SENCo: Helen Cottle

Head teacher: Anna Greetham

SEN Governor: Ellie Newland

School office: admin@tannerydrift.herts.sch.uk

Tannery Drift First School recognises the importance of making reasonable adjustments to ensure that every child reaches his/her full potential. This includes children with:

• Special Educational Needs and/or Disability (SEND)
• English as an Additional Language (EAL)
• low income families
• Ethnic minority groups including travellers, refugees and asylum seekers

Tannery Drift SEN Information Report

Welcome to our 'School Offer' information. Below you should be able to find the answers to frequently asked questions relating to SEND provision at Tannery Drift First School. After reading the information on this page if you still require further information, please refer to our SEND policy (see below), which can be located on the school website. If your query still remains unanswered please speak with your child’s class teacher who will be happy to help and offer advice.

All children at Tannery Drift First School can expect an inclusive education, as outlined in the SEND Code of Practice (2015) our provision is delivered in the following way:

1. Universal provision – High quality teaching, with clear differentiation used to support all children
2. Targeted provision – Specific and targeted support, usually delivered within a small group
3. Specialist provision – Highly individualised and personalised, sometimes delivered 1.1

Please refer to the whole school provision map for further information and examples of universal, targeted and specialist provision

What is the SEN Information Report?

‘The Children and Families Bill’ became law on 1st September 2014. From this date Local Authorities and Schools are required to publish and keep under review information about services they expect to be available for the children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), aged 0 – 25. By following this link you can see the Hertfordshire Local Offer which highlights what interventions are offered to our pupils and families in Hertfordshire to ensure that pupils make progress.

This Information report is to be read alongside Hertfordshire’s local offer and answers key questions about SEND provision. The intention of the Local Offer/ Information Report is to provide knowledge and choice for families.

Parents’ Questions

What should I do if I think my child may have a special educational need?

The four broad areas of special educational need are recognised under the SEN Code of Practice 2014 as:

• Cognition and Learning
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties (SEMH)
• Communication and Interaction
• Sensory and Physical needs

If parents/carers have concerns their child might have SEND they should, in the first instance, make an appointment to speak to the class teacher, who will then liaise with our SENCo where appropriate.

What should I do if I think my child may have special educational needs?

At Tannery Drift First School we embrace the fact that every child is unique and work hard to remove any specific barriers to learning. We consider pupils to have Special Educational Needs if they have a “significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others the same age.” (Code of Practice 2014). We have a whole school “Inclusion Register” which is used to record children with SEND across the whole school. The register records the child’s SEND need from the four broad areas, the provision the child is receiving and any professionals that are involved. Any child receiving targeted or specialist provision or working significantly behind their peers will be placed on the register. If you think your child has SEND please arrange a meeting with the class teacher.

How does the school know if children need extra help?

At Tannery Drift First School, children are continually assessed by the class teacher. The information from these assessments is then discussed at half-termly ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ meetings with the SENCo and at termly ‘Pupil Progress’ meetings with the head teacher and senior leadership team. During these meetings the class teacher will discuss and review the progress made for each child in their class. When a pupil is not making expected progress, teaching strategies will be varied and/or interventions will be put into place to support learning, these will then be reviewed again after six weeks making adjustments where necessary. During these meetings there will also be the opportunity to discuss the children’s general development, including aspects of their social and emotional wellbeing and include any information and concerns from parents.

How will school staff support my child?

All staff have a duty to support all children within the school. Provision for children with SEND is overseen by our school SENCo. Depending on the child’s SEND need will determine whether they receive universal, targeted or specialist support delivered by the class teacher and teaching assistant. Children with SEND will have a provision map which highlights the support in place to meet the child’s needs. Some children will also have an Additional Support Plan (ASP) with individualised targets, these are reviewed in partnership with parents every six weeks. This is also relevant for children with EHCP’s as provision outcomes will be taken from the plan and parents are heavily involved in this process. We also actively attempt to involve children in discussions about their own provision so they will be invited to have an input also.

A few children may require more specific provision and we may need to take advice from external professionals. Please see below for a full list of external professionals who work within our school. These professionals will either see children during school hours or at a consultation, any contact with external professionals will only happen with parental consent and parents will receive feedback/advice.

How will I know how my child is doing?

Tannery Drift has two parent consultation evenings over the academic year; one in the autumn term and one in the spring term, in addition to this each child will also receive a detailed written report in the summer term. There are also numerous opportunities for parents to meet with the class teacher during open classrooms, meet the teacher sessions and curriculum information evenings.  We have an ‘open door’ policy where parents are usually able to speak to a teacher before or after school to pass on a message/ piece of information. Where a longer conversation is required, parents and carers are invited to contact the class teacher via the school office to arrange a phone or in person appointment.

How will the learning and development provision be matched to my child’s needs?

For children on our inclusion register, all teachers use an ongoing assessment cycle (assess, plan, do and review) to deliver and monitor progress. Where additional support is in place for some children, the class teacher, support staff and SENCo will review targets and adjust interventions accordingly. On-going training and staff INSET is used to ensure that interventions are relevant and have maximum impact.

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

Your child’s wellbeing is paramount and we pride ourselves on being an inclusive school. All our children’s Social, Emotional and Mental Health is well supported within class Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) lessons that are delivered weekly. Some children might be offered more specialist provision such as lunchtime nurture group or specific social group work. We also have our own Family Support Worker, who works closely with families across the school, if you wish to make an appointment to see our Family Support Worker please enquire at the school office.

We are a STEPS trained school and consistently adhere to our school behaviour policy which is available on the school website. We have an enrichment teacher who works across the school providing learning opportunities linked to cooking and gardening. We also offer other opportunities such as swimming, tennis and guitar, all of which we believe have a positive impact on children’s well-being. We take mental health very seriously and we currently have three members of staff trained in ‘Mental Health First Aid’ and our Family Support Worker is our designated mental health lead. The school also has access to services provided by the 'Royston Area Schools Partnership' to help aid transition to the next school.

We were delighted to be one of the Hertfordshire schools selected to pioneer the Daily Mile in May 2016 and we have now incorporated this into our school curriculum. The Daily Mile is a fully-inclusive, simple initiative which improves the physical and mental health of children. It’s a social activity where the children run or jog, at their own pace, for 15 minutes every day and it improves focus in the classroom.

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

We have access to a wide range of external professionals including Educational Psychologist, Speech Therapist, Woolgrove Outreach support, The Grange SpLd Base, North Herts Primary Support Service, Early Years Advisory teachers and Autism specialists.

Referrals to the Child Development Centre (CDC) to receive a diagnosis such as autism, ADHD and global delay can be made via your GP, please speak to the SENCo who can provide further information and support during this process.

What training have the staff, supporting children with SEND, had or are having?

All staff receive regular training both in school and via external providers. This training will vary depending upon the specific needs across the school, focusing on specific areas of development. Recent training includes training in speech and language support, training delivered by the Autism Education Trust, Literacy support, STEPS behaviour approach and the introduction of teaching Active Maths and English. 

All staff are trained in Safeguarding and there are four trained Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL’s); Mrs Greetham (Lead DSL), Mrs Torres (Deputy DSL), Ms Kerr (Deputy DSL) & Mrs Hanna (Deputy DSL).

How accessible is the school environment?

The school is fully compliant with the Equality Act and reasonable adjustments are made for all children with SEND. Specialised equipment is provided where appropriate for children with SEND and advice is sought from the appropriate medical/health professionals.

Who can I contact for further information?

The school has a SENCo who can be contacted by telephone or email and is available to meet with parents if you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school office for further information. You may feel it is more appropriate to speak to your child’s teacher with any initial queries. If you wish to make a complaint the school has a complaints procedure which is available on the school website.

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

We aim to instil independence into children using our learning superheroes; Resilience, Reflectiveness, Cooperation and Perseverance. These key life skills aim to prepare all children for adult life. In terms of preparation for Year 5, throughout Key Stage 2 there are topic days that are held at the local schools, allowing the children to visit the setting and meet the Year 5 teachers. There is also access to a Transition Support worker and additional visits for children with SEND can be arranged. Other transition tools such as photo books, teacher visits and additional information is also available.

How are the school’s resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?

The school has an amount identified within its overall budget called the SEND budget. This is used for resources to support the progress of children with SEND, employ additional adults, buy specialist equipment, books or stationary and provide specialised training for staff.

Where a child requires provision which exceeds the nationally prescribed threshold, additional top-up funding can be applied for through the local authority (Exceptional Needs Funding).

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

The amount and type of support offered to a child is determined by each child’s level of need. Please refer to the whole school provision map (available on school website) to find out more information.

How can I find information about the local authority’s Local Offer of services and provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disability?

The authority’s local offer of services and provision for children and young people with SEN can be accessed here.

The school SEND governor oversees the school’s work with SEND and ensures the quality of provision is regularly monitored. Meetings between the SEND governor and SENCo happen yearly. Parents are represented on the school governing body and there is also a very active Friends Association in school.