Waterwells Primary School is ambitious for all our pupils and we believe that there is no ceiling on what can be achieved by anyone, regardless of their circumstances or background. We are committed to providing a supportive and inclusive learning environment, giving every young person the opportunity to fulfil their potential now, and in the future.

The leaders at Waterwells Primary School are leaders for all pupils, enabling our teachers to be teachers of all pupils. We are committed to distributed leadership to secure the best possible provision and outcomes for pupils with special educational needs. We have the same ambition for all our pupils, and recognise the importance and impact of prioritising our responsibilities to pupils with special educational needs. 

We work in partnership with pupils and their families in identifying and providing for special educational needs. Where appropriate, we also work in partnership with other agencies. We recognise the importance of communication being inclusive, accessible and culturally sensitive to achieve effective partnership working.

Our graduated approach

At Waterwells Primary School, we have a graduated approach to pupils’ needs. All teachers receive training on what this looks like for pupils in our school and their roles and responsibilities in this process. The diagram below shows this process:

 

What does it mean to have a Special Educational Need?

A pupil has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability that requires special educational provision to be made for them.

They have a learning difficulty or disability if they have:

• A significantly greater difficulty in learning than most others of the same age; or
• A disability that prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools.

Special educational provision is educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for other children or young people of the same age by mainstream schools.

 

Waterwells Primary School is ambitious for all our pupils and we believe that there is no ceiling on what can be achieved by anyone, regardless of their circumstances or background. We are committed to providing a supportive and inclusive learning environment, giving every young person the opportunity to fulfil their potential now, and in the future.

The leaders at Waterwells Primary School are leaders for all pupils, enabling our teachers to be teachers of all pupils. Waterwells Primary School is committed to distributed leadership to secure the best possible provision and outcomes for pupils with special educational needs. We have the same ambition for all our pupils, and recognise the importance and impact of prioritising our responsibilities to pupils with special educational needs.

We work in partnership with pupils and their families in identifying and providing for special educational needs. Where appropriate, we also work in partnership with other agencies. We recognise the importance of communication being inclusive, accessible and culturally sensitive to achieve effective partnership working.

What does this look like at Waterwells Primary School?

At Waterwells Primary School we take a holistic as well as individualised approach to curriculum adaptations. Teachers are expected to plan for the pupils they teach using their knowledge of pupils and using information, such as pupil support plans (My plans and pupil passports) to inform this.

Across the school we promote flexible grouping for the majority of the school day. Pupils are encouraged to engage with the resources that are made available and the modelling that takes place through teaching. Where appropriate, pupils can have access to additional support and/ or accessibility tools/ aids as needed. We have a Thrive space (The Lounge) and nurture area for small group social skills support. There is also an indoor lunch club space for those pupils who may require additional support during unstructured, social times.

 

Our SEND team

SENDCO - Mrs Burgess

Thrive practiotioner - Ms Salisbury

Nurture TP - Mrs Hipkins

All our teaching partners support all pupils, including those with SEND.

 

Identification and Assessment of Children with SEND

Parents/carers are informed when pupils are added to or removed from the SEN register. When deciding whether special educational provision is required, we will start with the desired outcomes, including the expected progress and attainment, and the views and aspirations of the pupil and their parents/carers. We will use this to determine the support that is needed and whether this can be provided by adapting our core offer, or whether something additional is needed.

We work in close partnership with families and local settings. Many pupils with special educational needs will therefore be identified through the transition and induction process.

Transition to school is carefully planned to give time for observations and assessments of children as they join the school when required. Where there are any concerns with regard to a child’s development against developmental milestones, the school will speak with the parent to identify next steps.

Class teachers make regular assessments of progress for all pupils and identify those whose progress:

• Is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
• Fails to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress
• Fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers
• Widens the attainment gap
• Demonstrates high levels of dysregulation

This may include progress in areas other than attainment, for example, social needs. Attendance and behaviour data might also be used to identify which pupils require additional support. A graduated approach to SEND identification is followed at Waterwells Primary School so that an assess, plan, do, review process is used to identify strengths and barriers and plan for support.

Slow progress and low attainment will not automatically mean a pupil is recorded as having SEN.

Where a parent/carer has a concern about their child, parents are asked to speak with the class teacher so that appropriate observations and assessments can be undertaken.

 

My Plans and pupil passports

An Individual learning plan (My Plan), is a regularly reviewed document that contains the needs, strengths and individual strategies for every pupil with an EHCP or on SEN Support. These are developed in partnership with pupils and their parents/carers. Where appropriate, they might also include strategies recommended by other professionals. Teachers are made aware of pupils' strengths, needs and appropriate adaptations and adjustments via the My plan and pupil passport. They also:

• Track progress against long-term outcomes in Educational, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) for pupils working below age-related expectations
• Inform medium-term and daily curriculum planning and provision where children are accessing adapted curriculum pathways
• Inform intervention planning

Universal Provision - High Quality Teaching

Waterwells Primary School ensures that a universal provision of high quality teaching is able to address gaps in foundational knowledge and skills. Through evidence informed classroom routines and a well-planned curriculum, teachers are able to address reading fluency and accuracy, communication and language skills, writing composition and number facts. Furthermore our carefully selected and sequenced curricula ensure foundational subject specific knowledge is secure at every step. For some students, effective in-classroom targeted support ensures gaps are identified and tackled quickly through our responsive and adaptive classroom practice.

 

Targeted Support

At Waterwells we have the following interventions:

Cognition and Learning - for pupils who are working below/well below in reading, writing or
mathematics:
● Read Write Inc. 1-1 tutoring/Read Write Inc. Speed sound sessions
● Precision Teaching
● Toe by Toe
● Pre-Teach Whole class reading
● Colourful Semantics (writing/speech and language)
● Zebras Spell Really Well
● Handwriting
● Writing Scoop groups
● Comprehension Scoop groups
● Plus 1, Power of 2
● Maths Scoop groups

Speech and Language - for pupils who struggle with expressive speech/understanding of
language/listening, attention:
● Colourful Semantics
● Language for Thinking
● Speech Link
● Language Link
● Listening Skills
● Chatterbugs
● Specific targets/tasks set by Speech and Language Therapists

Social and Emotional Support - for those pupils who need support to develop their social skills and
their emotional awareness.
● Thrive
● Nurture Groups
● Friendship Formula
● Drawing and Talking
● Play Therapy

Physical and Sensory - for those pupils who need support to develop their fine and gross motor skills
and their sensory needs:
● Fizzy
● Sensory Circuits
● Sensory Breaks- brain breaks/movement breaks

Interventions are selected by the SENDCo and senior leadership team. These are carefully planned to
support the needs of each individual pupil in line with their support plans/EHCP.
Teachers are aware of the focus of the intervention and support the pupil to generalise the skills into
the classroom.
Interventions are reviewed every half term to check the impact against the intended outcome.
Where the intervention is not having the intended impact, changes will be made, for example a
different intervention may be used instead.

 

Specialist Support

At Waterwells Primary School, we work in partnership with a range of external agencies and they will support the planning and delivery of specialist interventions. This includes mentoring to support pupils with social emotional needs, specialist speech and language therapy sessions, for example, to develop communication skills for non-verbal pupils; specialist mental health services such as Talk Well; play therapy and art therapy to support pupils with high level SEMH needs. Where appropriate, teachers are made aware of the focus of any intervention so that they can support pupils.
The professional delivering the intervention will liaise with school staff where appropriate to support the needs of the pupil and will review the progress of the pupil.

 

Staff Training

All staff are trained in how to best support all learners in order to maximise their achievement as part of the school development plan and annual schedule of continuous professional development.
Specific training needs will be identified and met through the appraisal/performance management process.
There is regular training during Inset days and also in staff meetings. Specific training is determined also through the process of ongoing monitoring of staff practice during the term.
The SENDCo alongside other leaders will deliver training in a specific area to support staff.
Some staff also receive additional training in a particular specialism, such as teaching partners who are trained as to deliver Chatterbugs or Fizzy. We also have several members of staff who are Team Teach trained with a particular focus on use of de-escalation strategies.
We also have staff training led by outside agencies, e.g. Advisory Teaching Service, Educational
Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists. The SENDCo holds the mandatory National
Accreditation for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators and she attends regular SENDCo cluster meetings. We have a Thrive Practitioner and the whole staff team have had training around the
Thrive approach and restorative practice.
All staffing appointments to support learners are carried out in accordance with equal opportunities legislation, employment law, safer recruiting policy and best practice. All vacancies are competitively advertised to ensure our school employs staff of the highest calibre. We also use outside agencies with expertise in areas such as art and play therapy, mentoring and specialist speech and language assessments.

 

Useful Links

Teacher Handbook: SEND

With contributions from specialists across the sector, the handbook is a comprehensive resource for teachers and parents to use over time. It brings together practical examples of high-quality teaching - placing focus on removing barriers to learning, getting to know and understand individual learners, and bringing to life the graduated approach.  To access this free resource click on the link below and sign up to Whole School SEND:

https://www.wholeschoolsend.org.uk/teacher-handbook

 

Whole School SEND Online CPD Units

Free, flexible online learning to help develop inclusive practice. https://www.wholeschoolsend.org.uk/page/online-cpd-units

 

Link to the school SEN Information Report 

Link to the Local Offer