SEN Information /
Report for Wayland Junior Academy Watton (Part of the Norfolk Local Offer for pupils with SEND) /
2016 -2017

Introduction

Welcome to our SEND information report, which is part of the Norfolk Local Offer, for learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). All governing bodies have a legal duty to publish information on their website about the implementation of the school’s policy for pupils with SEN.

This offer outlines the foundation from which WJAW’s (Wayland Junior Academy Watton) inclusive ethos has developed and is updated annually to reflect the changing needs and provision the academy will provide.

The staff at WJAW are committed to working together with all members of our school community. This offer has been co –produced with pupils, parents, governors, and school staff. We would welcome your feedback, the best people to contact are:

SENCo (Special Educational Needs Coordinator)Miss Chloe Racher

Principal Mrs Nicola Kaye

SEND Governor Mrs Dawn McKie

If you have specific questions about the Norfolk Local Offer please look at the Frequently Asked Questions by clicking here. Alternatively, if you think your child may have SEN, please speak to their class teacher initially. They will then talk to you about next steps. Alternatively, you can contact Chloe Racher, our SENCo, at

Our SEND objectives

1. To identify and provide for pupils who have special educational needs and additional needs.

2. To work within the guidance provided in the SEND Code of Practice, 2014

3. To operate a “whole pupil, whole school” approach to the management and provision of support for special educational needs and disability.

4. To provide a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) who will work with the SEN Inclusion Policy

5. To provide support and advice for all staff working with pupils who have special educational needs and/or disability.

Our approach to learning

We aim to provide high quality teaching for all learners and actively monitor teaching and learning in the academy. The staff continually monitor the progress of all learners through assessment for learning techniques, Phase Leader Meetings and Learning Review Meetings. We pride ourselves in providing a flexible approach which is tailored to the individual needs of each child to make mainstream education as accessible as possible.

How we identify SEN

We work closely with Westfield Infant School to ensure that all necessary information on progress and achievement, as well as support requirements of each pupil, are passed on to us as part of our transition work.

All children then complete a number of standardised tests at the start of year 3, which gives us greater insight into their learning needs. This will give us a baseline, but of course, not a whole picture of a child and their specific needs. Therefore we will then endeavour to identify any further needs a child may have.

Throughout their time at WJAW, if a child is identified as having SEN, we will provide provision that is ‘additional to or different from’ the normal differentiated curriculum. The SEN Code of Practice defines SEN as;

A child or young person has SEN 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 or disability if he or she:

  • Has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
  • Has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.

Children will have needs and requirements which may fall into at least one of four areas, as specified in the Code of Practice. Many children will have inter-related needs. The areas of need are:-

  • Communication And Interaction
  • Cognition And Learning
  • Social Emotional And Mental Health Difficulties
  • Sensory And/or Physical

Below is WJAW’s SEND profile, highlighting the areas of need which we provide additional support and resources for:

Year Group / Cohort Size / SEND / SEND % for year group / Statement / EHCP
Year 3 / 71 / 10 / 14.1 / 0 / 1
Year 4 / 66 / 17 / 25.8 / 0 / 1
Year 5 / 61 / 16 / 22.2 / 1 / 1
Year 6 / 53 / 9 / 17.0 / 0 / 1
Total (for whole school) / 251 / 52 / 21.1 (whole school) / 1 / 4
Primary need / Number of pupils / Percentage of pupils %
Cognition and Learning / 22 / 42.3
Communication and Interaction / 7 / 13.5
Social, emotional and mental health / 15 / 28.8
Physical and/or sensory / 8 / 15.4
Total / 52 / 100

As part of the Code of Practice there are some areas that are not SEN, but they impact on progress and attainment and these alone do not constitute SEN.

  • Attendance and Punctuality
  • Health and Welfare
  • EAL
  • Being in receipt of Pupil Premium Grant
  • Being a Looked After Child
  • Being a child of Serviceman/woman

WJAW recognise that identifying behaviours which are a barrier to learning in a child is an underlying response to a need that the child may have, which may be SEN. We will work to identify what these are as we get to know the child well through focused support.

What do we do to support learners with SEN?

Every teacher is required to adapt the curriculum to ensure access to learning for all children in their class as per the Teaching Standards. Work is tailored to the needs of the children in the class. In some cases pupils will have 1:1 support or work in a small group with a trained adult.

At WJAW teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the pupils in their class, including where pupils access support from teaching assistants or specialist staff. High quality teaching, differentiated for individual pupils, is the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have SEN (Wave 1 intervention).

Children who have been identified as having a special educational need will be given an individualised education plan (IEP) with specific targets for them. At WJAW we appreciate that every child is different and will learn and make progress in different ways, which is why we feel an IEP can be used to track specific steps of progress and their progress can be monitored clearly. Outcomes are made clear and the targets set are discussed with them, so they know what they are aiming to achieve.

These IEPs will be reviewed termly, alongside parents and the child, to review the progress which has been made, and provide the child with new targets. Targets will be updated more frequently where necessary. This ‘assess, plan, do, review’ cycle works on a termly basis, alongside the child and their parents or carers to ensure that the provision in place is allowing the child to access the curriculum to the best of their ability.

In identifying children who may have special educational needs we can also measure children’s progress by referring to:

  • Their performance monitored by the teacher as part of on-going observation and assessment
  • The outcomes from baseline assessment results
  • Their progress against national age related expectations
  • Standardised screening or assessment tools.
  • Concerns raised at half termly pupil ‘Learning Review Meetings’

Our teachers will use various strategies to adapt access to the curriculum. This might include using visual timetables, writing frames, I-Pads/ tablets, laptops or other recording devices and positive behaviour rewards.

The importance of early identification, assessment and provision for any child who may have special educational needs cannot be over emphasised. The earlier action is taken, the more responsive the child is likely to be, and the more readily can intervention be made without undue disruption to the organisation of the academy, including the delivery of the curriculum for that particular child. If the child’s difficulties prove less responsive to provision made by the academy, then an early start can be made in considering the additional provision (Wave 3) that may be needed to support the child’s progress.

Any of the following may trigger a concern. The child and parent/carer are involved throughout.

  • Parents/carer
  • Child
  • Class teacher assessment
  • Response/ length of time on SEN register
  • Any of the support services mentioned later
  • Records – transferred from another school
  • Base line assessments
  • In-house testing and assessment
  • Special needs register
  • Pupil tracking

The type of support is dependent on the individual learning needs, and is intended to enable access to learning and overcome the barrier to learning identified. This support is described on a provision map, which shows how each individual child is receiving personalised provision to meet their needs. This starts at Wave 1 intervention (strategies within the classroom) and includes any further details of Wave 2 and Wave 3 intervention which are in place. Our provision map and intervention audit is shared with Governors who are able to ensure that we monitor the impact of these interventions.

Managing Pupils Needs on the SEN Register

There is now a single category of support SEN SUPPORT. Our process:

Wave 1 – Quality differentiated teaching (ALL pupils will have access to this.)

Wave 2 – If a child is not making adequate progress (either generally or in a specific curriculum area) action will be taken, which includes the following:

Discussion amongst academy staff – teachers, TAs, Inclusion Team, phase leaders

Conversations with parents/carers

Child may be given ‘teaching’ Intervention in the area of need eg: times tables practice; extra handwriting lessons; additional phonics sessions. These interventions will likely be linked to specific targets on a child’s IEP.

Child may be given pastoral intervention through Pupil Support. This will likely, although not always, be for social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs.

Note: There is not a compulsory requirement to register the child as having SEND at this stage – Wave 2 provision does not always suggest the pupil has ‘significantly greater need than the majority of children of the same age’.

Wave 3 – If the support given does not suit the child or their progress does not improve, the procedure for further action is as follows:

Further conversations between academy staff and parents

Assessments/advice from outside agencies eg: Specialist Resource Bases; dyslexia specialist; educational or clinical psychologist

Evidence assessed – views of staff & outside experts taken into consideration

Child may be placed on SEND register – if their needs suggest ‘significantly greater need than the majority of children of the same age’

Note: The child’s progress and well- being will continue to be monitored using the academy’s tracking system and provision will adapt accordingly. A child may be placed on the SEND register and removed at a later date if their needs have changed.

Adequate progress can be defined in a number of ways ie:-

  • Closes the attainment gap between the child and their peers
  • Prevents the attainment gap growing wider
  • Is similar to that of peers starting from the same attainment baseline, but less than that of the majority of peers
  • Matches or betters the child’s previous rate of progress
  • Ensures access to the full curriculum
  • Demonstrates an improvement in self-help, social or personal skills
  • Demonstrates improvements in the child’s behaviour

The above is a graduated response of action and intervention when a child is identified as having special educational needs. The interventions are a means of matching special educational provision to the child’s needs, and are therefore part of the continuous and systematic cycle of assessing, planning, action and review within our academy to enable all children to learn and progress.

If, after we have taken action to meet the learning difficulties of a child, the child’s needs remain so substantial that they cannot be met effectively within the resources normally available to the academy or setting then we would make a request to the LA for an assessment for an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP).

All children with an EHCP (previously known as a statement) must have them reviewed at least annually, but if a child’s special educational needs change, a review is held as soon as possible to ensure that the provision specified in the EHCP is still appropriate.

What specialist services and expertise are available for WJAW pupils?

For some learners we may seek advice from specialist teams. In our academy and cluster we have access to various specialist services. We have access to services universally provided by Norfolk County Council, which are described on their local offer website https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/children-and-families/send-local-offer

Specialist services include:

Educational Psychologist

Specialist Support Teacher

Short Stay School for Norfolk outreach support

School to school support

Access through Technology

SRB learning outreach team

Visual and Sensory Support Norfolk County Council

Norfolk Speech and Language Therapy

EHCP worker from Norfolk County Council

We are part of the Wayland Cluster of schools this has 9 schools in it. The Cluster aims to share knowledge, training and resources within and across this group of schools. The Wayland Cluster SENDcos work extremely closely with each other and meet at least termly to share expertise, experiences and offer advice and support. Please find the Cluster SEND policy on our website. Funding and specialist equipment can be applied for, for specific children, and referrals to the specialist services above can be done through the school.

We employ a team of six teaching assistants, one higher level teaching assistant and two full time staff to lead and manage pastoral support.

Staff Training:

The academy recognises that high quality training is vital for all staff. Staff have received the following training:

  • ADHD (2 hours) run by Sure Start
  • Planning for SEN needs of EAL learners (8 hours) by MAAS
  • STEPs training run by Norfolk STEPs
  • ASD (4 hours) run by Julie Stewart ASD support.
  • Lego workshop (1 day) run through SSSfN.
  • Risk Planning (1 hour) SSSfN,
  • Managing Classroom behaviour (2 hours) SSSfN.
  • EPSS Surgery for teaching staff (4 Hours)
  • SENCO network meetings provided by Willow Tree Learning (Judith Carter) funded by Cluster.
  • SENCo Induction course (6 days) ran by Judith Carter at Willow Tree Learning
  • Self-directed learning of sign language

How do we Find Out if this Support is Effective?

Monitoring progress is an integral part of teaching and leadership within the school. Parents/carers, pupils and staff are involved in reviewing the impact of interventions for learners with SEN. We follow the ‘assess, plan, do, review’ model and ensure that parents/carers and children are involved in each step. Before any additional provision is selected to help a child, the SENCo, teacher, parent/carer and learner, agree what they expect to be different following this intervention. A baseline will also be recorded, which can be used to compare the impact of the provision.

If a learner has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC plan,) the same termly review conversations take place, but the EHC plan will also be formally reviewed annually.

The SENCo collates the impact data of interventions, to ensure that we are only using interventions that work. Intervention data is shared with the cluster so all SENCos in our cluster are able to select high quality provision.

Progress data of all learners is collated by the whole academy and monitored by teachers, senior leaders and governors.

Equal Opportunities

All WJAW staff have regular training on the Equality Act 2010 as part of ongoing essential staff training. This legislation places specific duties on schools, settings and providers including the duty not to discriminate, harass or victimise a child or adult linked to a protected characteristic defined in the Equality Act and to make ‘reasonable adjustments.’

The Equality Act 210 definition of disability is:

“A person has a disability for the purposes of this Act if (s)he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to day activities.”

Section 1(1) Disability Discrimination Act 1995

This definition of disability in the Equality Act includes children with long term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, and cancer. Children and young people with such conditions do not necessarily have SEN, but there is a significant overlap between disabled children and young people and those with SEN. Children and young people may therefore be covered by both SEN and disability legislation.

Funding for SEN

WJAW receives funding directly to the academy from the Local Authority to support the needs of learners with SEN. This is described in an SEN memorandum. The amount of funding we received for 2016/17 is £82,582.