The Children and Families Act 2014 says that all maintained schools must publish a Special Educational Needs (SEN) Information Report every year. This report explains how our school meets the needs of children with SEN. It will be shown on our school website and in the ‘local offer’ on www.eastsussex.gov.uk 

In the report, we explain how we meet our duties towards pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. This report is also our SEN policy http://www.grovelands-school.co.uk/statutory-information/1/policies. This report is also the information we provide to the East Sussex local offer which show the support that is available for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in East Sussex www.eastsussex.gov.uk/localoffer  

We will review this report every year and will involve pupils and parents, through parent SEN forums, meetings and individual feedback. If you want to give us your views about the report, please contact the school office. 

Signed: Paul Young - Chair of Governors

SEND CoP 6.81

If your child is already at the school, you should talk to the child’s class teacher using the school phone number 01323 840062 or email using the school class email address. 

If you are thinking of applying for a place, contact County Admissions Team: http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/educationandlearning/schools/admissions/

If you are hoping your child will attend our High Needs Unit for children with Autism then please be aware that the County Admissions Team does not manage this process. Places at the High Needs Unit for Autism are allocated through Assessment and Planning decision making panel and the facility needs to be named on the child’s Education and Health Care plan.

If you have a concern or would like a potential Special Educaitional Need explored and your child is already at the school, in the first instance, you should talk to the child’s class teacher using the school phone number 01323 840062 or email using the school class email address. 

At Grovelands Community Primary School our Inclusion Leader is our Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) and is responsible for managing and co-ordinating the support for children with special educational needs, including those who have Education Health and Care (EHC) plans. The SENCO also provides professional guidance to school staff and works closely with parents and other services that provide for children in the school. You are very welcome to speak with her directly.
 
Inclusion Leader: Ms C Adams

How to Contact:
Email the school office
office@grovelands.e-sussex.sch.uk 

or telephone and select ‘4 for special educational needs on 01323 840062. 

Best time to contact: 9.30am to 2.45pm Monday to Thursday, in term time.

SEND CoP 6.79 bullet 5

We are a Primary School. We admit pupils from age 4 to 11. We are a maintained school.

In addition we have a High Needs Unit for Autism that opened in September of 2019. The High Needs Unit for children with Autism has 8 school places. Places at the High Needs Unit for Autism are allocated through Assessment and Planning decision making panel and needs to be named on the child’s Education and Health Care plan. 

We are an inclusive school. This means we provide for children with all types of special educational needs. If you want a place for a child who has a statement or Education Health and Care plan, contact your Assessment and Planning Officer at East Sussex County Council. If you want a place for any other child with special educational needs, you should apply as normal and your application will be considered in the same way as applications from children without special educational needs.

• • https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/educationandlearning/schools/admissions 
• • Information for families for admissions advice 0345 60 80 192 

SEND CoP 6.79 bullet 1

Our School believes that all children are entitled to a broad and balanced curriculum. We agree that some children need increased support to access learning. This may be because:

A) they have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of the children of the same age;
B) they have a disability that impacts on them being able to access and benefit from the educational opportunities generally enjoyed by children of the same age.

We will make our best endeavours to remove barriers to achievement by ensuring that every child experiences quality teaching. We monitor and track progress of all children so that the support provided is effective. We always work in partnership with parents and carers and, where necessary, seek support and advice from specialists outside school.

We monitor children’s progress
Through rigorous monitoring we are alert to emerging difficulties and respond early. For some children, SEN can be identified at an early age. For other children difficulties become evident only as they develop. When it is decided to provide a pupil with SEN support the decision will be recorded in our school records and we will formally notify the child's parents. We are required to gather data on the levels and types of SEN within the school available to the Local Authority. This data collected through the School Census, is also required to produce the national SEN information report.

A Graduated Approach to SEN Support
SEN support takes the form of a five part cycle: assess, plan/ record, deliver, monitor and review. Decisions and actions are revisited, refined and revised with a growing understanding of the pupil’s needs and of what supports the pupil in making good progress and securing good outcomes. This is known as the graduated approach.

Assess
‘Pupil Progress’ meetings seek to identify pupils making less than expected progress given their age and individual circumstances.
Less than expected progress would be reflected in the following ways:

• is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline.
• fails to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress.
• fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers
• widens the attainment gap

We may involve specialists to advice on early identification of SEN and effective support and interventions.

Plan
The first response should include high quality teaching targeted at their areas of additional need.

‘High quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils, is the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have SEN. Additional intervention and support cannot compensate for a lack of good quality teaching.’

Do
‘Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the pupils in their class.’ 

We deliver high quality teaching that is differentiated to meet the individual needs of the pupil.

Review
The impact of any adjustments is reviewed. If appropriate further advice and guidance is sought. For some children this will involve support in addition to differentiated classroom teaching, sometimes including advice from other agencies.

SEND CoP 6.79 bullet 5

SEND CoP 6.44

SEND CoP 6.37

SEND CoP 6.36

SEND CoP 6.80 re looked after children

We aim to identify children’s special educational needs (SEN) as early as possible, so that the child achieves the best possible outcomes.

A pupil has SEN where their learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision. That is provision which is different from or additional to that normally available to pupils of the same age.
Children may have one or more broad areas of special educational need:

• Communication and interaction – including speech and language difficulties and autism.
• Cognition and learning – including developmental delay and specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.
• Social, emotional and mental health difficulties –including difficulties with emotional well being, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, an attachment disorder or anxiety.
• Sensory and/or physical needs –including visual and hearing impairment, dyspraxia, cerebral palsy and other physical disabilities or medical conditions which affect a child’s learning.  

Children with special educational needs that require adjustments or interventions in addition to quality first teaching have these needs recorded on the SEN register so the work to support their learning can be coordinated.

We assess each pupil’s skills and level of attainment when they move through school. How children are assessed varies at different points in the school. We continually assess each child’s progress. If a child is making less than the progress we would expect for their age or individual circumstances, we will consider whether they have special educational needs. The SEN Co-ordinator (SENCO) will speak with the pupil, parents/ carers and the teaching team. The information will inform a decision as to which SEN needs a child needs supporting with and which additional provision or adjustments can be made to support learning and wellbeing.

Children are assessed against Early Years Goals and the National Curriculum. In addition further diagnostic screening can be used to identify an area of need.

Targeted support, in the form of adjustments or planned interventions, are recorded on the child’s pupil passport and the school’s provision map.

A small number of children have more detailed plans. Additional Needs Plans will be written for children when, despite the appropriate targeted support, a child continues to make little or no progress or to work at levels considerably below those of their peers. These children are likely to be receiving support from other agencies.

When needs are complex and despite taking relevant and purposeful action to support the child and when the child has not made expected progress, consideration will be given to requesting an Education, Health and Care (EHC) assessment. This request can be made by the school or by parents. In considering whether an EHC needs assessment is necessary the Local Authority will consider the evidence of the action already being taken by the school to meet the child's Special Educational Needs using the Additional Needs Plan.

 An EHC needs assessment will not always lead to an EHC plan. The purpose of an EHC plan is to make special educational provision to meet the special educational needs of the child, to secure improved outcomes for them across education, health and social care and, as they get older, prepare them for adulthood. The EHC plan also specifies the arrangements for setting shorter term targets at school level.

We will involve a specialist where a child makes little or no progress over a sustained period or where they continue to work at levels substantially below those of pupils at a similar age despite evidence-based SEN support delivered by appropriately trained staff. Parents are always consulted in any decision to involve specialists.

SEND CoP 6.79 bullet 5

Arrangements for assessing and reviewing children and young people’s progress towards outcomes. This should include the opportunities available to work with parents and young people as part of this assessment and review

SEND CoP 6.15- 6.20.

A parent or carer may raise a concern with a teacher. The teacher will discuss what outcomes a parent is hoping for their child. A parent may also contact the SENCo directly. Where a teacher has a concern or would like to access guidance they will arrange to speak with the SENCO.

Grovelands staff use the: assess, plan, do and review model to ensure teaching matches pupil’s needs and so we know if the interventions we have organised are making a difference.

We support English and maths
Strategies and interventions are in place to support English and maths. Teachers and teaching assistants make sure the classroom is a language rich environment with well-organised wall displays to support learning in all areas of the curriculum. Teaching Assistant’s work to support the teacher to deliver differentiated learning, small group teaching or interventions.

Teaching assistants may support children with specific learning needs with pre and post-teaching activities in small groups. At Grovelands we make use of interventions such as Speed Up, for handwriting, Rapid Reading and First Class Number for maths.

We support speech and language development
At Grovelands we recognise the importance of supporting speech and language development, particularly in the early years. Support staff are trained to provide specific support and interventions, such as; Phonics, Lego therapy, speech link, language link, nurture groups and social stories.

We currently use Speech and Language Link to assess children and our specialist teaching assistant sets up programmes to deliver. If this does not provide sufficient impact or cannot address the child’s needs will refer to the Speech and Language therapists or CLASS for support and guidance.

We also work with the English as an Additional Language Service (EALS) to identify children whose first language is not English and who may need additional support. The EALS service provides support to children on a one-to-one basis as necessary.

We promote positive behaviour
Our behaviour policy describes the high standards of behaviour and conduct expected in school. In each class there are shared rights and responsibilities displayed, with clear expectations about how to respect the rights of everyone in the class. We make sure all staff know and understand the reasons behind any difficult behaviour and how to respond. In class, the teaching assistant may support targeted children to stay on task and focus on the learning. Where difficult situations have occurred, staff talk calmly through the event with a child, helping to identify what went wrong and what actions could be taken if a similar situation happens again.

We support children’s emotional well-being
At transition
The great majority of children with SEN or disabilities, with the right support, can find work, be supported to live independently, and participate in their community. We encourage these ambitions right from the start. Our SEN support includes planning and preparation for the transitions between phases of education, key stages, year groups and preparation for adult life. We will agree with parents and pupils the information to be shared as part of this process. We support children so that they are included in social groups and develop friendships. This is particularly important when children are transferring from one phase of education to another.

Emotional well-being is supported by making sure that the children who find “change” difficult are well prepared for any changes or transitions. We may prepare specific resources such as “transition books” and/or support children in small groups or on a 1:1 basis as appropriate. This is particularly important at the end of Year 6.

Details of our Nurture provision can be found in section 15.

We support children during unstructured parts of the day
Lunch and playtimes are staffed to ensure safe adult to child ratios. There is a range of equipment available and different activities are led by staff and a children’s team of buddies. Specific interventions for children with additional needs include having a named member of staff for support, being guided to specific area or activities. Some children who find the playground particularly difficult can be part of the “Lunchtime Club” or “Safe Haven”, “Lego Club” where social stories and game sharing are used to promote friendships.

We support children’s medical needs
Grovelands is a two storey purpose built building that has some adaptations such as ramps, toilets with disabled access on each floor and a lift. Our Pastoral Manager coordinates the information and support in children’s Health Care Plans and has oversight of first aid.

As a school we write Health Care Plans with parents and carers and the relevant health professionals.

In school we have a medical room for use by children and adults who are hurt or unwell. Medicines are stored safely in the school office. There is a team of staff who are first aid trained, a number of which are able to administer medicines to children as directed by parents and carers.

Monitoring Cycle
The Senior Leadership Team, which includes the SENCO, regularly observe teaching, providing feedback and training to enable staff to develop and refresh their skills. The school holds termly pupil progress meetings with teachers, to help focus where this support is needed. This process informs the’ assess, plan, do review’ cycle.

SEND CoP 6.79 bullet 7

The approach to teaching children and young people with SEN

6.4 Code of Practice

All pupils will have access to a broad and balanced curriculum which is suitable for all our pupils.  We will set high expectations for all pupils.

We adjust the curriculum for each child with SEN to make sure that they can access the subjects at their own level and make progress. This is called ‘differentiation’.

We will look at the child’s level of achievement and see what support they need to make good progress and reach their potential. We will use our Assessment policy to do this http://www.grovelands-school.co.uk/curriculum/teaching-for-mastery We will talk with children and parents as part of the SEN support cycle (assess, plan, do, review)
(This is from SEND Code 6.12).

Parents can get info about the curriculum for each year group by clicking on the ‘curriculum tab of our website.

SEND CoP 6.79 bullet 8

Parent’s and carer’s views are sought in a number of ways, depending on the level of additional needs a child has.

Parent’s and carer’s meet with teachers at parent’s evenings where they will discuss the interventions planned for that term and the outcomes that are intended. Ideas and collaboration between home and school also takes place through home-school communication.

Parent’s and carer’s insights from home are invaluable to help plan for a child in school. And parents and carers can provide the best support to their child’s learning if they know how best to support at home.

If a child has an intervention class teachers will discuss the impact at parents’ evenings. A very small number of pupils will have Additional Needs Plans (ANPs) or Educational Health Care Plans (EHCPs) review meetings are held with input from the pupil, parent or carer, SENCO and class teacher.

We usually review Additional Needs Plans (ANPs) three times per year, but may be more if circumstances change significantly. Adjustments will be made, if required, for parents and carers with disabilities to access information and meetings. A child may cease to have an additional needs plan if sufficient progress has been made.

Children with Education, Health and Care plans also have an annual review This is one of the 3 reviews held each year.

SEND CoP 6.79 bullet 3

Arrangements for consulting parents of children with SEN and involving them in their child’s education

SEND CoP 6.79 bullet 5

Children’s views on how they are progressing and what is working for them helps us with our planning. In 2017-18 children will help staff write their ‘pupil passport’. This is a ‘one page profile’ that let everyone know the key focus and agreed ways forward. These will be reviewed at the end of each school year and help staff plan for the next academic year.

SEND CoP 6.79 bullet 4

Arrangements for consulting young people with SEN and involving them in their education

We support pupils with SEN moving on to a new school.

When a child changes school our SENCO liaises with the new school’s SENCO and passes on summary information that has been collated.

For children with EHCPs the new secondary school SENCO is invited to the year 6 annual review. This allows the opportunity for some joint planning for the provision map for the child moving forward into year 7.

A child’s new school is given the SEN records along with the school file.

Information for secondary school transition is found here:

SEND CoP 6.79 bullet 6

When we plan support for a child, we think about the knowledge and skills their teachers and support staff will need. If necessary, we plan training for the staff member or arrange an INSET training day.
 
The School Development Plan (SDP) is reviewed and written annually by the Senior Leadership Team and Governors. Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is planned and delivered against whole school priorities via INSET days, twilight meetings and staff meetings Individuals are also sent on courses to increase our capacity to deliver against the SDP. The CPD delivered reported to governors termly. The SDP drives the curriculum action plans.

All staff are trained for supporting our safeguarding duties.
Staff have regular staff training to develop skills to support pupils special educational needs, staff meetings or training provided by outside providers.
Our teachers and support staff are trained in positive handling of pupils, on a rolling programme.
Our teacher in Charge of the High Needs Unit for Autism has a CPD programme to match the needs of the pupils who are starting at our school this school year.
Our SENCO is Ms C Adams,  National Award in Special Educational Needs Co-ordination July 2017
Our teaching assistants and other specialist staff are trained to match the needs of the children they support. For example medical needs, supporting children with autism or how to deliver interventions. This might be in school or by being supported in role.

We have a wide range of training available to us from;local special schools, outside agencies and East Sussex County Council.

• East Sussex County Council training for schools- czone.eastsussex.gov.uk
• Inclusion Development Programme- idponline.org.uk
• Advanced training materials- advanced-training.org.uk

SEND CoP 6.79 bullet 9

The expertise and training of staff to support children and young people with SEN, including how specialist expertise will be secured

We regularly and carefully review the quality of teaching for all pupils to make sure no-one under achieves. We look at whether our teaching and programmes of support have made a difference. We use information systems to monitor the progress and development of all pupils.  This helps us to develop the use of interventions that are effective and to remove those that are less so.

We complete an annual self-evaluation of our SEN provision and use this to develop an action plan to further improve our SEN provision.

We send home a parent questionnaire every year then summarise the results and feedback to parents. This information helps to inform the school development plan.

We also invite parents to provide feedback at meetings, in person and through the Ofsted parent view website. https://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk/

DATA MEASURES
Our most recent Ofsted report can be found here: http://www.grovelands-school.co.uk/statutory-information/2/ofsted

SEND CoP 6.79 bullet 10

The Equality Policy for Grovelands School brings together all previous policies, schemes and action plans around equality including those that we had previously for Race, Gender and Disability. It includes all the protected characteristics covered under the Equality Act 2010 as well as other aspects which have the potential to discriminate against or to devalue any individuals within our community.

We are further committed to the development of cohesive communities both within our school’s physical boundaries and within our local, national and global environments. Our school embraces the aim of working together with others to improve children’s educational and wellbeing outcomes, and notes the rights set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

(i)The steps taken to prevent disabled pupils from being treated less favourably than other pupils are set out in our equalities policy;
(ii)The facilities provided to assist access to the school by disabled pupils range from making the two story building accessible to ensuring hazards removed or highlighted so children with visual impairments can be safe. The SENCO undertakes sensory checks of classrooms and East Sussex specialist advisors also provide guidance. These are examples of actions that contribute to our accessibility plan so our pupils are not just coping but are comfortable in their learning.
(iii)The accessibility plan prepared by the governing body or proprietor under paragraph 3 of Schedule 10 to the Equality Act 2010 is available here: http://www.grovelands-school.co.uk/statutory-information/1/policies

Supporting pupils with medical conditions (guidance- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3)

We can get information on how you will arrange equipment for those who need it from East Sussex County Council.

Section 69 Children and Families Act 2014

Through careful planning and reasonable adjustments, pupils with SEN engage in the activities of the school together with those who do not have SEN and are encouraged to participate fully in the life of the school and in any wider community activity.

We work with parents and pupils to listen to their views, feelings and wishes to ensure pupils with SEN engage fully in the life of the school and in any wider community activity.

• School’s equalities plan can be found here: http://www.grovelands-school.co.uk/statutory-information/1/policies

SEND CoP 6.79 bullet 11

Grovelands has excellent support for children’s overall well-being. We use assemblies to convey our inclusive approach and our classroom ethos is based on our children’s rights and responsibilities charter. In 2019 twelve of our staff received Mental Health First Aider training to help signpost pupils to support if required. In 2019 we appointed a lead teacher to plan how we continue to develop our whole school Mental Health provision across the school.

We support Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)
At Grovelands School we understand the need to support the social, emotional and mental health of our children. This area of provision is coordinated by our Nurture Lead who works closely with the SENCO. We run Nurture Groups, have a Learning Mentor and run Talk and Draw 1-1 support.

In 2020 we have gained an Education Mental Health Practitioner who is based here two afternoons a week, they are employed by CAMHS. 

Our Nurture Group intervention is available up to four afternoons a week, this now operates in year group bubbles. The children are identified by their class teacher, parents or SENCO, and trained staff carry out a ‘Boxall’ profile assessment to identify gaps in the child’s social and emotional development. These gaps are then the focus of the nurture intervention, in the school’s nurture room.

The Nurture Room
Our Nurture room opened in September 2016 and received the National Nurture Quality Award mark in 2019. This facility is for our most vulnerable pupils, who are struggling emotionally in the everyday classroom. Children are referred to Nurture group by their class teacher. A Boxall profile assessment is completed to understand need. Once we have understood the child’s needs, targets will be set and if suitable the child will be allocated a space in Nurture.

Our anti-bullying policy sets out how children with SEND are safeguarded, including protection from bullying and support with relationships. Our Learning Mentor is one of our Nurture practitioners. She runs groups to support children with anxiety, who have experienced a bereavement or require a short period of 1-1 support to learn to manage an issue.

Grovelands Community Primary School works with other services to support children, e.g. Education Support, Behaviour & Attendance Service (ESBAS), Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, CLASS outreach, Early Help services, the Education Psychology service and the School Nurse services.

This link will take you to our policies on:

• Behaviour and anti-bullying
• Safeguarding 
• Supporting pupils with medical conditions

SENd CoP 6.79 bullet 12

To support this policy we have human, financial and material resources.
Human resources include teaching assistants, support staff and specialist expert agencies such as;
CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service)
CLASS (Communication, Language, Autism, Support Service)
CRI –Including social workers and Family Support key workers.
ESBAS (Education Support, Behaviour and Attendance Service)
EALS (English as an Additional Language Service)
Educational Psychologist
Children Integrated Service, including: Speech and Language Service Children’s Development Centre.
OT- Occupational therapy and physiotherapy.

As part of the cycle of SEN support (assess, plan, do, review) we will consider whether we need to involve other services to make sure the child’s specific needs are met. Parents are always involved in any decision to involve specialists.

Link to local offer pages on council and health services:.

SENd CoP 6.79 bullet 13

The ‘local offer’ on the internet
www.eastsussex.gov.uk/localoffer

SEND information, advice and support service, AMAZE.

Impartial advice and help for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their parents and carers.

Amaze's SENDIASS helpline is open Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 2.30pm. Call 01273 772289

CoP 6.81 re local offer

Children and Families Act regulation 51, schedule 1 (11)- re advice

In conclusion, at Groveland’s Community Primary School we aim to do our best to support all pupils, if however there are any complaints we aim to deal with them quickly and efficiently to present an early resolution. If necessary advice will be sort from the LA.

The procedure for complaints is as follows:

1. Contact the class teacher
2. Discuss concerns with the Head teacher/Inclusion Lead.

If the outcome is unsatisfactory:

1. Write a formal complaint to the school governing body
2. Write a formal complaint to the LA. (at this point most complaints are settled by an independent arbiter)
3. Appeal to the SEN tribunal

If the outcome is unsatisfactory:

1. Write a formal complaint to the school governing body
2. Write a formal complaint to the LA. (at this point most complaints are settled by an independent arbiter)
3. Appeal to the SEN tribunal

Contact Person responsible for SEN:
Ms C Adams Inclusion Lead and, SENCO.
Contact Phone: 01323 840062 extension 4
office@grovelands.e-sussex.sch.uk

• East Sussex Authority Local Offer;
• General information and
• Forms and Guidance can all be found here:

•  https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/childrenandfamilies/specialneeds/

Information for Families: www.eastsussex.gov.uk/informationforfamilies

SEND CoP 6.79 bullet 14