Special Educational Needs Information Report

Morley Memorial Primary School Information Report (The school’s ‘local offer’)

Introduction 

Welcome to our SEN information report which is part of the Cambridgeshire Local Offer for learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).   Morley Memorial Primary School is an inclusive school and we value all members of our community.

All governing bodies of maintained schools have a legal duty to publish information on their website about the implementation of the policy for pupils with SEND including information about the arrangements for identifying, assessing and making provision for pupils with SEND. This information is updated at least annually. Our local offer is closely related to our SEND policy.  We welcome your comments to continue to improve this document so please do contact us.

 

What is “The Local Offer”?

As part of the Children and Families Act 2014, Local Authorities are required to publish a ‘Local Offer’. The purpose of the local offer is to enable parents and young people to see more clearly what services are available in their area and how to access them. It includes provision from birth to 25, across education, health and social care.  The Cambridge Local Offer is available from the website:

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/children-and-families/local-offer/about-cambridgeshire-s-local-offer/

 

How do we define SEN (Special Educational Needs)?

At Morley we use the definition as outlined in the  2014 Code of Practice says that:

A person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. At compulsory school age this means he or she has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others the same age, or, has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools. (2014 SEN Code of Practice: 0 to 25 Years)

 

What is Our ‘SEND Support’ Profile? 

Approximately 10% of our children are in receipt of Special Educational Needs support (SENS) and  of these, 9 children (2.3% of  the pupil community) have an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP). The national average of children attending state-funded primary schools who are in receipt of SENS is 13% (Education Statistics, June 2022  ).  The national average of children attending state-funded schools with an EHCP is 2.3% (Education Statistics, June 2022) .

 

 All teachers expect to have children with SEND in their classes.  Our school currently provides additional and/or different provision for a range of needs including:

51 % Cognition and Learning  (Cognition and learning needs generally account for difficulties in curriculum-related areas such as reading, writing and spelling, numerosity, comprehension, processing difficulties such as sequencing, inference, coherence and elaboration and working memory)

33% Communication and Interaction (including difficulties in expressing themselves, understanding what is being said to them and understanding or using social rules of communication) 

3% Physical and Sensory needs (including a wide range of medical conditions or disabilities such as those affecting health, mobility, sight and hearing) 

13%  Social, Emotional and Behavioural needs (including ADHD, attachment disorder and anxiety)  

How do we identify children needing SEN Support (SENS)?

The progress of every child is monitored termly.   Class teachers are continually aware of children’s learning and development. If they observe that a child, as recommended by the 2014 Code of Practice, is making significantly less than expected progress,  given their age and individual circumstances, or if they have concerns about an area of need (communication and interaction, cognition and learning, sensory or physical,  or social and emotional health difficulties) they will raise this as an initial concern with the Inclusion Lead or SENCo. Where children are identified as not making progress in spite of Quality First Teaching and good attendance, a plan of action is agreed.

 

Less than expected progress is characterised as:

  • being significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
  • failing to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress
  • failing to close the attainment gap between the child and expected age related levels of achievement.

 

Although the school can identify barriers to learning and special educational needs, and make provision to meet those needs, we do not offer diagnosis. The school does have access to some initial screening checks which we use in conjunction with our assessment procedures.

In addition to these pathways of identifying SEN, any identified SEN shared with us from parents, previous setting or other professionals will be discussed and supported.  If parents have concerns regarding a potential additional need they should discuss this with the class teacher in the first instance.

 

What is the admissions process for children with SEND?

All children are admitted to Morley Memorial Primary School in line with the county’s admissions policy. If a child with additional needs is offered a place mid-phase then the family will be invited, before a start date is agreed, to meet with the headteacher and/or Inclusion Lead to discuss needs and provision required.  If appropriate a period of transition including a transition timetable may be implemented.  If a child with additional needs transitions to Reception with the rest of their cohort, the SENCo or Inclusion Lead and EYFS lead will work with the previous setting and parents to discuss needs, provision and transition timetable as needed. A copy of our accessibility plan can be found on the school website.

 

How do we support children with SEN?

We believe that all children learn best with the rest of their class. Our aim is for all children to be working independently, in class, achieving their full potential. Children with SEN and disabilities are entitled to be taught by their teacher.  Teachers aim to spend time each day working with all children with SEN, individually or as part of a group.

 In addition to this, children in receipt of SEN support will have a support plan that considers what additional provision (universal, targeted or personalised) support is needed to meet the needs of the child and the target they are working towards. 

When allocating enhanced adult support to children, our focus is on needs and outcomes, not hours: we aim to put in sufficient support to enable the child to make good progress but without developing a learned dependence on an adult.   Children with SEN will be supported by a year group team and not a named 1:1 adult.

 

Our ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ (APDR) is a graduated approach as required in the Code of Practice 2014; each cycle of APDR takes place over a period of approximately 12 weeks. 

The Assess Phase:  Class teachers working with a child who has  additional needs meet with the SENCo at termly support plan meetings. At these meetings we look at the strengths and learning barriers of the child as well as their learning dispositions, attendance and progress.  We also consider any additional assessment information and advice (both internal and external) that we may have access to. 

The Plan Phase: A support plan outlining targets and provision for the child is created. This will include class based strategies for support and may also include additional, targeted support through interventions.  If appropriate, additional assessments may be requested and written into the plan.

The Do Phase: The support plan is shared with parents and any adaptations to provision ,as outlined in the support plan, are put in place for a period of 8-10 weeks.  Baseline assessments for interventions are completed.

The Review Phase:  Towards the end of the 12 week APDR cycle the class teacher and any other adults involved in supporting the child will review the support plan.  They will consider progress, what has worked well and what may have worked less well.  The review will then contribute towards the next APDR ‘assessment phase’ and a new support plan will be designed as necessary. 

Children are encouraged to share their views through a variety of pupil voice activities including but not limited to annual reviews, meetings with class teachers, self-assessment and informal drop ins by the members of the Inclusion Team.

 

What additional provision is offered?

We make use of the Cambridgeshire Local Authority’s ‘Ordinarily Available Provision’ toolkit. Ordinarily available provision can be defined as the provision made for children whose special educational needs can be met from the resources generally available in the school or setting. This will apply to all children without an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), but children with an EHCP will also benefit from this type of provision in addition to the provision written in their plan.

 

The school’s provision menu includes a range of interventions which are designed to meet specific needs and children will access these where appropriate.  In alignment with the work of Cambridgeshire Local Authority,  we use a framework consisting of three tiers of support: universal, targeted and personalised.  Provision to meet need is considered within this structure.

 

We request support from external advisors where required (for example, SEND 0-25 team or speech and language therapist) by following their pathways and thresholds. Our SEN Service  link practitioners are Victoria North (local authority specialist teacher) and Caroline Sivasundaram (local authority Educational Psychologist).  A planning meeting is held early in the Autumn term to consider and prioritise needs across the school while making the best use of the support allocated annually to us as a school.  Consent from parents is sought ahead of these discussions.

 

How do we adapt teaching, the curriculum and the learning environment to support children?

Morley Memorial is as disability friendly as possible within the constraints of the old, original sections of the building. The school is on one level, some corridors are wide and we have an easy access toilet. Other reasonable and appropriate adaptations to the physical environment will be made, in line with EHCPs or advice from specialists to accommodate children with other sensory needs or disabilities

All of our classrooms are inclusion-friendly: we aim to teach in a way that will support children with additional needs including tendencies towards dyslexia, dyspraxia, ASD, ADHD and EAL.  As part of our approach we use the Morley Memorial Primary Inclusion Essentials These inclusion essentials are:

  • giving consideration to and the reduction of literacy barriers
  • the use of clear instructions; with pictorial support as appropriate
  • ensuring access to explicit teaching of key words for meaning and word banks for spelling
  • having lessons that are engaging
  • giving consideration to seating and groupings

This is good practice to support all children but is vital for those who particularly need it. All of our children access the National Curriculum, and we recognise achievement and expertise in all curricular areas. As part of routine class differentiation, curriculum content and ideas can be simplified and made more accessible by using visual, tactile and concrete resources.

In addition, please refer to ‘Morley’s Approach to Dyslexia’, ,  Cambridgeshire’s Dyslexia Guidance February (2019) and Cambridgeshire’s Autism Guidance (April 2021)

How do we support improving emotional and social development of children with SEN?

The emotional and social development of all pupils are key parts of the wellbeing provision at Morley, Wellbeing support includes universal provision for all pupils (led by Elinor Brown, Pupil Wellbing Lead), as well as targeted support for those identified as having particular needs in this area, which includes provision for pupils with SEND. Provision includes the following:

  • Universal provision through the PSHE programme and Mindfulness In Schools programme 
  • Termly allocation meetings as part of the ADPR process, to identify needs and plan appropriate interventions
  • A weekly lunchtime drop-in club for invited pupils, focusing on social skills and peer support
  • Use of wellbeing TA support at lunchtimes to provide support with playground games and activities for those identified as needing extra support in this area
  • Targeted group and 1:1 support for specific pupils as part of the APDR process, such as the Time to Talk social skills group games 
  • Signposting for parents


Behaviour is not classified as a SEN but may be an expression of other needs. If a child shows consistent unwanted behaviours, the class teacher will assess the child’s needs, taking into account family circumstances and the child’s known history of experiences.  If the child’s behaviour is felt to be a response to trauma or to home-based experiences (e.g. bereavement, parental separation) we complete an EHA with the family and support the child through that process.  If parents and school are concerned that the child may have mental health needs, which cannot be managed at school level, we encourage parents to ask their GP for a referral to CAMHS. We also make use of external resources such as  YOUnited and Emotional Wellbeing Practitioners who offer support to parents/carers and children.

We are a STEPS trained school and all children’s behaviour is responded to consistently in line with our Behaviour Policy, although reasonable adjustments are made to accommodate individual needs; some children may require an individual behaviour plan or an individual risk management behaviour plan. 

The school has a zero-tolerance approach to bullying, especially towards children with SEND and disabilities. 

 

When are children assessed for an EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan)?

If, over time, children fail to make appropriate progress and are significantly behind their peers, in spite of high quality, targeted support we may apply for the child to be assessed for an EHC Plan. Generally, we apply for an EHC Plan if:

  • The child has a disability which is lifelong and which means that they will always need support to learn effectively.
  • The child’s achievements are so far below their peers that we think it likely that the child may at some point benefit from provision at a special school.
  • The child is Looked After and therefore additionally vulnerable and is not making the expected progress in school.

The Local Authority has processes and thresholds for EHCP needs assessment requests and more information on this can be found through the Local Offer.

If the application for an EHC Needs Assessment is successful, other professionals (for example an educational psychologist or a speech and language therapist) will be asked to complete some assessments and observations with your child. A member of the Local Authority will call a meeting for parents, the child and the school together with any health or social care professionals who are involved with the family. The meeting will record the child’s strengths, their dreams and aspirations as well as the barriers they face. Following the meeting, the LA may produce the EHC Plan which will record the decisions made at the meeting.

 

Working with and supporting Parents

We aim to have good and informative relationships with all of our parents. If a child is experiencing difficulties, parents will be informed either at parents’ consultation meetings (autumn and spring terms) or through additional meetings to discuss the child’s progress.  Parents of children with SENS  are able to request meetings when required, by contacting the school office. Parents should contact the class teacher in the first instance.

Cambridgeshire’s SEND Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) offers impartial and confidential information, advice and support to parents and carers who have a child or young person with special educational needs (SEN) or a disability or have concerns that their child has special educational needs. They also offer impartial and confidential information, advice and support to young people and children with special educational needs (SEN) or a disability or who have concerns they may have special educational needs.  For more information see https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/children-and-families/local-offer/local-offer-care-and-family-support/send-information-advice-and-support-service-sendiass

Pinpoint Cambridgeshire is an organisation run for parents – by parents.  They give help and information to parents and carers of children and young people aged 0-25 with additional needs and disabilities, and give parents and carers opportunities to have a say and get involved in improving local services.  More information can be found at   https://www.pinpoint-cambs.org.uk/ 

Spectrum is a parent-led children’s charity who provide events, sessions and support for families of children with Autism, additional needs, learning difficulties and disabilities. More information can be found at https://spectrum.org.uk/

Access to extra-curricular activities

All of our children have equal access to before and after school clubs which develop engagement with the wider curriculum. Where necessary, we make accommodations and adaptations to meet the physical and learning needs of our children. Class trips are part of our curriculum and we aim for all children to benefit from them. No child is excluded from a trip because of SEN, disability or medical needs.

 

How do we prepare children for next steps?

We understand how difficult it is for children and parents as they move into a new class or a new school and will do what we can, according to the individual needs of the child, to make transitions between classes and settings as smooth as possible.  Enhanced transition arrangements are tailored to meet individual needs but may include, for example:

  • Additional meetings for the parents and child with the new teacher
  • Additional visits to the classroom environment in order to identify where the toilets are, where the pegs are etc.
  • Opportunities to take photographs of key people and places in order to make a transition booklet.
  • Meetings between staff from previous or future settings.
  • A graduated transition timetable
  • Social stories

Transition reviews for Year 6 pupils with EHCPs are held, where possible, in the Summer Term of Year 5 or the Autumn term of Year 6.  The secondary school SENCO is invited to Annual Reviews and other review meetings.  Additional transition arrangements may be made at these reviews e.g. extra visits, travel training etc.

 

Staff Expertise

All of our teachers are trained to work with children with SEN. Some are very experienced, and others less so, but all have access to advice, information, resources and training to enable them to teach all children effectively. We offer training and self-help opportunities through access to in- house or external courses, provision of resources or guidance towards useful websites.

Some of our TAs have specific training (e.g. ELKLAN, Makaton, AET, ELSA) which helps them to support children with specific difficulties. Other TAs have expertise and training in specific interventions. All TAs work with children with SEN and disabilities. We also have a part time SEN teacher who works with children both in and out of the classroom and also supports teachers in developing their classroom provision and practice.

 

Where we have children joining the school with needs that we are unfamiliar with we will work with parents, the local authority and other professionals including charities to ensure staff are confident in providing appropriate provision.

 

Our Inclusion Team can be contacted via the school office on 01223 508786 or via emailing office@morley.cambs.sch.uk

Inclusion Lead: Beth McGreer

Interim SENCo:  Georgina Webb

SEN teacher: Melissa Ward

Pupil Wellbeing Lead:  Elinor Brown

HLTA:  Laura Greene

Governors with responsibility for SEN: Ruth Kershner and Hilary Toulmin

 

Further information and complaints

The school works, wherever possible, in partnership with parents to ensure a collaborative approach to meeting pupils’ needs.  For further information on any aspect of our provision for children with SEN including complaints about SEND provision in our school , please contact Beth McGreer Assistant Head for Inclusion via the school office. All complaints are taken seriously and are heard through the school’s complaints policy and procedure.