WHAT IS SEND?

At Fairway Primary School we believe excellent teaching gives children the life chances they deserve. We work hard to provide a caring, stimulating and inclusive environment to ensure that every child reaches their full potential.

We recognise that, as parents and carers, you know your child best, and that you may feel they require additional help or support during their time at Fairway Primary.

Children’s needs can usually be categorised in the following four areas:

• Cognition and learning
• Social, emotional and mental health needs
• Communication and interaction
• Sensory and physical

There is an extensive network of services and agencies in Stockport that work with schools and families in order to help meet children’s needs, and any barriers to learning that they may face.

Not all children will require extra support with their learning. However, the progress of all children at Fairway is monitored closely to ensure support is provided where necessary.

Hello, my name is Miss White and I am the SENDCO and Headteacher at Fairway Primary School. Miss Mason our school Deputy Headteacher assists me in this role.

We are passionate about helping children find ways to succeed and reach their full potential. We firmly believe that building strong relationships with families and outside agencies is key in achieving goals as quickly and efficiently as possible so that children can learn effectively with their class teacher.

The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice gives guidance to schools in meeting the needs of pupils. It sets out how help should be given in a step-by-step approach. Our School SEN Policy reflects the new SEND Code of Practice. Parents and carers will be consulted at all stages of our graduated approach and the class teacher will inform you of the additional work they, or other adults in school, do with your child.

The process is as follows:

Quality First Teaching

All pupils in School receive quality first teaching.

This is the effective inclusion of all pupils in high-quality every day personalised teaching. Such teaching will, for example, be based on clear appropriate objectives that are shared with the children and returned to at the end of the lesson. Teachers use a lively, interactive range of teaching styles and make maximum use of visual and kinaesthetic teaching techniques.

At the beginning of the school year, all pupils from Year 1 to Year 6 take part in baseline testing. From this, a reading age and spelling age is generated, along with a Maths score. This information is then used to inform intervention groups which take place at various points in the school day. This information may also be used as additional evidence to support a child being placed on the SEN register at SEN Support.

SEN Support (stage 1)

If a pupil has needs which are related to more specific areas of their education, such as spelling, handwriting, numeracy and literacy skills, then they may be considered for SEN Support, school based intervention.

At this stage, intervention is a targeted ‘keep up’ provision to recap any learning the child has not fully understood or for an on-going difficulty that requires regular support. This will be led by the SENDCO, a teacher or a Teaching Assistant, and is usually done in focus groups or 1:1. Interventions at this stage will be planned and reviewed by the class teacher and SENDCO at least half-termly to ascertain the effectiveness of the provision and to inform future planning.

SEN Support/ EHCP (stage 2)

If a child continues to have difficulties accessing their learning and is not making the expected progress, they may require support from an outside agency such as an Educational Psychologist or a Speech and Language Therapist.

After an assessment is undertaken by the relevant outside agencies, a report is written and a programme of support is sent to the school from the involved agency. This shared with the parents/ carers of the child.

School may seek professional advice from a range of agencies including:

• Educational Psychologist (E.P.)
• Inclusion Service
• Speech and Language Therapist (SALT)
• Physiotherapy
• Occupational Therapy (O.T.)
• School Nurse
• Primary Jigsaw
• Sensory Support Services
• School’s Family Worker
• Social Services

These agencies work in different ways, and at different times, depending on the needs of the child. This may involve staff training, meeting with teachers/parents/carers, or working directly with a child.