Welcome from the Principal

SEND

Our SENCO is Mr Porter. He can be contacted via the School Office.

Peters Hill Primary School Offer For Children with Special Educational Needs And Disability(SEND).

Provisions and Polices In Line with the SEND Code of Practice Regulations 2014.

At Peters Hill we believe an inclusive approach is paramount to the success of all.

All children with SEND will be inclusively educated at their individual level of need.

This may include children with:

  • Leaning difficulties or disabilities
  • Medical needs
  • Physical difficulties or disabilities
  • Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders
  • Children with Sensory Impairments
  • Children with Social or Emotional difficulties such as ADHD
  • Children affected by Trauma or Attachment disorders

 

Comprehensive policies and procedures are in place to support and protect children in school. These can be found on the school web site. All polices are available to parents and carers by request.

These policies include:

  • SEND policy
  • Child protection policy
  • Behaviour policy
  • Anti-Bullying policy
  • Equalities policy
  • Accessibility policy

 

Key People For SEND And Inclusive Practice At Peters Hill

  • Mr S Duncan- Head Teacher
  • Mr S Porter - SENCO
  • Teachers and TA’s.
  • Senior Leadership Team
  • Mrs I Gilhooley – Chair of Governors
  • Mrs R Steedman -  Governor responsible for SEND

 

Identifying That Your Child Has Additional Needs.

Class teachers and staff will raise a concern if they are worried about some aspect of your child’s progress and learning. They will do this via the SENCO. At this point the SENCO will liaise with the staff, discuss the children’s work and consider the data relating to academic progress. This information along with specialist knowledge and experience will direct the SENCO to the appropriate next steps.

 

You And Your Child’s Involvement

Once a decision is made that your child requires some additional external support, you will be contacted either by telephone or preferably a face to face meeting is arranged where possible. All information regarding our concerns will be discussed with you sensitively taking into account any cultural or additional needs. This is an information gathering and sharing opportunity, where the member of staff will liaise with you to collate as much information as possible; this is to ensure that the correct referral is made. You hold the most valuable information regarding your child; therefore, your support is vital to your child receiving the correct help and support to aid their success. You will be consulted throughout this process.

Where appropriate, depending on their age and ability, your child may be involved in this process and may also be involved in following meetings; this is to ensure their needs and wishes are taken into account regarding their educational, medical, physical or emotional needs.

After this process a referral to a specialist external agency may be made. This could be one of many agencies such as:

  • Learning Support Service
  • Educational Psychology
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Physical Inclusion and Medical Service
  • School Health
  • Autism Outreach

 

However, not all referrals warrant outside support. The staff in school are highly experienced and trained to deliver extensive targeted and individualised programmes. Almost always, in the first instance, early school interventions are put into place. This is because there are often lengthy waiting times for specialist services outside of school therefore valuable time could be lost.

At Peters Hill we believe that early intervention is paramount to our children’s success.

Parents and carers will be fully involved in the assessment process of children with SEND, reviewing and evaluation of any interventions in place at school.

To ensure you feel fully included and involved the SENCO, class teachers or other outside agencies hold meetings with parents/carers of children with additional needs.

This does not exclude your usual appointments with their class teacher at regular scheduled parents’ evenings; it is extremely important that you attend when possible, as the majority of teaching takes place in class with their class teacher.

 

Arrangements For Supporting Children And Young People In Moving Between

Phases Of Education And In Preparing For Adulthood.

At Peters Hill we have an extensive transition programme in place to ensure all children are supported as they move through the school. Much emphasis is placed on supporting children with additional needs.  Importance is placed on all teachers liaising and sharing all information pertaining to your child, their needs, likes and dislikes to aid the smooth transition into a new class or phase. All written information is shared with all relevant staff. Children with specific difficulties for example Autism may access a more comprehensive and extensive programme. This may include additional time with the class teacher or in the classroom to suit their particular need, a ‘Social Story’ tailored to the area of difficulty the child may be experiencing. This may be provided to also allow parents to support this transition process effectively at home, to minimise any anxieties.

For children moving to secondary school or transferring to a different primary school. The SENCO arranges a meeting with the receiving school. During this meeting all relevant information will be passed on. Key information such as friendship groups, strengths and areas for development, social skills etc will also be discussed with secondary schools by the class teacher and phase leader.

 

Our Approach To Teaching Children With SEND.

An inclusive approach ensures all children have access to a broad and balanced curriculum at Peters Hill. All work will be differentiated to suit the needs of all of our learners.

All staff in school from a ‘Continued Professional Development’ programme; this is to ensure their skills are current, practical and meets the needs of the children at Peters Hill. This effective programme also encourages growth and expertise of the staff and ensures they feel valued and supported by the school. It also ensures that children with SEND and their parents receive the best possible support to enable children to reach their targets.

 

Adaptations

Any suitable adaptations will be made and differentiated for. Advice from outside agencies will be sought to ensure we are in line with the Disability Discrimination Act 2010.  Additional information available at www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-under-equality-act-2010.

In the event of a child requiring wheelchair support, all necessary adaptations would be made. For example, it may require the usual classroom layout being adapted, or if the classroom is usually on the first floor, it may be necessary to move to the ground floor or ensure the lift is fully operational at all times, to adhere to health and safety regulations.

 

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of The Provision Made For Children With SEND.

All children including those with SEND are monitored carefully by all teaching staff. All staff at school are encouraged to discuss children who are not making inline progress at the earliest opportunity. This can also be discussed during termly pupil progress meetings. The Senior Leadership Team also perform stringent moderation of children’s work, including children with SEND.

The school's data manager carefully uses the data and knowledge about the children with SEND to track their progress. The children’s progress is carefully monitored and evaluated using information from school staff, parents, children and any external agency involvement. This is to ensure that any interventions are having a positive effect on outcomes. If it is found that the intervention is not making a positive contribution to the children’s learning, the provision is re-evaluated and a different intervention will be put in place.

 

Engagement In Activities; SEND vs Non SEND.

There is no discrimination at Peters Hill regarding engagement in activities that are available to all of the children. All children regardless of ability are given the same opportunity to engage in any activities within the school day or extra-curricular activities. If a child with SEND requires additional support to access these activities, suitable adaptations and differentiation will be provided to them to allow full participation. All SEND children are encouraged to apply equally for roles of responsibilities within school.

 

Improving the Emotional and Social development of SEND Children.

Pastoral support is crucial to all children having a sense of worth and feeling they belong and contribute to school life.

Children are encouraged to discuss any worries and concerns with a member of staff whom they trust. All staff will ensure all concerns are logged, any referrals are made and that follow up care is provided. Any allegations of bullying will be dealt with immediately and reported to the relevant people. If it is established that additional support is needed this is done in the first instance, which ensures the emotional and social development of the child is nurtured efficiently and effectively.

 

External Agency Involvement.

We operate on the basis that we welcome and value all external support from other agencies. Often to support our children with SEND, there are several agencies providing this valuable support. Agencies that work closely with school are listed above. Any advice, strategies and support provided by them is acted upon by the SENCO or class teacher.

These agencies also provide training and support for staff. The parents/carers are encouraged to seek support from independent agencies such as Dudley special educational needs and disability information, advice and support service to advocate for them if this is suitable. Their details can be found at this website. www.dudley.gov.uk/resident/learning-school/parental-support/dudleysendiass/information-leaflets/.

The SENCO works extremely closely with all outside agencies that support children with SEND.

Details of Dudley’s Local offer for SEND can be found at the following website.

www.dudley.gov.uk/resident/localoffer

 

Compliments and Complaints.

We aim to provide the best quality provision and education for all children. We welcome your compliments and value any suggestions you may have to help us to continue to improve and develop our provisions. We encourage you to tell us what you like and put it in writing. This enables us to follow up any suggestions and it provides us with a paper trail, which is important for our growth.

Sometimes you may have a complaint, if this is the case, we strongly urge you to air this as soon as the issue arises, in the first instance with the SENCO. This will allow us to investigate your concern immediately and hopefully resolve the issue and find a solution that you are happy with. If this fails your next step would be to speak to the Head Teacher, he will then take steps to investigate and rectify your concerns. If you are still unhappy with the outcome, you could inform the Chair of Governors. This should be done in writing via the school.  The Chair of Governors will then conduct their own investigation. Hopefully all will be resolved, however if you are still unhappy you should lodge a complaint with Dudley Local Authority. This can be done via the council web page.

If you require any additional information regarding the provision and support for children with SEND at Peters Hill please contact the SENCO via the school office and he will be happy to discuss any concerns with you.

October 22

Name Date  
Special Educational Needs and Disability Report 2023 21st March 2023 Download >
SEN Policy March 2023 4th July 2023 Download >