What Support Is Available?

All children receive Class Teacher input via excellent targeted classroom teaching also known as Quality First Teaching.

For your child this would mean:

• That the teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all pupils in their class.
• That all teaching is based on building on what your child already knows, can do and can understand.
• Different ways of teaching are in place so that your child is fully involved in learning in class. This may involve things like using more practical learning.
• Specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENCO or outside staff) are in place to support your child to learn.
• Your child’s teacher will have carefully checked on your child’s progress and will have decided that your child has gap in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress.

Specific group work within a smaller group of children.

(This type of support is available for any child who has been identified as having specific gaps in their understanding of a subject/area of learning.)

This group, called Intervention groups in school, may be

• Run in the classroom or outside.
• Run by a teacher or most often a teaching assistant who has had training to run these groups.

Once your child has been identified by the class teacher as needing some extra support in school:

• He/ She will engage in either small group or 1:1 sessions with specific targets to help him/her to make more progress.
• A Teaching Assistant/Teacher or outside professional (like a Speech and Language Therapist) will run these small group sessions using the teacher’s plan.

Specialist groups run by outside agencies e.g Speech and Language therapy OR Occupational therapy groups

If your child does not make expected progress with interventions in place they will then be referred to receive extra specialist support in school from a professional outside the school. This may be from:

• Local Authority central services such as the WISENDSS.
• Outside agencies such as the Speech and Language therapy (SALT) Service.

For your child this would mean:

• Your child will have been identified by the class teacher/SENCO (or you will have raised your worries) as needing more specialist input instead of or in addition to quality first teaching and intervention groups.
• You will be asked to come to a meeting to discuss your child’s progress and help plan possible ways forward.
• You may be asked to give your permission for the school to refer your child to a specialist professional e.g. a Speech and Language Therapist or Educational Psychologist. This will help the school and yourself understand your child’s particular needs better and be able to support them better in school.
• The specialist professional will work with your child to understand their needs and make recommendations, which may include:

• Making changes to the way your child is supported in class e.g. some individual support or changing some aspects of teaching to support them better
• Support to set better targets which will include their specific expertise
• A group run by school staff under the guidance of the outside professional e.g. a social skills group
• A group or individual work with outside professional

• The school may suggest that your child needs some agreed individual support in school. They will tell you how the support will be used and what strategies will be put in place.

This type of support is available for children with specific barriers to learning that cannot be overcome through Quality First Teaching and intervention groups.

Specified Individual support

This is usually provided via an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).This means your child will have been identified by the class teacher/ SENCO as needing a particularly high level of individual or small group teaching, which cannot be provided from the budget available to the school.

Usually your child will also need specialist support in school from a professional outside the school. This may be from:

• Local Authority central services.
• Outside agencies such as the Speech and Language therapy (SALT) Service.

For your child this would mean:

• The school (or you) can request that the Local Authority carry out a statutory assessment of your child’s needs. This is a legal process which sets out the amount of support that will be provided for your child.
• After the school have sent in the request to the Local Authority (with a lot of information about your child, including some from you), they will decide whether they think your child’s needs (as described in the paperwork provided), seem complex enough to need a statutory assessment. If this is the case they will ask you and all professionals involved with your child to write a report outlining your child’s needs. If they do not think your child needs this, they will ask the school to continue with the current support.
• After the reports have all been sent in the Local Authority will decide if your child’s needs are severe, complex and lifelong and they will then write an EHC Plan. If this is not the case, they will ask the school to continue with the support and also set up a meeting in school to ensure a plan is in place to ensure your child makes as much progress as possible.
• The EHC Plan will outline the amount of money from the LA which will be provided to the school to be used to support your child. It will also recommend how the support should be used and what strategies must be put in place. It will also have long and short-term goals for your child.
• The additional funding will then be used to support your child with whole class learning, run individual programmes or run small groups including your child.

Ryhill Junior and Infant School offers a range of provision and support to identified children as and when appropriate. These include:

Provision to facilitate/support access to the curriculum/independent learning:

• Small group support in class from teacher or TA
• Facilitating access to learning through the appropriate differentiation of tasks and activities
• Extensive use of visual support
• Provision of individual/visual timetables and checklists
• Provision of sand timers where appropriate
• Individual targets
• Scaffolding e.g. writing frames, story maps
• Additional resources if appropriate

Access to a supportive environment – IT facilities/equipment/ resources (inc preparation):

• Extensive and consistent use of visual support both in and out of the class to support understanding and facilitate access to the school environment and learning
• Use of interactive whiteboards
• Regular access to computers, laptops and iPads
• Provision of resources to enhance independent learning including high frequency word lists, easy grip writing tools and multi-sensory resources.
• Supportive computer programme

 Strategies to support/develop Maths:

• Targeted small group support in class
• Withdrawal of small groups or individual pupils for additional maths support
• Use of support resources and interventions.
• Provision of table top resources to ensure that learning is multi-sensory and practical

Strategies to support/develop English including reading:

• Small group reading support in class through reading lessons and individual reading
• Reading support outside of class from TAs
• Additional small group literacy support from Teaching assistant
• Handwriting development programme implemented through school.
• RWI interventions

 Strategies to support behavioural issues

• Consistent school wide implementation of the school’s behaviour policy/ Golden rules
• SEND registration of those pupils whose behaviour difficulties are persistent and constitute a barrier to learning. Provision will include close collaboration with parents/carers, home/school book to ensure daily communication between home and school, daily behaviour oversight by school staff
• Wide range of pastoral support to support children’s behaviour in and beyond the classroom including access to our learning mentor, Mrs Shuttler
• Where a pupil’s behaviour deteriorates because of inadequate response to the above provision a referral will be made to one or more of the following agencies: Behaviour support service, the Educational Psychologist, CAMHS, etc.

 Strategies to enhance self-esteem/promote emotional wellbeing:

• Weekly PSHE lessons
• Circle Time
• Regular liaison between staff when there are concerns regarding individual families/children.
• Collaboration and communication with all external professionals involved with children as appropriate e.g. GPs, CAMHS and external agencies.
• Educational psychologist works closely with referred children and their parents
• Open door policy for parents

 Support/supervision at unstructured times of the day including personal care:

• Trained midday meals supervisor in the lunch hall and playground
• Midday meals supervisors initiating and supporting activities during lunchtime
• Play leaders helping in playground

Strategies/programmes to support Physical needs:

• Assessment by and intervention from an occupational therapist on referral.
• Implementation of recommendations by occupational therapist or physiotherapist by an allocated member of staff.
• Provision of support resources such as writing wedges and pencil grip

 Access to medical interventions:

• Regular meetings between SENCO and school nurse
• Wide range of staff trained in First Aid
• Staff training in the administration of support and/ or medication for Anaphylaxis and EpiPen use
• Liaison with medical professionals for children with on-going treatment.
• Photographs of child and detailing the child’s condition and required medication displayed in the staffroom, classrooms, first aid area, school office and school kitchen.
• Individual protocols for children with significant medical needs

 Strategies/programmes to support speech and language:

• Assessment by and intervention from a speech and language therapist on referral.
• Additional support and interventions within class if recommended
• Implementation of Speech and Language programmes by TAs

Planning and assessment:

• School provision maps
• Individual targets
• Differentiated / scaffolded learning activities
• Multi-sensory opportunities
• Incorporation into planning of any advice or guidance provided by external professionals supporting individual pupils
• Coordinated planning between class teacher and teaching assistant for pupils of SEND
• Regular assessment of progress and achievement against national expectations and individual targets.

 Engagement with parents/carers – Liaison/communication with parents:

• Opportunities to meet the teacher at the start of the academic year and parent evenings in the Autumn Term and Spring Term
• Open door policy for parents to meet class teacher or SLT
• Regular progress meetings with parents/carers by class teacher and SENCO
• Support for parents who have concerns
• Home school book where appropriate
• Arrangement for specialist expertise in and outside school:
• Early identification of needs requiring referral to external professionals
• Regular communication and information sharing with an extensive range of external agencies
• Sharing of professional reports with parents

Monitoring and evaluating the impact of the ‘additional and different’ arrangements – on progress and outcomes for pupils with SEN:

• Regular pupil progress meetings
• Monitoring of individual targets
• Teacher and TA observations
• Analysing data through in school tracking system
• Regular meeting with parents/carers to review child’s progress