SEND - Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Report 2023

In line with Derby City Council’s equal opportunities policy, this school seeks to ensure that all children receive equal opportunities, experiences and respect, regardless of their gender, ability, special educational need or ethnic origin.

Borrow Wood Primary is an inclusive school. We believe that all children have a right to a broad and balanced curriculum that allows them to reach their potential, whatever their level of need.

What is SEND and SEND support?

SEND stands for special educational needs and/or a disability.

The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice 2014 states that:

‘A student has SEN where their learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision, that is different from or additional to that normally available to Children and Young People of the same age.’

Many children will have special educational needs of some kind during their education. Schools and other organisations can help most children overcome the barriers their difficulties present quickly and easily. A few children will need extra help for some or all of their time in school.

SEND at BORROW WOOD PRIMARY

What kinds of Special Educational Needs are provided for at Borrow Wood Primary School?

We provide for children with a variety of additional needs and we are able to support children with difficulties in the following areas:

Cognition and Learning – This area includes general difficulties with learning, profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) and specific learning difficulties (SpLD) such as dyslexia (difficulties with read and spelling) and dyscalculia (difficulties with number and calculation).
Communication and Interaction – This area includes speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), which could mean difficulties with speech production, the understanding of language, the expression of language or a combination of all three. It also includes difficulties with the social use of language and pupils with autism spectrum disorder.
Physical and Sensory – This area includes sensory impairments, such as visual impairment (VI) and hearing impairment (HI), as well as physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy.
Social, Emotional and Mental Health – This area includes children who are struggling with emotional regulation, social skills or who are dealing with a mental health difficulty. Some children may have a diagnosed disorder such as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) or ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) which affect how they behave.

At Borrow Wood we recognise that children may have needs in more than one area, and every child is different; often the area of need given for a particular child is their ‘prime’ area and we always look at the individual child when thinking about how best to support them.

Policies and Procedures

Please find our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Policy at the bottom of this page.

We aim to identify children’s needs early in their school career. To do this, class teachers monitor children’s progress and identify those making less than expected progress given their age and individual circumstances.

When deciding whether to make special educational provision, a meeting will be arranged between the SENCO, the class teacher and the parents to consider all the information gathered, including:

The child’s areas of strengths and difficulties
The views of the parent/carer and child
Any addition support or provision the child needs
Any referrals to outside professions that could provide support

Where a pupil is identified as having SEND, the school will seek to remove barriers to learning and put SEND provision in place. The support will take the form of a four-part cycle, known as the graduated approach:

Assess: an analysis of need will be carried out by all concerned, including outside agencies
Plan: an appropriate plan will be agreed by all concerned
Do: agreed support and interventions will be delivered
Review: the effectiveness of the intervention/support will be reviewed regularly

Working in Collaboration with Parents/Carers and Children

We aim for parents/carers to play a central part in supporting their child at school. At Borrow Wood, we understand that no one knows a child better than their parent or carer and we endeavour to consult with parents/carers at every step of supporting their child.

Our Silver Birch Hub provides a safe place for parents/carers to discuss any worries over a cup of coffee. The hub is designed to increase outcomes for the child and their family through positive home-school relationships, and by seeking support from outside agencies, where appropriate, that benefit the family unit.

We value and celebrate each child being able to express their views on all aspects of school life. Children with SEND are involved, when age and need appropriate, in the drafting and reviewing of their SEND Support Plans and in offering their pupil views for the Annual Reviews of Educational Health Care Plans. With the support of those who know them best, children have created a one-page profile to share their strengths, values and support needs.

SENCo Details and Contact Information

The Special Educational Needs Coordinator at school is Natalie Lane and she can be contacted through the school office on 01332 662826 or via email on senco@borrowwood.derby.sch.uk

Other key members of staff include:

Head Teacher Zoe Fletcher (head@borrowwood.derby.sch.uk)

Inclusion Support Tracey Fletcher

Mental Health Lead Sue Maher

Attachment and Trauma Leads Tracey Fletcher and Teri Ellis

SEND Governor Gerry Carr

We welcome parents in at any time to discuss any concerns they have, so please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Assessing Children’s Progress

We have high aspirations for our children with Special Educational Needs. It is important for everyone to understand how the children are progressing in their learning and development. To do this, teachers and the school’s Senior Leadership Team will use the Graduated Approach’s four-part cycle (Assess, Plan, Do, Review) through which earlier decisions and actions are revisited, refined and revised with a growing understanding of the child's needs and of what supports the child in making good progress and securing good outcomes.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Provision

It is important that the provision we tailor for each individual child has a positive impact and therefore careful monitoring of support is essential. To do this we:

Analyse the results and progress children have attained while being taught on various interventions as part of our monitoring timetable
Monitor the impact of interventions on classroom learning and progress by analysing half termly assessments
Make changes to the provision of interventions according to the results they generate
Monitor the work in children’s books to determine how well they are applying what they have been taught in interventions
Have professional conversations with colleagues about how children are doing in the classroom environment
Value Pupil Voice by listening to the child about their learning and needs

How do we Meet the Needs of Children with SEND?

We adopt different approaches to cater for all the children we teach and this is particularly relevant for children with SEND. This encompasses:

High Quality Teaching with appropriate, targeted differentiation in place according to pupil need
Additional adult support, where appropriate, to complement the work of the teacher
The use of small group work
Personalised provision, where appropriate, through targeted, time-limited programmes
Personalised provision through adapted resources and interventions such as Precision Teaching, phonics booster groups, Speech and Language interventions, handwriting support and, when necessary, individual reward and behaviour systems
Catering for children’s social, emotional and mental health needs by using a range of tools to support emotional literacy skills, and by providing Social Stories and Comic Strips for children who need them
Following recommendations from different agencies such as Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and the Speech and Language Team

Supporting Transitions

Some children find transitions from one year to the next, or one stage of education to the next, very difficult. To support children with these transitions we:

Provide transition booklets with a visual focus
Organise additional transitions visits and activities
Have increased conversations about the needs of children
Organise handovers between staff and schools

We are always keen to listen to children and to hear and act on what they say. We make sure children are aware of our Anti-Bullying Policy by displaying it in every room and presenting this information in assemblies. We take every incident of bullying seriously.

Expertise of Staff and Involvement of Other Agencies

We aim to employ skilled staff to support our children with additional needs. We have staff who are experienced in working with children with ASC (Autism Spectrum Condition), emotional and social difficulties and a wide range of learning difficulties.

Here at Borrow Wood, we take a multi-agency approach and work in collaboration with other professionals and agencies to ensure the provision we provide is effective and innovative. We will always seek additional support and expertise with regards to a child in consultation with parents or carers. The external agencies we may seek advice from are:

The Educational Psychologist who can advise on additional strategies to support specific children
The STEPs Team who, as specialist teachers, can offer advice for issues related to vision and hearing impairment and Autism Spectrum Disorders
Derby City Council’s SEND Department who can advise on funding and processes such as Education Health Care Plan applications
The Speech and Language Team who can offer support and assessments for children who are struggling with their speech, use or understanding of language
Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists who can support children with physical difficulties and can be referred to via the family GP
Community Paediatricians who can carry out further investigations into children who we feel may have underlying difficulties, such as neurodevelopmental disorders
Early Help Assessment Team who can offer support for families who are having a variety of difficulties which might mean their children are struggling to access education
Education Welfare Officer who supports children and their families who are having issues around attendance
SENDIASS who will support families of children with SEND and act as advocates for them. School will signpost parents/carers in the right direct for this service.

Virtual school who will offer guidance and support for children who are Looked After or have previously been looked after.

What training have staff had about SEND?

Our SENCo has gained the National Award for Special Educational Needs Co-ordination and a post-graduate certificate in Autism and Behavioural Science. In addition to this, she attends SEND training and network meetings.

All staff receive an on-going professional development programme throughout the school year which addresses areas of SEND within the school. During the 2023-2024 academic year, training included:

The Graduated Response
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Team-Teach: Positive Behaviour Training Level 1 and 2
High Quality Teaching for children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs
Sensory Processing Needs
Visual Impairment Training

Children who are Looked After by the Local Authority

Our Head Teacher, Zoe Fletcher, is our Designated Teacher for Looked After Children. We ensure regular meetings take place twice yearly to complete Personal Education Plans (PEPs) and to source additional funding as appropriate. All relevant agencies are invited to attend these meetings. This is on top of the completion of SEND Support Plans if that child is also considered to have Special Educational Needs.

How do you apply for a school placement?

We believe that our admissions criteria should not discriminate against pupils with SEND and has due regard for the practice advocated in the 2014 SEND Code of Practice. Places within our school are admitted through the Local Authority. We will consult with the Local Authority, parents and the child’s current setting to ensure that provision is appropriate and can meet the needs of the individual child.

For more information, go to School admissions - Derby City Council

Complaints from Parents/Carers of Children who have SEND

Due to the inclusive and parent friendly philosophy of our school, we enjoy excellent and mutually supportive relationships with the parents and carers of our pupils. However, if you have any concerns, we hope that they can be resolved by accessing the support and advice of the SENCo and other staff through the Silver Birch Hub. There will be a member of staff to speak to you at any time if you need to raise an issue and you can access them via the school office. Our aim is to work with parents/carers to resolve any issues through active and positive communication.

Should you still be dissatisfied or unable to come to a resolution, you should then raise concerns with the Head Teacher, who will listen to your concerns and seek to find a way forward in the best interests of your child. If you are still dissatisfied with the outcome you should contact the Governing Board.

If you wish to make a complaint, you may follow the procedure of the school’s Complaints Policy.

Equalities Act

We pay due respect to all the Protected Characteristics highlighted in the Equalities Act 2015. This applies to children waiting to be admitted to Borrow Wood, as well as those currently here and those who have recently left us. The Protected Characteristics are:

Disability
Gender identity
Pregnancy and maternity
Race
Religion or belief
Sex
Age
Marriage/Civil Partnership
Sexual Orientation

Click here to read our Odyssey Collaborative Trust Equality and Diversity Policy

How to find out more information about SEND in Derby City

Derby City’s SEND Local Offer is an online one stop shop for parents and young people to find out about all the services and support on offer to children and young people from birth to 25 who have special educational needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) in the city. Derby City Council, along with all other local authorities, are required to publish information about services they expect to be available in their area. Derby City’s Local Offer is available here: www.derby.gov.uk/sendlocaloffer . It tells parents how to access services and support in Derby City and what to expect from these services, including details of Higher Needs Funding and Education and Health Care Plans.

If you are Derbyshire County Council resident click here to view their Local Offer.

How do I contact school staff?

Inclusion Leader/SENCo – Natalie Lane: senco@borrowwood.derby.sch.uk
Head Teacher- Zoe Fletcher: head@borrowwood.derby.sch.uk

SEND Information Report written by Natalie Lane in September 2023

Equality