How we identify, assess and review children with special educational needs

Most children and young people in mainstream schools will have their special educational needs met through good classroom practice. This is called Quality First Teaching.

Early Identification of Need

In deciding whether to make special education provision to support educational, social, physical or emotional needs, we assess all children continuously across all areas of learning including the four broad areas of Special Educational Needs. We assess informally every day through observations and we carry out formal assessments at the end of every term to measure progress and identify the next steps in learning. We work in partnership with parents, carers and pupils by building good relationships, working together and supporting each other. If there is an identification of need then we will discuss this with parents and if needed provide a pupil with a Short Note. We will share this with parents and may begin to gather evidence to inform whether to make special education provision and consider if we need to consult with relevant external agencies and use assessment tools and materials to ensure early help or identification of SEN happens.

• Early Years, Key Stage 1 and 2 staff and the SENCO, where necessary, liaise with Nursery or the child’s previous school.
• If a child is performing below age expectations then meetings will be held with the class teacher and SENCO. Observations of the child may also take place.
• SEN is regularly discussed in staff meetings so that all staff can contribute to the identification process.
• We have regular parent meetings and take into account any concerns raised by parents. We pride ourselves on having an ‘open door policy’ where at any point parents can talk to staff.
• Concerns raised by teacher for example behaviour or self-esteem is affecting performance.
• Liaison with external agencies we work closely with Movement Support, Speech and Language, Occupational Therapy, CAMHS, Crisis Response, Educational Psychology, The School Nurse, and Behaviour Support.
• Health diagnosis through local paediatricians at the hospital

SEN Support

Where a pupil is identified as having a special educational need we follow a graduated approach which takes the form of cycles of “Assess, Plan, Do, Review”.

This means that we will:

• Assess a child’s special educational needs
• Plan the provision to meet your child’s aspirations and agreed outcomes
• Do put the provision in place to meet those outcomes
• Review the support and progress

As part of this approach every child with SEN will have an individualised Support Plan that describes the child’s needs, outcomes and provision to meet those needs. Parents, carers and children’s views are integral to this process. When the child’s Support Plan is reviewed comments are made against each target to show what progress the child has made. If the child has not met the target, the reasons for this will be discussed, then the target may be adapted into smaller steps or a different approach may be tried to ensure the child does make progress.

As a school we help children on SEN support by making additional or different provision from that provided to most other pupils to meet their needs. Some children may need more help than the school can provide. If a child does not make progress despite everything staff have tried, an EHC needs assessment might be the next step. A small percentage of children and young people with significant and/or complex needs may require an assessment that could lead to an Education, Health and Care Plan.

In such cases the local authority will look at:

• The child’s attainments and rate of progress
• Their special educational needs
• What has already been done
• The difference that support has made
• The child’s physical, emotional and social development and health needs

We currently have 0.9% of children on roll with an EHCP.

For more detailed information see the Local Offer

Details of Identification and Assessment of Pupils with SEN

At Blackhall Primary termly assessment is carried out by staff who work together to moderate children’s work. This moderation is supported by the Local Authority on a regular basis. The school uses a tracking system to analyse data and to identify gaps in children’s learning and to plan appropriate intervention when required. Different children require different levels of support to diminish the difference and to achieve age related expectations.

Some children may join Blackhall Primary with parents having a clear understanding of their child’s special educational needs and as a school we see parents as partners in their child’s educational journey. In this case we work together with parents/carers, children and education, health and social care professionals to design an individualised SEN Support Plan that describes the child’s needs, outcomes and provision to meet those needs.  Parents/carers and the child’s views are integral to this process.

If school staff identify a concern, the class teacher and support staff alongside the SENCO will discuss the child’s needs and a meeting with parents/carers and (if appropriate) the child would be arranged at the earliest opportunity. During this meeting a Short Note would be completed with agreed outcomes for the child and next steps. The next steps may require the involvement of specialist support or advice for example, Educational Psychology, SENDIASS (Parents Advice and Support Service) or another of education health and social care professional. It is important to understand that the involvement of professionals is not always to label or diagnose but to seek advice and strategies to enable a child to reach their full potential.

As part of this approach every child with SEN will have an individualised SEN Support Plan that describes the child’s needs, outcomes and provision to meet those needs. Parents/carers and child views are integral to this process.

A small percentage of children and young people with significant and/or complex needs may require an assessment that could lead to an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

The purpose of an EHCP is to make special educational provision to meet the special educational needs of the child, to secure the best possible outcomes for them across education. It is a legal document that describes a child or young person’s special educational, health and social care needs.

For further information please view or download our Accessibility Plan which can be found in the School Policies section of our website.