At Freshford, inclusion means a commitment to ensuring that every child regardless of background, ability, identity or circumstance is valued, respected and nurtured to flourish. In our community, differences are accepted as a natural part of life and all children feel a true sense of belonging. Our bespoke Big Question curriculum is designed so that children learn deeply, widely and creatively. Through this rich and challenging curriculum we create an environment where every child is seen, heard, valued for who they are and supported to thrive. Our core values of ‘Care’ ‘Believe you can’ and ‘Cheer each other on’ help support and develop a culture of empathy and compassion.
Inclusion is the golden thread that weaves through our practice – what is good for some is often good for everyone. Examples include; 5 minute movement breaks for all every 25 minutes, a soft start to the day for all, visual timetables for all and Colour Monster wellbeing support throughout the school.
Our inclusive practices are rooted in compassion, relationship and shared child & parent voice. The learning environment is intentionally designed to be welcoming, respectful and sensory sensitive. Strong relationships enable all pupils to engage meaningfully and benefit from high quality teaching and a curriculum that is inclusive by design.
If you are interested in our school and would like to discuss SEN and Inclusion further, please contact our SENCo (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) Tina Joyce.
What is SEND?
SEN or SEND stands for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. All children have different learning needs and different abilities. There is a wide breadth of SEND needs and we work hard to ensure we support every child to thrive. The SEN Code of Practice states that ‘a child has SEN where their learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision, namely provision different from or additional to that normally available to children of the same age’.
Four key areas of SEND
- Cognition and Learning (e.g. difficulties with reading, writing or maths)
- Communication and Interaction (e.g. they have processing issues, find it hard to focus, find it hard to socialise)
- Social, Emotional and Mental Health (e.g. they seem very anxious, withdrawn or angry)
- Sensory and/or Physical Needs (e.g. balance and coordination, gross and fine motor skills, physical disabilities)
The process we use to support all children
Quality first teaching
Quality First Teaching (QFT) is a style of teaching that focuses on high quality and inclusive teaching for every child in a classroom. Quality First Teaching relies on a variety of learning strategies in order to be effective, like differentiated learning and the use of SEND resources. In short, QFT is an approach that highlights the need for a personalised learning experience and encourages greater inclusion of children with SEND needs.
Stage 1 – Universal provision
All children at Freshford Church School are provided with quality first teaching in an inclusive classroom that is differentiated to meet the diverse needs of all learners. This whole school approach of continually assessing, planning and reviewing teaching to allow every child to achieve their full potential is the starting point for identifying whether a child requires ‘additional or different’ teaching provision and what kind of provision is needed.
Stage 2 – Early intervention support
If a child, despite quality first teaching is still not making expected progress, extra support will be put in place eg small group pre/post-teaching, extra 1:1 reading sessions, adaptions to the classroom environment, evidence based interventions such as ELSA, Phonic programmes etc. This intervention is recorded and reviewed on the AP (Assessment point) progress document.
Stage 3 – Targeted, intensive additional support
If progress is still not being made we may involve external agencies eg educational psychologist, speech and language to assess the child. An IEP (individual education plan) will also be drawn up to set and review specific targets. This support will arise from and continue to follow a four part cycle, known as the graduated approach, through which earlier decisions and actions are revisited, refined and revised, leading to a growing understanding of the child’s needs and of what supports the child in making good progress and securing good outcomes, as described below:
Assess: Data on the child held by the school will be collated in order to make an accurate assessment of the child’s needs. Parents will be invited to contribute to this early discussion to support the identification of action to improve outcomes.
Plan: If review of the action taken indicates that ‘different from or additional to’ support will be required, the appropriate evidence-based interventions will be identified, recorded and implemented by the class teacher with advice from the SENCo.
Do: This additional support will be recorded on an IEP that will identify a clear set of expectations, which will include stretching and relevant academic and developmental targets. Parents and the child will also be consulted on the action they can take to support attainment of the desired outcomes. This will be recorded and a date made for reviewing attainment.
Review: Progress towards these outcomes will be tracked and reviewed by the teachers three times a year for those at Stage 3 on the school’s SEN Record of Need and six times a year for those at Stage 4 on the school’s SEN Record of Need. In addition to these IEP reviews, there are child progress meetings three times per year between the Head teacher and the class teacher where all children’s progress is reviewed.
If the assessment from an external specialist such as an Educational Psychologist, Speech and Language Therapist or Occupational Therapist indicates a specific need and/or diagnosis they will also provide an IEP to be worked on in school. If outside agencies are used, the school will always ask parents’ permission before making a referral and any recommendations for changes to the way a child is supported to learn will be discussed with parents.
Stage 4 – EHCP
For a very small percentage of children, whose needs are significant, complex and long term and the support required to meet their needs cannot be provided from within the school’s own resources, through Quality First Teaching or additional provision, a request will be made to the local authority to conduct an assessment of education, health and care needs. This may result in an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and extra funding being provided.
If your child is added to the school’s SEN Record of Need at Stage 1, 2 or 3, please note that this does not come with extra funding for the child. Being included in the school’s Record of Need means that we can monitor and review more closely what additional support might be needed.
The SEN Code of Practice states that ‘a pupil has SEN where their learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision, namely provision different from or additional to that normally available to pupils of the same age’. We are first looking at whether the child has a ‘learning difficulty or disability’. This does not mean that every child who struggles with learning their phonics or takes longer to learn to read or hold a pencil or catch a ball has SEN. All children learn at their own pace and at Freshford we give them time and space to develop in their own time. Some children will however be diagnosed with a learning difficulty or disability.
Secondly, we look at whether the provision needs to be ‘different from or additional to that normally available to pupils of the same age’. Again, this does not mean that if your child has some extra reading sessions with a TA, or different resources in a maths lessons or different spelling homework that they have SEN. Those things are all part of Quality First Teaching.