How do we support a child with additional needs?

4. How do we support a child with additional needs?

(Please see flowchart in Appendix 4)

We have a team of staff in school who work together to support children with SEND. The class teachers plan and monitor inclusive activities for children in their class. They provide differentiation to meet the needs of all children. We have a team of staff who work one to one to support children with identified, complex needs to access the curriculum and break times. They also work with small groups of children delivering interventions to support additional needs. Support is planned and allocated in response to the level of need.

Where progress is not adequate, it will be necessary to take some additional or different action to enable the pupil to learn more effectively. Whatever the level of pupils’ difficulties the key test of how far their learning needs are being met is whether they are making adequate progress.

Adequate progress can be defined in a number of ways ie:-

closes the attainment gap between the child and their peers
prevents the attainment gap growing wider
is similar to that of peers starting from the same attainment baseline, but less than that of the majority of peers
matches or betters the child’s previous rate of progress
ensures access to the full curriculum
demonstrates an improvement in self-help, social or personal skills
demonstrates improvements in the child’s behaviour

If a child’s progress is inadequate the class teacher will provide interventions that are additional to or different from those provided as part of the usual differentiated curriculum offer and strategies.

The triggers for intervention could be the teacher’s or others’ concern, underpinned by evidence, about a child who despite receiving differentiated learning opportunities:

makes little or no progress when teaching approaches are targeted particularly in a child’s identified areas of weakness
shows signs of difficulty in developing literacy or mathematical skills which result in poor attainment in some curriculum areas
presents persistent emotional or behavioural difficulties which are not improved by the positive behaviour management techniques usually employed in the school
has sensory or physical problems, and continues to make little or no progress despite the provision of specialist equipment
has communication and/or interaction difficulties, and continues to make little or no progress despite the provision of a differentiated curriculum.

This will be recorded and monitored on the school Provision Map.

Following a review of the child’s progress and consultation with parents a decision may be taken to request help from external support services, both those provided by the LA and by outside agencies. This is known as SEN Support.

SEN Support

The triggers for SEN Support could be that, despite receiving an individualised programme and/or concentrated support the child:

continues to make little or no progress in specific areas over a long period
continues working at National Curriculum levels substantially below that expected of children of a similar age
continues to have difficulty in developing literacy and mathematical skills
has emotional or behavioural difficulties which substantially and regularly interfere with the child’s own learning or that of the class group, despite having an individualised behaviour management programme
has sensory or physical needs, and requires specialist equipment or regular advice or visits by a specialist service
has ongoing communication or interaction difficulties that impede the development of social relationships and cause substantial barriers to learning.

The above is a graduated response of action and intervention when a child is identified as having special educational needs, but must not be regarded as steps on the way to an Educational, Health and Care Assessment, as some children will require less rather than more help if the interventions work successfully. The interventions are a means of matching special educational provision to the child’s needs, and are therefore part of the continuous and systematic cycle of planning, action and review within our school to enable all children to learn and progress. Advice and support may be requested from the Educational Psychology Service and a Consultation Request will be made. Following consultation, advice would be taken as to future and further action, it may be deemed appropriate to request an Educational, Health and Care Assessment.

Educational, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

At Hillside Primary School if, after we have taken action to meet the learning difficulties of a child, the child’s needs remain so substantial that they cannot be met effectively within the resources normally available to the school or setting then we would make a request to the LA for an assessment.

When a child is brought to the attention of the LA by a request for an EHC assessment, the LA must decide within six weeks whether to carry out such an assessment.

In considering whether an EHC assessment is necessary, the LA will pay particular attention to:

evidence that the school has responded appropriately to the requirements of the National Curriculum, especially the section entitled “Inclusion: Providing effective learning opportunities for all children”
evidence provided by the child’s school, parents and other professionals where they have been involved with the child, as to the nature, extent and cause of the child’s learning difficulties
evidence of action already taken by the child’s school to meet and overcome these difficulties
evidence of the rate and style of the child’s progress
evidence that where some progress has been made, it has only been as the result of additional effort and instruction at a sustained level over and above the provision provided through SEN Support.

Once all the advice requested for the EHC assessment has been received the LA must decide whether to draw up a plan. The LA may decide that the degree of the child’s learning difficulty and the nature of the provision necessary to meet the child’s special educational needs is such as to require the LA to determine the child’s special educational provision through an EHC plan.

When a plan is made teachers will monitor and informally review progress during the course of the year using the normal curriculum and pastoral monitoring arrangements for all pupils as well as writing Support Plans as appropriate.

All EHC plans must be reviewed at least annually, but if a child’s special educational needs change, a review is held as soon as possible to ensure that the provision specified in the plan is still appropriate.

It should be emphasised that the child and his/her family are placed at the centre at every stage of the above graduated approach and whilst the school will provide recommendations on the most appropriate provision, it will always assess, plan, do and review in collaboration with pupils and parents.