of experts, specialist services and professionals to ensure the progress and wellbeing of your child.
These services include specialist advisory teachers, educational psychologists, speech therapists, occupational and physiotherapists, Woolgrove outreach support, the Public Health Nursing Team and the North Herts Primary Support Service. Your child’s GP can also refer them to health services for an assessment of their needs.
8. What about staff training?
All staff support children with SEND. We provide regular training in school and through external providers. This training will vary depending upon the relative experience of the staff and specific needs identified both on an individual and school-wide basis.
Some staff have also been trained to provide targeted support for speech and language, autism, dyslexia, wellbeing, behaviour and physical disabilities. We refresh this training regularly to make sure all staff have an up-to-date working knowledge of SEND issues and current legislation.
HfL Education, Integrated Services for Learning, National Health Service and Delivering Specialist Provision Locally are groups who support our school with training opportunities and provide access to expertise.
All staff are trained in safeguarding and we have three designated safeguarding leads (known as DSLs). You can find out more about this in our Child Protection Policy, found on the school’s website.
9. How accessible is the school environment?
The school building is over 50 years old. We’ve made reasonable adjustments to ensure the best possible access and will consider each child's needs on a case-by-case basis. A lift is operable to support wheelchair users to move between classrooms and a mobile ramp is available to provide easier access for parents or children in a wheelchair to the school hall. All areas are accessible without use of ramps in a wheelchair. There are 2 accessible toilets in the school. All classrooms have the capacity to move furniture if needed. You can get more information about all of this in our Accessibility plan, which is on our school website.
10. How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom, including school trips?
At Wymondley, we endeavour to include all children in activities outside the classroom, including workshops in school and offsite visits. We will liaise with parents to discuss how best to make reasonable adjustments to support pupils with SEND to participate in activities. The school will consider the needs of all pupils in the class when planning a trip or excursion. An individual plan may be made for some pupils as part of the offsite visit planning procedure.
11. How will the school prepare and support my child when joining the school and transferring to a new one?
We work closely with staff and SENCos in the surrounding area to ensure that children who find change difficult are offered extra transition visits to their new school.
In preparation for admission to Reception, the Reception class staff visit any prior settings to find out about new joiners in advance of their admission to gather information and adapt learning and the environment as needed. Pupils and their families are invited to visit the school prior to September, including eating lunch together. Where additional needs are identified, such as the admission of pupils with an EHCP or disability, the SENCo will support the class teachers to liaise with parents and carers to make appropriate adaptations as needed to support pupils to make a successful transition to school. This will be bespoke to each pupil and their individual needs.
Throughout Year 6, we arrange transition activities and support to prepare children for secondary education. We also endeavour to give pupils a chance to visit and build connections with their next school. Some children with SEND may benefit from an individual transition plan, created with parents and class teacher/s.
When a child leaves our school to move to another school, the SENCo and class teachers liaise with the next setting to ensure that all important information is shared to support a smooth transition. Documents about childrens’ SEN are transferred in a timely, confidential and secure manner.
We can offer extra visits, photo leaflets and social stories for children with SEND to enable a smooth transition into school or into a new class. If you have any concerns that your child is worried about transition or moving on, please contact the class teacher.
Please also see our Transition Policy for further information.
12. How are the school’s resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?
The school has an amount identified within its overall budget called the notional SEND budget. This is for human and physical resources to support the progress of children with SEND. We can use this budget to employ staff to meet the needs of children with SEND, buy specialist equipment, books or stationery or provide specialised training for staff. If a child requires support that exceeds the nationally prescribed threshold, we can apply for additional funding through the local authority – known as Local High Needs Funding.
13. How is the decision made about how much support my child will receive?
The amount and type of support offered to a child is determined by a detailed analysis of a child’s needs, barriers to learning, stage of development, parental views, their own views and consultation with their class teacher. We review and amend this support regularly. Interventions typically last between one and two terms, with an emphasis on early identification and targeted effective support to minimise any long-term need for additional support.
14. How can I find information about the local authority’s Local Offer of services and provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disability?
Explore the local offer of services and provision for children and young people with SEND at https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/microsites/local-offer/the-hertfordshire-local-offer.aspx
Appendix 1: Wymondley JMI School – Class Provision Map
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Class: Teacher/s: Highlight any focus areas and add in the children’s initials |
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Areas of Difficulty |
Tier 1 - All children will receive Quality First Teaching |
Tier 2 – Some pupils may need Keep up / Catch up |
Tier 3 - a few children may need Additional Support |
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Cognition & Learning |
Differentiated curriculum planning Visual timetable Dyslexia friendly classrooms Clear ‘remember to’ points (success criteria) and/or targets Purposeful marking and feedback process Reading – individual, group, guided ¾ times each week KS1 - class phonics sessions per week Parent readers ICT to support and reinforce learning Use of TA support Dictionaries Interactive learning displays / working walls |
Small group work with TA Additional phonics / spellings Pre-teaching to introduce topics & vocabulary Voice recording Daily 1:1 reading The Fluency Project Coloured overlays / acetate Resources printed on coloured paper Coloured background on interactive whiteboard Coloured exercise book Scribe for activities Additional Maths Additional English Phonics keep up and catch up EAL workbooks |
Person Centred Plan Precision monitoring Referral to Woolgrove outreach for support / resources Educational psychologist advice Specialist Teacher Advice Speech & language support – TA/speech & language therapist High needs funding External Dyslexia Specialist Working memory intervention EHCP |
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Communication & Interaction |
Talk partners Visual timetable Sharing assemblies Speaking & listening skills – modelling by adult, class presentations, group work Wellcomm assessment (in reception year) |
Wellcomm – small group speech & language intervention In class support to focus on speech & language Individual timetable Social stories Pre-teach or talk about change to regular routine e.g. trip Now / next chart |
Person Centred Plan Feelings fan Widget communication Visual organiser 1:1 speech & language support – TA/speech & language therapist Advice from Autism & communication team Time out cards High needs funding EHCP |
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Social, Emotional & Mental health |
Whole school behaviour policy Visual rules displayed in classroom Class marble jars and rewards Sharing assemblies School values Values certificates Group work |
Small group social skills Individual or group pastoral support Concentration aids e.g. timer, blu-tack, tangle, band on chair Individual behaviour chart Put on report Lunchtime mentoring Lunchtime club as needed |
Person Centred Plan Home/school communication book Social stories Spot to reinforce own space on carpet Education Mental Health Practitioner Educational psychologist advice Advice from behaviour support team High needs funding External counselling Drawing and talking EHCP |
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Sensory and/or Physical |
Class seating plans Talk partners Easily accessible resources Strategies to show understanding e.g. thumbs up, whiteboards, Traffic lights Pencil grips, dual scissors, larger pencils Staff aware of implications of physical impairment Disabled access / toilets |
Fine motor skills training Writing slopes Special chair / cushion Visual reminders / enlarged text Seating position for hearing / sight Glasses Quiet table to reduce distractions Extra support of letter formation / handwriting |
Person Centred Plan TA support in lessons Individual work on motor skills Medications e.g. inhaler, epi-pen Support & advice from occupational therapist, physiotherapist Specialist advice e.g. visual or hearing impairment High needs funding Free access to toilet throughout day Sensory circuits EHCP |
Where can I find out about the local authority’s local offer of services and provision for children and young people with SEND?
Speech and Language
Specific Learning Difficulties
Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs
Autism
Cycling & Bikeability
Herts Disability Sports Foundation are proud to be working with Herts County Council Bikeability instructors to provide 1-1 sessions for anyone with a Special Educational Need or Disability struggling with a 2 wheel bike.