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Clifton Hampden, Abingdon, OX14 3EE

01865 407 700

office.3183@clifton-hampden.oxon.sch.uk Email Us

Clifton Hampden

Special Educational Needs

At Clifton Hampden, we recognise that all children have a right to a broad, balanced and befitting curriculum. We aim to create a happy, educationally exciting and positive environment in which all pupils can develop to their full potential. Appropriate support is given according each child’s specific needs. All teaching is adaptive to ensure that every child, regardless of their ability, has access to the whole curriculum. When appropriate, a range of external agencies are consulted to support the teaching of children with special educational needs.

 

Our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENDCo) is: 

Jade Hodgkins 

Tel:  01865 407700

Email: SENDCo@clifton-hampden.oxon.sch.uk 

 

For a copy of the SEND policy and other related documents please go to the Policies and Guidance page. 

SEND Information Report

The information below outlines our provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This information was updated in November 2023 and it is updated annually. A pdf of the information below can be provided upon request. 

1. What types of SEND do we provide for?

Clifton Hampden CE Primary School provides for children and young people with a wide range of special educational needs including those with:

  • Communication and Interaction needs; this includes children who have speech language and communication difficulties including autistic spectrum conditions.
  • Cognition and Learning needs; this includes children who have moderate, severe and specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia.
  • Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs
  • Sensory and/or Physical needs; this includes children who have visual or hearing needs, or a physical disability that affects their learning

As a school with a strong Christian ethos, we acknowledge and celebrate the fact that each child is unique and is a valued part of our school community.

2. Which staff will support my child and what training have they had?

Our special educational needs and disabilities co-ordinator, or SENDCO

Our SENDCO is Jade Hodgkins.

Their contact details are:

Email: SENDCo@clifton-hampden.oxon.sch.uk

Phone: 01865 407700

They are a qualified teacher and they have achieved the National Award in Special Educational Needs Co-ordination..

Class teachers

All of our teachers receive in-house SEND training, and are supported by the SENDCO to meet the needs of pupils who have SEND.

In the last academic year, class teachers have received training from the Special School Outreach Team, Speech and Language Therapists and an Educational Psychologist to support their understanding of children with additional needs and to find new ways to support them in school.  

Teaching assistants (TAs)

We have a team of 7 TAs, including 2 higher-level teaching assistants (HLTAs) who are trained to deliver SEND provision.

Our teaching assistants are trained to deliver interventions such as Early Talk Boost, Precision Teaching, Numberstacks and Lego Therapy. For further details about the range of interventions available at Clifton Hampden CE Primary School, discus your child’s needs with their class teacher.

In the last academic year, TAs have been trained in Precision Teaching, SCERTS, Team Teach, and May I Join You? techniques.

External agencies and experts

Sometimes, we need extra help to offer our pupils the support that they need. Whenever necessary, we will work with external support services to meet the needs of our pupils with SEN and to support their families. These include:

  • Special Educational Needs Support Services (SENSS)
  • Special Needs Advisory Support Teachers (SNAST)
  • Speech and language therapists
  • Educational psychologists
  • Occupational therapists
  • GPs or paediatricians
  • School nurses
  • Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)
  • Education welfare officers
  • Social services and other LA-provided support services
  • Voluntary sector organisations

3. What should I do if I think my child has SEND?

1. Tell us about your concerns.

If you think your child might have SEND, the first person you should tell is your child’s teacher.

Arrange a mutually convenient time to meet with your child’s class teacher via the office or at drop off/pick up times.

If you would prefer the SENDCo to attend this initial meeting, this can be arranged.

2. We will invite you to a meeting to discuss your concerns

We will meet with you to discuss your concerns and try to get a better understanding of what your child’s strengths and difficulties are.

Together we will decide what outcomes to seek for your child and agree on next steps.

We will make a note of what has been discussed and add this to your child’s record. You will also be given a copy of this.

3. We will decide whether your child needs SEND support

Your child’s class teacher and the SENDCo will meet to discuss your child’s needs and any potential changes to their provision.

If we decide that your child needs SEN support, we will formally notify you in writing and your child will be added to the school’s SEND register. 

4. How will the school know if my child needs SEND support?

All our class teachers are aware of SEND and are looking out for any pupils who aren’t making the expected level of progress in their learning or socially. This might include children making slow progress with reading, finding retaining information difficult or becoming withdrawn from their peers.

If the teacher notices that a pupil is falling behind, they will try to find out if the pupil has any gaps in their learning. If they can find a gap, they will give the pupil extra support to try to fill it. Pupils who don’t have SEND usually make progress quickly once the gap in their learning has been filled.

If the pupil is still struggling to make the expected progress, the teacher will talk to the SENDCo, and will contact you to discuss the possibility that your child has SEND.

The SENDCo may observe the pupil in the classroom and in the playground to see what their strengths and difficulties are. They will have discussions with your child’s teacher/s, to see if there have been any issues with, or changes in, their progress, attainment, or behaviour. They will also compare your child's progress and development with their peers and available national data. They may also complete additional assessments to further unpick your child’s needs.

Your child’s class teacher will ask for your opinion and speak to your child to get their input as well. The SENDCo may also, where appropriate, ask for the opinion of external experts such as a speech and language therapist, an educational psychologist, or a paediatrician.

Based on all of this information, the SENDCo will decide whether your child needs SEND support. You will be told the outcome of the decision in writing. 

If your child does need SEN support, their name will be added to the school’s SEND register, and the class teacher will work with you to create a SEN support plan for them.

5. How will the school measure my child's progress?

We will follow the Oxfordshire County Council’s guidance, including the OCC SEND indicators, the Ordinarily Available SEND Provision and the Inclusive Support Series, and use the ‘graduated approach’ to meeting your child’s SEND needs.

As a part of the planning stage of the graduated approach, we will set outcomes that we want to see your child achieve.

Whenever we run an intervention with your child, we will assess them before the intervention begins. This is known as a ‘baseline assessment’. We do this so we can see how much impact the intervention has on your child’s progress.

We will track your child’s progress towards the outcomes we set over time and improve our offer as we learn what your child responds to best.

This process will be continual. If the review shows a pupil has made progress, they may no longer need the additional provision made through SEND support. For others, the cycle will continue and the school's targets, strategies and provisions will be revisited and refined.

6. How will I be involved in decisions made about my child's education?

We will provide annual reports on your child's progress.

Your child’s class/form teacher will meet you three times per year to:

  • Set clear outcomes for your child’s progress
  • Review progress towards those outcomes
  • Discuss the support we will put in place to help your child make that progress
  • Identify what we will do, what we will ask you to do, and what we will ask your child to do

The SENDCO may also attend these meetings to provide extra support & guidance, but these are primarily run by class teachers as they have had sufficient training and know your children best.

We know that you’re the expert when it comes to your child’s needs and aspirations. Therefore, we want to make sure you have a full understanding of how we’re trying to meet your child’s needs, so that you can provide insight into what you think would work best for your child.

We also want to hear from you as much as possible so that we can build a better picture of how the SEN support we are providing is impacting your child outside of school. We encourage parents to talk to their child’s class teacher at pick up or drop off for those quick conversations and to arrange meetings to discuss new developments when needed.  

If your child’s needs or aspirations change at any time, please let us know right away so we can keep our provision as relevant as possible.

After any discussion we will make a record of any outcomes, actions and support that have been agreed. This record will be shared with all relevant staff, and you will be given a copy. 

If you have concerns that arise between these meetings, please contact your child’s class teacher either through the office or in the playground.

7. How will my child be involved in decisions made about their education?

The level of involvement will depend on your child’s age, and level of need. We recognise that no two children are the same, so we will decide on a case-by-case basis, with your input.

We may seek your child’s views by asking them to:

  • Attend meetings to discuss their progress and outcomes
  • Prepare a presentation, written statement, video, drawing, etc.
  • Discuss their views with a member of staff who can act as a representative during the meeting
  • Complete a survey

8. How will the school adapt its teaching for my child?

Your child’s teacher is responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all the pupils in their class.

High-quality teaching is our first step in responding to your child’s needs. We will make sure that your child has access to a broad and balanced curriculum in every year they are at our school.

We will adapt how we teach to suit the way the pupil works best. There is no 'one size fits all’ approach to adapting the curriculum, we work on a case-by case basis to make sure the adaptations we make are meaningful to your child.

These adaptations include:

  • Adapting our curriculum to make sure all pupils are able to access it, for example, by grouping, 1-to-1 work, adapting the teaching style or content of the lesson, etc.
  • Adapting our teaching, for example, giving longer processing times, pre-teaching of key vocabulary, reading instructions aloud, etc.
  • Adapting our resources and staffing
  • Using recommended aids, such as laptops, coloured overlays, visual timetables, larger font, etc.
  • Organising grouping arrangements carefully to maximise learning opportunities for all.
  • Using additional adults to support groups, but independence is encouraged for all children.
  • Implementing advice from external agencies 

We may also provide interventions to support your child’s learning and development. A range of intervention programmes in the areas of English, Maths, language, social/emotional, and motor skills are available to support individuals and groups and there are staff trained to deliver them. The use of intervention programmes complements the Quality First Teaching that all children receive. These interventions are part of our contribution to Oxfordshire County Council’s local offer.

9. How will the school evaluate whether the support in place is helping my child?

We will evaluate the effectiveness of provision for your child by:

  • Reviewing their progress towards their goals each term
  • Reviewing the impact of interventions after 10 weeks
  • Using pupil questionnaires
  • Monitoring by the SENDCo
  • Using provision maps to measure progress
  • Holding an annual review (if they have an education, health and care (EHC) plan)

10. How will the school resources be secured for my child?

It may be that your child’s needs mean we need to secure:

  • Extra equipment or facilities
  • More teaching assistant hours
  • Further training for our staff
  • External specialist expertise

If that’s the case, we will consult with external agencies to get recommendations on what will best help your child access their learning.

The school will cover any necessary costs of ordinarily available provision up to the limits within the notional budget. If funding is needed beyond this, we will seek it from our local authority.

11. How will the school make sure my child is included in activities alongside pupils who don't have SEND?

All of our school-run extra-curricular activities and school visits are available to all our pupils, including our before and after-school clubs.

All pupils are encouraged to go on our school trips, including our residential trips to Hill End and Woodlands.

All pupils are encouraged to take part in Sports Day, educational workshops and school plays.

No pupil is ever excluded from taking part in these activities because of their SEN or disability and we will make whatever reasonable adjustments are needed to make sure that they can be included.

12. How does the school make sure the admissions process is fair for pupils with SEN or a disability?

Clifton Hampden CE Primary School follows Oxfordshire County Council’s rules for admission. More information on this can be found here.

13. How does the school support pupils with disabilities?

Our school’s Accessibility Policy can be found here.

This outlines how we:

  • Increase the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the curriculum
  • Improve the physical environment to enable disabled pupils to take better advantage of the education, benefits, facilities and services you provide
  • Improve the availability of accessible information to disabled pupils

With the range of needs so broad, ensuring that children with disabilities are not treated less favourably than other pupils is planned for on a case-by-case basis, using our Accessibility Policy as a basis and incorporating our school values to ensure all children are able to be curious, courageous and compassionate, regardless of their additional needs.

14. How will the school support my child's mental health and emotional and social development?

We provide support for pupils to progress in their emotional and social development in the following ways:

  • Our qualified Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) is available to all children and runs regular social, emotional and mental health assemblies
  • ELSA support in our dedicated ELSA room is available both in small groups and 1:1
  • Pupils with SEN are also encouraged to be part of after school clubs to promote teamwork & build friendships
  • We provide extra pastoral support for listening to the views of pupils with SEN through the Pupil SEND Questionnaire and additional ELSA groups
  • We run a SEMH interventions for pupils who need extra support with social or emotional development such as Lego Therapy or Drawing and Talking
  • We have a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to bullying. We prevent bullying in the school through our school values, PSHE curriculum and by taking part in anti-bullying week. Our Anti-bullying Policy can be found
  • Pupils with SEN are encouraged to be part of the eco council

15. What support will be available for my child as they transition between classes or setting?

Early Years Transition

  • SENDCo and class teacher can attend transition meetings for pupils with SEND making the transition from pre-school to Nursery or Reception. Class teacher will visit the child in their current setting.
  • Parents are invited to a pre-admission meeting.

Moving on at Year 6

  • Key staff and representatives from the secondary school visit to speak to the Year 6 pupils transferring to their school.
  • The SENDCo and the Year 6 teacher liaise over the transfer procedure
  • Pupils in Year 6 are invited to a familiarisation day at their secondary school. Children are prepared for the visit and given information in advance as necessary.
  • Additional visits to the secondary school may be arranged for individuals or groups as needed.
  • Transition arrangements are planned at Year 6 Education, Health and Care Plan reviews. Secondary schools are invited to attend.
  • SENDCo can attend Year 6 to Year 7 SEND transfer meeting.
  • Use of social stories/transition books/comic strips
  • A planned programme of transition, which may include mentoring to help prepare children.
  • Class teacher/ SENDCo meets with key staff from new school.
  • Information transferred in advance of move.

Moving Schools

If your child is moving to another school we will:

  • contact the school SENDCo and ensure they know about any special arrangements or support that need to be made for your child.
  • Make sure that all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible.

If your child joins us from another school we will:

  • Contact the school SENDCo to find out any special arrangements or support that needs to be made for your child.
  • Meet with parents to discuss any concerns and plan any support.

Moving Classes

  • A hand over meeting will take place between the present and the new teacher.
  • Transition visits to new classes are planned in the second half of the summer term. Identified pupils can have a number of additional visits to the new class.
  • Social stories and transition books for children who would benefit.
  • Meet the teacher meetings take place early in the autumn term which give a chance for parents to find out about arrangements for such things as homework, the curriculum topics and reading expectations.


16. What support is in place for looked-after children and previously looked-after children?

Jade Hodgkins (SENDCo@clifton-hampden.oxon.sch.uk) is the designated teacher for looked-after children and previously looked-after children. They will ensure that all teachers understand how a looked-after or previously looked-after pupil’s circumstances and their SEN might interact, and what the implications are for teaching and learning.

Children who are looked-after or previously looked-after will be supported much in the same way as any other child who has SEND. However, looked-after pupils will also have a personal education plan (PEP). We will make sure that the PEP and any SEN support plans or EHC plans are consistent and complement one another. 

17. What should I do if I have a complaint about my child's SEND support?

Complaints about SEN provision in our school should be made to the class teacher in the first instance. They will then arrange to meet with you to try to resolve any issues. You may then be referred to the school’s complaints policy which can also be found here.

If you are not satisfied with the school’s response, you can escalate the complaint. In some circumstances, this right also applies to the pupil themselves.

To see a full explanation of suitable avenues for complaint, see pages 246 and 247 of the SEN Code of Practice

If you feel that our school discriminated against your child because of their SEND, you have the right to make a discrimination claim to the first-tier SEND tribunal. To find out how to make such a claim, you should visit: https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-school/disability-discrimination

You can make a claim about alleged discrimination regarding:

  • Admission
  • Exclusion
  • Provision of education and associated services
  • Making reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services

Before going to a SEND tribunal, you can go through processes called disagreement resolution or mediation, where you try to resolve your disagreement before it reaches the tribunal. More information on this can be found here.

18. What support is available for me and my family?

If you have questions about SEND, or are struggling to cope, please get in touch to let us know. We want to support you, your child and your family.

To see what support is available to you locally, have a look at Oxfordshire County Council’s local offer. OCC publishes information about the local offer on their website

Information on our local special educational needs and disabilities information advice and support services (SENDIASS) organisations can be found here.

Local charities that offer information and support to families of children with SEND are:

National charities that offer information and support to families of children with SEND are:

Glossary

  • Access arrangements – special arrangements to allow pupils with SEND to access assessments or exams
  • Annual review – an annual meeting to review the provision in a pupil’s EHC plan
  • Area of need – the 4 areas of need describe different types of needs a pupil with SEND can have. The 4 areas are communication and interaction; cognition and learning; physical and/or sensory; and social, emotional and mental health needs.
  • CAMHS – child and adolescent mental health services
  • Differentiation – when teachers adapt how they teach in response to a pupil’s needs
  • EHC needs assessment – the needs assessment is the first step on the way to securing an EHC plan. The local authority will do an assessment to decide whether a child needs an EHC plan.
  • EHC plan – an education, health and care plan is a legally-binding document that sets out a child’s needs and the provision that will be put in place to meet their needs.
  • First-tier tribunal/SEND tribunal – a court where you can appeal against the local authority’s decisions about EHC needs assessments or plans and against discrimination by a school or local authority due to SEND
  • Graduated approach – an approach to providing SEN support in which the school provides support in successive cycles of assessing the pupil’s needs, planning the provision, implementing the plan, and reviewing the impact of the action on the pupil
  • Intervention – a short-term, targeted approach to teaching a pupil with a specific outcome in mind 
  • Local offer – information provided by the local authority which explains what services and support are on offer for pupils with SEN in the local area
  • Outcome – target for improvement for pupils with SEND. These targets don't necessarily have to be related to academic attainment 
  • Reasonable adjustments – changes that the school must make to remove or reduce any disadvantages caused by a child’s disability  
  • SENDCO – the special educational needs co-ordinator
  • SEN – special educational needs
  • SEND – special educational needs and disabilities
  • SEND Code of Practice – the statutory guidance that schools must follow to support children with SEND
  • SEN information report – a report that schools must publish on their website, that explains how the school supports pupils with SEN
  • SEN support – special educational provision which meets the needs of pupils with SEN
  • Transition – when a pupil moves between years, phases, schools or institutions or life stages

CLIFTON HAMPDEN SEND ANNUAL REPORTS:

LOCAL OFFER

The Oxfordshire County Council Local Offer for Children with SEN and disabilities can be found at: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/taxonomy/term/278

 

Clifton Hampden, Abingdon, OX14 3EE

01865 407 700

office.3183@clifton-hampden.oxon.sch.uk