SEND

At the St Monica’s Primary School, we hold termly pupil progress meeting where each child’s progress is discussed with the class teacher, headteacher, assessment coordinator and SENCO. If any child is identified as a concern, the class teacher and SENCo will monitor your child and his/her progress. If concerns persist the school will set up a meeting to discuss this with you in more detail and to:

• Listen to any concerns you may have
• Plan any additional support your child may receive
• Discuss and share Enfield’s Local Offer
• Graduated response-assess, plan, do, review (Pupil Passport)
• Discuss with you any referrals to outside professionals to support your child’s learning that may be useful

The initial point of contact should always be your child’s class teacher.

The class teacher will always seek advice where necessary from our SENCO Dawn Roper (Special Educational Needs Coordinator).

The class teacher is responsible for:

• Planning for all pupils including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
• SEND pupils and T.A’s being named on plans and any reasonable adjustments made explicit
• Teaching pupils with SEND as it is not the responsibility of the TA, Intervention leader of SENCO
• Checking on the progress of your child and identifying, planning and delivering any additional help your child may need (this could be things like targeted work or additional ) and letting the SENCO know as necessary
• Completing an initial concern form and discuss with SENCO
• Identifying additional interventions to support the child’s needs
• Writing Learning Support Plans (LSP), with support from the SENCO and sharing and reviewing these with parents once each term and planning for the next term
• Ensuring that all staff working with your child in school are helped to deliver the planned work/programme for your child, so they can achieve the best possible progress. This may involve the use of additional adults, outside specialist help and specially planned work and resources. This is overseen by the SENCO
• Ensuring that the school’s SEND Policy is followed in their classroom and for all the pupils they teach with any SEND

The SENCO is responsible for:

• Coordinating all the support for children with SEND and developing the school’s SEND Policy to make sure all children get a consistent, high quality response to meeting their needs in school
• Ensuring that you as a parent/carer are:
  • involved in supporting your child’s learning
  • kept informed about the support your child is getting
  • involved in reviewing how they are doing through termly LSP review meetings between you, your child and the staff working with your child
• Liaising with all the other people who may be coming into school to help support your child’s learning e.g. Speech and Language Therapist, Educational Psychologist etc
• Updating the school’s SEND register (a system for ensuring all the SEND needs of pupils in this school are known) and making sure that there are excellent records of your child’s progress and needs
• Monitoring and tracking assessment and progress to ensure pupils are getting quality first teaching opportunities
• Providing 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
• Completing specialist referrals with parents
• Liaising with and advising teachers and support staff
• Contributing to the in-service training for all staff, including governors
• Adhering to the transfer from statement to EHCP timetable in line with the Local authority guidelines (2018)
• Overseeing the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEND policy

The Headteacher is responsible for:

• The day-to-day management of all aspects of the school, this includes the support for children with SEND
• Giving responsibility to the SENCO and class teachers but is still responsible for ensuring that your child’s needs are met
• Making sure that the Governing Body is kept up to date about any issues in the school relating to SEND

The SEN Governor is responsible for:

The SEND governor works with the Headteacher and SENCO to ensure relevant information is communicated to the Governing Body to enable the Governing Body to fulfil its role in evaluating success of the education provided for pupils with Special Educational Needs. The SEND Governor also assists and advises the Governing Body on fulfilling its Special Education responsibilities and ensures training is delivered to keep governors up to date with current changes.

• Ensuring that the necessary support is provided for any child who has SEND, through termly meetings with the SENCO and termly reports from the Headteacher

First and foremost, your child should receive consistently good teaching in the classroom on a daily basis – this is 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, grouping children with mixed abilities or similar abilities, working in pairs or work that requires independent working
• 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 identified if your child has a gap in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress

All children in school should be getting this as a part of standard classroom practice.

Some children will benefit from working in a smaller group of children on specific work to help them make progress.

These groups, (often called ‘Intervention groups’) may be:

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

We have lots of intervention groups to support a range of needs.

Some children will need to be referred to an external professional so that we can access support and advice from them.

This is most often the case when quality first teaching and intervention groups have not helped your child to make enough progress. Parents need to give their consent so that a referral to a professional can be made. Such professionals might include Speech and Language Therapist (SALT), Occupational Therapist (OT) Behaviour Support (BSS) or Educational Psychologist (EP). Waiting lists for these professionals can be long and so it is advisable to refer your child as soon as you feel it necessary. If it is a health or medical matter, parents may also go to their GP for these referrals as sometimes this can be quicker than referring through school. Alternatively parents are also able to self assess by accessing the appropriate link to referral forms on the Enfield’s Local Offer page.

When the referral has been made, the professional will make an appointment to assess your child. 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 professionals

Some children may need more specified individual support beyond that already provided by the school as part of its core offer.

This can be provided by requesting a statutory assessment from the local authority in which you live. See the Enfield Local Offer.

This support is usually provided via an EHCP. This means your child will have been identified by the class teacher/SENCO as needing a particularly high level of individual support in order to access learning that is taking place. It means that the school needs additional financial support from the LA to enable your child’s outcomes to be met.

For your child this would mean:

• The school (or you) can request that the Local Authority (LA) 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 to enable them to reach their desired outcomes
• After the school (or you) have sent in the request to the Local Authority (with a lot of information about your child, including some from you), the LA will decide whether they think your child’s outcomes are not being met (as described in the paperwork provided) and therefore requires a statutory assessment. If this is the case they will ask you and all professionals involved with your child to write a report outlining what would be required to enable your child to meet their desired outcomes. If they do not think your child needs an EHC Plan, they will not carry out a statutory assessment but will ask the school to continue with the support already provided at school.
• If the statutory assessment is agreed to go ahead the following will happen:
  • A Multi Agency Meeting will be arranged and hosted by the school
  • All professionals involved in your child’s learning will be asked to provide professional advice which is presented at the Multi Agency Meeting (MAM)
  • Parents will be sent a section A form called ‘All about me’. This will be sent to you by the SENCo from the Local Authority (LA). You will be required to fill out and return it to the LA and also return a copy to the SENCo. If you need help with this process, you can ask the school SENCo or contact SENDIASS to help you

Other support services in Enfield

This type of support is available for children whose learning needs are:

• Severe, complex and lifelong
• Need more support in school than the school’s budget can provide

If you have concerns about your child’s progress you should speak to your child’s class teacher initially.

• If your child is still not making progress you should speak to the SENCo
• If you are still unhappy, you should see the Headteacher
• The school does have a complaints procedure which you can access here

• The class teacher is regularly available to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns you may have and to share information about what is working well at home and school so similar strategies can be used. Appointments can be made via the school office
• The SENCO is available to meet with you to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns/worries you may have. Appointments can be made via the school office
• All information from outside professionals will be discussed with you with the person involved directly, or where this is not possible, in a report
• LSP’s will be reviewed with you and your child’s involvement each term
• Homework will be adjusted as needed to your child’s individual needs
• This document has been written using Verdana font which is easier for people with dyslexia to read. We have also chosen pastel colours for the background following the same practice we use in school for children with dyslexia

Useful parental agencies:

• The school budget, received from Enfield LA, includes money for supporting children with SEND who have a Statement of Educational Needs or an Educational, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
• The Head Teacher decides on the budget for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in consultation with the school governors, on the basis of needs in the school
• Parents who have a child with a statement are consulted about how funds can be best used to support their child during joint consultation meetings, or multi-agency meetings (MAM)
• The Head Teacher and the SENCO discuss all the information they have about SEND in the school, including:
  • the children getting extra support already
  • the children needing extra support
  • the children who have been identified as not making as much progress as would be expected

And decide what resources/training and support is needed.

All resources/training and support are reviewed regularly and changes made as necessary.

Directly funded by the school:

• SENCo
• 1 TA for every class in the school to enable intervention work and groups to take place
• 1 full-time Welfare Assistant who will administer medicines as required in accordance with school policy and with parents’ consent
• LASS Language And Social Skills in Year 1
• Talk Boost
• Tiger teams – Occupational therapist programme Years 1-6
• Additional Educational Psychologist visits
• Social skills sessions

Paid for centrally by the Local Authority but delivered in school:

• Autism Outreach Service
• Educational Psychology Service (EPS) (statutory and traded only)
• Sensory Service for children with visual or hearing needs e.g Joseph Clarke and Blanche Neville
• Behavioural support services (BSS)
• Speech and Language Therapy (SALT -provided by Health but paid for by the Local Authority)
• EYSI Team – Early Years Social Inclusion (Tiger Team)

Provided and paid for by the Health Service (Enfield and Barnet NHS Trust) but delivered in school:

• School Nurse who can advise about medical needs of the children
• Occupational Therapy
• Physiotherapy
• Pre-school Speech and Language services (statutory work only)
• Educational Psychology Service (EPS) (statutory and traded only)

Provided and paid for by the LA and also Health and provided outside of school:

• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
• General Paediatrician
• Cheviots

• The SENCO’s job is to advise the class teacher and teaching assistants in planning and delivering suitable provision for children with SEND
• The school has a training plan for all staff to improve the teaching and learning of children including those with SEND. This includes whole school training on SEND issues such as ASD, specific learning difficulties, speech and language difficulties, behavioural needs tailored to the individual needs of the child/ren.
• Individual teachers and support staff attend training courses run by outside agencies that are relevant to the needs of specific children in their class e.g. communication in print, PECS, visual and hearing impairment training
• If parents find out about a useful resource they are advised to discuss this with the SENCO
• Outside experts such as BSS, EP, OT, SALT are a few examples of agencies who provide teachers with expert advice to help support children who have been assessed in school

• All class teachers provide quality first teaching and plan lessons according to the specific needs of all groups of children in their class, and will ensure that your child’s needs are met
• Reasonable adjustments will be made to ensure that the teaching and learning is inclusive
• Class teachers plan individualised weekly plans to support the specific needs of individual children with specific teaching and learning needs
• Teaching Assistants with the relevant and appropriate training can adapt the teachers’ planning to support the needs of your child where necessary
• Specific resources and strategies will be used to support your child individually and in groups
• Personalised Curriculums and timetables are written to support your child which means sometimes they will work with the rest of the class and at other times they will work on a parallel curriculum individually or with a small group of children working at a similar level

• Your child’s progress is continually monitored by his/her class teacher using the schools tracking and assessment tool. Where children are working with P levels they will be assessed using the PIVATS. (Performance indicators for valued assessment and targeted learning
• His/her progress is reviewed formally every term at a pupil progress meeting with the classteacher, headteacher, assessment coordinator and SENCO and a National Curriculum level given in RE, reading, writing, numeracy and science
• If your child is in Year 1 and above, but is not yet at National Curriculum levels, a more sensitive assessment tool is used which shows their level in more detail and will also show smaller but significant steps of progress. The levels are called ‘P levels’. See the website for more information about P levels.
• At the end of each key stage (i.e. at the end of year 2 and year 6) all children are required to be formally assessed using Standard Assessment Tests (SATS). This is something the government requires all schools to do and the results from Year 6 are published nationally
• Children with additional needs will have an LSP which will be reviewed with your involvement, every term and the plan for the next term made. This is in addition to parents’ consultation evenings. For children who do not have an LSP, parents can request a meeting with the class teacher at any point to review their child’s progress (in addition to the 2 meetings already offered for all children)
• The progress of children with a statement of SEND/ EHC Plan is formally reviewed at an Annual Review with the child and all adults involved with the child’s education
• The SENCO will also check that your child is making good progress within any individual work and in any group that they take part in

• The School building is on one level and is accessible to children with physical disability via ramps
• Painted steps to show clear contrast incline and decline of steps
• Disabled toilet and shower facilities are available on the ground floor
• We ensure that equipment used is accessible to all children regardless of their needs
• After school provision is accessible to all children including those with SEND
• A Sensory area is available for those children who would benefit from it
• Hearing impaired equipment bespoke for each child provided by HI service
• Tables and chairs at appropriate heights
• Blinds at windows
• Visual Timetables
• Extra-curricular activities are accessible for children with SEND

We recognise that transitions can be difficult for a child with SEND and take steps to ensure that any transition is a smooth as possible.

• If your child is moving to another school:
  • We will contact the school SENCO and ensure he/she knows about any special arrangements or support that need to be made for your child
  • We will make sure that all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible
  • A transition timetable is put into place wherever possible, this will include visits to and visits from the new school
• When moving classes in school:
  • In the summer term, the current staff and all the new staff for September will attend the learning support review meeting with the child and parents, where the new class teacher will be made aware of any needs or support your child has
  • Children visit their new class and teacher in the summer term. Where applicable they will also meet with their new 1:1 support assistant
  • If your child would be helped by a book to support them understand moving on then it will be made for them. The book might include photographs of the new staff and typical daily routines
• In Year 6:
  • Where possible your child will visit their new school on several occasions and in some cases staff from the new school will visit your child in this school
  • Your child’s class teacher will meet any visiting transition staff from your child’s new secondary school
  • If required/requested the SENCO will attend secondary transition meetings to discuss the specific needs of your child with the SENCO of their secondary school
  • Your child will do focused learning about aspects of transition to support their understanding of the changes ahead

At St Monica’s Primary School, bullying is not acceptable and all children including those with SEND have the right to be happy and feel safe whilst they are at school. 

All staff are proactive in helping children to realise that bullying is unacceptable. Pictures, symbols, social stories and actions are used to help children to understand that bullying is not tolerated at our school.

We encourage and need children and parents to tell us when they are having difficulties or if they have concerns about their child.

If you do have a concern regarding bullying or any other behaviour issues, please contact your child’s class teacher, phase leader, Deputy Headteacher, Headteacher or SENCo.

For further information please see the school behaviour policy which includes a section regarding bullying.

We feel it is important to have the child at the heart of their education and by doing this we need to listen to their views. Each child has the right to freedom of expression and as a school we always take seriously what children tell us about their experiences of being a learner, what gets in their way when learning and what helps them learn.  We listen to their opinions in many different ways such as:

• monthly school council meeting with the Headteacher
• pupil surveys
• ‘structured conversations’ at termly learning support review meetings
• completing the ‘all about me’ section at EHCP multi agency and annual review meetings
• playtime buddies

“We feel we can always approach the school with any issues we have.”

“A visual specialist from Joseph Clark Foundation assessed my son through a school referral and recommended that he learn touch typing to assist him with his writing.  This has really helped.”

“The school used a screening test for dyslexia for my daughter and when it showed she had difficulties, the school then screened my other children and we picked up some other difficulties with one of my other children which might not otherwise have been spotted.”

“The termly Learning Support Plan Review meetings with the teacher, TA and Senco have been invaluable in providing a consistent approach to all the specialists’ recommendations.”

“My child was diagnosed with autism by the Child Development team when he was 3. He was completely non-verbal and I used Makaton and Pecs to communicate with him.  He was turned down for a statement before he started school so I went to see my local MP who helped me and then he got a statement for 15 hours.  The school has arranged a support worker, music therapy and a referral to an Occupational Therapist. The Speech and Language therapist sees him once a term and provides a programme for the TA to do with him. After a few years at school he can now say some words and even sometimes a whole sentence!”

“I am so pleased I went to see my GP to be referred to CAMHS as we were referred more quickly than other families who were referred through the school.”

“My son’s symptoms were unclear and inconsistent. He seemed bright enough and maybe he was just being difficult or he would grow out of it. I wish I had looked for support for him earlier”

“My GP referred my son to an Occupational Therapist but it took 6 months to get an appointment which was really frustrating.”

“The school identified that my child (diagnosed with ADHD) was able to work much more productively in small groups.”

“The school referred my child to Behaviour Support Services to help in dealing with some of his more challenging behaviours. He has focussed intervention sessions each week which have helped him to form better relationships with his peers.”

“As soon as I heard a place had been offered to my child for St Monica’s I arranged a meeting with the school to share information about my child from pre-school and other professionals which I found really helpful. St Monica’s provided strategies to help my child settle into school and arranged for other professionals outside school to help my child, keeping me informed at all times.”

“My child attended a speech and language resource base for two days a week.  St Monica’s managed this dual placement very well arranging meetings with the unit teacher and the staff so the support plan was shared and I was updated with all the developments

“From day one, St Monica’s has been very understanding, practically caring, helpful and positive about my child’s medical condition.”

IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT OUR SCHOOL OR OUR LOCAL OFFER PLEASE EMAIL office@st-monicas.enfield.sch.uk.

Just click on the items below to visit the website.

• Enfield’s Local Offer
• Enfield Parent and Children Group
• Our Voice
• Helping Every Child to Read
• About the P Scales
• Informed Families
• Council for Disabled Children
• Autism