Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
SEND - Information Report
Please click here to access the official guidance for parents and carers, and here for the link to Central Bedfordshire Council's local offer which details the provision expected to be available within our local authority for children and young people with SEND aged 0 - 25.
SEND information report – 2023-2024
This document has been created with reference to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice 2015 and The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and The Children and Families Act 2014.
- The kinds of special educational needs for which provision is made at school
We cater for children with a range of special educational needs, such as those children who may be on the Autistic spectrum, children who are visually impaired, hearing impaired, children with mobility issues, children who had ADHD and children with global delay. However, regardless of whether a child has a diagnosis we will do our utmost to ensure that they are treated equally to their peers, receive the provision they require to be able to achieve their best, become confident individuals living fulfilling lives and make successful transition into adulthood, whether into employment or higher education or training.
- How do we identify and assess children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities?
At Caddington Village School we undertake a rigorous system of monitoring pupils’ progress to help with early identification of areas causing pupils’ barriers to learning. Pupils identified as having Special Educational Needs will be placed on the school’s Inclusion List and may have a personalised SEND Support Plan, which includes personalised targets to work towards. SEND Support Plans will be reviewed on a termly basis with new ones written accordingly; however needs of pupils are continually monitored and adjusted in between review cycles. At every stage of this process, parents and carers are fully informed and engaged in order that everyone involved in the care of the child can work together to help them progress swiftly with their learning. We acknowledge that sometimes parents may have concerns that their child has Special Educational Needs but the class teacher may not echo these concerns. In this case the class teacher will always refer the parental concerns on to the SENDCo in order that further discussion can take place.
- Information about provision for pupils with SEND whether or not they have an EHC Plan.
a) How we evaluate the effectiveness of our provision for such pupils
At Caddington Village School we regularly monitor the provision made for our pupils with additional needs in order to ensure that we are providing the best learning environment and journey for our pupils. This is done through the use of SEND action plans, walkabouts, lesson monitoring and hearing the parent and pupil voice.
b) Our arrangements for assessing and reviewing the progress of pupils with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities
At Caddington Village School we follow the Chris Quigley Curriculum and its values. As part of this curriculum we use the ‘Pebbles’ milestones in order to monitor the progress of pupils who are working below the National Curriculum levels. Pupils who are in our Early Years Foundation Stage are assessed using the Cherry Garden assessment tool through Tapestry.
Pupils who have a SEND Support Plan have objectives written in conjunction with the SENDCo, Class Teacher and parents and these are reviewed at least four times a year. Pupils with an EHCP have this reviewed at least yearly – and sooner if necessary.
c) Our approach to teaching pupils with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities
All pupils within our school are treated equally – whether they have an identified SEND need or not.
Additional or different support from that given to others may be required in order to help children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities. This may take one of several different forms:
- High quality differentiated teaching – Where teachers plan to meet the needs of their pupils through pupil specific learning tasks, resources and/or support in class.
- Small group intervention sessions – within the class (delivered by class teacher or Teaching Assistant) or out of class (usually delivered by a Teaching Assistant).
d) How we adapt our curriculum and learning environment for pupils with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities
We endeavour to make reasonable adjustments within the school day in order to enable all children to access learning effectively. This may include adjusting where a child sits in class to ensure that they can see/hear properly, giving a child ear-defenders to help them cut out noise that may affect their ability to concentrate and giving a child a ‘time out’ card to use if they need to have some quiet time.
Adaptations may include: enlarging text for a pupil with a visual impairment, ensuring that all buildings are accessible by wheelchair, providing a suitable area for medication to be administered, fitting a sound field system for a hearing-impaired child, providing medical care as required following suitable training from healthcare professionals. We have a lift in order that all pupils can access all floors of our two-storey building.
e) Additional support for learning that is available to pupils with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities
Any pupil with a disability will be given every opportunity to participate fully in the school’s curriculum; adaptations to the environment or curriculum will be made wherever possible. We will work closely with any supporting external agencies, which can include the Edwin Lobo Centre, Speech and Language, the Educational Psychologist, the Visual and Hearing Impairment teams and school nursing teams with regards to advice on how to help facilitate access for certain pupils.
f) How we enable pupils with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities to engage in activities of the school (including physical activities) together with children who do not have special educational needs
All pupils within our school are treated equally – whether they have an identified SEND need or not and as such we make sure that all activities are adapted to enable them to take part as appropriately as possible during the school day.
g) Support that is available for improving the emotional, mental and social development of pupils with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities
We are committed to supporting children with pastoral, or mental health needs, as well. This may be achieved through support during points of the day that certain children may find stressful or through pastoral intervention sessions aiming to develop emotional literacy. This provision is adjusted to meet the needs of our pupils as they arise. In addition, we are able to access support from the Mental Health Support Team who work in schools across Central Bedfordshire supporting pupils with low level mental health needs.
- Name and contact details of SENDCo
Our SENDCo is Mrs Steph Meager, who can be contacted on the school telephone number:- Caddington Village School - 01582 726058 e-mail office@caddingtonschool.net Slip End Village School 01582 720152 email office@slipendschool.org
- Information about staff training and specialist expertise
We endeavour to ensure that all of our teaching and support staff are fully equipped in order to ensure that we are providing high quality first teaching to all children and especially those with SEND. Wherever possible staff will attend relevant in-house or external training which is specific to the needs of our pupils.
We are also able to access specialist support and expertise through the Special Needs Schools in Dunstable along with a variety of external agencies such as Jigsaw.
- Information about how equipment and facilities to support children will be secured
In the event that specialist equipment is needed in order to support a child with SEND we will endeavour to ensure that this is in place before the child starts. In the event that equipment is required after the child has started we will make sure that it is in place at the earliest possible time.
- Arrangements for parental contact and involvement
Parents are usually invited into school for Parent Consultation Evenings three times a year. Parents are also encouraged to talk to their child’s class teacher regularly and to contact the SENDCo should any issues arise. We endeavour to make parents feel at ease and comfortable when communicating with us and that we are here to listen whenever they need.
- Arrangements for child views
Children are asked their view on their needs and how we can best meet them when looking at their targets and SEND support plans. We feel that it is vitally important that children’s views are listened to, acknowledged and considered throughout their education.
When annual reviews for Education Health and Care Plans are held. The pupil and their siblings are invited along with their parents/carers to share their own views and feelings. In the current climate, we will take guidance from CBC as to what these will look like for this academic year.
- Arrangements re complaints
Please see the complaints policy and procedures which are detailed on our website.
- How we use other agencies i.e. health and social services in supporting families
Developing effective partnerships with external agencies and support services such as speech and language therapists and occupational therapists are a key aspect of ensuring that pupils identified as having Special Education Needs and/or Disabilities along with their parents/carers have access to professional support and advice. Professionals sometimes conduct school visits to assess pupils in the classroom (and have been offering virtual calls at present); parents/carers are always fully engaged with this process.
- How do we support parents of children with SEND
The class teacher is regularly available to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns you may have and to share information about what is working well at home and school, so that similar strategies can be used.
The SENDCo is available to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns/worries you may have.
In addition to this:
- All information from outside professionals will be discussed with you with the person involved directly, or where this is not possible, in a report
- SEND Support Plans will be reviewed with your involvement every term
- Homework will be adjusted as needed to your child’s individual requirements
- A contact agreement may be in place with the school where this is beneficial for your child e.g. weekly email/phone call
- Arrangements for admissions and transfer to new school or phases of education
We aim to ensure that your child has a smooth transition into either a new age phase within school or into a new school. We do this through meetings or telephone conversations to ensure that all relevant information is passed on, and ensuring that the children have SEND support plans which clearly identify their needs, strengths and goals for the future.
When a pupil with identified SEND begins their school journey with us – whether through transfer from another provision or as their first school, we will encourage visits to our setting with the pupil and parents/carers and meetings with the SENDCo in order that we can best understand and make provisions for their needs prior to their start date. If a pupil transfers to us with an EHCP then we will respond to consultation from the Local Authority in order to establish if we are able to meet the child’s needs, following this a suitable transition will be made.
- Local offer info.
Please find the link to the Central Bedfordshire Local offer at the top of this page.