SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities)

SEND and Inclusion Information Report 
Hemingford Grey Primary School Offer 
 
This report is reviewed and updated by the SENDCo annually
 
Reviewed and Approved by the FGB Nov 2023
 
A very warm welcome from the team responsible for supporting children with special educational and social and emotional needs.
 

At Hemingford Grey Primary we are dedicated to being an inclusive school; to make all our children feel welcome and happy. Every child is different, and we celebrate this. We are highly committed to creating a stimulating learning experience that is inclusive of all children. We want every child to reach their full potential and emerge from school with a life-long love of learning.

We strive to provide support to ensure that ALL children make good progress at their level. In order to do this we provide quality first teaching and make reasonable adaptations for individual needs whilst working with an inclusive environment and ethos. Where a child has a Special Educational Need, we also strive to provide an early identification and response to the need, involve the child and family in the planning, doing and reviewing of the support the child requires, short term intervention programmes and medium- or long-term intervention to address specific needs. 

Mrs Michelle Parker

Inclusion Lead/SENCo

mparker@hemingfordgrey.cambs.sch.uk

Mrs Laura Taylor

Pastoral Support Worker

pastoral@hemingfordgrey.cambs.sch.uk

What is Special Educational Needs & Disability (SEND)?
 
Children, at some time in their school career, may have special educational needs of some kind. The difficulties a child may experience can vary and may occur in a number of areas. Some children will need help and support all the time that they are at school, while other children may only need help for a short time.
 
The broad areas of SEND are:
  • Communication and Interaction
  • Cognition and Learning
  • Social, Emotional and Mental Health
  • Sensory and Physical Needs

Children will receive different levels of support depending on their individual needs. There is a graduated response to the support a child may receive. For more information on the support a child in school may receive according to their level of need please see the school provision map attached to this page. 

Levels of Support
Step 1
 
All children are provided with the opportunity to make good progress by making reasonable adaptations to the curriculum, considering different needs and abilities. Adaptations to children’s learning is normal practice within a classroom and some children require changes to be made to the support, strategies and materials.  At the heart of this is ‘Quality First Teaching’ and we expect every child to achieve the learning outcome although the journey might be slightly different. Adaptations to children’s learning allows there to be a cohesive focus at the heart of lessons, enabling all children to learn and achieve.
 
Step 2
 
At times it may be identified that children are not making the progress expected for a variety of reasons. If this happens, we will offer ‘targeted support’ which is often in the form of an intervention led by an adult for a specific length of time. It could also be in the form of specific resources that a child is given to use or provision that is changed or put in place to support them.  The results of these interventions are carefully monitored to ensure that progress is being made. This is all part of normal classroom practice, and everything is recorded on our ‘Provision Map’ which helps us to monitor provision in place for children and how successful it is. If the intervention works, then the child will close the gap and return to making progress. If, despite adaptations to learning, interventions and targeted support, progress is still limited, then we move to the next level of support.  It may be necessary at this level to carry out some more specific in school assessment with children to identify any gaps in understanding or specific difficulties the child may be having with learning.
 
Step 3 - Special Educational Need

This is what we call the support given to a child who needs highly personalised support or a heavily adapted curriculum. This could be because of profound and sustained learning difficulties, social emotional and mental health issues or a disability. The child will have a pupil passport with very specific short-term targets that are set and reviewed regularly with the child, if possible, and certainly with the parents. It may also be a record of all of the provision that needs to be in place for the child in order to be successful. We value the views of parents and children when writing the plans and will talk to you about how you can help support your child at home. We also record the fact that the child has additional needs on our ‘Special Educational Needs and Disability Register’.

Within this step there are 3 levels of support:

School Based Support

This is where all of the support, adaptations, advice, tracking, resources, provision etc. are provided by the school. The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENDCo)/Inclusion lead Mrs Michelle Parker will be actively involved in supporting the class teacher and providing advice.

School Based Support Plus

The school will ask for outside agencies to help assess, advise staff and structure a programme of support for the child which will then be delivered by the school. This could include Educational Psychologists, Specialist Support Teachers, Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Education Inclusion Family workers, the Emotional health and wellbeing team, Younited and Children and adolescent mental health (CAMH) etc. Outside agencies may also work with the child occasionally. Permission would be sought, and parents will be fully involved in any decisions to consult and involve the additional professionals listed above. 

Education and Healthcare Plan (EHCP)

A very small number of children have needs that require significant and sustained advice and support from outside agencies, as well as needing a very high level of additional support in school. In these cases, the school in partnership with parents will apply for a Statutory Assessment and if the county panel agree that the needs meet their threshold, they will issue an Education and Healthcare Plan.  An EHCP remains with a child for the whole of their journey in education and is reviewed by professionals and parents on an annual basis.

 
Questions we are often asked...
 
What do I do if I think my child has special educational needs?
Every teacher has the responsibility for all children within their class, including those with SEND. If you have any concerns regarding your child’s progress or well-being, whether they have a SEND or not, please speak to your child’s class teacher initially. After discussion with the class teacher you and/or the class teacher can discuss your concerns with the SENDCO – Mrs Michelle Parker:mparker@hemingfordgrey.cambs.sch.uk  Your concerns will always be taken seriously, and your views are important to us.
What support do you have at Hemingford Grey as a parent/carer of a child with SEND needs?
The class teacher is regularly available to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns you may have and to share information about what is working well at home and school, so similar strategies can be used. Mrs Parker the SENDCO is also available to meet with you to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns you may have about them and can be contacted on mparker@hemingfordgrey.cambs.sch.uk  Any Information or advice from external professionals concerning your child will be discussed with you in person and you will be offered copies of any reports written by them. Your child’s Pupil Passport will be shared and reviewed with you every half term.   Homework may be adjusted as required to suit your child’s individual needs. A home/school contact book may be used to support communication with you when this has been agreed to be useful for you and your child and the class teacher. We are also able to help signpost to other agencies outside of school that can support parents whose children have been identified as SEND. Please see a list of further contacts that might be useful to parents at the very end of this document as well as the services that can be accessed through and more information about our ‘local offer’. 
 
What support will there be for my child's wellbeing?

The Emotional Health and Wellbeing of all our pupils is very important to us at Hemingford Grey. It is at the forefront of our thinking. Support we may be able to provide in school may include:

  • Lunchtime and playtime support through planned activities and groups
  • Sensory Circuits groups
  • Social skills and friendship support groups
  • Support from our school pastoral support worker on a 1:1 or small group basis
  • Giving pupils a ‘voice’ – Representing pupils’ views through regular pupil voice gathering throughout the school and through members of the ‘champions of change’
  • Personalised behaviour programmes  

The SENDCO may also be able to refer Children and their families to external agencies that will be able to support emotional wellbeing such as Early intervention Family workers, The Emotional health and Wellbeing team, YOUNITED and CAMH.

There are nominated first aiders at school including those with paediatric first aid qualifications. If your child has significant medical needs we will arrange a meeting to discuss your child’s needs and how we can support them in school. We may need to draw up a Health Care Plan. All children in school that have a specific medical condition that may require medication will have a medical care plan that is reviewed on a yearly basis.  We also have two qualified mental health first aiders in school and a mental health champion.

How will you support my child when they move classes or schools?

Admission to the school

We welcome all children at Hemingford. The school’s admission arrangements are made in accordance with the School Admissions Code, which ensures that school places are allocated in an open and fair way. Therefore, any child with disability or SEND will not be discriminated against in any way.  

Moving through the school

Staff in the school, work very closely together. In the summer term before your child changes class all children will visit their new year group and meet their new teacher, your child’s current class teacher will discuss your child’s needs with the new teacher and if needed a meeting with both teachers, the parents and the SENDCo can be arranged. Any children who need additional support with transition will have more opportunities to become familiar with the new classroom environment and class teacher and individual transition arrangements can be made to help support children with specific needs.

Moving to secondary school. We work very closely with local Secondary schools to ensure that the transition for your child is as smooth as possible. Alongside all the usual transition meetings and visits if needed the following support will also take place. Extra visits in the summer term to meet some of their new teachers, children with additional needs may be part of a transition group to help support their transition – this will be planned between the staff at both schools, teachers and SENDCO will meet with staff at secondary school to talk through children with additional needs.

A Message from the SENDCO 

My job as SENDCo (Special Needs and Disabilty Co-ordinator) and Inclusion manager at Hemingford Grey Primary School is to work with you, your child, your child’s class teacher and sometimes specialists to help ensure that your child, regardless of their specific needs, makes the best possible progress in school. Sometimes, some children need something a little bit extra on top of the high quality teaching every child receives, or maybe they need to approach learning in a different way. I am really passionate about supporting children that do not always find learning or aspects of school easy.  

 

 

I hope that you have found all the information on this page useful however If you are worried about your child, for any reason please contact me using the following email address: mparker@hemingfordgrey.cambs.sch.uk  I am currently in school every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and every other Tuesday but can be contacted by email from Monday-Friday. 

Michelle Parker

 
What provision may be available for a child with SEND Needs at Hemingford Grey?
 
Please find below our provision map for your information:

Other Organisations that can offer support to parents of a child with SEND

  • Parent Partnership Service The parent Partnership Service providing 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 may have special educational needs. Tel: 01223 699214
 
  • SENDIASS - SEND Information, Advice and Support (SENDIASS), Cambridgeshire County Council, SH1212, Shire Hall, Cambridge CB3 0AP Email: sendiass@cambridgeshire.gov.uk Confidential helpline open during term times: 01223 699 214
 
  • Pinpoint An independent information, support and involvement network in Cambridgeshire run by parents for parents, giving you the chance to meet with parents and share experiences and knowledge. Tel: 01480 877333  Email: information@pinpoint-cambs.org.uk
 
  • SEND services For questions and information relating to your child’s Education and Health Care Plan Contact the SEND Service (0-25), Huntingdonshire area, Huntingdon, St Ives, Ramsey, Sawtry, Yaxley and St Neots, Email: hunts.s4ladmin@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
 
  • St Ives Children’s Centre Children’s Centres offer the chance for families with children aged 0 to 5 to have fun, play, learn and grow together. Mums, dads, carers and parents-to-be can access the information, support and services they need. Address: Wheatfields Primary, Wheatfields, St Ives, PE27 3WF Tel: 07776 494100 Email: huntingdonandstiveschildrenscentrecluster@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

What is the Local Offer?

All local authorities working with their partners must publish information about how children and young people 0 - 25 who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported in their area. This is known as the local offer. The local offer includes information on:

  • Universal services that are available to everyone, such as schools and GPs, (universal services)
  • Targeted support and services for children and young people who may need some additional, short term support
  • Specialist services for children and young people who have complex needs and need longer term specialised support
 
All information about the Cambridgeshire Local Offer can be found at: Cambridgeshire Information Hub

If you are not happy with the SEND provision at the school, please contact the class teacher, SENDCo or the Headteacher to share your concerns. If the issue can’t be resolved at this level or the complaint is regarding the Head Teacher the parent will be directed to the schools complaintsprocedure. Cambridgeshire School's Complaints Policy  

Please also see the website for a variety of school policies concerned with SEND.