SEND

The 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.” Coventry Local Offer can be found here: http://www.coventry.gov.uk/sendlocaloffer

In terms of Education, the local offer informs parents and carers as to how different schools and colleges can support them. It will provide an overview of expectations within the local area and in addition to this, services that are available to parents/carers.

Staff at Coundon Primary School carefully monitor the learning and progress of all pupils within their class. If they have any concerns about a specific child they will seek further advice from the school SENDCO. The class teachers will differentiate tasks and resources appropriately as well as plan small group work to support individuals further. If despite this, a child does not make the expected progress, the SENDCO may suggest other programmes or additional support. Class teachers will detail this additional provision on an Individual Provision Map (IPM) which is then shared with parents. If the child is still not making good progress, concerns will be shared with parents and permission may be sought for external agency involvement to obtain further advice and support. For pupils with more complex additional needs, the SENDCO shall meet with parents and the class teachers to create a ‘My Support Plan’ which takes into account all advice received from external agencies. This plan is then reviewed termly and if a request is necessary, may be used as evidence towards obtaining an EHCP. Pupils with an EHCP plan will have this reviewed annually with the class teacher, SENDCO and the external agencies available to attend.

Initially you should have a conversation with the child’s class teacher. If you still require further advice then an appointment can be made with the school’s SENDCO.

At Coundon Primary School the parents of pupils identified with SEN have two meetings over the academic year with the class teacher and the option of a third meeting in the final term. During this meeting the child’s needs are discussed and interventions/strategies are identified to help the child progress. This is all recorded in the form of an Individual Provision Map (IPM). For children with more complex additional needs, in addition to that outlined above, a ‘My Support Plans’ shall be written. These plans are used throughout Coventry. This is produced through a meeting with the class teacher, SENDCO and sometimes with external agencies also. It provides in great detail how the school agree to support the child through intervention and external agencies where necessary. In some cases children may obtain or already have an Educational Health and Care Plan (EHCP). For these pupils support is identified within the EHCP and these are reviewed annually with the SENDCO, relevant school staff and the external agencies involved.

Please click on the link below to find the school’s SEND policy.

School Policies

As a school, we use an assessment package, alongside teacher assessments, to track all children’s progress. We will discuss your child’s progress with you at parent consultations and then children’s final assessments will be sent home at the end of each year.

Teachers continuously monitor the progress of children in their class through ongoing assessment. Meetings take place between the teacher, SENDCO and Leadership Team (which includes the Assessment Leader) on a termly basis to discuss the progress of children with SEN. The SENDCO then meets with other SEN professionals on a termly basis to discuss the progress of children on the SEN register.

All teachers at Coundon Primary School have high expectations and aspirations for all of the pupils. They closely monitor the progress on the children and their learning within the classroom and differentiate activities as and where required. For example, different ways of teaching may be used to support a pupil such as access to more practical resources or the use of visual prompts.  The SENDCO or staff from outside agencies may also suggest additional strategies for a pupil to use within the classroom to enable your child to access the learning task. Class teachers closely monitor the learning needs of all children at Coundon and if they identify any gaps or barriers to learning they can specifically target these. Class teachers will plan group sessions based on assessments. These groups will have clearly identified objectives for your child to work towards, based on identified gaps in their learning. These groups might be led by a teacher or a teaching assistant working to plans made by the class teacher.

All curriculum overviews are on this school website and are given out to parents at the start of the year. Throughout the year there are some workshops for parents. Every year we deliver workshops on the teaching of Reading, Phonics and Big Maths to support parents.

The school complies with all Health and Safety laws and legal requirements to ensure all children are safe. We are governed by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) which ensures that all children with disabilities have appropriate provision in and out of school. The buildings and site have weekly checks by our School Caretaker and by the Local Authority every half term. The school has completed a Condition Survey and now has a 3-5 year maintenance plan to ensure the buildings and grounds are maintained to the highest possible standard.

At Coundon Primary School we recognise that all children are individuals and that for some children, social and emotional difficulties may be impacting on their learning and/or their behaviour. For more vulnerable pupils our provision at school may be intensified through the support of our school learning mentors. All of our learning mentors work closely with the support of the SENDCO to meet the needs of the pupils identified. Where need is identified pupils may have access to 1:1 support sessions or to small intervention groups in areas such as anger management, anxiety and/or social skills. They also offer to families Early Help meetings where requested and make referrals to services available within the area that may be of benefit to the pupils and/or parents, such as RISE and the Family Hub. With regards to school facilities we currently have two nurture rooms, one in KS1 and one in KS2. These are used for some of the small group sessions run by our learning mentors and also as a quiet/relaxing safe space that pupils may wish to visit during break and lunch times. At Coundon Primary we also have the use of our ‘learning HUB’ which is currently accessed by pupils identified with social, emotional or behavioural difficulties (SEBD) for interventions aimed at improving collaborative work, self-regulation, concentration skills and self-esteem. In addition to this at Coundon School, we are currently implementing Thrive Practice at school. This is a whole school approach designed to support social and emotional development. At Coundon we hope to have this scheme rolled out on a whole school basis by 2020. More information can be found about Thrive here: https://www.thriveapproach.com/

At Coundon we identify the training needs of staff as a whole school. We then identify training which will have the greatest impact on teaching and learning for all pupils, including our SEND pupils. In some instances it may be that individual members of staff attends relevant training to meet the needs of specific pupils in their class. In others instances it may be more appropriate for whole school training to ensure consistency in an area of SEND, such as in attachment theory or autism awareness. The SENDCO works closely with specialists through external agencies, they may also recommend training for staff based on the identified needs of a pupil. For more information about current and past training staff have undertaken at Coundon Primary School, please speak to the Headteacher or Deputy Head.

There is a variety of after school clubs and school trips that are available at Coundon for all of our pupils. We do all that we can and are able to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that every child can access an activity. In terms of education, staff will gather the views of your child and their learning on their individual provision map (IPM). If your child has more complex needs they may have a ‘My Support Plan’ and their views shall be sought by the school SENDCO.

At Coundon Primary school we make great efforts to avoid pupil exclusion. As a school we provide any necessary auxiliary aids. For some pupils it may be the case that the local authority provides equipment that has been prescribed by a specialist external agency.

All SEN pupils at Coundon School have Individual Provision Maps written by their class teachers (IPMs). Included on this map is the pupil’s view as we recognise at Coundon how important it is to gather the ideas and opinions of the pupils themselves. Pupil’s views are also gathered and included in ‘My Support Plans’ which are written by the SENDCO.

You will have the opportunity to attend a parent consultation with your child’s class teacher termly. If your child has an individual provision map (IMP) then your voice will be included in this based on discussions had at these consultations. Similarly if your child has more complex needs and they require a ‘My Support Plan’ you shall be invited to contribute to this and share your views with the SENDCO. If at any point you have concerns about your child and you have already raised these with your child’s class teacher, you can call to make an appointment with the school’s SENDCO.

At Coundon School we can make referrals and request additional support from: SaLT (Speech and Language Therapy) CCT (The Complex Communication Team) EP Educational Psychologist SEMHL (Social, Emotional and Mental Health Learning) OT (Occupational Therapist) IPMHS (Integrated Primary Mental Health Service) SENDIASS (Special Educational Needs and Disability Information and Advice Support Service) RISE – this in an integrated service to now cover:

• Specialist Mental Health Services (formally known as CAMHS)
• Eating Disorders (Coventry only)
• CAMHS Looked After Children (LAC) (Coventry only)
• Neurodevelopment(conditions such as Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Attention, Deficit Disorder)
• Primary Mental Health
• Reach (formerly delivered by CW Mind)

There is a wide variety of support services available for families of children with SEN and Disabilities. Please speak with your class teacher for initial concerns which can be monitored. If you then feel that your child is in need of greater support you can contact the school’s SENDCO to find out more information about what is available.

This service can share information and will explain parental rights regarding SEN and disabilities. They also hold a range of coffee mornings, information and support sessions. Short breaks – This service provides activities, games and trips for children with SEN and disabilities which are free of charge. If your child has a diagnosis of a specific learning difficulty such as ASD or Dyslexia, please get in touch as we have a huge range of support groups and courses we can share with you. The Local Authority also has a Local Offer website and information about services that may be.

School leaders and Year 6 teachers will liaise with all secondary schools and discuss all pupils with additional needs. These children are offered more frequent visits from staff at Secondary Schools and will also have extra visits to their new school to reassure them. Parents can be involved in these conversations and meetings.

Our school Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator (SENDCO) – Miss Plimmer.
To speak with Miss Plimmer you can call the school office and they will put you through. If Miss Plimmer is in a meeting or in class they can take a message for you and she will get back to you as soon as she is able to.