Welcome to our SEND information report which is part of the Croydon Local Offer for learners with Special Educational Needs (SEND) or Disabilities. As always, we welcome your feedback and views on the usefulness of the information provided. The Croydon Local Offer can be found here:

https://localoffer.croydon.gov.uk/kb5/croydon/directory/home.page

All Croydon schools are committed to and adopt a similar approach to meeting the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. There is a shared expectation that all pupils, regardless of their specific needs, will benefit from inclusive teaching, which will enable them to make the best possible progress in school, ensure they can actively participate in the wider aspects of school life and support readiness for the next phase of education and/or preparation for adulthood.

As a small, one-form entry primary school we pride ourselves on our ability to treat our pupils as individuals, we get to know our children well and realise that every child is different and learns in their own way. We recognise the importance of partnership and encourage an open-door policy, welcoming parents to speak to staff about their children whenever they have concerns. We work hard to build strong relationships with our families and have good communication between teachers, children with SEND, their parents and outside agencies. We place our children’s emotional and social well-being at the heart of all we do and believe that children achieve best when they are happy.

At Courtwood children of all abilities, backgrounds and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are valued, respected and equal members of our school. We believe that children’s needs should be met as far as possible within the planned curriculum through first quality teaching and that this is a shared responsibility of the whole staff to ensure all children are able to aspire and reach their full potential.

We are able to offer mainstream education, with high levels of knowledge and expertise in special educational needs and disabilities, as well as an Enhanced Learning Provision (ELP) for children who are on the Autistic Spectrum (ASD). We have two Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinators (SENDCos), both who have completed their National SENDCo qualifications.

Courtwood Primary School are now also working in partnership with several other schools in the area, as part of a project called “Locality SEND Support”. This is an initiative by Croydon Council which aims to improve support for children with special needs or disabilities who live in Croydon.

The ‘Locality SEND Support’, provides access to early help for children who are beginning to demonstrate additional needs, which can’t be met through our own school resources. This early help may come in the form of advice, school to school support, referral to specialist services or additional resources. Presently the scheme is only for Croydon residents and will not impact on students who already have an Education & Health care Plan or those in Enhanced Learning Provisions.

 

    • Enhanced Learning Provision

      The Enhanced Learning Provision is a provision for 14 children. Pupils start in the Reception Year group in Holly Class and will move to Chestnut Class in Year 3. Each class has the equivalent of one fully qualified Teacher, and TAs who have training and experience of working with children with SEND and ASD. We have an attached Speech and Language Therapist and Occupational Therapist who work with the staff to continuously set and review targets, model new targets and support staff to deliver those interventions to the children.

      Across the year, the ELP SENCO runs open days to allow prospective parents to visit the ELP, enabling them to ask questions and find out more about our provision. Please see our ELP SEND Information Report for more information. Please call the office on 0208 657 8454 if you would like to visit.

      Pupils in the ELP are placed at Courtwood by the Local Authority SEND placement panel usually held in the Spring Term, and have an Education, Health and Care Plan or Inclusion funding.

    • What is a Special Educational Need?

      At different times in their school life, a child or young person may have a special educational need (SEND). The code of practice 2014 defines SEND as follows:

      “A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for a special educational provision to be made for him/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 the same age, or
      • Has a disability which prevents or hinders him/her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions”.

      Types of SEN

      In the Code of Practice 2014, SEND and provision falls under four broad categories:

      • Communication and interaction,
      • Cognition and Learning;
      • Social Mental and Emotional Health;
      • Sensory and/or Physical.

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        These include a wide range of needs such as:

        • Speech, language and communication needs;
        • Behavioural, emotional and social difficulties;
        • Specific learning difficulties;
        • Moderate learning difficulties;
        • Profound and multiple learning difficulties;
        • Autistic spectrum conditions;
        • Multi-sensory impairment;
        • Visual and hearing impairment;
        • Physical disability.
    • What should I do if I think my child may have Special Educational Needs?

      If you are worried or concerned about your child, please contact your child’s class teacher. Your child’s class teacher knows your child well and will be able to talk to you about what support your child already receives and suggest ways to enhance your child’s learning and development. The class teacher will also contact you if they are concerned about your child’s behaviour, emotional well-being, social development, academic progress or anything else.

      Depending on the outcomes of these initial conversations you may then have a follow up meeting with one our school SENDCos, Lauren Cleaves (mainstream) or Clare Cook (ELP). You can do this via the school office (by phone 020 8657 8454 or via email at admin@courtwood.org.uk).

    • How does the school identify which children need extra help or might have a Special Educational Need?

      A concern about a child’s development may be raised by a parent/carer, member of staff, the child themselves, or an external agency. This could be where a child has a difficulty that is impacting on their ability to make expected progress academically, socially, behaviourally, physically or emotionally. Teachers meet regularly to discuss individual pupils, raising concerns and to celebrate successes. The SENDCo and external agencies (further information below) use a variety of assessments to identify and to diagnose a range of differing needs.

      Courtwood works with a range of different agencies that can best advise on the needs and development of children in our school.

      These include:

      • Speech and language therapists and assistants
      • Occupational therapists
      • Physiotherapists
      • Educational psychologists
      • School nurses
      • Paediatricians
      • CAMHS
      • Social care team – social workers
      • Early Help
      • Behavioural support
      • Outreach by specialist educational settings
      • Croydon Sensory Support Services to support pupils with hearing/visual impairment
      • Inclusion Team
      • Child Protection Advisors
    • Who is responsible for supporting my child?

      The class teacher is responsible for:

      Providing Quality First Teaching by:

      • Planning and delivering a challenging and differentiated curriculum which ensures the progress of all children;
      • Using prior knowledge as a starting point for learning;
      • Adapting teaching strategies and techniques to sensitively meet the needs of all learners;
      • Monitoring progress;
      • Creating a classroom environment where all children understand expectations and know where to find support;
      • Creating a classroom atmosphere which encourages and values the contributions of all children;
      • Supporting the identification, planning and provision for children needing extra support;
      • Writing Individual Education Plans (IEPs), sharing and then reviewing these with parents at least once each term and planning for the next term.
      • Implementing advice from outside agencies to support the learning and progress for identified children;
      • Keeping parents/carers informed about a child’s targets and progress against these targets regularly;
      • Taking into account parent/carer views and those of each child;
      • Ensuring that the school’s SEND Policy is followed in their classroom and for all the pupils they teach with any SEND.

      Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinators (SENDCo) are Lauren Cleaves (mainstream) and Clare Cook (ELP) and they are responsible for:

      Developing, alongside the Principal and Governors, the strategic development of SEND provision within the school by:

      • Creating an overview of the needs of all children across the school;
      • Personalising provision to the needs of an individual child with SEND.
      • Monitoring the progress of all children across the school in collaboration with the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) including the LAC (Looked After Children);
      • Regularly reviewing the impact of provision against children’s outcomes;
      • Working in partnership with children and parents/carers to improve outcomes;
      • Liaising with a range of agencies and outside professionals who can offer advice and support to help children overcome any difficulties;
      • Providing advice and facilitating training to ensure that all staff are skilled and confident about meeting a range of needs;
      • Reporting regularly to Governors and meet with the SEND Governor (see below);
      • Provide specialist advice and CPD for school staff to meet the needs of children with SEND

      Ensuring that parents/carers are:

      • Involved in supporting their child’s learning and access;
      • Kept informed about the range and level of support offered to their child;
      • Included in reviewing how their child is doing;
      • Consulted about planning successful movement (transition) to a new class or school;

      The Principal Natasha Grant is responsible for:

      • The day to day management of all aspects of the school including the provision made for children with SEN and/or disability and the LAC (Looked After Children);
      • Employment and allocation of all teaching staff throughout the school;
      • Ensuring the school complies with all statutory requirements

      The SEND Governor Councillor Andy Stranack is responsible for:

      • Supporting the school to develop the quality and evaluate the impact of provision for children with SEN and/or disability.
  • How is my child’s progress monitored and tracked?

    Staff continually assess children’s learning through observations as children learn, through discussions with a child and assessing completed learning outcomes. Staff formally assess children’s progress in the curriculum termly and this data is analysed by the leadership team.

    When monitoring emotional development, staff observe children’s behaviours, and have discussions with children, parents/ carers and other staff members. The Boxall profile is also used as a more formal assessment tool.

  • How will I know how well my child is progressing at school and how to support them?

    We regularly share progress feedback with all our learners and their families. We hold 2 parent formal parent consultations each year and a drop in at the end of the summer term following the children’s annual reports. It may be appropriate to hold further meetings during the year with the family, parents and outside agencies. We share what can be done by families at home to support the learning at school and our open-door policy gives parents the opportunity to speak to school staff informally throughout the year.

  • What support for is in place for children with Special Educational Needs?

    We have high expectations for all children with SEND and class teachers will plan for the needs of the children in their class. If a child is identified as having SEND, we will provide support that is ‘additional to’ or ‘different from the differentiated approaches and learning arrangements normally provided as part of high quality, personalised teaching’. Children are supported in a range of different ways, focussing on children’s development in speaking and listening, reading, writing, maths, fine and gross motor skills, social communication, emotional development, play skills and behavioural support. This support would be set out in the school’s Class Provision Map and could include:

    • Quality first teaching within the classroom
    • Small group interventions in and out of the classroom
    • Individual support/interventions in and out of the classroom
    • Pre-Teach sessions and Precision Teaching
    • The use of specialist equipment (including pencil grips or writing slopes)
    • The use of targeted resources
    • Speech and Language
    • Specified individual support – This is usually provided via an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) or through SEND Locality Support for individual children whose needs identified as being severe, complex and lifelong.

    Social, Emotional and Behaviour Support

    • Social skills groups
    • ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support)
    • Drawing and Talking
    • Sunny Breakfast
    • Young Carers
    • Play Therapist

    The extra support will be carried out by class teachers and teaching assistants. On occasions, this extra support may also be carried out by counsellors and therapists.

  • How skilled are staff in supporting the needs of children with Special Educational Needs?

    Courtwood is committed to ensuring staff have the appropriate skills to support our children. The SENDCo ensures our staff are updated on all matters pertaining to special educational needs and disability. Staff also undertake training where possible specific to individual needs. Recent training includes, but is not limited to:

    • supporting pupils on the autistic spectrum
    • supporting children with specific learning difficulties impacting on their reading, writing and maths learning
    • supporting pupils with social and emotional needs, including attachment theory
    • bereavement and supporting siblings with SEND
    • supporting pupils with speech and language difficulties
    • supporting children with specific identified disorders
    • how to handle a child in a positive way

    The SENDCo meets regularly with other SENDCO’s and attends training from the local authority termly.

  • How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips?

    As an inclusive school, we involve all our children in all aspects of the curriculum, including activities outside the classroom. Where there are concerns of safety and access, further thought and consideration is put in place to ensure needs are met and parents/carers are consulted and involved in planning. If it is deemed that an intensive level of 1:1 support is required, a parent or carer may be asked to accompany their child during the activity.

  • How does Courtwood support children moving to another year group or different school?

    For some children a more specialist setting may be more appropriate to meet their needs. If a child is moving to another primary, a specialist setting or onto secondary school and has significant additional needs an individualised programme will be developed, considering the most successful way to meet the child’s needs upon transition.

    When children move between year groups, we ensure information is passed in advance to the new teacher and that a transition meeting is held between staff. If your child would benefit from a transition book to support them in understanding the move then this will be made for them.

  • How does Courtwood support children with medical needs?

    Courtwood works closely with medical professionals and families to meet individual children’s medical needs. We liaise with families and medical professionals to design personalised medical care plans. Children with ongoing medical conditions such as asthma and allergies have their medicine readily available when required. Staff are trained in the use of epi-pens and more specific training is requested when needed.

  • How accessible is the school environment?

    As a school we are happy to discuss individual access requirements. Some pupils may require specific arrangements within their classroom; they may need a particular type of chair or table, wider aisles for mobility, a writing slope, cushion, footstool or pencil grip. We work closely with external agencies and professionals as well as with parents to ensure that we meet the needs of individuals. More information can be found in our Equality Objective and access plan.

  • How does Courtwood record a child identified with special educational needs?

    The SENDCo keeps a SEN Register which is a list of all children who have been identified with special educational needs. Individuals whose individual support is additional to usual classroom differentiation may have their needs recorded and monitored through an Individual Education Plan.

    This will take into account your child’s strengths as well as areas of difficulties and will identify ways in which you can help your child at home. Identified additional provision will then be carried out until the next review. These IEPs will be reviewed each term and you will be invited to discuss this at parent’s evening or a separate meeting. You and your child will be invited to contribute to reviewing your child’s progress against the IEP.

    This forms part of the Plan, Do, Review cycle:

    Plan:

    This stage identifies the barriers to learning, intended outcomes, and details what additional support will be provided to help overcome the barriers. Decisions will be recorded on the Class Provision Map or your child’s Individual Education Plan.

    Do:

    This involves providing the support or resources detailed in the plan.

    Review

    Together the child, parents or carer, teacher and SENDCO review the impact of the support. This then informs the next cycle, if necessary, considering whether changes to support need to made.

    In some cases, it may be necessary to increase or change the nature and level of support to help your child make progress. This may involve seeking help and advice from a range of specialist agencies such as the Educational Psychologist or Speech and Language Service or to the ‘Locality SEND Support’ panel. A referral for support from an outside agency will only be made with your consent.

    If your child is identified as requiring a particularly high level of individual or small group teaching, which can not be provided from the school budget or through ‘Locality SEND Support’, the school may ask for your consent to apply to the Local Authority for statutory assessment of your child’s needs. If the Local Authority assess your child’s needs as being severe, complex and long term they may be provided with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This plan outlines the number of hours of individual/small group support your child will receive paid for by the Local Authority and the targets they should be working towards. The school will decide how best to allocate this time to maximise learning opportunities for your child. This will be fully explained, and your input will be valued.

    Children who have a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will also have an additional annual review of their progress, which involves all both the children and adults involved in the child’s education.

  • As a parent of a child with Special Education Needs where can I go for support?

  • What do I if I think my child is being bullied?

    • In the first incidence please discuss this with your child’s class teacher.
    • Contact the SENCO or Head Teacher if you remain concerned.
  • SEND Complaints

    If you have any concerns regarding your child with SEND, complaints can be made to the Principal, Mrs Grant or the Deputy Principal, Mr Howland in writing via email at admin@courtwood.org.uk. Please mark any emails private and confidential.

    More information can be found in our Complaints Procedure. You can also contact the Principal via the school office.

    If you are still unhappy with the way your concerns are being addressed you should contact the SEND Governor in writing to:

    The Chair of Governors
    Courtwood Primary School
    Courtwood Lane
    Croydon
    CR0 9HX