Inclusion/SEND

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Inclusion at Hearsall Academy

At Hearsall Academy we believe in the individual. All children are valued for their unique contribution to a whole school ethos of inclusion. Alongside the teaching and learning of academic skills required for adult life, we work hard to ensure everyone has opportunity to discover their own strengths and develop these to feel successful and fulfilled.

“Everyone is a genius. But of you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree; it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Albert Einstein

Children need to try new and exciting opportunities in order to learn about themselves and discover interests and talents. We are always looking for new innovative ideas to excite children.

Trips out of school are an important aspect of developing the whole child. We endeavour to give every child the opportunity to join the Year 6 residential to Dol-y-moch. Here children often experience time away from the family home for the first time. They try different outdoor challenges like orienteering, rock climbing and kayaking. We try to remove all barriers and obstacles to attending this trip, whether it is money, family circumstances or a physical disability. This has made a huge impact to a great many of children who have been able to articulate just how important this holiday was to them at a crucial time of their development particularly independence.

We also have an extensive variety of clubs where children can try new interests.

Along with developing the whole child we are very mindful that children need to gain certain key skills to give them the best opportunities in life. We are committed to children reaching their academic potential.

Introduction to SEND at Hearsall Academy

Not every child finds learning easy all the time.  At Hearsall we understand that effective provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs is vital to ensure all children achieve and reach their full academic potential. The SEN Code of Practice (2014) describes a child or young person as having SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. 

A person has a learning difficulty if he or she;

• has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or

• has a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.

This provision is defined as any education or training provision which is additional to or different from that generally made for other of the same age in mainstream schools, or Post-16 institutions in England (C&F 2014 20)

The person’s responsible for SEND at Hearsall are:

• Deputy CEO – Mr Rob Darling
• Headteacher – Mrs. Claire Jones
• MAT Trust SEND Lead – Mrs Vicky Prudham
• Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator- Ms Shannon Barnes
• Inclusion Governor – Damien Randall
• SEND TA – Mrs Brenda Pleasance
• All Teaching staff, in their provision for all children

The Inspire Education Trust has developed an SEN information report to help parents understand how we support children with SEND.  This report forms the “School Offer” which is part of the Coventry Local offer for Special Educational Needs (SEN).

SEND Information Report

Thrive

We Are Proud to Be A Thrive School

At Hearsall Academy and across Inspire Education Trust, we believe that every child deserves to feel safe, supported and ready to learn. That is why our schools have adopted the Thrive Approach. It is a research informed framework that helps children develop emotional resilience and positive relationships alongside academic success.

The Thrive Approach is rooted in neuroscience, attachment theory and child development research. It gives our staff practical strategies to recognise and respond to pupils’ social and emotional needs. This ensures that barriers to learning are identified early and addressed effectively. Thrive is not an intervention for a small group of pupils. It is a whole school approach that shapes how we teach, interact and care for every child.

Our commitment to Thrive reflects the values of Inspire Education Trust. We place children at the centre of everything we do and create environments where they feel confident, valued and able to succeed. By working together across our schools we strengthen our ability to support every learner and create communities where wellbeing and achievement go hand in hand.

Through Thrive we nurture a culture where children develop confidence in themselves, respect for others and a strong sense of belonging. When pupils feel understood and supported they are better able to engage with learning, build positive relationships and thrive both in school and beyond.

English as an Additional Language

At Hearsall we are very proud of the multicultural diversity of our school community. We actively promote children to learn “home” languages and enjoy the gift of becoming bilingual speakers. With this in mind we are aware that children who are exposed to multiple languages may find the demands of the English curriculum challenging.

Arrangements for handling complaints

In our Inspire Schools, we aim to provide the right support each child needs. We work with parents/carers and professional agencies to ensure the right provision and support is provided for children with additional needs.

Where parents have concerns about our school’s SEND provision, they should first raise their concerns informally with the class teacher and/or SENDCO. We will try to resolve the complaint informally in the first instance. If this does

not resolve their concerns, parents can submit their complaint formally. Formal complaints about SEND provision in our school should be made to the SENCO/headteacher in the first instance. They will be handled in line with the Trust’s complaints policy:

Complaints Policy

If the parent or carer is not satisfied with the school’s response, they can escalate the complaint. In some circumstances, this right also applies to the pupil themselves.  To see a full explanation of suitable avenues for complaint, see pages 246 and 247 of the SEN Code of Practice. 

To find out about disagreement resolution and mediation services in our local area, please visit the Coventry Local Authority complaints department: Comments, compliments and complaints – Coventry City Council 

You can request mediation by contacting Coventry Local authority SEND department: Coventry Family Hubs (coventryfamilies.co.uk)

Parents can also contact SENDIASS who can also offer support and advice: https://www.covsendiass.co.uk/

External Agencies

To ensure we meet the variety of special educational needs to the best of our ability; the advice of outside professionals is invaluable. Each term school holds a planning meeting with outside professionals where we seek direct input for specific children or ask for general advice and how to use different strategies and develop our practice.  

Some of the agencies Hearsall currently working with include: 

 

SEMHL –Social, Emotional, Mental Health and Learning.

SEMHL work with school in a variety of ways. They might work with individuals, groups, classes or in staff training at termly planning meetings. When working with children's parents must give their consent and their views are requested before work begins. In line with the Code of Practice SEMHL place the child at the heart of provision. When they meet pupils, they talk to them about the things they are good at, the areas they find trickier and what they would like to improve in. After a learning assessment, SEMHL professionals are keen to gain parents views and allow parents to voice their own concerns. They will arrange a meeting and where possible Hearsall will try to ensure class teachers are also present. The information from parents, pupil and school is used alongside specialist assessments to help schools meet specific needs and develop the next steps for learning. Recommendations for supportive strategies and interventions which will have a positive impact on pupil’s progress are provided to school. 

 

EPS-Educational Psychology Service  

The Educational Psychology Service is a team of educational psychologists who work with schools and parents/carers to promote the educational, personal and social development of children and young people. They are flexible and work with individuals, with groups and across the wider school community.

EPS

 

SaLT- Speech and Language Therapy Service  

When a referral is made by school, SaLT will contact parents and request they take the child to a clinic to be assessed. When assessments have been made, speech and language therapists visit school regularly to assess children and deliver interventions to develop children’s speech and understanding of language. They set specific targets to help school and parents work with the children. 

Children’s Speech & Language Therapy 

 

CCT – Complex Communication Team  

CCT (including autism) is an education service that support pupils in schools. For more information visit the Education page. CTT is a support service which specialises in communication, including educational speech and language provision. In the past Hearsall has had training for using Makaton sign language. Teachers from CTT are often in school supporting children with a diagnosis of autism. They assess how the children are coping with the demands of the school day and depending on need, they work with teachers and children to develop strategies to overcome difficulties and remove barriers to learning. 

Complex Communication Team

 

CAHMS- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services 

Children and young people and their families can be referred to CAMHS if children are finding it hard to cope with family life, school or the wider world. If these difficulties are too much for family, friends or GPs to help with, CAMHS may be able to assist. Types of problems CAMHS can help with include violent or angry behaviour, depression, eating difficulties, low self-esteem, anxiety, obsessions or compulsions, sleep problems, self-harming and the effects of abuse or traumatic events. CAMHS can also diagnose and treat serious mental health problems such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.  

CAHMS

Mental Health and Wellbeing

SEND Glossary

 

Achievement: the result of striving towards a sense of personal success and achieving as highly as possible. A combination of a child’s progress and attainment.

 

Additional needs: describes a group of children who require additional support to help them make improved progress or catch up, which may be a short-term intervention or a longer-term strategy.

 

Advocate: A supporter/person who speaks and acts on behalf of the represented person who is unable to have their own voice.

 

Alternative provision: Education in a setting that is not a mainstream or special school. The education should be based on the needs of the child and can be provided through a variety of routes, including pupil referral units (PRUs).

 

Annual review: The statutory yearly review of a statement of special educational needs. The local authority carries out such a review within 12 months of making an Education, Health and Care plan, or within 12 months of any previous review.

 

Asperger Syndrome: Asperger Syndrome describes the higher-ability aspect of the autistic spectrum. People with Asperger Syndrome can have difficulty communicating, difficulty in social relationships and lack of understanding of how people feel.

 

Assessment for Learning: using classroom assessment to improve learning. It helps to track pupil progress, set individual learning targets, tackle underperformance and provide structured feedback to pupils.

 

Assessment: assessment is the systematic process of assessing the needs, circumstances or progress of a child against an established scale or standardised benchmarks, with the intention of understanding the child’s needs so that decisions can be made about appropriate support (or to confirm that no additional help is required).

 

Attainment: achievement evaluated against specified standards, generally in national expectations.

 

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A medical diagnosis related to the child’s behaviour and attention span, which can affect their ability to concentrate and learn.

 

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC): A means of enhancing communication using signing, speech synthesisers, symbols, objects of reference or a combination of these.

 

Autism: Autism is a lifelong developmental disorder. It affects how a person communicates with and relates to the people around them.

 

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS): Provides multidisciplinary mental health services to children and young people with mental health problems and disorders.

 

Children’s Centres: Early Years settings that provide personalised and integrated wrap-around care, education, services and support for children under five, and their families.

 

Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs): clinically led groups that include all the GP groups in an area. The aim of CCGs is to give enable GPs to influence commissioning decisions for their patients

 

Code of Practice: The revised Special Educational Needs Code of Practice was published by the Department for Education and Skills in 2014. The code provides guidance on policies and procedures intended to enable pupils with SEN to reach their full potential, to be included in school communities and to make the transition to adult life successfully.

 

Cognition and Learning: The mental process of knowing, including aspects such as awareness, perception, reasoning, and judgment.

 

Common Assessment Framework (CAF): The CAF is a nationally standardised approach to help practitioners in any agency to assess and decide how to meet the unmet needs of a child. The CAF will support earlier intervention, improve multi-agency working and reduce bureaucracy for families.

 

Commissioning: The process that ensures the right people and services are in the right place at the right time for all children, young people and families. It is the process by which services are planned, investment decisions are made, delivery is ensured and effectiveness is reviewed.

 

Developmental delay: a slower rate of development where a child learns more slowly than most children of the same age.

 

Disabled: a person is disabled if he or she has a physical or mental impairment, which has substantial and long-term effect on his/her ability to carry out day-to-day activities. The definition also covers pupils with sensory or intellectual impairments, those with a learning disability, severe disfigurements or progressive conditions.

 

Dyscalculia: A condition associated with specific learning difficulties in Maths. In its simplest terms this means that sufferers have problems with even simple arithmetic.

 

Dyslexia: A learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed.

 

Dyspraxia: a common developmental disorder affecting fine and/or gross motor coordination in children and adults. It may also affect speech.

 

Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP): EHC plans set out how services will work together to meet the child or young person’s needs. EHC plans are based on a co-ordinated assessment and planning process which puts the child and young person and their parents at the centre of decision making.

 

Epilepsy: A condition in which the affected person has recurrent seizures because of an altered state in the brain.

 

Foetal alcohol syndrome disorder (FASD): A condition caused by the mother consuming alcohol, resulting in abnormal brain development before birth.

 

Fragile X Syndrome: The commonest cause of learning difficulties after Down’s Syndrome; it is an inherited condition associated with a fragile site at the end of the X chromosome.

 

Hearing Impairment (HI): Pupils with a hearing impairment range from those with a mild hearing loss to those who are profoundly deaf.

 

Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA): An experienced teaching assistant who plans and delivers learning activities under the direction of a teacher, and assesses, records and reports on pupils’ progress.

 

Independent Parental Supporter: someone who can support parents for example by attending meetings, encouraging parental participation, and helping the parent understand the SEND system.

 

Individual Education Plan (IEP): an IEP designed to set out a child’s learning targets and the strategies being used to meet a child’s identified special educational needs.

 

Learning difficulties/disabilities: characteristics of pupils who have difficulty in learning new skills or who learn at a different rate from their peers.

 

Learning mentors: school staff who work with school and college students to help them engage more effectively in learning and improve achievement.

 

Local Authority (LA): the local government body of a county or city that provides services, including education, for local people

 

Local Offer: a website or part of a website in which LAs set out in one place information about provision they expect to be available for children and young people in their area who have SEN, including those who do not have EHC plans.

 

Looked After Child (LAC): any child who is in care of the local authority, or who is provided with accommodation by the local authority social services department for more than 24 hours.

 

Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD): describes a general level of academic attainment that is significantly below that of other children of the same age. There may be difficulty acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills, speech and language difficulties and poorly developed personal and social skills.

 

Monitoring: systematic checking of progress against targets and the gathering of information to work out how effective learning strategies and interventions have been.

 

Modification: amendment or alteration of a programme of study, attainment target, assessment or any other component of the curriculum so that a child can access that area of the teaching and learning.

 

Multi-agency working: practitioners from different sectors and professions working together to provide joined-up support for children, young people and families.

 

Multi-sensory impairment (MSI): Pupils with multi-sensory impairment have a combination of visual and hearing difficulties. They are sometimes referred to as deafblind but may have some residual sight and/or hearing.

 

Parent Partnership Service: Parent Partnership Services (PPS) offer advice and support to parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs. They are statutory services which means there has to be one in every local authority. Parent Partnership services free, impartial and confidential.

 

Peer support: Peer support is when other pupils provide emotional, social or practical help to each other.  Pupils are usually trained to provide this support.

 

Physical disability (PD): disabilities that limit mobility. Among the causes are congenital conditions, accidents or injury. Some pupils with PD may also have sensory impairments and/or learning difficulties.

 

Provision map: a provision map is a way of documenting the range of support available to pupils with SEN within a school.

 

Pupil Premium: Additional funding for schools to spend in order to raise the achievement of disadvantaged pupils. The Pupil Premium for each school is calculated according to the number of pupils eligible for free school meals.

 

Pupil Referral Unit: this is a school established and maintained by a local authority that is specially organised to provide education for children who are excluded, sick or otherwise unable to attend mainstream school.

 

Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD): pupils with PMLD have very complex learning needs. Among pupils with PMLD are those learning at the earliest levels of development and who have physical disabilities, sensory impairment or a severe medical condition. Pupils with PMLD need a high level of adult support both for their learning needs and for their personal care.

 

Quality First Teaching: the range of effective teaching strategies and techniques used by a teacher for all pupils in the mainstream classroom that ensure pupils’ progression in learning.

 

RAISEonline: a web-based system which contains information about a school’s basic characteristics, attainment and progress in the core subjects, to support evaluation and target setting.

 

Safeguarding: the process of identifying children and young people who have suffered or who are likely to suffer significant harm, and then taking the appropriate steps to keep them safe.

 

School SEN Support: educational or training provision that is additional to or different from that made generally for others of the same age. This means provision that goes beyond the differentiated approaches and learning arrangements normally provided as part of high quality, personalised teaching. It may take the form of additional support from within the school or require the involvement of specialist staff or support services.

 

Severe Learning Difficulty (SLD): pupils with SLD have significant intellectual or cognitive impairments. This will have an impact on their ability to participate in the school curriculum without support.

 

Social, mental and emotional health: social, mental and emotional difficulties, usually resulting in behaviour difficulties,  that present a barrier to learning and participation.

 

Special Educational Needs:  a child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:

 

(a) have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or

 

(b) have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.

 

A child under compulsory school age has special educational needs if they fall within the definition at (a) or (b) above or would so do if special educational provision was not made for them).

 

Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO): The SENCO is the person responsible for co-ordinating the provision for all children with special educational needs within a school. It is a statutory requirement that every school must have a SENCO.

 

Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST): A panel set up to arbitrate when disagreements occur between parents and the local authority about then provision for a pupil’s Special Educational Needs, or when a parent alleges discrimination on the grounds of a child’s disability.

 

Specialist services: services provided by the local authority or health service to provide specialised services for children with acute or high level needs.

 

Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN):  a wide range of difficulties related to all aspects of communication in children and young people. These can include difficulties with speech, understanding what others say, and using language socially.

 

Speech and language therapy: a health care provision, the aim of which is to enable children with speech, language and communication difficulties to reach their maximum communication potential.

 

Statement: a document produced by the local authority that outlines a child’s needs and the support and additional provision necessary to meet those needs. Over the next few years statements will be replaced by Education, Health and Care plans.

 

Statutory assessment: the assessments required before an Education, Health and Care Plan or a Statement of Special Educational Need can be agreed or produced.

 

Transition plan: a plan setting out the steps needed to move from one school to another or from school to adult life.

 

Waves of Intervention: Wave 1 is described as ‘inclusive quality first teaching for all’ and takes into account the learning needs of all pupils in the classroom. It covers high-quality inclusive teaching supported by effective whole school policies and frameworks, clearly targeted to all pupils’ needs and prior learning.

 

Wave 2 is Wave 1 plus additional and time-limited interventions provided for some children who need help to accelerate their progress, to enable them to work at or above age-related expectations. This usually involves a structured programme of small-group support, carefully targeted and delivered by teachers or teaching assistants (TAs) who have the skills to help pupils achieve their learning objectives.

 

Wave 3 is Wave 1 plus increasingly individualised programmes, based on independent evidence of what works. Wave 3 describes additional targeted provision for a minority of children where it is necessary to provide highly tailored intervention to accelerate progress or enable children to achieve their potential. This may include one-to-one or specialist interventions.

 

 

ADHD	Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder
AS	Asperger Syndrome
ASD	Autistic Spectrum Disorder
AWPU	Age Weighted Pupil Unit
CAMHS	Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service
CCT	Complex Communication Team
CoP	SEND Code of Practice
CPD	Continuing Professional Development
EAL	English as an Additional Language
EHCP	Education, Health and Care Plan
EP	Educational Psychologist
EPS	Educational Psychology Service
EYFS	Early Years Foundation Stage
EYFSP	Early Years Foundation Stage Profile
FE	Further Education
FSM	Free School Meals
GB	Governing Body
HI	Hearing Impairment
HLTA	Higher Level Teaching Assistant
IEP	Individual Education Plan
LA	Local Authority
LAC	Looked After Child
LDD	Learning Difficulties and Disabilities
MGSS	Minority Group Support Services
MSI	Multi-sensory Impairment
NQT	Newly Qualified Teacher
OT	Occupational Therapy
PCF	Parent Carer Forum
PPS	Parent Partnership Service
PSHE	Personal, Social and Health Education
SEMHD	Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties
SEMHL	Social, Emotional, Mental Health and Learning
SENCO	Special educational Needs Co-ordinator
SEND	Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
SENDIST	First-Tier Tribunal, SEN and Disability
SLCN	Speech, Language and Communication Needs
SLT or SALT	Speech and Language Therapy or Therapist
SpLD	Specific Learning Difficulty (dyslexia)
TA	Teaching Assistant
VI	Visual impairment

 

  

 

 

Star Thrower Story

“Once, on ancient Earth, there was a human boy walking along a beach. There had just been a storm, and starfish had been scattered along the sands. The boy knew the fish would die, so he began to fling the fish to the sea. But every time he threw a starfish, another would wash ashore. “An old Earth man came along and saw what the child was doing. He called out, ‘Boy, what are you doing?’ “‘Saving the starfish!’ replied the boy.” ‘But your attempts are useless, child! Every time you save one, another one returns, often the same one! You can’t save them all, so why bother trying? Why does it matter, anyway?’ called the old man. “The boy thought about this for a while, a starfish in his hand; he answered, “Well, it matters to this one.” And then he flung the starfish into the welcoming sea.” Loren Eiseley, The Star Thrower

Remember…
Vision without action is merely a dream.
Action, without vision just passes the time.
Vision with action can change the world.