Supporting Students with SEND

Our Inclusion Statement

We endeavour to achieve maximum inclusion of all children whilst meeting their individual needs.
Quality first teaching: Teachers provide exciting, differentiated learning opportunities for all the children within the school and provide materials and contexts for learning appropriate to children’s interests and abilities. This ensures that all children have full access to the school curriculum.
Recover, Rebuild Reintegrate – This framework guides the journey of a pupil at Pears Family School and is personalised according to children’s SEND needs.
The Pears Family School focuses on individual progress as the main indicator of success.
Pears Family School will strive to make a clear distinction between lower attainment – often caused by a poor early experience of learning and missed opportunities to learn - and special educational needs.
Some pupils in our school may be attaining below the level they are capable of because of missed opportunities to learn. It is The Pears Family School’s responsibility to spot this quickly and ensure that appropriate interventions are put in place to help these pupils catch up.
Other pupils will have special educational needs (these can be undiagnosed at point of referral) that may lead to lower attainment. It is The Pears Family School’s responsibility to ensure that these needs are identified and pupils with special educational needs have the maximum opportunity to attain and achieve in line with their peers.
English as an Additional Language (EAL) is not considered a special educational need. Differentiated work and individual learning opportunities are provided for children who are learning EAL.
Accurate assessment of need and carefully planned programmes which address the root causes of any difficulties learning are essential ingredients of success for our pupils.

What is a Special Educational Need and what kind of SEND do we provide for?

Definition of SEND (SEND Code of Practice, 2015 pg. 15)

A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty if he or she:

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

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

At Pears Family School, we make provision for children with Special Educational Needs (SEND) within the four categories identified in the Code of Practice (2015):

Social and Emotional Mental Health:

Supporting Social and Emotional Mental Health needs for children and their families is the primary area of need we provide for. We understand that crucial to children’s wellbeing and self esteem is their capacity to recognise and respond helpfully to their own emotions and those of others. Our approach to this is systemic and involves parents and the system around the child, which we become part of. Supporting families so that children can strengthen and repair their confidence in themselves is a core part of our curriculum. We do this in multiple ways, including our attachment focused, school wide nurture approach which ensures all adults supporting children share language that recognises children’s strengths and successes. Teachers and systemic psychotherapists work in collaboration here and we have Parent Learning and Family Learning as part of our offer, meaning working with parents/carers is integral to everyday practice. All our classes use a method called The Zones of Regulation (insert hyperlink to ZOR page) to give a structure to the language which we use to talk about self and co-regulation. Where necessary, we seek consultation from our psychiatrist colleagues at the Anna Freud Centre to help inform our teaching practice.

Cognition and Learning

At The Pears Family School, we support children with Cognition and Learning Needs through Quality First Teaching and adaptation within the classroom. This includes children who have Specific Learning Difficulties such as dyslexia (specific difficulties with reading or spelling), dyscalculia (specific difficulties with maths) or dyspraxia (specific difficulties with coordination). We also support children with moderate learning difficulties who might be working up to 5 years below age expected levels. Children are supported in and out of class by a variety of teachers, teaching assistants and the SLT. Children benefit from smaller sized teaching groups for each lesson and 1:1 precision teaching where necessary. Each child works on English and Maths targets that are personalised to close gaps in learning. In class, children are assisted by adults breaking down activities into smaller, more manageable and achievable pieces of work, providing additional resources including the use of technology or multisensory activities and through pair work. We have established a large number of interventions to further support learners including (but not limited to): phonics, comprehension and reading, and mental maths and calculation, Numicon, Lexia, touch typing, working memory/Executive functioning and metacognition.

Communication and Interaction:

Children who have difficulties with communication and interaction can find it difficult to understand what others are saying or have difficulties with fluency, forming sounds, words or sentences. We have a range of resources and strategies which are used within school to support children’s Speech and Language development and we have teaching assistants who’ve been trained to support children with Speech and Language Difficulties. Where necessary, we refer on to Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) services in student’s Local Authority and ensure student’s access SALT provision through the school where pupils are dual registered. We make provision for children with social communication difficulties. These children may have difficulties with social interaction, communication or imagination and can find it hard to make sense of the world.

Sensory and Physical: At Pears Family School, seek to provide resources and interventions that support children’s Sensory and Physical needs. Where necessary, we adapt the curriculum or the environment in order to make learning opportunities more accessible and seek support from outside agencies (Occupational Therapy, Hearing and Visual Impairment Teams) in order to understand how to do this. We have a Smart Gym on site and provide resources and opportunities for children to regulate emotions through using their bodies.

How do we identify children with SEND and meet their needs?

At Pears Family School, the attainment and progress of all children is monitored and tracked regularly throughout the academic year by teachers and the Leadership Team through informal discussions and formal Pupils Progress meetings. If teachers have any concerns regarding a child in their class, they discuss their concerns with the school Leadership Team, who will be able to provide advice. This team includes Maya Bell Kohli, Assistant Headteacher and SENCO, Rebecca Breedon, Assistant Headteacher and Curriculum Lead, James Bennett, Deputy Head Teacher and Behaviour Lead and Laura Lower, Head of Therapy.

We have a school Educational Psychologist, who provides further advice and support to the teaching teams and works with families individually.

Where necessary, we refer to and work with the following outside agencies:

Speech and Language Therapists
Occupational Therapists
Hearing/Visual Impairment Teams
Local Authority Autism Advisory Services
CAMHS
Adoption Support
Social Care

Responsibility for SEND

It is the statutory duty of each school to have a teacher with designated responsibility for SEND as a SENCo. At Pears Family School, this is Maya Bell Kohli. It is the statutory duty of the governors to ensure the school meets its responsibilities set out in the Code of Practice (2015). The Pears Family School governor with particular responsibility for SEND is Michael Annan.

PCLPs and Review Days

When each child starts at Pears Family School, the network works together to create a document called the Pastoral Care and Learning Plan. This document follows the pupil across their journey at Family School and includes the following:

A 1 page profile shared with all adults working with the students
A Network Agreement that identifies goals of the placement at Pears Family School and how we will know when these are achieved.
A Family Genogram, compiled over time with the support of the teaching and therapeutic team.
Targets linked to each area of need identified in the pupil’s EHCP.

The school puts in place three Review Days across the year, on the second Wednesday of each new term. On these days parents and students attend school for a 50 minute meeting with the teaching team. These days are an opportunity to capture and celebrate progress and review and set new targets.

Useful Links and Resources

SENDIASS – Each Local Authority has it’s own SENDIASS (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Independent Advice and Support Services.

Special Needs Jungle – Parent led information, advice and tips

IPSEA – Independent Advice for Parents of Children with SEND

Barnardos – independent supports of parents and carers who have a child with SEND and can provide support

Policy, Research and Practice:

Our approach to SEND builds on policy, best practice and research:

At their best, alternative provision schools are experts in dealing with behavioural or other needs which present a barrier to learning. They deploy their specialist skills in both mainstream and alternative provision settings to help children get back on track

SEND Review March, 2022

Although the majority of children in alternative provision have some form of SEND, It serves a distinct purpose that is different to special schools, primarily supporting children to stay in or re-integrate back into mainstream education. Alternative provision addresses behaviour that presents a barrier to learning and supports children whose physical or mental health needs prevent them attending school

SEND Review March, 2022

“Special educational provision is 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”

SEN Code of Practice, 2014

This is not necessarily “more literacy” or “more maths” but would be interventions which address the underlying learning needs of the pupil in order to improve his or her access to the curriculum.

Achievement for All : National Strategies, 2009

Ensuring that schools are clear about their provision that is normally available for all children, including targeted help routinely provided for those falling behind and the additional provision they make for those with SEN, should simplify the process of planning the right help at school level

SEN Code of Practice, 2014