At Primley Wood we are happy to make reasonable adjustments to our provision to enable pupils and parents to be included in our school. Currently we provide support for pupils with a broad spectrum of needs, these include:

Communication and Interaction – where children may have a difficulty communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them or they do not understand or use social rules of communication. Autism Spectrum Conditions would fall under this category.

Cognition and Learning – where children may learn at a slower pace than other children of the same age. They may demonstrate a difficulty with certain areas of the curriculum, have difficulties with organisation and memory skills. They may demonstrate a specific difficulty with one particular area of their learning, for example English or Maths. Specific learning difficulties such as Dyslexia, Dyscalculia or Development Co-ordination Disorder (DCD) would fall under this category. 

Social, Emotional and mental health – children may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest in different ways. These may include becoming isolated or withdrawn, displaying challenging or disruptive behaviours. They may experience difficulties in their relationships with others or managing their own emotions. ADHD or Attachment Disorders would fall under this category.

Sensory and/or physical needs - where children may have a physical impairments, such as a hearing or visual impairment. They may have a physical need that means they require ongoing support or specialist equipment to access their learning.

Some children with SEND have needs from across more than one area.

We provide all pupils with a fully inclusive approach to school life, whether this is within the classroom, at lunch or within extra-curricular activities. We pride ourselves on providing quality first teaching to all pupils.

We currently offer the following for pupils with SEND:

Universal Support:

Inclusive, Quality First Teaching (QFT) for all pupils. This also includes appropriate differentiation and other changes that will enable pupils to access whole class teaching. This may include environmental changes, accessibility of resources, peer and/or adult support, alternate methods to recording working, scaffolds (tools and resources to support learning and completion of work) or strategies to promote independency.

Quality First Teaching means:

The teacher has high expectations of every child in their class.

Teaching and learning build on from what every pupil already knows, can do and understands.

Lessons are appropriately differentiated (adapted) so that all pupils can access learning.

Where necessary, specific strategies (suggested by the SENDCo) to support your child to learn.

On-going assessment to monitor progress and to identify any gaps in learning or understanding.

Any particular needs or support is swiftly identified, planned for, carried out and then reviewed (see below ‘Graduated Approach’)

Targeted Support:

All children have access to our universal support as outlined above. However, where a particular need has been identified, the approach to your child’s teaching and learning may become more personalised and their support may become more targeted.

Targeted support is additional, time-limited, tailored support programmes and/or interventions. Targeted support can be for any area of difficulty, including English, Maths and SEMH (social, emotional, and mental health).

Targeted support is normally carried out within a small group and is led by a Class Teacher or Assistant teacher. The sessions may take place in or out of class. All interventions are monitored and reviewed to ensure the expected impacted and progress has been made. These interventions can be fluid and reviewed at regular intervals to maximise progress.

If the intended impact and progress has not been made, more specialist support may be put into place (see below).

Specialist Support:

If a child is receiving universal and targeted support and not making the expected progress, advice and support may be sought from external agencies (please see below some of the external agencies we currently work with).

An increasingly individualised SEND programme will be created, and more individual or small group adult-led targeted support will be given through the advice of the SENDCo and/or specialist. All specialist interventions are monitored and reviewed to ensure the expected impacted and progress has been made.

Graduated Approach:

At Nishkam School, all our teachers follow the Graduated Approach as part of our high-quality offer for all pupils. The Graduated Approach is a four-step cycle of: Assess, Plan, Do and Review.

This structure allows us to continuously assess children’s learning and progress, plan for next steps or additional provision (such as targeted interventions), conduct what we planned to do and continuously review for impact and progress. This cycle is continuously followed to ensure all children achieve. As parents, we will update you with progress and ensure you are part of your child’s educational journey every step of the way.

Where progress or expected impacted is not seen, more targeted or specialist interventions and support may be required (see ‘targeted support’ and ‘specialist support’ above). In this case, the class teacher, SENDCo and parents would discuss next steps and the SENDCo may seek support from outside agencies.

Tell us about your concerns - If you think your child might have SEND, the first person you should tell is your child’s Class Teacher. They will pass the message on to our SENDCo (Mrs Howard), who will be in touch to discuss your concerns. You can also contact the SENDCo directly.

We will contact you to discuss your concerns – We will arrange a phone call or a face- to – face meeting to discuss your concerns and try to get a better understanding of what your child’s strengths and difficulties are.

Initial Observations - The SENDCo will then observe your child in the classroom environment, have discussions with the class teacher and may complete some initial assessments. Once this information has been collected, together we will decide on what outcomes to seek for your child and agree on next steps. This may be adaptations to Quality First Teaching (QFT) in the first instance, or more targeted interventions may be suggested. We will make a note of what has been discussed and add this to your child’s record. At this point your child will be added to the SENDCo monitoring list.

SEND support – The impact of the additional support will be assessed after a period of time, at this point we may decide your child needs SEND support. We will formally notify you in writing and your child will be added to the schools SEND register.

Through regular communication with parents we hope to work together to identify any SEND early and take action to best support your child and family. Early identification of a pupil with SEND is essential for their needs to be addressed quickly to enable them to learn effectively and to achieve their full potential.

All our class teachers are aware of SEND and are on the lookout for any pupils who aren’t making the expected level of progress in their schoolwork or socially. Every learner in school has their progress closely monitored through regular pupil progress meetings and frequent consultations with parent/carers. Pupils who are not making expected progress are highlighted through discussions with the SENDCo.

The SENDCo will then typically observe the pupil in the classroom environment, have discussions with the class teacher and parents and may complete some initial assessments. Once this information has been collected the SENDCo, in co-operation with class teachers and parents, will give some suggestions for next steps. This will often be adaptations to Quality First Teaching (QFT) in the first instance. Or more targeted interventions will be suggested. These may be additional interventions linked to the area of need and will usually be in addition to QFT. For example NESSY, specific phonics teaching or LEGO therapy. Referrals to external agencies for additional support may also be suggested. The pupil will then be added to the ‘monitoring’ section of the SEND support register.

The impact of the additional support will be assessed after a period of time, at this point it may be decided the pupil needs SEND support. We will formally notify parents in writing and the pupil will be added to the schools SEND register.

The SENDCo will meet with you, your child and other agencies who may or will be providing support. We will discuss your child’s specific learning needs and create a plan of support for your child. This might include:

• Differentiated learning approaches and resources.
• Environmental or physical adaptations
• Additional or targeted support from subject specialists, Associate Teachers, or external agencies
• Referral for specialist assessment and/or support
• Support for you

At Nishkam Schools, we implement the ‘Graduated Approach’ to meeting your Childs SEND needs (as outlined in the SEND Code of Practise 2014).

The Graduated Approach is a 4 part cycle of ‘Assess- Plan – Do – Review’.

Assess - All pupils in school are assessed each term. If a pupil is identified as not making the expected level of progress, we will carry out additional assessments to identify their strengths and weaknesses. We may request additional external support where necessary. We will also ask for you and your child’s input (pupil voice).

Plan – Once this information has been collected, outcomes are set by class teachers and what provision needs to be in place to meet these outcomes. These will link to any external agencies outcomes or recommendations. This becomes a document we call an ‘Individual Learning Plan’. This document is shared with parents and all staff working with that pupil.

Do – We put our plan into action. Usually a time frame of a whole term is given to carry out the planned interventions and make progress towards the outcomes. 

Review – The learning outcomes are reviewed, we will assess how well the support put in place has helped the pupil to meet the outcome we set. We use our improved understanding to set new outcomes and identify and changes in provision required. The reviewed document is also shared with parents so they can see the progress made.

This process will be continual. If the review shows the pupil has made progress, they may no longer need the additional provision made through SEND support. For others the cycle will continue and the school’s targets strategies and provisions will be revisited and refined.

At Primley Wood we value Parental Voice and encourage open and honest communication with parents. Parents are welcome to make appointments to meet with class teachers or the SENDCo throughout the school year.

All children receive an annual report on the progress they have made. For children with an Individual Learning Plan, we will provide a reviewed document every term (3 times throughout the year).

We expect that as a minimum, parents have the opportunity to discuss their child’s progress 3 times throughout the year. Parent consultations are held in the Autumn and Spring Term. There is the opportunity to speak with the SENDCo at these consultation. The aim of these meetings is to have a shared understanding of the outcomes your child is working towards, what provision is in place within school to meet these outcomes, to review progress towards the outcomes and to decide together on any next steps.

An additional meeting in the Summer Term can be arranged with the class teacher or SENDCo to facilitate transition arrangements into the next year group, this could be to meet with any new staff working with your child in the following year group.

Parents with children who have EHCplan will also have an annual review.

• The Class Teacher will use the Graduated Approach to review and revise targets and provision. Existing targets/interventions/support will be adjusted, and new targets/interventions/support will be put in place. Monitoring of these for impact and progress will take place.
• The Class Teacher and/or SENDCo will meet with you and your child to discuss their progress, next steps and targets/interventions/support that has been adjusted.
• Targets, strategies, and/or activities will be shared with you to support your child at home.
• If appropriate, referral for assessment/support from an external agency will be made. The SENDCo will discuss this with you and seek parental consent.

• At Nishkam School, we communicate and collaborate with all our parents to ensure they are fully informed of their child's progress, provision, and next steps. We offer various avenues of support for parents, including:
• An open-door policy for parents to discuss their child with the class teacher and/or SENDCo.
• Providing resources for parents to use at home with their child
• Parent workshops to support parental understanding of their child's learning.
• Sharing local training, webinars, forums, and meetings with parents.
• Directing parents to online resources

All our class teachers are aware of SEND and are on the lookout for any pupils who aren’t making the expected level of progress in their schoolwork or socially. Every learner in school has their progress closely monitored through regular pupil progress meetings and frequent consultations with parent/carers. Pupils who are not making expected progress are highlighted through discussions with the SENDCo.

The curriculum is adapted to meet the needs of all of our pupils. We will differentiate (or adapt) how we teach to suit the way the pupil works best. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to adapting the curriculum, we work on a case-by-case basis to make sure the adaptation we make are meaningful to your child. 

These adaptations include:

• Differentiating our curriculum to make sure all pupils are able to access it.
• Differentiating our teaching style.
• Adapting our resources and staffing
• Enabling access to specialist equipment such as pencil grips, writing slopes, reading overlays, ‘wobble’ cushions, visual supports, workstations, laptops or specialist software.
• Visual Timetables are used in all classrooms, some with pictures and some written in words.
• Provision can be made during break and lunchtime for pupils who find it difficult to spend time outside or in busy place.
• Provision can also be made for some children to access sensory circuits or movement breaks throughout the day as required.

Class Teachers make sure pupils have learning activities that are differentiated to their needs, this means it is achievable but with the right amount of challenge.

Our School is fully inclusive. All pupils are able to be involved in all activities within our school. All of our extra-curricular activities and school visits are available to all of our pupils, including before and after school clubs. All pupils are encouraged to go on our school trips, including any residential trips. All pupils are encouraged to take part in sports days, performances and special workshops within school.

No pupil is ever excluded from taking part in these activities because of their SEND and we will make the reasonable adjustments necessary to ensure they can be included.

It is essential that parents and school meet to discuss your child and their medical condition. Together, we can identify any potential barriers or risks and put a suitable plan in place. This plan will be monitored regularly and reviewed with yourself.

Children are admitted according to our Admissions Policy. The admission of pupils with disabilities is the same as those applied to pupils without disabilities. The school complies fully with the Equality Act and the School Admissions Code in relation to the arrangements for the admission of disabled pupils. Where the school is oversubscribed, all children are admitted in accordance with the published oversubscription criteria. Where a child is disabled, the school will make reasonable adjustments and provide auxiliary aids or services to ensure that no disabled child is placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to other pupils. Parents of children with disabilities are advised to speak to us prior to admission to discuss any reasonable adjustments required so we can plan accordingly

Please visit Leeds City Council’s admissions page to view the admissions arrangements for all pupils including those with SEND. Children with EHCPlans will be given a priority over some other pupils. Feel free to contact school if you wish to discuss your child’s needs with the SENDCo.

Apply for a primary school (leeds.gov.uk)

The Children and Families Bill requires every Local Authority to publish its Local Offer on its website from 1^st September 2014.  The Local Offer will provide information on the range of services available in the area to meet the needs of all children, young people and parents across the 0-25 year age range.  You can access the Local Offer for your area by clicking on the appropriate link below:

Below are a list of useful website links that provide advice and resources to support children and families.

https://leedslocaloffer.org.uk/#!/directory 

https://www.leeds.gov.uk/schools-and-education/school-admissions/apply-for-a-primary-school

https://sendiass.leeds.gov.uk/

https://www.scope.org.uk/

https://www.mindmate.org.uk/nd/

https://www.family-action.org.uk/