FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Staff at school recognise when children need help if:

• concerns are raised by parents / carers, teachers or the child
• limited progress is being made
• there is a change in the child’s emotional well-being or progress.

• Each child’s learning will be planned by the staff involved in your child's education and tailored to suit their individual needs. This may include targeted support.
• If a child has needs related to more specific areas of their education, such as spelling, handwriting, numeracy and literacy skills, etc. then the child may be placed in a small focus group. The length of time of the intervention will vary according to need and monitored regularly. If you have any questions related to the interventions please do not hesitate to contact the class teacher or SENCO.
• As parents / carers, you will have regular opportunities to discuss your child's progress within school. This shared discussion may highlight any potential problems in order for further support to be planned.
• In some cases, a referral may be made to an outside agency to seek further advice and discuss the most appropriate way forward to meet a child’s need.
• Any referrals to outside agencies require parental consent.
• The Governors of Fairway Primary School are responsible for entrusting a named Governor who will monitor the SEND provision and use of funding in their school. In a support and challenge role, the Governors ensure that the school is as inclusive as possible and treat all children and staff in an equitable way. They monitor and review the accessibility plan and all other statutory policies as defined by the Department for Education.

• All work within the classroom is tailored to individual children’s needs by the class teacher through ‘quality first teaching’ to best enable children to access the curriculum.
• Teaching Assistants (TAs) may be allocated to work with a child in a 1-to-1 or small focus group to target more specific needs.
• If a child has been identified as having an additional need, they may be given a personalised plan called an SEN Support plan. Targets will be set according to their area of need with advice taken from any outside agency involved. These will be reviewed by the class teacher and TA, the SENDCo and parents/ carers at least three times a year.
• If appropriate, specialist equipment may be given to the child e.g. writing slopes, concentration cushions, pen / pencil grips or easy-to-use scissors.

• Through the school's assessment and reporting systems, parents/ carers will be kept regularly informed about their child's progress.
• Parents/carers will be able to discuss their child’s progress at parents’ evenings or by making an appointment, at the school office, to meet with staff members.
• Appointments can be made to speak, in more detail, with members of staff at any point in the school year.

• Staff may suggest ways of how parents and carers can support their child at home.
• The SENDCo may meet with parents to discuss how to support their child with strategies to use if there are difficulties with their social and emotional needs.
• If outside agencies or the Educational Psychologist have been involved, support and strategies may be provided and could be used at home.
• This home-school partnership is essential.

• The school offers a wide variety of pastoral support for children who are encountering emotional difficulties.
• Members of staff are readily available for children who wish to discuss issues and concerns.
• Additional support is provided for children who find social times challenging.
• Our school has a safe space for children who need emotional support.
• School staff work closely with the Behaviour Support Service, Primary Jigsaw and the Inclusion team to support those children with social and emotional difficulties. Behaviour Support Plans may be put in place, in order to support parents, carers and school staff meet the child’s individual needs.
• The school employs a ‘Resilience Coach’ who works with staff, children and their families to support children who have high levels of anxiety or, for whatever reason, have mental health difficulties that are causing a barrier to their learning.

Children with medical needs:

• If a child has a medical need then a detailed care plan will be provided by a medical professional. These are shared with all staff involved with the child.
• Staff receive Epipen / diabetic / epilepsy training delivered as required.
• Where necessary, and in agreement with parents / carers, medicines are administered in school but only where a signed medicine consent form is in place to ensure the safety of both child and staff member. Please refer to the school’s administering medicines policy.
• Identified staff have basic first aid training.

• At times it may be necessary to consult with outside services to receive their more specialised expertise. These can be located in the Stockport Local offer www.sensupportstockport.uk/ . A link can also be found on our school’s website.
• An Educational Psychologist (EP) is allocated to our school. She would normally only work directly with children whose needs are considerable and who have not made sufficient progress using the interventions previously put in place for them.
• The psychologist may meet with the parent / carer and discuss any outcomes. She will offer advice to the school and parents / carers on how to best support the child in order to take their learning forward.
• The EPs are directly involved in planning SEND provision for children across the school. Termly meetings are held to discuss and prioritise the needs of children and good practice is shared.

Different members of staff have received training related to Special Education Needs and Disabilities. This may include sessions on:

• cognition and learning (e.g. dyslexia)
• communication and interaction (e.g. speech and language difficulties)
• physical and sensory needs (e.g. co-ordination needs)
• social, emotional and mental health (e.g. anxiety)
• The SENCO has gained the qualification ‘National Award for Special Educational Needs Co-Ordination’ and has a Masters in teaching- specialising in Special Educational Needs.

As part of the transition process when children move from year group to year group, if a child has an identified specific need, for example Autistic Spectrum Disorder or a stammer, the class teacher and TA will be offered training from an outside agency to ensure they know how best to meet the child’s needs and to ensure transition runs smoothly.

The SENDCo support teachers in writing SEN support plans and provides to teachers with all the up to date information they require about the children in their class.

• Activities and school trips are available to all.
• Risk assessments are carried out and procedures are put in place to enable all children to participate.
• If it is deemed that an intensive level of 1:1 support is required, parents and carers may be asked to accompany their child during the activity.

• As a school we are happy to discuss individual access requirements.
• Please refer to the school accessibility plan which can be found on our website.

• All children have opportunities to attend transition visits.
• Discussions between the previous or receiving schools/ settings happen prior to the child joining / leaving.
• All children attend a transition session where they spend some time with their new class teacher and other members of staff.
• Additional visits are also arranged for children who need extra time in their new school.
• School staff are always willing to meet parents / carers prior to their child joining the school.
• High School staff visit children prior to them joining their new school.
• Where a child may have more specialised needs, a separate meeting may be arranged with relevant staff from both schools, the parents / carers and, where appropriate, the child.

• The SEND budget is allocated each financial year. The money is used to provide additional support or resources dependant on an individual’s needs.
• Extra staff may be deployed as well as additional resources to support children’s learning.

• These decisions are made in consultation with teachers, SENCOs and Senior Leadership Team (SLT). Decisions are based upon termly tracking of the children’s progress and/ or as a result of assessments by outside agencies.
• If further concerns are identified, due to the child’s wellbeing or lack of progress, then other interventions may be arranged.

• It is vital that parents and carers are fully involved in any discussions around the support required to meet their child’s needs.
• Parents / carers will always be asked if they would like to be a part of any meeting involving agencies working with their child.
• If a parent or carer is unable to attend a meeting, the meeting will either be rescheduled, or the SENCO will feed back.
• Attendance at Parents’ Evenings is vital in order to discuss children’s progress.
• SEN Support plan/ EHCP review meetings cannot go ahead without parents and carers attendance.

• Children are involved in the setting of personalised targets.
• Discussions around aspirations for the future will inform the content of any personalised planning.
• Pupil voice is valued and encouraged.
• Attendance at review meetings is welcomed where appropriate.

If parents and carers have further questions regarding SEND, please contact the school and ask to speak to the SENDCo- Alison White/ Liz Mason, to arrange a meeting with the relevant staff member.