Bartley C of E Junior School

SEND

Bartley C OF E Junior School SEND Information report 2024-25

The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo) at Bartley C of E Junior School is Charlotte Morrison (Ali Larmouth covering maternity from September 2024) and can be contacted via the admin.office@bartley.hants.sch.uk email address.

Hampshire County Council’s Local Offer of the services for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) can be found at https://fish.hants.gov.uk/kb5/hampshire/directory/localoffer.page

The New Code of Practice for SEND commenced from September 2014 (revised January 2015).

What is SEND?

SEND is a special educational need or disability.  It means that your child has a need that requires additional or different support from the main provision already given in the classroom.  For instance, despite trying a range of approaches in the classroom, your child may still have difficulty with an area of education and is significantly behind the expectations of their year group and that the school is only able to help them progress through extra support. Or your child may have a physical barrier to learning, such as visual impairment, or a diagnosed condition which requires additional or different support.

If my child has SEND who will be involved?

These roles are described more specifically under ‘How will the school staff support my child?’

- CLASS TEACHER

Special needs may have already been identified in a previous school and Bartley C of E Junior School will liaise closely with that school in order to provide continuity of support and care in meeting the individual needs of your child.

Before any SEND are identified, your child’s class teacher will first make sure your child’s learning is personalised to them. Your child’s class teacher will adapt the type of task, the way learning is approached, the way they help to motivate your child or will provide appropriate supporting materials or equipment. If following these interventions your child still requires increased provision, they will be referred to the SENDCO.

Once SEND has been identified, your child’s class teacher will ask you to work alongside them to set targets. They will use appropriate strategies, equipment or approaches to support your child’s progress. Your child’s class teacher will liaise with Teaching Assistants about your child’s progress in class and with any intervention work they are doing with them. Your child will also be involved in this process (Pupil Voice).

- SENDCO

The SENDCO will help the Class Teacher in identifying children with SEND and consider whether alternative strategies can be tried within the classroom first. Once children are identified, the SENDCO will liaise with school staff and help with setting appropriate targets and choosing suitable interventions to support your child’s progress. They may assess your child to help them do this and seek their view. They also coordinate the intervention from outside agencies for example, Educational Psychologist or a Speech and Language Therapist. Parental consent will be obtained prior to an Educational Psychologist or Speech and Language Therapist supporting your child. Parents will be contacted regarding the outcome of assessments, outside agency involvement or your child’s needs or progress.

- TEACHING ASSISTANTS    

The Teaching Assistants support your child’s learning in class, either by directly working with them, or by working with others in the class to allow the class teacher to work directly with your child.  They also take children for small group or one to one intervention work, designed to help your child make greater progress. Teaching Assistants also offer support to prompt, praise, model and assist during a lesson.

- ELSA

An Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) is specifically trained by the Educational Psychology Service and have regular supervision from the Hampshire Psychology Service. They undertake a range of work, all involving helping your child develop their understanding of their emotions and social interactions. This might involve helping them build self-esteem, friendship or anger management skills; simply gaining a better understanding of what emotions are and how to recognise them; or just helping children through a specific emotional difficulty such as bereavement.

- HEADTEACHER

The Head Teacher is responsible for leadership and management of all aspects of school. 

Bartley C of E Junior School Local Offer

Bartley C of E Junior School is a mainstream junior school, catering for children from ages 7 to 11. We provide provision for any pupil for whom main stream education is suitable. We are an inclusive school and provide equal opportunities for all. We celebrate the uniqueness of each individual and all children are encouraged to learn independently and co-operatively.

How does the school know if children need extra help and what should I do if I think my child may have special educational needs?

Class Teachers continually monitor your child’s progress within a lesson and from their marking, and record their progress made. If your child is not making progress within lessons, their class teacher will have adapted the provision made for them (as part of expected good classroom practice). If this provision has not helped your child make adequate progress, then they will be discussed with the SENDCO as to whether they have a special educational need.

The SENDCO and assessment leader also review progress on school tracking data each half term, when every child’s progress is formally reviewed in relation to how well your child is working towards meeting their end of year expectations.

Pupil Progress meetings are also held termly within year groups. Both of these helps keep track of your child’s progress. If your child is having emotional or behavioural difficulties, the frequency and nature of these may be tracked over some time to try and identify patterns and triggers behind them.

If you have concerns that your child has special educational needs you should initially talk to their class teacher. The concerns may need referring if your child is still not making progress to the SENDCO. 

How will both you and I know how my child is doing and how will you help me to support my child’s learning?

If your child has been identified with a special educational need and is receiving a one-to-one intervention, the Class teacher and SENDCO will track progress to see if they are making progress that is “closing the gap” between their present attainment and the majority of their peers (age related expectations). Where the concern is behavioural or anxiety-based, we would want to see evidence that the frequency of difficulty is lessening and your child is becoming more confident and/or relaxed and able to learn.

If your child has been identified as having a special educational need or disability which significantly acts as barrier to their academic achievement and hinders their progress – then they may have an Individual Education Plan (IEP). This will identify specific targets and provision to be used to address these. This is in addition to what is received within the whole-class method (high quality inclusive teaching). Meetings with parents allow targets set in the IEPs to be shared and communicated as well as suggesting how parents can complement this provision at home. Many children will also receive specific academic intervention or interventions and/or targeted time with our Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA).

Teachers will communicate with your child asking them what they feel they do well in, what helps them learn and what areas of the curriculum they may need more help with. Research suggests that encouraging and listening to the child’s voice allows the child to feel empowered and involved in their own learning journey. Your child’s answers will be recorded on their IEP and shared with you throughout the year, with key times being November, March and July following Pupil Progress Meetings. Whether as part of our whole school pattern of seeing parents or in addition, each term you will have a chance to meet with the teacher in regards to your child’s progress. Here targets can be discussed and reviewed in person with you, successes and concerns shared and a joint approach to helping your child progress and be made. The timetable for this is below.

During parents evening, a longer session will be given to those children on the register for SEND. Although there are set dates for SEND parents meetings, Bartley C of E Junior School operates an open-door policy. Your child’s Class Teacher is happy to discuss your child’s progress and what adaptions and reasonable adjustments have been made to support your child additional to the SEND parent meeting times.

How will the school staff support my child?

In the first instance, your child’s Class Teacher will provide excellent targeted classroom teaching, also known as High Quality Inclusive Teaching. 

Your child’s class teacher will:

• have high expectations for your child and all pupils in their class;
• base their teaching on building on what your child already knows, can do and can understand;
• adapt their teaching so that your child is fully involved in learning in class. This may involve things like using more practical learning;
• have carefully checked on your child’s progress and decided if your child has gaps in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress;
• write your child’s IEP
• review the nature of your child’s SEND, progress and next steps in pupil progress meetings.
• consult with the SENDCO regarding specific academic intervention or intervention for social, emotional or mental health difficulties;
• have specific strategies in place to support your child to learn.
• use additional or different strategies for motivation and management of your child’s behaviour (if appropriate).
•  

If your child has been identified as needing SEND Support, they will receive specific intervention that is different or additional to the expectations described above. This intervention may be decided by the class teacher or SENDCO. This could be in a small group or one to one with your child, done inside or outside of the classroom and is most likely to be delivered by your child’s teaching assistant or class teacher.

For some children, in addition to the support outlined above, the school will have received advice and directions from an outside agency, such as an Educational Psychologist, Speech Therapist or Behavioural Support Service. At this stage your child’s intervention is more likely to be directed from the SENDCO and more formal assessments to track your child’s progress would take place.

The SENDCO will:

• ensure your child receives a consistent, high-quality response to meeting their needs in school;
• liaise with other people who may come into school to support your child’s learning, such as an Educational Psychologist or Speech Therapist;
• ensure that you are involved in your child’s learning, kept informed about the support being received and involved in reviewing their progress;
• recommend interventions to match your child’s needs and the subsequent targets;
• make sure there are excellent records of your child’s progress and needs;
• provide specialist support for teachers and support staff in the school so they can help children with SEND in the school achieve the best progress possible.
• look strategically at the school’s wider provision in relation to its impact of children with SEND.

Teaching Assistants in school will:

• support other children’s learning in the class allowing your child’s class teacher to focus on them;
• support your child’s learning by such means as further questioning, modelling, use of practical equipment to aid understanding;
• inform the class teacher and SENDCO of your child’s progress and further areas requiring support;
• run specific group work which is overseen by the class teacher or SENDCO;
• provide one to one intervention work.
•  

Your child’s Head Teacher is responsible for the leadership and management of all aspects of school, which includes the support for children with SEND. Whilst giving responsibility to the SENDCO and class teacher, the Head Teacher is still responsible for ensuring your child’s needs are met. Part of this is keeping the Governing Body up to date about any issues in the school relating to SEND.

Your child’s SEND Governor is responsible for making sure that the necessary support is made for any child who attends the school who has SEND.

Where a child also has social, emotional or mental health difficulties, so everyone has a consistent approach, the wider school staff, may be informed of strategies and approaches to use with your child, should they encounter them experiencing difficulty.

How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?

The Class Teacher ensures all children have access to good to outstanding teaching and that the curriculum is adapted to meet your child’s needs. After checking on the progress of your child, resources may be adapted and particular aspects of work be targeted.  Nearly all children with special educational needs will follow the main curriculum.

In mathematics and English, where a child has an aspect of knowledge and understanding that is very significantly behind where the expectation is for their age and these gaps in their understanding are a barrier to their progress with the rest of their class, they may have concentrated learning to address these needs over a short period of time.

How is the decision made about the type and how much support my child will receive?

If your child continues to make inadequate progress, despite High Quality Inclusive Teaching targeted at their areas of weakness, the class teacher, working with the SENDCO, will assess whether the child has a significant learning difficulty. Where this is the case, in consultation with you, the agreement about the SEND support that is required to support the child will take place.

If your child has been given an Educational and Health Care Plan (EHCP) expectations of the nature of support and how much support they receive will be stated within it and reviewed annually. 

The criteria for being on the SEND register is outlined presently by Hampshire County Council’s document SEN Support Guidance for Schools.

The types of SEND that your child may be registered as having difficulty with are broadly recorded as one of the following areas, as outlined from The New Code of Practice for SEND (2014).

1. Communication and interaction
2. Cognition and learning
3. Social, mental and emotional health
4. Sensory and/or physical
5.  

How will my child be included in activities outside the school classroom, including school trips?

As an inclusive school, every child will have opportunity to access all areas of the curriculum. Therefore, provision for trips and activities will be adapted to individual needs. Any child needing very specific help will have this discussed between school and home.

What support will there be for my child’s overall wellbeing?

The emotional and social development of all children is as important to Bartley C of E Junior School as academic progress. Unless children are happy, learning does not take place well. Class Teachers will phone home and are ready to meet with you to discuss your child’s needs and we operate an open-door policy. Our school has a good history of helping children who are struggling with emotional difficulties to settle in school and a significant part of this success is working closely with home.

If your child has specific emotional needs, they are likely to work with an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA). This will either be individually or in a small group working on aspects such as self-esteem, friendship, anger management, or managing something specific such as a bereavement. ELSAs are well trained by the Educational Psychology service and attend regular update and support meetings. With your permission, we sometimes use a service providing similar support from Youth and Families Matter, from Testwood Baptist Church. We also have Relax Kids sessions led by Barefoot Coaching, designed to develop children’s ability to calm and regulate their emotions. Barefoot Coaching also regularly deliver therapeutic sessions called Drawing and Talking with individual children. Recently we have access to a new service Mental Health Support in Schools Team (MHST) which we can access for difficulties such as anxiety, panic or phobias. This service offers cognition behavioural therapy, mental health courses and wellbeing sessions. 

What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the school?

Presently, we have one fully trained Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA). She has attended a counselling course; a therapeutic story telling course and is attending a course on Cognition Behaviour Intervention this year.  While this is an invaluable asset to our provision, our ELSA is not a fully-trained counsellor, but provides a wide range of targeted emotional and social support. Each term our ELSA has supervision meetings under the Hampshire Psychology Service.  We presently have a second Teaching Assistant being trained as an ELSA.

The SENDCO has expertise in a variety of areas of Special Educational Need, as do some Teaching Assistants.  Specialist services and expertise regularly accessed by the school are Educational Psychology, Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Special Needs outreach (Forest Park), advice from Specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Primary Behavioural Support from the Clifford Centre and Speech and Language Therapy (SALT).

Some children have support from specialists such as the Visual Impairment Teaching Advisory Service or Occupational Therapy.

Whatever your child’s need; we will endeavour to work closely with people who can help us remove barriers to their progress.

How accessible is the school both indoors and outdoors?

Our school building was built in 1939 as a Secondary School. Adaptions have been made wherever possible. This includes: hand rails placed by steps, disabled parking bays, a disabled toilet and wheelchair access to one of our entrances put in place. Our building has steps at all other entrances, steps within each corridor and stairs to years 5 and 4. Should a wheelchair be required by an individual, we will make every attempt to ensure adaptations are made to meet for this additional need.

After school provision and extracurricular activities are accessible to all children who attend Bartley C of E Junior School. Due to the number of pupils bussed into school, we have a focus on lunch time clubs.

How are parents involved in the school? How can I get involved?

If your child has been identified as having a special educational need you will be asked to come to a meeting to discuss your child’s progress and help plan possible ways forward at the beginning of each term.  In our experience, the closer home and school work together, the better the outcomes are for your child.

If we consider we need to refer your child to a specialist professional, such as an Educational Psychologist, you will be asked to give your permission. All information from professionals will be discussed with you with the person involved directly, or where this is not possible, in a report.

The IEP and specific interventions planned for your child can be reviewed with your involvement each term when attending the meetings requested by the class teacher or at an additional meeting made at your request.

Where it has been agreed as being useful for you and your child, a home/school contact book may be used to support communication with you.

Before your child starts school there is a New Intake evening which allows you to meet key staff and your child’s teachers.  Each year there is a Meet the Teacher evening early in the autumn term, and Parents Evening in the second half of the autumn term, where parents of children with additional support plans are given a longer time.  There are termly opportunities to for parents to come in and look through their child’s work with their child in the summer term.

Each term, Parents are invited into school to take part in a Bartley Learning Together (BLT) workshop where information about academic areas such as Reading, Writing Mathematics and foundations subjects can be shared with the parents. Throughout the year, Microsoft Teams Meetings (online) led by subject leaders communicate key information about adaptive practice and interventions that are available to support all children at Bartley C of E Junior School.

We are keen to continue to develop and improve ways to involve and engage parents with the provision their child receives and encourage any suggestions. 

If you are able to give any of your time to help in school, Class Teachers will be pleased to match your time and abilities to children’s needs.  Other ways to become involved in the school are to become a member of the Parent Teachers Association or becoming a School Governor.

How will the school prepare and support my child to join the school, transfer to a new setting or to the stage of education and life?

We have well established transfer arrangements with our main linked schools from the Oaks Federation (Copythorne C of E Infant School, Netley Marsh C of E Infant School and St. Michael’s and All Angels C of E Infant School) where the year 3 Year Leader and SENDCO visit the school and then the children experience an initial morning at Bartley C of E Junior School followed by a sports morning. Additional transfer arrangements will depend on the children’s needs but commonly include additional visits, booklets being made with key members of staff identified and time spent getting to know key staff such as our ELSAs at both the feeder school and at Bartley C of E Junior School.  Every year, additional visits to Secondary school for some of our pupils are arranged. Children who require further transition arrangements, such as ELSA meetings to exchange notes, or further pupil visits are arranged as needed.

Transitions Partnership Agreements (TPA) are plans/agreements arranged in May/June (Summer Term) to support children who have an EHCP (completed or in process) or that have been recommended from external agencies. A TPA is designed to support effective transition and communication of provision confidently between schools. A TPA is attended by parents, your child’s current school SENDCO and the SENDCO of your child’s next school. During a TPA, a discussion includes: your child’s strengths and interests, a description of the current strategies and interventions that are currently working and what the provision will look like in your child’s next school. The agreement is recorded and shared with the parents and each school. If parent consent is given, your child will be involved in the planning so they feel part of their own transitions.

If your child is coming from a school, or going to a school outside of our main cluster, the SENDCO and relevant teachers liaise with Staff from these schools in a similar way. It is important to us that your child arrives to us and moves on to a new setting confident and happy, with staff well informed of their needs.

How is my child consulted on their provision and progress?

Your child’s voice about their needs and provision is important. We might obtain that by pupil conferencing (where the Class Teacher, Teaching Assistant or SENDCO ask them questions or ask them to rate certain things on a scale) or by asking for their views which is placed into the SEND documents each term.  

Where the IEPs are not developed with the child, they will be shared and explained.

If a child with an EHCP has an annual review (or we are trying to obtain an EHCP) your child will be asked to answer questions on a questionnaire, show how they feel about aspects of school and sometimes to have the opportunity to take photographs and write captions for these to show how they are getting on at school.

With your permission, outside professionals like an Educational Psychologist may also spend time gaining your child’s perspective on their learning and school life.

What training has the staff supporting SEND had or had, or what training are they having?

Individual Class Teachers and Teaching Assistants attend training courses run by outside agencies that are relevant to the needs of specific children in their class, or important to their general training. This can be individualised and/or whole staff training sessions.

The SENDCO and Teaching Assistants share practice and train new Teaching Assistants on how to undertake new often interventions. 

All staff, including Teaching Assistants coach and support one another, which means sharing detailed observations of how we have worked with pupils, to help us reflect on what is being successful and any areas which can be further improved.

Our ELSA attends termly ELSA circles, where ELSAs from local schools and an Educational Psychologist have space to consider present difficulties and jointly problem solve.

How our school links to the local authority local offer.

Information about our school can be found on the Hampshire’s Local Offer Website. https://fish.hants.gov.uk/kb5/hampshire/directory/localoffer.page

Who can I contact for further information?

If you have initial concerns about a child already attending our school, please contact their class teacher in the first instance. 

Otherwise contact our SENDCO (Mrs Larmouth) either by phoning the school number (023 8081 2173) or emailing admin.office@bartley.hants.sch.uk and referencing Mrs Larmouth in your message.

Our Governor for SEND is Mrs Imogene Anglaret who is responsible for making sure that the necessary support is made for any child who attends the school who has SEND, and can be contacted via the School Office.

If you have seen school staff and are not satisfied, please contact the Head Teacher, Miss Stonehouse, via the admin office.

You may wish to contact Hampshire SENDIASS.  https://www.hants.gov.uk/socialcareandhealth/childrenandfamilies/specialneeds/support4send  This is an impartial information, advice and support service for parents, carers, children and young people with SEND. Their service is available to all families for whom special educational needs play a part. Telephone:  0808 164 5504 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm)   

Email:  info@hampshiresendiass.co.uk