SEND

Special Educational Needs & Disability (SEND)

At Colmore our aim is for all children to reach their full potential. Whilst most children are able to do this through high quality adaptive class teaching and our usual curriculum, some children need additional support and are considered to have Special Educational Needs & Disability. (SEND).

All procedures are in line with the 2015 SEN Code of Practice and supporting guidance from the DfE relating to:

Section 69 of the Children and Families Act 2014
Paragraph 3 of Schedule 10 to the Equality Act 2010
Regulation 51 of the SEND Regulations 2014
Schedule 1 of the SEND Regulations 2014
Section 6 of the SEN Code of Practice 0-25 Years 2015

Please explore the different sections below for more information. For further information please look at our SEND Policy and School’s Accessibility Plan.

Role Of The SENDCo

Who would I speak to at Colmore if I wanted to know more about Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)?

If you have any concerns about your child’s progress at school, you could initially talk to your child’s class teacher.

We also have a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator at Colmore (known as a SENDCo). The SENDCo’s role involves:

Coordinating all the support for children with SEND to make sure all pupils get a consistent, high quality response to meeting their needs in school.
Monitoring children’s progress and evaluating the impact of any support and interventions.
Ensuring that you, as parents and carers, are involved in supporting your child’s learning, informed about the support your child is getting, and part of the process of reviewing their progress.
Liaising with all the other people who may be coming into school to help support your child’s learning, e.g. our Educational Psychologist, Pupil School Support, Communication and Autism Team, Physiotherapy Team, Physical Disability Support Service and Speech & Language Therapists.
Providing support for staff in school, as well as organising appropriate and relevant training and resources.
Developing and maintaining the school’s SEND policy to ensure compliance with statutory guidance from the SEND Code of Practice 2015
Liaising with the School Governor for SEND (Terri Cawser)

The SENDCo also meets regularly with both the Designated Safeguarding Lead and Senior Learning Mentor to discuss support in place for those children who are vulnerable/disadvantaged and also have, or may have, a SEND need. This may include providing information or attending meetings in connection with referrals to other safeguarding support agencies, e.g. Early Help support.

Ms C. Richardson is the Junior School SENDCo. She has completed the National Award for SEN Co-Ordination (NASENCO). She works closely together with Colmore Infant & Nursery School SENCo and Liaison Officer to ensure continuity and consistency across the Colmore Schools.

Our SENDCo is supported by Mrs S Bradshaw (SENCA) who liaises with parents and carers, school staff and external services regarding SEND matters.

How We Define SEND?

What kinds of special educational needs (SEND) does the school make provision for?

At Colmore, we make provision for pupils who have any identified SEND need from within those in the table below. We know that some pupils will have difficulties in more than one of these areas and we will always do our best to meet their needs. This information acts as a guide but the things we do will vary and actual support will be based on the specific needs of each pupil. Further information is available in our school policy.

Communication and interaction

Children who have difficulty communicating with others which may be because they:

find it hard to make themselves understood or to say what they want to.
do not always understand what is being said.
find interacting with others difficult.
are on the Autistic spectrum (including Asperger’s Syndrome).

Cognition and learning

Children who learn at a slower pace than their peers because they:

take longer to learn important skills.
find it difficult to remember things such as the important words for reading, and times tables.
find it hard to understand how to use letter sounds to read and spell words.
may need more time to think about their answers.
may have an associated difficulty, e.g. issues with mobility and communication, physical disability or sensory impairment
may have a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD), e.g. dyslexia, dyscalculia or dyspraxia.

Social, mental and emotional health

Children who find it difficult to manage their emotions and behaviour in a way that affects their daily life, for instance they may find it challenging to:

Follow rules set by others
Sit still for a long time
Listen to and follow instructions
Understand how they, or others, are feeling
Make friends
Deal with their difficulties in a way that does not cause harm to themselves or others.
Take responsibility for the things they do

This could also include children suffering from anxiety or depression, or those who have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) or unmet Attachment needs.

Sensory and/or physical

Children who have a disability that means adaptations and/or support are needed to enable them to fully access the school/learning environment. This may include:

hearing and/or visual difficulties,
physical disabilities
motor skills issues
medical needs.

Provision For Pupils With SEND

What type of provision does the school make?

Class teachers have responsibility to ensure that all children are supported within lessons using a variety of teaching and learning strategies appropriate to their needs including additional support from the class teacher and teaching assistants. At Colmore we seek to promote and develop every child’s sense of independence and achievement within a supportive and nurturing environment. A ‘team’ approach is always adopted by class staff to avoid over-dependency on one adult. Children may have access to whole class, small group and some 1:1 support depending on their needs. This means that activities are planned according to the level the child is working at whilst ensuring an appropriate level of aspiration and challenge is in place.

The universal approach is known as High Quality Adaptive Teaching. For your child, this would mean:

That the teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all pupils in their class.
That all teaching is based on building on what your child already knows, can do and can understand.
Different ways of teaching are in place so that your child is fully involved in learning in class. This may involve things like using more practical learning, adapting their physical environment, providing appropriate/specific resources, making changes to teaching styles or varying the level of adult support.
Specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENDCo and/or external agency advisory staff) are in place to support your child to learn, e.g. visual timetables, ‘now/next’ boards, sloping boards etc.
Your child’s teacher will have carefully checked on your child’s progress and will have identified that your child has a gap(s) in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress.

For those children for whom High Quality Adaptive Teaching isn’t enough, targeted support strategies can be used, which may include:

Extra support within the classroom with specific targets to help them make more progress.
Small group work outside the classroom focussing on specific targets.
Individual Learning Plans (ILPs).

For children who have a high level of need, require a specialist programme of support and/or have a local authority SEN Support Provision Plan (SSPP) or an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) other strategies may include:

Acting on advice from other professionals or specialist staff, e.g. SENDCo or other external agencies.
A combination of whole class, small group and 1:1 tuition, with a more bespoke approach to the provision and support in place for that child.

For children who have social and/or emotional/mental health needs our pastoral team provide support. This may take the form of specific interventions such as 'drawing and talking' therapy work with our Senior Learning Mentor, Forest School sessions, a friendly ear, support at play times and dinner times, ‘meet and greet’ morning sessions to support the transition between home/school and encouraging children to participate in appropriate extra curricular activities including The Children’s University. Children may also have an Attachment Support Plan or a Relational Support Plan.

Children who have medical/SEND needs may be supported through an Individual Care Plan which is reviewed regularly. Advice may also be sought from the Physical Disability Support Team or the Physiotherapy Team regarding adaptations or support for PE and the classroom.

Access Arrangements

Adaptations can be made to assessments for pupils with identified special educational needs. In many cases these can be made by the class teacher, e.g. specific seating, allowing rest breaks, use of coloured paper etc providing it is in line with usual classroom practice. However, for the end of Key Stage 2 statutory assessments some arrangements may only be given with the permission of the Department for Education (DfE), e.g. additional time.

Identification & Assessment of SEND

How does the school identify and assess Special Educational Needs and Disabilities?

In school we use a variety of different ways to assess whether a child has SEND. Some of these include:

Observations and consideration of other factors, e.g. EAL status, life events (i.e. recent bereavement), LAC or Post-LAC status.
School based test results
Information from parents and carers
Information from the child
Specialised assessments carried out by members of the school’s support services/SENDCo, for example the York Assessment of Reading Comprehension (YARC) to assess reading ability, Vanderbilt questionnaires to assess potential ADHD, CAST/ASSQ questionnaires to assess potential autism.
Information from previous schools or settings
Results from end of key stage assessments
Discussions with adults who work with the child
Information/referrals from doctors, paediatricians or other medical personnel.

Monitoring Progress

All children’s progress (both academic and pastoral) is continually monitored by their teacher, the SENDCo, and senior management team using the school’s assessment tracking and safeguarding systems.

Pupils are assessed regularly using teacher marking, observations and questioning as well as more formal assessments such as curriculum tests and standardised tests.

In Birmingham, we also have access to the Birmingham Language & Literacy toolkit and the Maths toolkit which support assessment when a child or young person is making small steps of progress. Colmore has adapted this document to ensure it applies to specific difficulties.

In addition for children with SEND we also set individual targets, or put strategies in place, that are reviewed at least three times a year by relevant staff together with parents/carers (i.e. Individual Learning Plan (ILP) review meetings, Parents’ Evenings or SSPP/ EHCP annual reviews). This helps the school to monitor how well interventions are working and adjust the level of support as required, reflecting the graduated approach in the SEND Code of Practice 2015.

For those children with significant and complex needs who are not making progress despite a high level of ongoing intervention and support, discussions will be had with families, staff and relevant external agencies to determine if an application for a local authority SEN Support Provision Plan (SSPP) or an Educational Health Care Plan EHCP Assessment with Birmingham LA would be appropriate.

Extra-Curricular Activities

What extra-curricular activities can a pupil with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities access at school?

All children have access to our extra-curricular activities, both during the school day at lunchtimes, or before/after school which may include sports clubs, Friendship Club or other pastoral clubs, allotment club, choir etc. Often children are invited to attend if we feel they may benefit. Where appropriate and possible, reasonable adjustments will be made to ensure all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities are fully included in these activities.

Adaptations are made when required for any school trips which may include parental attendance, dietary requirements, pre-tutoring, resources (e.g. ear defenders) and/or a chance for parents to discuss the trip with staff beforehand. A risk assessment will always be carried out.

Staff Training & External Agency Support

What training do the staff in school have in relation to pupils with special needs?

In our school we believe that all staff should be involved in supporting pupils with special educational needs and so we make sure that staff have training to help them do this.

All staff are reading and SEN champions and have received extensive training on effective early reading and TIAAS (Trauma Informed Attached Aware School). Colmore also has a relational behaviour policy which expects our staff to model TIAAS training strategies.

In addition, staff have had an ongoing cycle of training including Asthma & Allergy (epipen administration), Epilepsy, Autism level 1 & 2, Dyslexia, Delayed Language Disorder, Attachment support training, working memory, sensory circuits, developing resilience and training on specific interventions/SEND updates.

How do the school get more specialist help for pupils if they need it?

Our school works with named contacts at a range of external agencies who can provide specialist support where needed. This usually takes the form of a visit to school including possible observations of the child, discussions with staff and assessments. Professionals attend review meetings when appropriate and will sometimes meet with parents 1:1 or discuss pupils by phone. Referrals are always made, via the SENDCo, following liaison with staff and only with full parental involvement and consent. These agencies also deliver staff training relevant to their area of expertise.

Pupil School Support (PSS)

Support children who are working below the levels expected for their age.

Our current worker is Rachel Pierce

Educational Psychology

Supporting children who have social, mental or emotional needs, or other complex needs.

Our current worker is Isabel Gregson

Communication & Autism Team (CAT)

Children or young people who have a diagnosis of Autism or where this being explored with the Community Paediatric Team.

Our current worker is Wendy Bantock

Speech & Language Therapy Service (SALT)

Supporting children with a high level of speech and language difficulties.

Colmore employs private SALT workers and Annabel Hall is our current worker, supported by Sarah Halford.

In addition we have access to NHS SALT hours and these are provided by Mariam Khalil.

Forward Thinking Birmingham (CAMHS)

Supporting children with significant mental health needs.

Colmore Junior is part of the local Mental Health Support Team (MHST) hub and can submitted referrals for low-level mental health & wellbeing interventions to take place within school. For further details see our support for families page.

School Nurse

Supporting children with medical needs, including where medication is needed and with allergy alert cards. For further details see our support for families page.

Physical Difficulties Support Service

Supporting children with physical difficulties.

Community Paediatric Team

To explore undiagnosed conditions, offer a thorough assessment of health needs and refer to other health services, e.g.

Occupational Therapy - Children or young people with physical difficulties that require regular exercise.
Physiotherapy Service - children with physical difficulties which impact on their access in to the school setting.

ADHD Nursing Team

Support children with ADHD diagnosis with strategies and medication if needed

Hearing Team

Support children with hearing related difficulties or hearing loss

Partnership with Parents

How are parents of children with SEND involved in the education of their child?

At Colmore, we value our partnership with parents and always try to ensure that we are approachable. It is a requirement of the SEN Code of practice 2015 that parents are involved in the key decisions around their child's education. We take this responsibility seriously and recognise that when all key adults are working together that the potential for a child to move off the SEND register increases.

Our school aims to regularly involve parents in the education of their child through a variety of different ways which may include:

Regular meetings with SENDCo and/or class teacher and support staff (both formal reviews and meetings on request at other times to address any concerns)
Target setting (through support and learning plans) so that parents can see what their child is working on next
Regular curriculum information to inform parents of what will be going on during the term
Home reading logs (BoomReader)
Information on the school website
Parents’ evenings
INSPIRE workshops (parent engagement workshops on key areas of the curriculum)
Parents’ views recorded on review documents
Home/school additional communication when needed

Parents are also always welcome to play a more active role in our school community by joining our school PTA.

Pupil Voice

We aim to give all our children a voice. For children with SEND we use a variety of strategies, which may include:

Involving children in sharing their views, e.g. prior to review meetings or at points of transition.
Having a range of education resources available for the child to use and select as appropriate, e.g. visual timetables, overlays, coloured exercise books, pencil grips, writing boards, picture/communication cards, fidgets, concrete resources etc.
Providing opportunities to use 'Person Centred Tools'
Taking part in 'Person Centred' reviews, especially at key transition points e.g. moving to secondary school.
Opportunities to develop new skills through out of hours or lunchtime clubs, banking hours towards a Children’s University award, or applying to be a part of the School Pupil Voice team
Ensuring the child is aware of who they can go to for help and support.

Complaints & Compliments Procedure

What can I do if I am not/ or extremely happy with the provision for my child?

A good first port of call is to speak to your child’s class teacher and/or the SENDCo. If you feel the matter has not been resolved, you may also contact the Headteacher, SEND Governor or Chair of Governors by telephoning the school office or writing a letter marked for their attention.

Our school and governing body take complaints seriously, will act upon these on an individual basis, and do everything they can to resolve the issue.

We would also like to hear when things are going well and where staff have gone above and beyond for your child/ren. Please email these comments to enquiry@colmorej.co.uk for the attention of the Chair of Governors.

Role of the SEND Governor

In our school, the Governor responsible for special education needs and disability and LAC/Post LAC children is Terri Cawser (Deputy Service Lead for Pupil and School Support Service).

Their role is to liaise with the SENDCo, ensuring that all children with SEND get the support they need to access all aspects of learning and to participate fully in the life of the school.

They are the link between the Governing Body and school in relation to pupils with SEND, meaning that any concerns over SEND provision can be raised, discussed and resolved. In addition, a report is provided by the SENDCo once a year to be shared with the Governing Body.

Transition

We aim to make times of transition as easy as possible for the children in our school.

From Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2

When moving to the Juniors from Colmore Infant and Nursery School we aim to:

Organise pre-visits to look around the school and see where to line up, their new classroom and meet their new teacher and any other teaching staff.
Have a designated swap over day for their whole class to come and spend time with their new teacher.
Have a buddy swap afternoon so the children can work with a friend from the year above.
Let them attend a Junior school assembly.
Provide time for Year 2 and Year 3 staff to meet and discuss any particular children’s needs. All files and paperwork relating to those children is passed on to the Junior School at the start of the next academic year.
Where needed provide time for relevant Junior School staff to observe and work alongside children with SEND who will be joining the school in September.
Invite parents to attend transition meetings with relevant staff from both schools.
Develop a transition profile setting out an overview of the child’s needs, their interests and history, and a description of the things which support them best in school.
Provide transition information including photographs of key areas and staff for the children to look at over the Summer.

Many of these are also used at the point children move from one year group to another.

From Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3

When moving to their secondary school at the end of year 6, we aim to:

Liaise with key staff at their new school, supplying information to enable them to organise extra visits for children with SEND or other needs.
Provide time for Year 6 staff to meet with Year 7 staff to discuss the children moving to their schools.
Invite key staff to any EHCP Annual Review meetings/PCR transition meetings.
Pass on any files or paperwork we hold concerning each child to their new school at the start of the new academic year.

Support Services for Parents & Birmingham Local Authority Local Offer

The Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Information Advice Support Service (SENDIASS) exists to provide advice and information to parents and pupils in Birmingham. This information is designed to explain special educational needs procedures, to help you understand the law and procedures that affect you and your child, and to provide information on other issues that may be useful, including advice on the appeals procedure for EHCP requests.

Email: SENDIASS@birmingham.gov.uk

Telephone: 0121 303 5004

Other organisations that may be able to help include

your GP
Autism West Midlands
National Autism Society
Edward’s Trust (bereavement counselling)
British Dyslexia Association
Dyslexia Action
Forward Thinking Birmingham (mental health concerns) including the Pause Hub (drop in service)
The Dyspraxia Foundation
Living with ADHD

How can I find out what Birmingham Local Authority can offer to help?

The Birmingham Local Authority’s Local Offer can be found at www.localofferbirmingham.co.uk