SEN Information
On this page you will find useful information related to the provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs and the support offered by Sir John Lillie Primary School.
SENCo - Victoria Hall
Please contact the school office on 0207 385 2107.
SEN Information Report
Link to Hammersmith and Fulham SEND Local Offer - Information on local services and support for children and young people (0 to 25) with special educational needs and disabilities, and their families.
Who are the best people to talk to at Sir John Lillie Primary school about my child’s difficulties with learning, special educational needs or disability?
- Talk to your child’s class teacher about your concerns initially.
- It is likely that the class teacher will have discussed your concerns with Ms Hall, the school SENCo & Inclusion Manager. You may wish to arrange a meeting with the Ms Hall to discuss your concerns further.
- If outside agencies are involved the school can arrange for you to attend a meeting to discuss your concerns with outside professionals.
How will the school let me know if they have any concerns about my child’s learning, special educational need or disability?
- Your child’s class teacher may initially speak to you at the beginning or the end of a normal school day and arrange a further time to discuss the concerns.
- The class teacher may also talk to you about any issues at a parent teacher consultation meeting. It is essential you attend parent teacher consultations as this is where you will find out more information about your child’s SEN, strategies, interventions and ideas for supporting at home.
- The SENCo may contact you and arrange a meeting to discuss your child’s difficulties with learning and any possible support strategies the school might be considering.
- To identify special educational needs we would complete an analysis of the pupil’s need. This will draw upon the teacher’s assessment, previous progress and attainment, as well as current assessment about behaviour and social emotional development.
- We adopt a graduated approach and follow the: assess, plan, do, review model. Pupils are continually and rigorously assessed against the National Curriculum and data collected termly to ensure they are progressing well towards the end of year targets. We aim for every child to make good or better progress with high expectations for all regardless of ability or need. Our tracking systems and data collection help us to identify at an early stage those children who are not meeting expectations so support can be given.
How will the school consider my views and those of my child with regard to his/her difficulties with learning, special educational need or disability?
- At Sir John Lillie Primary School we believe it is very important for parents/carers to be involved in all areas of their child’s learning and we actively encourage discussions. We believe, where appropriate, that it is essential to understand your child’s views on any difficulties they may experience with their learning.
- We have an open door policy and all teachers are available at the end of the school day or appointments can be made at a mutually convenient time.
- You will be able to share your views and discuss your child’s progress at regular meetings with the class teacher and during parent consultations.
- If your child has an identified special educational need you will be encouraged to attend termly meetings with the class teacher during parent consultations to discuss current progress, support strategies being used and expected outcomes. The SENCo is always available to discuss your child’s needs. If you would like a meeting with the SENCo please call and arrange an appointment time.
- If your child has an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) you and your child will also be able to share your views at the Annual Review meeting.
- If outside agencies are involved, you may be invited to a review meeting to discuss your views.
- Parents are also invited to contribute their opinions through parent questionnaires.
- Children are spoken to about their learning in class, during interventions and through the CLT (Children’s leadership team).
- In some cases, a one-page profile will be completed which contains information about your child and their needs.
- Children also complete pupil questionnaires and interviews where they can share their views.
How does Sir John Lillie Primary school ensure the teaching staff are appropriately trained to support my child’s special educational needs and/or disability?
- We regularly review the school training schedule and professional development for all teaching and support staff to ensure there is the appropriate expertise to support children with special educational needs.
- The school is able to access training programmes from a range of different organisations to provide tailored support for a range of needs.
- Individual training can also be arranged when necessary e.g. from the behaviour support team.
- We liaise with outside agencies/professionals such as Speech and Language Therapists, Educational Psychologists, Behaviour Support Specialists and Queensmill Outreach Service. These agencies will provide training and support to the school and share their expertise with school staff.
- The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator has completed the National Award for Special Educational Needs and is an experienced teacher and member of the senior leadership team.
How will the curriculum and the school environment be matched to my child’s needs?
- At Sir John Lillie Primary School we believe that your child’s learning needs will first be met through the high quality first teaching delivered by her/his class teacher.
- We carefully plan our curriculum to match the age, ability and needs of all children.
- The class teacher will adapt lesson planning and teaching to match your child’s special educational needs and/or disability.
- It may be appropriate to adopt different strategies or resources and adapt outcomes to meet your child’s learning needs.
- Additional specialist advice is sought when appropriate and, when necessary, accessibility aids and technology may be used to support your child’s learning.
- Sir John Lillie Primary School regularly reviews the Accessibility Plan to ensure that all children have the fullest access to the curriculum and the school site as possible.
- For children with medical conditions, medicines that are given by the GP are stored in the school office and administered in line with the child’s health care plan and the schools’ guidelines.
- Health Care Plans are drawn up to ensure that medical conditions are considered and appropriate accommodation made across the curriculum.
What types of support may be suitable and available for my child?
This really depends upon the nature of your child’s needs and difficulties with learning. But our education provisions will match the needs of the four broad areas of need as defined in the SEN Code of Practice 2014;
- Communication and interaction
- Cognition and Learning
- Social, emotional and mental health
- Sensory and/or physical needs
- At Sir John Lillie Primary School, we have a 3 tiered approach to supporting a child’s learning.
Universal – this is the quality first teaching your child will receive from her/his class teacher and may include some very minor adaptations to match learning needs. Teachers will differentiate tasks and outcomes to match learning to meet your child’s needs. This may also include a support member of staff in the classroom to support pupils with SEN.
Targeted - it may be appropriate to consider making additional short term special educational provision to remove or reduce any obstacles to your child’s learning. This takes the form of a graduated four-part approach of
a) assessing your child’s needs
b) planning the most effective and appropriate intervention
c) providing this intervention
d) reviewing the impact on your child’s progress towards individual learning outcomes.
- This will usually be in the form of interventions which are robustly monitored. All interventions have outcomes and take place for set periods of time. These are closely monitored to ensure they are highly effective and are ensuring the children are making good or better progress. If progress is not sufficient then a different type of provision may be provided.
- Specialist – it may be necessary to seek specialist advice and regular long term support from a specialist professional outside the school in order to plan for the best possible learning outcomes for your child. This may include educational psychology, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, sensory advisory teachers and the child development service. The school may need to prioritise referrals to these services. However, for a very small number of pupils’ access to these specialists may be through an education health care plan.
How will you support my child to reach his/her learning goals?
- The class teacher and other staff working with your child ensure that your child receives appropriate teaching and support in order to reach these goals. The learning plan, strategies and progress will be reviewed termly. Progress is very closely monitored.
- Your child may receive extra intervention and outcome targets. Targets are set and reviewed termly or when required.
- External agencies and specialists may also review your child’s progress and adapt their planning accordingly.
- The class teacher will ensure your child receives appropriate resources and work that is closely matched to your child’s ability.
What is an EHC Plan and who can request one for my child?
The purpose of an EHC Plan is to make special education provision to meet the special educational needs of a child or young person, to secure improved outcomes for him/her across education, health and social care and, as he/she gets older in preparation for adulthood. An EHC Plan will contain;
- the views and aspirations of you and your child,
- a full description of his/her special educational needs and any health and social care needs,
- establish outcomes for your child’s progress,
- specify the provision required and how education, health and social care will work together to meet your child’s needs and support the achievement of the agreed outcomes.
You, your child (where appropriate and aged 16 and over) and/or the school, usually the SENCo or Head Teacher, can request that the local authority conduct an assessment of your child’s needs. This may lead to an EHC Plan.
EHC Plans are usually only considered by the local authority in cases where the special educational need is severe.
How will you help me to support my child’s learning?
- There may be suggested strategies or activities for you to do at home to support your child’s learning. This may be provided through homework. There is also information in your child’s reading record diary. You can also access the school’s website for learning activities, videos to support and educational games. We also provide talks, open mornings, pamphlets and newsletters.
- We also run parent/carer workshops and talks to help you understand the strategies used in school. In addition, we may be able to offer you individual training in specific support strategies relevant to your child.
- The SENCo/class teacher would like to support you with strategies, resources and ideas for supporting your child’s learning at home. If you would like this support, please arrange an appointment to discuss home learning with the class teacher or SENCO.
- You may also have an opportunity to meet with other professionals involved in supporting your child.
How is support allocated to children and how do they move between the different levels of support in school?
- Sir John Lillie Primary School receives funding from the Education Funding Agency and/or the local authority. These funds include money to support the learning of children with SEN and/or disabilities.
- The Head Teacher, in consultation with the school Governors, decides how the budget allocated by the Local Authority for SEN provision is spent, on the basis of the needs of the children in the school.
- The Head teacher and the SENCo discuss what provision is required, effectiveness of the school’s current interventions and provisions and prioritise an action plan, which may include additional or alternative interventions, staff training and equipment needs.
- Unfortunately, the budget does not always cover the cost of all interventions required so the school needs to prioritise.
- The interventions and resources for children with special educational needs are identified through careful monitoring of progress, to ensure we offer value for money.
- This process is reviewed regularly to ensure the best possible intervention is provided to those children who require additional support to learn.
How will the school know that the support has made a difference to my child’s learning and how can I and my child be included in this review process?
- Your child’s progress will be assessed both in terms of his/her regular learning within the class and with regard to specific intervention programmes. This is very closely monitored to ensure rapid progress.
- The impact of the support given is carefully measured to ensure that the learning outcomes have been achieved and if not, what adaptations are necessary. It may be decided that a further period of support would be beneficial for your child.
- The SENCo and SLT carry out learning walks and observations of all SEN provision to ensure it is highly effective and this helps maintaining standards through rigorous quality assurance.
- Staff review the impact of the intervention and the SENCo reports this to SLT.
- You and your child will be kept informed and encouraged to be actively involved at all stages of this support. Your child will see how well they are progressing against their targets. This can be discussed with the class teacher at parent’s consultations or at the end of the school day or with the SENCo as required.
What support will there be for my child’s happiness and well being at Sir John Lillie Primary school?
- At Sir John Lillie Primary School we believe that the happiness and well being of all our pupils is paramount. All members of staff take this aspect of school life very seriously and we provide a friendly and nurturing environment.
- All children know they can talk to any member of staff should they need to.
- Designated members of staff are trained to support medical needs.
- We robustly monitor attendance and take the necessary actions to prevent prolonged unauthorised absence, including involving the welfare and attendance officer at an early stage.
- You can be confident that your child’s class teacher, the teaching assistants, Welfare Mentor and the SENCo are available to provide support to match your child’s needs.
- The school have implemented a personal, social and emotional programme to support well-being (please see policy and curriculum map).
- We provide PSED interventions and social skills groups. We seek advice from outside agencies such as child and mental health services as well as provide social skills and lunch time nurture groups.
- You should also feel free to contact your child’s class teacher if you have any concerns.
- We have links with a wide range of services who can support the school when required.
How is my child included in all the same activities as his/her peers at school?
- Sir John Lillie Primary School is an inclusive school and committed to providing equal opportunities for all children.
- School clubs, educational visits and residential trips are available to all children to access with appropriate support.
- When necessary the school will make reasonable adjustments to ensure that children with SEN and/or disabilities are included in all activities where possible and safe.
- You should also feel free to contact your child’s class teacher if you have any concerns.
How will Sir John Lillie Primary school support my child in transition stages?
- We liaise closely with the school or nursery your child is transferring from. We also provide optional home visits before children attend Nursery or Reception. We are able to discuss with the relevant teachers any individual needs and how best to support your child in school.
- At the end of the academic year, time is given to ensure teachers meet each other to share information. We ensure a transition time is allocated where children can meet their new teacher and staff who will be supporting them.
- While at Sir John Lillie Primary School we take care to ensure that during transition points (between classes each year and at the end of Key Stages) all staff are aware of individual pupils needs, learning progress and best support strategies.
- Sir John Lillie Primary School makes arrangements to ensure there is a smooth transition when your child transfers to his/her secondary school of choice. We arrange visits and transition meetings.
- If your child has an EHC Plan, we will participate and/or facilitate its review in sufficient time prior to him/her moving between key phases of education. You will be kept informed of these arrangements and asked to attend the reviews.
- Parents are invited to attend welcome meetings and visits.
Who can I contact if I have a complaint about the SEN provision made for my child?
- Initially speak with your child’s class teacher.
- You will also be able to arrange a meeting with the SENCo.
- If the matter can’t be resolved, you can arrange to meet with the Head Teacher.
- The complaints procedure can be found on the school’s website and in the complaints policy.
If I have any other questions about my child at Sir John Lillie Primary school, who can I ask?
At Sir John Lillie Primary School, we are very happy to speak to you about any aspects of your child’s education. It is best to speak to one of the following in this order;
- The class teacher
- The SENCo/Deputy Head Teacher
- A member of SLT
- The Head Teacher