Local Offer: Template for Education Providers
Every early year setting, school and college must outline what their local offer is to children and young people with special educational needs and/or a disability (SEND).
To help you do this the local authority will publish your responses to the following questions. The responses need to be jargon free, ensure clarity of language and provide
information about where to go to get further advice or guidance if needed.
1. What is the name of your educational provision?· Hunter’s Bar Junior School,
Sharrow Vale Road,
Sheffield
S11 8ZG
0114 266 0547
· Our SEND governor is Yogi Amin. In order to contact him, please email the school enquiries email, with FAO Yogi Amin in the subject. The school’s enquiries email is :
· The school’s SENDCo is currently Kelly Hersey, who is a full time member of staff. Please contact her via the enquiries email address above.
2. Please give a brief overview of your educational provision
COMMENT: Hunter’s Bar Junior is a mainstream junior school (KS2, ages 7-11).
3. What is your current Ofsted rating (if applicable)?
COMMENT: The school is currently rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted (the last inspection was in March 2014).
4. Who is your educational provision for?
The provision is available for:
0-3 Years / 4-7 Years / 8-11 Years / 12-16 Years / Post 16 age
X (7 only) / X
The provision supports learners with:
Education / Health / Social care / Preparing for Adulthood
X
The provision primarily supports (or has supported) learners with:
Cerebral Palsy / ADHD/ADD / Social & communication difficulties including Autism / Behavioural Emotional or Social Difficulties / Down’s Syndrome
X / X
Hearing Impairment / Medical Needs or Long-term Illness / Mental Health Difficulties / Moderate Learning Difficulty
X / X
Multi-Sensory Impairment (vision & hearing) / Physical Disability / Mobility Issues / Profound & Multiple Learning Difficulty / Severe Learning Difficulty
X
Specific Learning Difficulty (e.g. Dyslexia) / Speech, Language & Communication Needs / Visual Impairment / Waiting for diagnosis
X / X / X
The provision is accessible as a:
Mainstream service / Specialist service
X
If you are a specialist setting what other admissions criteria do you use?
COMMENT:
N/A
Please state the number of pupils on your roll and your average class size
COMMENT: There are currently 362 pupils on roll. The average class size is 30.
5. How does the setting identify learners with SEN?
COMMENT:
On entry, children have been identified as having SEND by Hunter’s Bar Infant school (or other KS1 provision). Please see Appendix 1 for information about how the school identifies any SEND needs which have not previously been identified.
6. Is your setting physically accessible to all learners?
· What are the physical facilities like? For e.g.
· Is the building fully wheelchair accessible? How many buildings are there?
· Have there been improvements in the auditory and visual environment? (including for children who need a low sensory environment)
· Do you use visual aids such as visual timetables?
· What equipment & facilities do you offer to support learners with SEND and how do you secure new equipment & facilities?
· Are there disabled changing and toilet facilities?
· Primary schools: How secure is the playground – is there a fence?
· Do you provide a quiet / safe space, and how do learners access this?
· Is there a quiet place for learners to eat if they cannot cope with a noisy dining hall?
COMMENT:
The school has some difficulties in terms of its physical facilities due to the nature of the building. The school is a Victorian building, with narrow corridors and relatively small classrooms. Ten of the classrooms are within the main building, with 2 additional classrooms in an annexe which was built in 2013.
The school is on four floors with 3 additional mezzanine floors, and there is no wheelchair access to the floors other than the ground floor. There is wheel-chair access to the annexe classrooms.
There have been improvements to the auditory environment, with the ceilings having been lowered for better acoustics. The classrooms have been passed as appropriate for those with moderate hearing impairment, with hearing aids. Although we have catered for children with visual impairment, the building is not ideal in this respect.
The school has a track record of support children with a wide range of needs. Where additional equipment has been necessary (e.g. additional screens for children with visual impairments), this has been accessed either through the school budget, through access to specialist services or through additional needs funding.
Every class uses visual timetables to support children with being prepared for their learning. Where it is appropriate, visual rebus/ communication in print symbols are used to support learners both in terms of the physical environment and with their learning.
There is a disabled toilet in the school. The space is relatively large and could be used as a changing facility. However, as previously stated, the school is arranged over four floors and three mezzanines, and the disabled toilet is only available on the ground floor.
The playground, whilst being small, is very secure. There is a fence which is continuous around the boundary of the school site (which includes the Infant School). There are 3 gates which give access to the site. These are open at the beginning and end of the day for parents / children to access the site. During the school day access to the school site is only possible through a code, or by intercom with the school office. The playground is entirely made up of hard play surfaces; there is no grass space on site. The playground is small in size, meaning that during playtimes and lunchtimes the space is very congested, noisy and busy.
The school’s space is extremely limited. Whilst there are two intervention spaces, these are small, constantly in use, and are not sufficient for the needs of all the children. Therefore, a library area is also available for interventions, however six classrooms open onto this space, meaning that it can be noisy with some distractions at all times. Learners come to these spaces to participate in interventions according to the timetable set out in the provision map. If children need to access the calmer spaces at other times, this is always possible with the agreement of their teacher.
If learners find the dining hall difficult, then it can be arranged for them to eat either in the intervention room or the library. This is usually offered with a friend in order to make the experience as pleasant as possible.
7. How does your setting adapt the curriculum for learners with SEND?
· Who will oversee and plan the education programme for a learner with SEN?
· What are the setting’s approaches to differentiation?
· What is the setting’s stance on changing some parts of the provision’s routine to help learners with SEN?
· What activities are available to learners with SEND in addition to those available through the curriculum? E.g. social skills groups
COMMENT:
Provision for children with SEND is first and foremost the responsibility of the class teacher. They will be responsible for overseeing the education programme for all children in their class, including those with SEND. They will also be accountable to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) for the progress of all the children in their class. In order to support the class teachers, the SENDCo and Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) plan the additional provision for each half term. This comprises all the additional support that children may receive, for example support in class, or specific interventions where children are withdrawn from class to work individually or in a small group with a teaching assistant.
The school does not set for any lessons. Within lessons, teachers are highly skilled at using formative assessment (information from the children to be used in real time in the lessons) in order to differentiate work so that all children are challenged at the right level.
The staff at school is skilled in adapting routines and processes in order to cater for the additional needs of pupils. This is usually done in consultation with parents.
There are a wide range of interventions available for children with SEND in addition to those available through the curriculum. These may not all be available all of the time. The SENDCO and HLTA will arrange provision of additional interventions in order to meet the needs of the learners on a half-termly basis. Interventions include:
· Units of sound
· Reading for meaning
· Reading buddies
· Reading scheme
· Rainbow reading
· Fischer Family Trust (reading and writing intervention)
· Active Literacy Kit
· Dyslexia spelling groups
· Writing support groups
· Maths support groups
· Number box
· Addacus
· Sumdog group
· Specific IEP work
· Speech and Language (NIPS)
· Talking partners
· Behaviour group
· 1:1 social support
· Social Stories
· Circle of friends work
· Motor skills group (fine and gross)
· Handwriting support
8. What training have your staff received to support learners with SEND?
· This should include past and planned training including Makaton, PECS etc.
· How do you ensure that all relevant staff (including peripatetic teachers, supply teachers, welfare supervisors, office staff) are aware of learners’ needs?
· Do you access specialist expertise?
· Are there staff trained in the administration of medicines, feeding and providing personal care?
· Please include details of any relevant kite marks or accreditations
COMMENT:
Staff receive training on a regular basis depending on their needs. The SENDCo and Deputy Head review the opportunities for training by external providers, and match these to the needs of the staff. In addition, training is provided by external providers to the school, for example Addacus training for the teaching assistants and Year 3 teachers. Other training is provided in house regarding SEND issues.
Previous training includes:
· Assessment for Learning TLC communities (in house)
· Communication in Print (delivered by SALT)
· In house talking partners training
· Asthma/Epipen & Epilepsy Training
· Talk and the EAL Learner
· Autistic spectrum disorder
· 2 day Speech & Language
· Started NVQ3
· First Aid
· FFT refresher course
· Dyslexic friendly schools
· In house talking partners training
· Behaviour management workshop
· SATs support training
· Talking frames to support vulnerable learners
· Communication in Print (delivered by SALT)
· Phonics (delivered by Learning Support Teacher)
· Assertive mentoring
· Structured conversations
· Using the Sheffield Schools Tracker – workshops with MW
· Trevor Hawes - The impact of knowing the brain on learning and progress
· SENDCo award (Masters level – SENDCo)
At the beginning of the year, teachers prepare a ‘Class Profile’ which details the needs of all the children in class; this is kept in the school office. If teachers, other than the normal class teachers are responsible for the class, information is passed on verbally or in written form.
Specialist expertise is accessed mainly through the SENDCo. If staff have concerns about a pupil then they will contact the SENDCo. If additional advice is needed, then she will arrange support from external agencies. In the past these have included: the Learning Support Service (now School-to-School), Educational Psychology, Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, the Multi-Agency Support Team (MAST). In addition, the school can support parents to access other agencies such as CAMHS and the Ryegate Children’s Centre.
There are two members of staff who have the specific responsibility for administering medicines. All staff have attended basic first aid training.
9. How do you communicate with and involve families?
· How does the setting communicate with parents about their child? E.g. email, home-school book, parents’ evenings?
· How does the setting involve parents in reviewing progress and setting targets for learners with SEN? How often do you do this? E.g. termly structured conversations
· Do you offer any parent training or learning events in relation to SEN?
· Do you have an SEN group for parents?
· How do you communicate with families whose first language is not English?
COMMENT:
There is a range of ways in which the school communicates with parents. Parents receive regular information, including half-termly curriculum newsletters. These are sent either via email or physically, depending on the request of the parents. There are parents’ evenings in the Autumn and Spring terms, and an annual report is sent home in the Summer term. Parents are encouraged to speak with class teachers regularly, and the teachers make themselves available on the playground as much as possible every afternoon after school.
The parents of children with SEND receive new IEPs at the beginning of every term, and a reviewed IEP at the end of every term. They are invited in to a review meeting each year, in addition to the parents’ evenings. They are also invited to speak with teachers or TAs at the earliest opportunity on the playground.
10. How does the setting evaluate the effectiveness of its provision for learners with SEN and how often does it do this?
COMMENT:
The SENDCo carries out data analysis on a termly basis in order to track the progress of vulnerable groups (particularly SEND and pupil premium (PP)). The SENDCo sits in on all Pupil Progress Meetings (PPM), where teachers prepare and present data about all children in their class, including those with SEND. Vulnerable children are identified, and actions discussed in order to meet their needs. This can feed into the provision mapping for interventions if required. If children have made good progress and closed the gap to age-related expectations (ARE), the SENDCo will speak to parents and the teacher about removing the child from the register. The progress of children is monitored through IEPs for all children on the SEND register. The targets set are SMART targets, and class teachers indicate when IEPs are reviewed at the end of each term if children have met targets, are working towards them or have not met them. There is also space on the IEPs to track the success (or otherwise) of specific interventions. Some of this is quantitative and some is qualitative. All of this information informs future provision mapping.