How Watercliffe Meadow supports the progress of pupils with additional needs

Our SENCos are: Corina Antcliff & Laura Sims

This information is reviewed annually in the summer term through the Inclusion Governors Sub-Committee.

Which members of staff would you need to contact if you have concerns and what are their roles?

Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCo)

Email: senco@watercliffe.sheffield.sch.uk

Corina Antcliff - SENCoCorina Antcliff – SENCo

Corina AntcliffLaura Sims  Early Years SENCo

Assistant Head of Inclusion

Sue BibbyEmma Wayper

Learning Mentor Team

Jayne SeniorJayne Senior –  Senior Learning Mentor

Sam Dyson_v2Danielle Mullen

Bernice CusworthAneesa Hussain

Attendance Officer

Sue BibbySue Bibby

What kinds of special educational needs do we provide for?

We are a mainstream inclusive school and aim to meet the needs of all children and put provision in place to reduce their barriers to learning.
Currently these are some of the range of needs we are providing for:
1. Communication and Interaction – speech and language, ASD, Social communication difficulties
2. Cognition and Learning – General Learning Difficulties, Specific Learning Difficulties
3. Social, Emotional and Mental Health – Emotional and Behavioural difficulties, AHDH, ADD
4. Sensory and/ or Physical – Physical disabilities, Hearing impairment, Visual impairment, Medical needs

What support do we provide for improving emotional and social development?

Every child in school has a Boxall profile completed twice a year. From these the Inclusion team identify individual and groups of children that would benefit from interventions. These interventions may include anger management, bereavement, social skills, turn taking, raising self-esteem, Mighty Minds, Friendships. The Boxall Profile is also used for identifying areas of work which needs covering in a whole class setting e.g. circle time.
4 members of the Senior Leadership Team have completed a 10 day diploma programme run by Trauma Informed schools UK. All staff have had Trauma Informed training for 1 day. 2 members of the Senior Leadership Team attended Nurturing schools programme and the school was presented with an award. 2 members of the Senior Leadership Team have completed Healthy Minds training. This training has been implemented into the classroom.

How do we know if your child is making progress towards their targets? How do we ensure that you and your child are involved in this?

All children with SEN have 3 reviews per year where staff discuss with parents the progress their child has made against previous targets and together set new targets.

For children who are on an APDR (Assess, Plan, Do Review) these discussions are held with class teachers during parents evenings.

For children who are on a Support Plan, My Plan, EHC Plan these discussions are held with the SENCo, class teacher, parents and outside agencies if needed. Children’s views are collected prior to the meetings. A one page profile is produced for each child.

How do we secure additional services and expertise to work with us?

We currently buy in extra speech and language services. Our speech and language therapist works in school every Wednesday. Working alongside our therapist is a speech and language therapy assistant who works half a day every Wednesday in the Early Years.
We access and work alongside outside agencies including MAST, Educational Psychology, Autism Team, Early Years Service, Vision impaired, Hearing impaired.
We also regularly support families with Ryegate and other assessment appointments.
Watercliffe Meadow ensures that all staff have access to appropriate training. This training is planned around the changing needs of the children. In school, the annual Appraisal systems identify areas of training needs for any staff which is then accessed by outside agencies/ providers or staff with expertise in school.

How will we ensure that your child has a successful transition from one school to another?

We recognise transition to Secondary School can be a very stressful time for our children and families so we work hard to ensure it is as smooth as possible. Our Learning Mentor Team have regular meetings with the Pastoral Support Teams at Secondary Schools and the Y6 team do a detailed handover of every child’s needs and levels with the Y7 Coordinator. If you have any questions around transition to Secondary School please don’t hesitate to contact a member of the team.
Children entering F1 or F2 receive a home visit from our F1/F2 staff and the Early Years SENCo. If appropriate the SENCo will attend any meetings and hold discussions with outside agencies that are involved with your child.
All children that transition to Watercliffe Meadow in year receive a home visit from a senior member of staff and a learning mentor.

How do we evaluate the effectiveness of provision?

SEN-Provision

As well as the additional support that is on offer in all classrooms, Watercliffe Meadow also offers a range of interventions:

 

 

Data from the interventions is analysed including progress made from pre to post testing, as well as overall progress made in class as discussed during pupil progress meetings and SEND reviews.
Observations of interventions help to evaluate how effective they are. Children are assessed on RWI every 6 weeks and moved groups accordingly. We monitor feeling scores, loss of golden time, serious incidents and exclusions to see the impact of social and emotional interventions.

What support do we give pupils in the classroom and how is the curriculum and learning environment adapted to meet their needs?

At Watercliffe Meadow all our staff are committed to doing all that we can to provide an inclusive, welcoming and flexible environment, curriculum and ethos that enables us to work together with families to ensure all children flourish.
Visual timetables and a range of visuals are used in every classroom. Each class teacher ensures that lessons are differentiated and appropriate scaffolding/visuals used to meet the needs of every child in their class. From Year 3 to Year 6 children who are significantly below in their learning are identified on the Birmingham SEN Toolkit. This toolkit is used to monitor and plan for the children’s level of learning and next steps. The toolkit is also used for younger children who access out Beach provision on a regular basis (bespoke provision).
Each classroom has at least 1 experienced Teaching Assistant who helps to support children in their learning.
The SENCo, class teacher and parents work closely with outside agencies to implement any recommendations to help support the progress of the child.

How do we ensure that your child is included in non-classroom based activities?

We ensure that activities are fully accessible to children with SEND. Close consultation with parents when planning trips and activities is sought. We assist children to access trips and activities in a variety of ways e.g. providing additional support when necessary.
Where necessary we will make physical adaptations to allow learners with SEND to be included.
We encourage all our children to take part in extra-curricular activities such as, baking club, gardening club, computer club. We work closely with individual children, their teachers and parents to ensure all needs are met.

How do we ensure that disabled pupils are treated fairly?

Children with a disability will not be refused admission into Watercliffe Meadow. We recognise that children with medical conditions should be supported so that they have full access to education, including school trips and physical education. Further information about the arrangements in place in school to support children with disabilities can be found in the Accessibility Plan.

How does the school handle complaints from parents of children with SEND about the provision made at the school?

If a parent has a complaint the following procedure takes place:
1. An appointment is made to discuss this with the class teacher. A follow up appointment is made if necessary.
2. If not satisfied, an appointment to discuss the complaint with the SENCo/Headteacher will be made.
3. If still not satisfied, an appointment with the Inclusion governor and the chair of Governors will be made.
4. If the problem is unresolved, the parent may contact the Local Authority about the matter.
5. At any time the parent may seek help from SSENDIAS (Sheffield SEN and S=Disability Information Advice and Support) who provides impartial, confidential information, advice and support to children and young people with SEND and/or disabilities and their parents/carers.

A link to the LA Local Offer

www.sheffielddirectory.org.uk

SEND children and young people may need support from a wide range of services and professionals within Education, Health and Social Care. Sheffield’s local offer will make it easier for families to find out what they need to know and help you find the nearest and most suitable services for families.