SEND Information

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Vision and Values at Veritas

Veritas Primary Academy is a fully inclusive school catering for Nursery aged children and children from 4-11 years. We ensure that all children are fully included in all aspects of their learning journey and in every aspect of school life.

Veritas Primary Academy, supported by REAch2 Academy Trust ensures that all pupils, regardless of their specific needs, make the best possible progress in school. Our school is an inclusive school with the needs of all children including those with additional Special Educational Needs and / or Disabilities being met.

We celebrate and nurture the unique gifts and talents of each and every child within the Academy working to meet their unique needs as part of their own child development enabling them to flourish and thrive at Veritas.

We offer a broad and balanced curriculum for all children irrespective of gender, special educational needs, disability, language spoken, race, colour or religion. We strive for excellence and have the highest commitment to supporting, challenging and nurturing all children in school through QFT. We recognise that some children may need additional support to allow them to access the curriculum so use a graduated approach to removing barriers to learning that some children may experience. This will be initiated by the child’s class teacher and supported by the Academy SENCO. We work in close partnership with home and external professional learning support agencies to ensure personalised provision is embedded for all our children. We want each and every child to discover and achieve their potential, both academically and personally, to be stimulated and challenged, to take responsibility and above all to enjoy this primary stage of their education.

Aims of SEND Provision at Veritas Primary Academy

i) To adopt an inclusive approach, enabling all children to develop their interests, abilities and aptitudes as fully as possible.
ii) To ensure that all children may access the broad and balanced curriculum adapted to meet personalised learning support needs

iii) To work in partnership with parents and eternal agencies to ensure all needs are fully met

iv) To ensure an ongoing commitment to staff training ensuring specialist support is embedded throughout the Academy
v) To fully prepare all children for the next stage of their educational journey ensuring their hopes and dreams for the future become reality
vi) To celebrate the achievement and contribution of all students including those with any additional needs.

All members of staff work to actively promote the development of children with SEN/D with specialist training to work with and meet all needs of children with specific needs or learning difficulties.

We ensure all available resources are used as effectively and efficiently as possible and a wide variety of support is established depending on the needs of the child. This may range from individual or small group support to in class support as required. QFT ensures that progress is maintained and often exceeded. Other additional support offered includes: specialist intervention streams matched to the four areas of need as defined within the SEN Code of Practice (2014), personalised curriculum, visual timetables, safe spaces / specialist learning support areas, nurture groups, personalised support and an extensive enrichment programme providing exceptional learning opportunities such as sleeping under the stars and horse riding.

Careful personalised transition support is embedded for all children including those with additional needs to ensure they remain safe, happy and secure throughout any period of educational change enabling them to reach their full potential in school.

We prioritise child safety, well-being and development and ensure any social, emotional and mental health concerns or needs any child may experience are fully supported and met in school. Specialist nurture and sensory rooms provision (4D cinema) is used to fully support these needs.

What are special educational needs?

A child or young person has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.

A learning difficulty or disability is a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age.

Special educational provision means educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for others of the same age in a mainstream setting in England…. Health care provision or social care provision which educates or trains a child or young person is to be treated as special educational provision. (Code of Practice 2014)

Provision for children with special educational needs is a matter for the school as a whole. In addition to the Governing Body, the Headteacher, the SENCO and all other members of staff both teaching and support staff have very important day-to-day responsibilities. ‘All teachers are teachers of children with special educational needs. Teaching such children is therefore a whole school responsibility.’

High quality teaching which is differentiated and personalised should be available for all pupils. At the heart of the work of every school class is a continuous cycle of planning, teaching and assessing which takes account of the wide range of abilities, aptitudes and interests of children. The majority of children will learn and progress within these arrangements. Those children whose overall attainments or attainment in specific subjects fall significantly outside the expected range may have special educational needs.

This SEN information report has been created in collaboration with stakeholders to provide a comprehensive overview of the Academy’s approach to identifying and supporting pupils, to ensure that ALL pupil’s make good progress and that any barriers to learning are recognized and removed as much as possible.

Occasionally, some children have difficulties in accessing the National Curriculum and need additional support to help them to learn. At Veritas Primary Academy, we have experienced support staff working in each class who, together with the class teachers, give extra assistance to these children. In addition, there is a wide range of support groups available to support learning and improve social and attention and listening skills.

The school provides support for children with behavioral and emotional issues: Children with English as an additional language recieve support at the early stages of language acquisition and the Home/School liaison officer works closely with families that may have personal and confidential matters.

If we believe your child will benefit from additional help then you will be informed of this before arrangements are made. Some children experience difficulties for a short time, while others may need further support from Outside Agencies such as the Speech and Language Department, Occupational Therapy and the Educational Psychology Service.

Parents who wish to discuss their child’s learning needs can make an appointment with the SENCO at the office.

For further information on inclusion please see our Special Educational Needs & Disability Policies in the Policies section or at the bottom of this page.

Veritas Primary Academy is committed to inclusion and ensuring that all learning needs, where possible, are met. Please see below our updated SEND policy which includes information about how our SEND provision works at Veritas Primary Academy as well as a link to the Local Offer in Staffordshire. You can download this report in full by clicking on the SEND report at the bottom of the page.

How do we identify if a child has SEN?

A pupil will be identified as having a SEN where their learning difficulty calls for special educational provision, namely provision different from or additional to that normally available to pupils of the same age.

Many will have differentiated work prepared for them by their teacher in conjunction with the support staff which will be additional to and different from the curriculum available for the majority of children of their age.

Children could be identified as having SEN through a variety of ways including the following:

Child performing significantly below age expected levels that require extra provision to be made.
Concerns raised by Parent or by a previous school
Concerns raised by a teacher: for example behavior or self-esteem is affecting performance
Liaison with external agencies
Information received from health specialists

Slow progress and low attainment do not necessarily mean that a child has SEN and will not automatically lead to a pupil being recorded as having SEN. However, it may be an early indicator of a range of learning difficulties or disabilities.

All adults who work with children in school will have a responsibility to monitor emerging difficulties and respond at the earliest opportunity. Academy staff aim to have good, informative relationships with parents. Staff will communicate concerns and it shouldn’t come as a surprise to a parent to learn that their child is being identified as having SEN. The progress of each child is monitored at termly pupil progress meetings. Staff also aim to be as responsive as possible to parents who express their own concerns.

If you have any concern regarding your child’s progress or well-being then please speak to Mrs Matthews, the Academy’s Inclusion Manager or Mrs Conneely, the Academy’s Headteacher. Areas of Need

At Veritas Primary Academy, children with identified SEN are under all areas of need as outlined in the SEN Code of Practice 2014:

Communication and interaction

Speech, language or communication needs (SLCN)
Difficulties with making themselves understood
Difficulties with understanding or using social rules of communication

Sensory and/or Physical needs

Children who have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided
Visual impairment (VI)
Hearing impairment (HI)
Multi-sensory impairment (MSI)
Children with a physical disability (PD)

Cognition and learning

Moderate learning difficulties (MLD) – children who learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation.
Severe learning difficulties (SLD) – children who are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum
Profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) – children are likely to have severe and complex learning difficulties as well as physical or sensory impairment.
Specific learning difficulties (SpLD) – children who have specific difficulties in one aspect of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.

Social, emotional and mental health difficulties

children who display challenging, disrupting or disturbing behaviours as a result of social and emotional difficulties.
Children with underlying mental health issues such as anxiety, depression self harming, eating disorders or attachment disorder

Teaching Children with SEN

All of our teachers are trained to work with children with SEN. Some are very experienced and others less so, but all have access to advice, information, resources and training to enable them to teach all children effectively. Part of the Inclusion Managers role is to identify any training staff may need in order to meet the needs of pupils with SEN.

Staff training takes place in a variety of ways including:

Staff sharing good practice with each other (e.g. during staff meetings/phase meetings)
Staff working alongside one another to improve practice (mentoring)
Advice/training from our Specialist SEN Teachers (both planned opportunities and through staff ‘drop-ins’)
Attending training courses
External agencies leading staff meetings/LSA meetings on specific areas of SEN

Graduated Approach

STEP 1 – whole school

Quality first teaching which is differentiated and personalised by, or under the direction of, the classroom teacher to meet the diverse needs of all learners.

The SENCO supports teachers in the effective implementation of provision.

Assessment and monitoring in line with whole school assessment policy.

STEP 2 – progress concerns

Once staff have tried a range of interventions and they have evidence that a child is still not making adequate progress, a referral using an ‘early concern’ form can be made to the SENCO clearly indicating previous interventions OR concerns are raised by parents/carers or the pupil’s previous school.

The Code of Practice describes ‘adequate progress’ as progress which:

is similar to that of peers starting from the same baseline;
matches or betters the child’s previous rate of progress;
closes the attainment gap between the child and their peers;
prevents the attainment gap growing wider’

STEP 3 – intervention through graduated support

Once a potential special educational need is identified, four types of action will be taken to put effective support: Assess, Plan, Do, Review.

Assess: Clear analysis of the students’ needs
Plan: following assessment, the teacher, SENCO, parent / carers and pupil, agree on a plan of action
Do: the pupil’s teachers and support staff are made aware of the plan and implement the adjustments, support and interventions
Review: the quality, effectiveness and impact of provision is evaluated with the cycle starting again at “Assess” once the updated needs of the pupil have been established.

The role of the Class teacher in SEN

We believe that all children learn best with the rest of their class. Therefore, pupils with identified SEN work alongside their peers as much as possible and are taught by their teacher. Class teachers are responsible for ensuring that all children have access to quality teaching and that the curriculum is adapted to meet your child’s individual needs (known as Quality First Teaching).

Where appropriate, teachers will adapt their classrooms and learning areas to ensure pupils with specific needs can access the curriculum.

Class Teachers have overall responsibility for pupil progress and next steps for learning. At times, teachers may direct Support Assistants to work with SEN pupils on a one to one or small group basis. The impact of these interventions is closely recorded and monitored by support staff in weekly records which are held by the class teacher.

Learning Support Assistants /Teaching Assistants

Teaching Assistants are directed by the inclusion manager or class teacher to support pupils with SEN when it is felt that this will improve outcomes for the student. This could take the form of planned small group or 1:1 interventions.

For pupils with very high or complex levels of SEN or disabilities, a teaching assistant may be directed to support an individual pupil for longer periods of the school day. However, Veritas Primary Academy aims for pupils to work as independently as possible and with a wide range of peers and adults so even pupils with such high levels of SEN or disabilities are included in classroom activities as much as possible.

How does the school maintain up to date SEN records?

Veritas Primary Academy manages its records of pupils requiring additional support on the academy’s SEN register and Monitoring register.

Which Pupils go on the SEN register?

Pupils who have a diagnosed SEN or disability
Pupils that have been monitored for 2 rounds or assess, plan, do and review with targets/expected outcomes but are not making progress
Pupils that have external agencies involved
Pupils that are in receipt of Additional Educational Needs funding
Pupils with a Statement or Education Health Care Plan for SEN
Pupils who are currently being referred for statutory assessment
Pupils who have significantly low standardised scores in assessments for two or more areas of their learning.

These students require individual, laminated targets for each developmental area which are placed on desk. Additionally, learning plans for teachers, are to be shared with parents at termly parent consultations.

Which Pupils go on the Monitoring Register?

Pupils whose attainment levels are just below the expected level after making reasonable adjustments for their learning and are not making any progress after a term.
Pupils with low standardised scores in assessments for two or more areas
Pupils who are currently undergoing early concern assessment by their teacher and whose concerns have been discussed with parents

If a pupil is monitored and continues to present concerns, they may then require additional support and to be placed on the SEN register.

Managing pupils needs on the SEN register

Either through tracking or further assessments an area of need will be identified
In discussion with parents, pupils will have an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) that will target a specific area. The plan will define what needs to be done, when and by whom
SMART targets will be put in place to support the child to make progress
ILPs will be reviewed termly, (or more regularly if the teacher feels targets are too easily met or not achievable) with the parent/carer and pupil and more targets will be decided upon if necessary
A weekly record of work carried out will be kept in the teacher’s SEN file, this can be completed by whomever is working with the pupil and is reviewed termly by the academy’s SENCo
Every pupil on the SEN Support Register has an individual SEN Support Record which includes more detailed information about the pupil, such as involvement of external agencies
A ‘provision map’ of provision will be kept to show the type, length of time and impact of interventions carried out across the academy
It is the teacher’s responsibility to maintain and keep up-to-date records and the SENCO’s role to oversee practice
Should school be unable to meet the needs of the pupil through our own provision arrangements then we will seek support from outside agencies

The school receives funding to respond to the needs of pupils with SEND from a number of sources:A proportion of the funds allocated per pupil to the school to provide for their education (the Age Weighted Pupil Unit); The Notional SEN budget: The Pupil Premium funding for pupils who meet certain criteria. In addition, for those pupils with the most complex needs, the school may be allocated Additional Educational Needs funding.

This funding is then used to provide the equipment and facilities to support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities through:

In-class support from teaching assistants
Small group support from teaching assistants e.g. nurture groups, literacy and numeracy support
Parent workshops
Provision of specialist resources e.g. assessment software
CPD relating to SEND for staff
Bought in support from external agencies e.g. access arrangement assessment, speech and language support.
Specialist support from teachers e.g. 1:1 tuition
Individual pupils receiving Additional SEN Support will be monitored in line with the whole school assessment policy. Class teachers will consult with parents when reviewing progress and will inform parents of any additional support they can provide at home.

How does the Academy involve external agencies with SEN?

Specialist Services and teachers with specialist qualifications may be called upon to provide intensive specific programmes to be followed by all adults coming into active learning situations with the child.

The view and opinion of parents/carers will be sought at this time.

External agencies which the school can make referrals to include:

Special Educational Needs Service (SENSS)
Behaviour Support Services
Visual Impairment Team
Educational Psychologist Service
Physical and Disability Support Service
Dyslexia Centre & Assessment
Autism Outreach Team
Hearing Impairment Team
Social Services
Educational Welfare Officers
School Nurse
CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service)

Once a professional from and external agency is involved in supporting a pupil, they may work with the pupil and the school in a variety of ways, including: supporting in class, observing and producing reports and recommendations, working 1:1 with the pupil on a regular basis for a specific amount of time and communicating all necessary information with both parents and the Academy.

For a very small percentage of pupils, whose needs are significant and complex and the special educational provision required to meet their needs cannot reasonably be provided from within the academy’s own resources, a request will be made to conduct an assessment of education, health and care needs. This may result in and Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan for the pupil being provided.

Veritas Primary Academy have two specialist SEN Teachers who visit monthly to advise and support school staff with planning provision for pupils with high levels of need.

For pupils with particularly high levels of need, the school will refer to other external agencies for additional advice and support. This will always be done through consultation with parents.

What support will be there for the overall well-being of children with SEN?

Veritas Primary Academy holds close links between parents/caregivers and the home environment through the Inclusion Manager and Family Liaison Officer.

The Family Liaison Officer offers emotional and practical support through meetings in school and through home visits to any parent or caregiver with SEN children in school. Support can include benefit claims, accessing support groups, tips on behaviour as well as school nurse referrals.

Additionally, specialist Learning Mentors offer social, emotional and behavioural support to all students on a one to one basis, in small groups or on a whole class basis.

In managing the administration of medicines and providing personal care, the academy has detailed care plans which detail medicines specific to students with SEN which are administered by a trained first aider. Specific training is also given to support workers providing personal care with parents or care givers being involved to gain details and agree procedures to meet the pupil’s needs. This is also the case in creating Asthma care plans or in using epi-pens. Veritas Primary Academy strongly encourages student voice and for all of its SEN pupils to put forward ideas. Each class has a class representative who put forward the concerns of the class to Senior Leadership. Alongside this, class representatives are involved in school wide decisions which are based on student voice, including that of each classes SEN pupils.

The concept of parents as partners is central to the SEN and Disability Code of Practice (2014) and is essential to ensuring that pupils achieve the best possible outcomes.

Parents will always be kept informed about their child’s progress at school and any significant difficulties will be made known to parents at the earliest stage by class teachers. Parents of pupils with SEN are encouraged to make informal arrangements with class teachers and the inclusion manager to discuss ongoing progress throughout the school year. This may include using a home-school diary to maintain ongoing communication.

Additionally, Veritas Primary Academy produce a Personal Learning Passport to encourage student voice in what they feel are their strengths, interests, what they like about school, what they find hard and what helps them to achieve. This is completed with the child and parent and is a guide for the class teacher to best support the pupil’s learning.

Parents are encouraged to attend more formal review meetings/parent consultations, where they will have the opportunity to discuss their child’s progress. They will also have the opportunity to discuss the Individual Learning Plan targets and how they will support them at home.

How does the school deliver support for students with emotional, social and mental health difficulties?

Our ethos is to work in a positive learning climate where praise and celebration of all peers’ achievement is part of the daily routine.

In addition, positive reward strategies are used with all pupils such Bronze, Silver and Gold awards for achievement and weekly celebration assemblies. Veritas Primary Academy recognises that this system may not work for all pupils, and particularly for pupils where there are underlying emotional or mental health difficulties. Some pupils are therefore given individual rewards and consequence programs which cater more for their individual needs.

Class teachers will adapt their teaching to ensure that the needs of pupils with any emotional, social or behavioural difficulties are catered for.

This may include planning individual activities, adapting language, providing additional resources, allowing pupils ‘time-out’ or introducing individual rewards and consequences with more immediate results. Class teachers use the school’s PHSE curriculum to develop behaviour and social skills with the whole class or with small groups as appropriate. It is the class teacher’s responsibility to ensure that pupils with such difficulties make progress in line with their peers.

Additional adults (TAs) may be used to deliver specific interventions for pupils with emotional, social or mental health difficulties.

This could be in the form of Wave 2 (small group) support such as Social Skills groups or in the form of Wave 3 (one-to-one) support such as specific emotional literacy programs. TAs may also be directed by class teachers to support pupils within the classroom or to contribute to any individual rewards and consequence programs.

How have we made Veritas accessible to all pupils with SEN?

Veritas Primary Academy is disability friendly throughout.

Corridors are wide, we have a passenger lift to the second floor and we have several easy access toilets which have been fully modified for students with disabilities. Should it be required, disabled showering and changing facilities are available to students. In the event of emergencies, Veritas Primary Academy has all the required resources to evacuate students safely from schools including evacuation chairs for students with physical disabilities.

All of our students have equal access to before school, lunchtime and after school clubs to promote engagement and interest in the curriculum.

Veritas Primary Academy also utilises external agencies which provide specialist support to students with auditory and visual difficulties. Currently, the academy support students with difficulties in both of these areas with hearing and speaking aids being in use as well as reading and typing resources for the visually impaired.

No child is excluded from a trip because due to SEN disability or medical needs. The academy involves parents and care givers in the planning process for such trips and gives maximum chance for attendance. When possible, Teachers will visit sites with adequate time ahead of trips to discuss alternative arrangements for SEN students.

How does the school support pupils when they are leaving the school?

We recognise that transition between year groups and between schools can be difficult for a child with SEN or disability and we take steps to ensure that any transition is as smooth as possible.

Transition to the Academy

Parents visit the Academy for a school tour and are given a prospectus. A meeting is then arranged with a member of the Senior Leadership Team and Inclusion Manager who discuss how well suited the learning environment is to the SEN students’ needs as well as to answer any questions the parent or caregiver may have
Reception aged students with Special Needs are encouraged to do a half day visit to experience the Reception environment

Transition to a new school

We contact the school SENCO and discuss SEN arrangements or support that need to be made for your child
If possible, we arrange additional visits to the new school (particularly when a child is moving from Year 6 to Year 7)
We make sure that all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible, and remain in contact with the receiving school if necessary
Student completes a reflection booklet on their learning which is passed on to parents for the student’s next school to review.

Transition to a new class

Information is passed on to the new class teacher in advance and a planning meeting will take place with the new teacher
For some pupils, additional visits to their new classroom will take place and a transition support book may be set up.

What should I do if I have a complaint about the schools SEN provision?

In all cases where a parent/care giver has concerns about an SEN matter, or in the instance that they may like to be more involved in the decision making process, we would encourage them to contact the head teacher in the first instance.

Parents may also write to the Chair of Governors

The school Complaints policy is available on request.

Key Staff with responsibility for pupils with SEND

Mrs Sarah Matthews: SENCO
Ms Becky Cross: SENCO Assistant and Family Liaison Officer
Mrs Kim Willis: Learning Mentor
Mrs Danielle Conneely: Headteacher / Inclusion Lead

To discuss any matters relating to SEND, please contact the school office to make an appointment to speak with Mrs Matthews in the first instance on 01785 333 400 or [email protected]

Useful Links

SEND Policy

SEN Information Report November 2019

Lexia UK- https://www.lexiauk.co.uk/products/core5/

British Dyslexia Association- https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/

Staffordshire SEND Family Partnership – www.staffs-iass.org/home.aspx

Staffordshire Connects / Local Offer-https://www.staffordshireconnects.info/kb5/staffordshire/directory/localoffer.page?localofferchannel=0

HFW words / Paired Reading- http://www.highfrequencywords.org/

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/read-write-inc-phonics--1/

NASEN- https://nasen.org.uk/

National Autistic society -www.autism.org.uk

Parent Partnership-
www.staffordshire.gov.uk/education/welfareservice/SpecialEducationalNeeds