Identifying and assessing need

How does the school know if children need extra help and what should I do if I think my child may have special educational needs?

At Blackhall Primary we believe early identification of pupils with SEND is key. All staff receive ongoing SEND training to support this and clear procedures are in place for staff to follow. A copy of the school SEND Policy can be found on the school website – this is updated annually. 

 All classroom staff meet with the SENDCO each term for SEND consultations in which they raise concerns and discuss progress and provision.

 Special Educational Needs may be identified through: 

• Concerns from parents
•  Assessment data and pupil progress data 
• Observations that class teachers record 
• Discussion in staff meetings
• Information passed from previous schools and EYFS settings
• Screening and identification by outside agencies
• Health diagnosis through local paediatricians at the hospital

In addition to these scheduled sessions school staff can raise SEND concerns at any time. Any parent who suspects that their child has a Special Educational Need should discuss their concerns with their child’s class teacher first. The SENDCO is also available if there are further concerns. 

SEN Monitoring

If school staff or parents identify a concern, the classroom staff, parents and SENCO will discuss the child’s needs at the earliest opportunity. During this meeting a Short Note would be completed with agreed outcomes for the child, strategies to trial and next steps. Progress will be reviewed after 6 weeks and a plan of action identified.

Reviewing Progress

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

SEN Support

All children who receive additional to or different from provision are recorded as SEN support and have an individual support plan which is updated 3 times a year. Parents are involved with reviewing support plans and in discussion about progress made.

We currently have 33.7% of children on roll listed as SEN support.

Further Support Including Additional Funding and EHCPs

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 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 attainment 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 5% of children on roll with an EHCP.

For more detailed information see the Local Offer and Durham SENDIASS

How is progress towards outcomes reviewed?

Progress review arrangements include:

• School data tracking for pupil progress
• Support plan and EHCP reviews 
• Progress on interventions
• Observations and follow up
• Parent meetings
• Additional SEND parent consultations