SEN Information Report

The SEN Information Report (Local Offer) was first introduced in the Green Paper (March 2011) as a local offer of all services available to support disabled children and children with SEN and their families. This easy-to-understand information will set out what is normally available in schools to help children with lower-level SEN as well as the options available to support families who need additional help to care for their child.

Please click here to view Medway’s Local Offer Website

What will it do?

The Medway framework will allow the Local Offer to provide parents/carers with information about how to access services in their area, and what they can expect from those services. With regard to Education, The SEN Information Report will let parents/ carers and young people know how school and colleges will support them, and what they can expect across the local settings. 

SEN at Cedar Children’s Academy

At Cedar Children’s Academy, we provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all children. We believe in developing an inclusive and safe environment in which all children can thrive and display the attributes that we promote.

We believe that quality first teaching and a focus on every minute being a learning minute is vital to a child’s education but we also recognise that some children will need extra support in order to thrive; including those that have difficulties within the four broad areas of need:

• Communication and Interaction
• Cognition and Learning
• Social and emotional health
• Sensory and/or physical needs

The questions below, were devised in consultation with parents/carers and other agencies, which reflect their concerns and interests. These will be answered by agencies, schools and colleges to provide information to parents and carers to enable them to make decisions about how to best support their child’s needs (as per schedule 1 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014).

Cedar Children’s Academy – responses to these questions

How does Cedar Children’s academy know if children need extra help and what should I do if I think my child may have special educational needs?

• Concerns may be raised by parents, carers, teachers, teaching assistants, the pupil’s previous school or by the pupil themselves.
• There may be a lack of progress and/or low attainment which may be raised during pupil progress meetings.
• There may be a change in the pupil’s behaviour or learning.
• Please see the school’s SEN policy for the process of identification of any SEN needs.

What should I do if I think my child has a special educational need?

• If you have concerns, please speak to your child’s teacher in the first instance. If your concerns continue, please arrange a meeting with the SENCo.

How will I know how Cedar Children’s Academy will support my child/young person?

• Each pupil on the SEN register will have their own personalised school-based support plan showing their current needs alongside their targets and provision in place for these.
• If a pupil has needs related to more specific areas of their education, such as spelling, handwriting, numeracy & literacy skills etc. these will be targeted within the classroom and additional focus groups may be implemented where necessary.
• Pupil Progress Meetings are held each term. This is a meeting where the class teacher meets with a senior leader and/or the SENCo to discuss the progress of the pupils in their class. This shared discussion may highlight any potential problems in order for further support to be planned.
• Occasionally, a pupil may need more expert support from an outside agency, such as the Children’s Therapy Team, Paediatrician etc. Referral forms are then completed in conjunction with parents/carers and forwarded to the most appropriate agency. After a series of assessments, a programme of support is usually provided to the school and parents/carers.
• In a support and challenge role, the governors ensure that the school is an inclusive environment that treats all children and staff in an equitable way.  They monitor and review the accessibility plan and all other statutory policies as defined by the DfE.

How will the curriculum, learning environment and teaching be matched to my child’s needs?

• When a pupil has been identified with special needs, their work will be differentiated and/or scaffolded by the class teacher to enable them to access the curriculum more easily.
• Teachers are expected to make reasonable adjustments, as set out in the child’s School Based Plan.
• Teachers are expected to keep parents informed about progress, attainment and any issues relating to their specific needs.
• Staff will undertake relevant training as directed by the SENCo and implement suggested strategies as appropriate.
• Teaching assistants may be allocated to work with the pupil in a 1-1 or small focus group to target more specific needs.
• If appropriate, individual resources may be utilised, for example, individual timetables, visual cues.
• If appropriate, specialist equipment may be given to the pupil, for example: writing slopes, concentration cushions, pen/pencils grips or easy to use scissors.

How will I know how my child is doing?

• You will be able to discuss your child’s progress at Parents’ Evenings which are held twice a year.
• Your child’s class teacher will be available for a short time at the end of each day, if you wish to raise a concern. Appointments can be made to speak in more detail to the class teacher or SENCo by visiting or phoning the school office.
• The SENCo may meet with you to discuss how to support your child. This would typically occur following an assessment with the child by a member of school staff.
• If outside agencies have worked with your child, suggestions and programmes of study are normally provided that can be used at home. This will be shared and communicated between the school and parents/carers.
• The child’s class teacher will meet with the parents of the children with SEND to discuss and work together to produce a school based support plan 3 times a year.

How will the school evaluate its effectiveness of its provision for pupils with SEN?

If your child is on the SEN register, they will have a School Based Support Plan. This plan details reasonable adjustments that could be made on a regular basis to enable your child to access the curriculum. It also includes specific targets that your child will be working towards in order to progress with their learning. Where outside agencies are involved, these targets may be suggested by them.

• School Based Support Plans will be reviewed alongside parents/carers 3 times a year.
• If a child achieves their target before it is due to be renewed, the class teacher will update this and provide a new target for the child to work towards.
• At Cedar, we use a graduated approach and follow the “Assess, Plan, Do, Review” cycle to monitor progress and provision. This allows targets and provisions to be evaluated to ensure that progress is continuing.

 What support will there be for my child’s overall well-being?

• The school offers a wide variety of pastoral support for pupils who are encountering emotional difficulties. There are multiple members of staff that are readily available for pupils who wish to discuss issues and concerns including, the class teacher, SENCO, leadership team, safeguarding lead and ELSA. Where appropriate mediation sessions are carried out.
• A lunchtime club focusing on social skills are run when needed.
• The school can access counselling services in certain situations.
• If a pupil has a medical need, then a detailed Care Plan is compiled by the school nurse and the SENCo in consultation with parents/carers. These are discussed with all staff who are involved with the pupil.
• Where necessary and in agreement with parents/carers school may administer prescribed medication and pain relief.
• An ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) is available for children to attend sessions with when required. A teacher or another member of staff can submit a referral form to the SENCO if they feel a child would benefit from these sessions.

What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the school?

At times it may be necessary to consult with outside agencies to receive more specialised expertise and advice.

The agencies used by the school include:

• Marlborough Outreach Team
• Child Protection Advisors
• Educational Psychologist
• Young Person’s Wellbeing Service (YPWS)
• Fortis Outreach Team
• AAP (Attendance Advisory Practitioner previously known as Educational Welfare Officers)
• The Sensory Service
• Inclusion Team
• Social Services
• Children’s Therapy Team (Speech & Language/Occupational Therapy)
• MAGIC (Medway Autism Group & Information Centre)
• Snapdragons Centre (Paediatricians)
• School Nurse

An Educational Psychologist is allocated to each school. He/she would normally only work directly with pupils whose needs are felt to be considerable and whom have not responded well to the interventions previously put in place for them.

This involvement is planned at the ISR (In School Review). These are meetings held three times a year between school staff and where appropriate, other professionals. The aim of an ISR is to gain an understanding of and try to resolve a pupil’s difficulties

In order to help understand the pupil’s educational needs, the psychologist will generally meet with the parent and give feedback after the assessment has been completed.

He/she will offer advice to the school and parent/carers on how to best support the pupil in order to take their learning forward. If a child presents as having particular needs, we may be able to make a referral to outside agencies to support with this.

As a school, we purchase time from a Speech and Language Therapist and an Occupational Therapist so that we can meet the needs of children with these difficulties in school.

What training are the staff supporting children and young people with SEND had or are having?

All staff have received some training related to SEND. These have included sessions on:

• How to support pupils with a diagnosis of dyslexia.
• How to support pupils on the autistic spectrum.
• How to support pupils with emotional needs.
• ADHD & Multi-Sensory Training.
• How to carry out precision teach intervention.
• How to carry out sensory circuits with children.

The school also has two teaching assistants who have received ‘First Class at Number’ Maths intervention programme. We also have an early years teaching assistant who has had training to deliver the Nuffield early language intervention (NELI)

How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips?

• Risk assessments are carried out and procedures are put in place to enable all children to participate.
• If a health and safety risk assessment suggests that that an intensive level of 1:1 support is required, a parent or carer may also be asked to accompany their child during the activity in addition to the usual school staff.

How accessible is the school environment?

As a school we are happy to discuss individual access requirements. Facilities we have at present include:

• ramps into school to make the building accessible to all
• 2 toilets adapted for disabled users
• wide doors and corridors in some parts of the building
• disabled car parking spaces

We are actively planning further improvements to make the school more accessible and have an up to date Accessibility Plan.

How will the school prepare and support my child when joining Cedar Children’s Academy or transferring to a new school?

Cedar Children’s Academy understands what a stressful time moving schools can be therefore many strategies are in place to enable the pupil’s transition to be as smooth as possible. These include:

• Contact between the previous school and new school prior to the pupil joining/leaving.
• Additional visits are also arranged for pupils who need extra time in their new school.
• The SENCo is available to meet parents/carers prior to their child joining the school.
• The SENCo meets the SENCos from the secondary schools to pass on information regarding SEN pupils
• The early years leader and/or SENCo will contact other settings prior to your child starting at Cedar.

How are the school’s resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?

• The SEN budget is allocated each financial year.
• The money is used to provide additional support or resources dependant on an individual’s needs.
• The additional provision may be allocated after discussion with the class teacher at pupil progress meetings or if a concern has been raised by them at another time during the year.
• Where a pupil qualifies for Pupil Premium, payments are used to support that pupil’s learning.

How is the decision made about how much support my child will receive?

• When the children join the school support is allocated on the information provided by the feeder school. Usually, in consultation with their year group, the year group leader or class teacher will arrange small groups to support in class or in other focus groups tailored to the pupils needs.
• During their school life, if further concerns are identified due to the pupil’s lack of progress or well-being then other interventions will be arranged.

How will I be involved in discussions about and planning for my child’s education?

All parents are encouraged to contribute to their child’s education. This may be through:

• Discussions with the class teacher
• The child’s class teacher will meet with the parent’s of the children with SEND to discuss and work together to produce a school based support plan 3 times a year.
• Parent’s evenings
• Discussions with the SENCo or other professionals
• Parents are encouraged to comment on their child’s school based support plan.

Arrangements for making complaints

The normal arrangements for the treatment of complaints at Cedar Children’s Academy are used for complaints about provision made for special educational needs. We encourage parents to discuss their concerns with the class or subject teacher, the SENCO, the Deputy Head teacher or the Head teacher to resolve the issue before making the complaint formal to the Chair of the governing body.

Further information regarding complaints can be found in the SEND Policy

Who can I contact for further information?

If you wish to discuss your child’s educational needs or are unhappy about something regarding your child’s schooling, please contact one of the following:

• Your child’s class teacher

• Mrs Williams – SENCO
• Ms T. Baillie – Headteacher
• Mrs G. Randall – Designated Safeguarding Lead for Children and Families

We hope these have answered any queries you may have but do not hesitate to contact the school if you have further questions.

Admission arrangement for pupils with disabilities

Some children may have a disability within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010. It is unlawful for a school to treat a disabled child less favourably than a non-disabled child, without justification.

A disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the person’s ability to carry out day to day activities.

There will be some children who have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) who do not fit this definition but, equally, there will be children who do not have an EHCP who are considered to have a disability.

When considering the admission of a pupil with a disability, meetings will be held with the parent/carer and child, where appropriate, to ascertain reasonable adjustments that need to be made and whether the school can meet the needs of the pupil. A decision regarding the admission of the pupil will be made based on these discussions.