SEND

The school SEND offer is the inclusive, accessible provision which supports children with special educational needs and disability to thrive.

As a fully inclusive school, Inkersall Spencer Academy is committed to identifying and providing for the needs of all children. Every teacher is a teacher of every child or young person including those with SEND; and all staff are trained in and adhere to our model of good practice.

Children are recognised as individuals, with abilities and development needs which will vary across the curriculum. Class teachers and support staff are able to identify individual development requirements, and to provide lessons and activities which ensure good progress for pupils at all levels of ability.

Where children’s needs require support beyond the level that can be appropriately be provided by the class teacher, the school plays a co-ordinating role which may include working with the local authority to source additional specialist support.

As part of changes implemented by the Department for Education in 2014, all local authorities must publish information about how they support SEND pupils. This is called the ‘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. Our SENDCo liaises closely with service providers in Derbyshire, and is a point of contact. Parents and young people can use this link to find information about services and advice on how to access them directly.

Our SEND team includes: Miss Matthews, Mrs Riley and Mrs Carter (Associate). You can contact us on katie.matthews@inkersall.derbyshire.sch.uk or 01246 472370 about any concerns that you may have about your child’s needs at any time.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How do you identify pupils?

Additional needs are wide-ranging and can change over time. Every child’s needs are assessed on a pupil-by-pupil basis and our SEND team work together, with external agencies when required, to build a provision to support every individual.

• Observations
• Teacher assessments
• School based test results
• Information from parents and carers
• Information from the child
• Specialised assessments carried out by members of the school’s support services
• Information from previous schools or settings
• Discussions with adults who work with the child

Once a child is identified as having a special educational need, a graduated approach to support is taken. The child’s needs will first be assessed, then support will be planned, carried out and then reviewed. At the review any necessary changes will be made.

How will you communicate with me about my child?

Communication with our parents and carers is key and we will work hard to ensure that you are listened to, and your knowledge and advice is taken into account when making decisions for your child. You know your child, what works for them and what doesn’t and any details you can provide from the beginning will be a great help.

An initial meeting with parents/carers to establish any needs, wants and concerns is our first step. This would happen before your child attends school if a parent/carer/previous provision requests it. However, this may happen at any time if we feel that your child would benefit from additional support.

How are pupils with Special Educational Needs involved in their own education?

We aim to involve all children in our school in the evaluation and implementation of their own education. For children with Special Educational Needs we use a variety of strategies to support this including:

• Involve child in setting their own targets where appropriate
• Self-assessment at the beginning and end of learning using a variety of ways e.g. traffic light colours or thumbs up and reflective comments
• Having a range of equipment available for the child to choose to use e.g. left handed scissors, timers, pencil grips
• Ensuring the child works with a range of different partners
• Ensuring the child has a designated adult to go to if they need help
• One page profiles
• Communication cards
• Visual timetables
• Prompt cards to promote independence
• Personalised areas/work stations Learning breaks

How does the Governing Body support SEND children and their families?

At Inkersall Spencer Academy, we have a Governor who is responsible for special educational needs. Her name is Mrs S. McConnell.

Her job is to meet with the SEND team regularly. In these meetings the SEND Governor makes sure that children and families are being supported by the right services in and outside of school. The SEND Governor will also visit the school, observe what happens in classrooms and meet with class teachers, support staff and children. The SENCo writes a report for every Governing body meeting.  The SEN Governor shares this report with the other Governors so that the whole governing body is aware of how special educational needs are being supported in the school and how well this support is working. The governors will challenge, support and advise the Head Teacher if appropriate provision is not being made.

How does the school know how much progress is being made by pupils with Special Educational Needs?

All children’s progress, including those children with special educational needs, is tracked using the school’s assessment tracking system. Pupils are assessed regularly using teacher marking, observations and questioning as well as more formal assessments such as curriculum tests and standardised tests.

In addition for children with special educational needs we also set individual targets that are reviews at least three times a year. This helps the school to monitor how well interventions are working. The progress each child is making is discussed at pupil progress meetings with the Class Teacher and Head Teacher.

How will I be involved in the education of my child?

Inkersall Spencer Academy has an open door policy to parents ensuring we are always approachable so parents feel involved in the education of their child. In addition, our school aims to regularly involve parents in the education of their child through a variety of different ways including:

• Meetings with SENDCo, class teacher and/or support staff
• Target setting so parents can see what their child is working on next
• Home reading diaries
• Information on the school website
• Parents’ evenings two times a year
• Workshops
• SEND Forums for parents
• Signposting to parent groups
• Parents’ views on Edukey plans/Annual Review documents
• Inclusion page on Class Dojo

How accessible are you school building(s) and grounds?

We are a single storey building that is fully accessible. There are some stairs within our school but these have access to a lift for wheelchair use.

The school car park can be accessed by a security gate.  Please buzz the office to enter the car park.  There is also ample street parking and access on foot via a pedestrian gate.

Our SENDCos are Miss Matthews, Mrs Riley and Mrs Carter (Associate)