SEND - Special Educational Needs and Disability

Welcome to our Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) information page.

Thurgoland CE Primary is an inclusive school and believes that all children should be valued and treated with respect. We endeavour to ensure that the provision for all pupils is of the highest possible standard. We are committed to narrowing the attainment gap between children with SEND and their non – SEND peers and also those who are vulnerable at any stage of their educational life.

We want children to do their best, achieve, and be confident in their lives so they are prepared to move to their next stage in education.

The school works with due regard to the SEN Code of Practice (2014) and the Equality Act (2010).

Mrs A Roebuck

Our SENCO (Special Educational Needs Officer) 

You are able to contact her at school on:

T: 01142 883300
E: a.roebuck@thurgolandprimary.org

A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they: 

(a) have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or 

(b) have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post -16 institutions. 

A child under compulsory school age has special educational needs if they fall within the definition at (a) or (b) above or would do so if special educational provision was not made for them (Clause 20 Children and Families Act) (Draft SEN Code of Practice 2013, 1.8) 

Up to 20% of children and young people have special educational needs at some stage in their time in school; only around 2% 

Communication and Interaction 

  • Speech, language and Communication needs- a child has difficulty communicating with others, difficulty in saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them, difficulty in understanding social rules for communication. 
  • Autistic Spectrum Disorder , including Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism- a child has difficulty with social interaction, language, imagination and communication 

A child may have one or more of these needs, and every child is different. 

 

Cognition and Learning 

Learning Difficulties – a child learns at a slower pace than their peers. 

  • Moderate Learning difficulties (MLD) 
  • Severe Learning difficulties (SLD), which may include associated difficulty with mobility and communication. 
  • Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties, where children have severe and complex learning difficulties as well as physical disability or sensory impairment.
     
  • Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD), affecting one or more specific aspect of learning, e.g. dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia. 

 

Social, emotional and mental health difficulties 

Children may experience a wide range of difficulty which present in many ways 

  • Withdrawn or isolated 
  • Challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour 
  • Anxiety or depression 
  • Self harming 
  • Substance abuse 
  • Eating disorders 
  • Unexplained physical or medical symptoms 
  • Attention deficit disorder 
  • Attention deficit hyperactive disorder 
  • Attachment disorder 

 

Sensory and/or physical need 

Where children have a disability which hinders them from accessing educational facilities generally provided. 

  • Visual Impairment (VI) 
  • Hearing Impairment (HI) 
  • Multisensory Impairment (MSI) – combined sensory difficulty 
  • Physical Difficulty (PD) 

The Equality Act 2010 states that a person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. 

A physical or mental impairment includes: learning difficulties including specific learning difficulties; medical conditions including epilepsy, diabetes, more severe forms of asthma and eczema; autism; speech, language and communication impairments. 

If the impairment has a substantial and long-term effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities it may amount to a disability. 

School has a Single Equity Policy on this website which offers more information about how it meets its duties in terms of supporting those with a disability. 

If you feel that your child may have SEND then you should ask to speak to your child's class teacher in the first instance. If they are unable to see you straight away, they will be happy to make an appointment when you can discuss your concerns in more detail. 

It may be decided to discuss any concerns further. At this stage the SENCO will convene a meeting with parents. Usually it is informal and gives you the opportunity to share information between yourself and staff. Then if agreed, school will suggest ways to support your child and put those actions in place. 

After a period of time, the SENCO or class teacher will review the progress your child has made and will share this information with you at a review meeting. A decision will be made as to whether further action is needed or whether your child’s needs are being appropriately met. 

Sometimes it may be that school may need to seek further advice or specialist support. School will always seek parental consent before this takes place. You will always be kept fully informed about any involvement of other services and any additional support your child is receiving. Where there are other services involved, e.g. health, CAMHs, educational psychology, behaviour support or educational support teams involved, a Common Assessment is done with the family and a team of people work together to provide the necessary support. See - What is a Common Assessment Form (CAF), 

For more information go to www.barnsley.gov.co.uk/specialneeds 

Only a very small percentage of children require support of an additional or more complex nature. If this is the case, then the SENCO may discuss with you the possibility of asking the Local Authority to undertake a statutory assessment of your child's needs. 

If this is considered appropriate, then the School will collect together all your child's information and evidence of all the carefully evaluated additional strategies and interventions that have been put place and with your permission send it off to the Local Authority for them to consider the information at a panel meeting and make a decision whether or not to carry out a statutory assessment of your child's needs. Whilst this is taking place the School will continue to meet your child's needs with the support that is already in place. 

Once the Local Authority receives a request to consider whether to make a statutory assessment or not, a legal timescale begins. The process of statutory assessment is carefully bound by the legislation and guidance within the SEN Code of Practice. The SENCO will be able to explain the process and timescales to you or alternatively you would find this in the SEN Code of Practice.

For more information go to www.barnsley.gov.uk/SEN 

If the decision is made to go ahead with a statutory assessment then the Local Authority will signpost you to guidance and support that will assist you through the process for example from the Parent Partnership Service. 

The statutory Assessment of SEN is a legal document which states the level of provision that the school and other services have to provide. Funding for this is met by the school budget or through top up funding from Barnsley LA. This is reviewed annually. 

If a Statutory Assessment is not agreed, parents have the right to appeal. Parent Partnership Services can help in this instance. 

If you agree with School that your child needs more specialised support, then other services may become involved. While there are many services available, here is a list of common agencies that work typically with school. 

  • Educational Psychology 
  • School Nurse Service and Health workers 
  • GP and Consultant Paediatrician 
  • Inclusion services: Communication and Interaction, Learning and Cognition, Sensory Impairment, Behaviour Support 
  • Speech and Language Therapy 
  • Occupational Therapy 
  • Physiotherapy 
  • CAMHs 
  • Learning Disability Team 
  • Social Care Services 
  • Stronger Families 
  • Parent Partnership 
  • Barnado’s and other charities 
  • Staff from Secondary Provision in the Area. 


As more people become involved in helping the School to meet your child's needs, your child's class teacher or the SENCO, or the Parent Support Worker in School may talk to you about holding a Common Assessment Framework (CAF) meeting and together you will do a Common Assessment Form or CAF. Once established, the CAF will help the School to organise Team Around the Child Meetings where everyone involved (including yourself) can sit down together and discuss the best way forward to help the School help your child to make progress. 

For all policies re: Safeguarding children please follow this link to the Barnsley Safeguarding Website:
Click here to view


For Barnsley’s local SEND services:
 
Please click here


Family Information Flyer Link:
Click here to view


This is a useful link for those parents/carers who have autistic children:
Click here to view

 

Values that are at the heart of Thurgoland

#LEARNINGTOGETHERINFAITHANDJOY

Getting here

Thurgoland C of E Primary School
Halifax Road
Thurgoland
Sheffield
S35 7AL

Thurgoland C of E Primary SchoolPrivacy Policy