Darley C.P. Primary School Local Offer - SEND

SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) provision at Darley At Darley we pride ourselves on understanding the child as an individual and thus enabling them to reach their potential regardless of their difficulties and starting points. It is our job to ensure that all children are able to reach their potential and are supported in making sure this happens. The Local Authority (LEA) have published their ‘local offer’. That is, they have listed the provision they expect schools within the authority to make for children with SEND. The information on these pages will outline our response to this offer and explain how children with SEND are supported and provided for at Darley.

Inclusion Quality Mark (IQM) We are proud that during 2013 we were awarded the IQM. This document allows us to demonstrate and evaluate how successfully we include all learners, including children with SEND. We have been able to identify areas in which we feel confident but we continue to strive for the best for our children. We are constantly reviewing our practices and procedures to make sure that our children always feel included and welcome allowing them to be able to learn. For more information about North Yorkshire IQM follow the link:

Provision at Darley Universal Provision Within all of our classes good quality first teaching is paramount in ensuring that we are doing all we can to support children who are struggling in their learning. This is usually in the form of differentiated activities, adult support, or physical support prompts that will enable children to learn within the classroom rather than having to be taken out for additional help. We also embed the need for varied activities and recording methods so that all children are able to develop the skills that they naturally flourish at, as we recognise that everyone learns differently. If you would like to know more about what is going on to support your child in the classroom make an appointment to speak to the class teacher who will be happy to share this information with you.

Recording Provision Children who require additional support may have an IPM (Individual Provision Map). This document outlines a child’s strengths and weaknesses and their barriers to learning. It also lists three or four targets they will be working on. The IPMs are reviewed termly in consultation with the child and parents. Children with more complex needs have an ‘Inclusion Passport’ which outlines the support given to the child over a period of time and the difference the support has made.

Interventions At Darley we are able to run a variety of interventions that are tailored to the needs of the child. Interventions may be presented individually to a child such as Reading Intervention or in a small group, such as Springboard Maths. The interventions will be expected to make an impact on the learning taking place in class and will be closely monitored throughout to make sure this is happening. Interventions are usually run by a trained Teaching Assistant under the supervision of the Class Teacher and the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo). If you require more information on the interventions carried out at Darley please don’t hesitate to speak to your child’s class teacher.

Extra adult support All our classes benefit from teaching assistant support at some time during the week. At some stage therefore most children will be supported by a Teaching Assistant in a group or 1:1 as part of the normal running of the class. If a concept is being taught that your child finds difficult extra support may be given to help with understanding so it won’t necessarily be only children with SEND that receive this type of support. We are very lucky at Darley School to have such well trained and experienced Teaching Assistants to support our learning.

Expected progress When your child enters primary school there are national expectations that are the average levels for children at the end of the academic year. These are as follows: Year 11b / 1a Year 22b / 2a Year 32a / 3c Year 43b / 3a Year 53a / 4c Year 64b / 4a Not all children will achieve these national expectations and they will therefore be supported to make the progress expected of them.

Expected Progress (continued) We have termly reviews of progress to ensure that all children are making expected progress. Children who are finding it difficult to achieve what is expected will be recognised and flagged up as target children and in class support will be given to try to boost the child to where they should be. If they continue to not make expected progress then support may be put in place that requires work outside of the classroom with a qualified Teaching Assistant. This would only happen where it is deemed that the child will benefit significantly from the support which is not appropriate to be given in the classroom. Children’s levels are shared with parents from Y1-Y6 through their targets for reading, writing and maths.

Support from other agencies Sometimes when we are finding it difficult to meet the needs of a child after putting in various interventions and strategies we may require support from an outside agency. This can take different forms but these are the agencies that we have most contact with at Darley.

We currently have an educational psychologist who works with our school when we feel that a child may require more support than we are qualified to give. An educational psychologist is able bring a more specialised perspective to the child’s development and well-being and bring about a positive change for the child. The educational psychologist is often the first point of call when a school is unable to support the child successfully and they will carry out an assessment of the child after discussion with the class teacher. In order for this to happen consent of the parent must be sought. After assessment the educational psychologist’s role may vary depending on the needs identified. This could range from strategies for the class teacher to develop in class through to counselling strategies such as art therapy. To find out more click the link: Education Psychologist

We also have links with a nurse who comes to school to carry out assessments with the younger children (required nationally). This gives the class teacher a chance to discuss any issues with the nurse with regards to medical or development problems. To find out more click the link: cleid= cleid=14976 School Nurse:

Enhanced Mainstream Schools (EMS) An EMS is a mainstream school with teams of specialist teachers who offer outreachsupport, advice and expertise to schools. We have strong links with the following EMS schools who support us depending on the child’s need. Rossett School EMS-Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) e.g dyslexia Hookstone Chase EMS-Speech, Language and Communication Difficulties Grove Road EMS-Behaviour, Emotional and Social Difficulties

Autism Spectrum Condition Outreach Services (ASCOS) This service will visit school, observe children and support with ideas and strategies to enable the Autistic child to cope and learn in the classroom.

Education Welfare Officer (EWO) Compulsory school age begins the term commencing after the child’s fifth birthday and they must continue in full time education until the last Friday in June of the school year they turn sixteen. If a child has a lot of time off school, regularly, it may cause issues in their learning that may not have happened had their attendance been more regular. If a child repeatedly has time away from school it may become an issue and the EWO can become involved. To find out more about the legal requirements of attendance click the link:

Sensory, physical and medical teaching team If a child has a visual, hearing, physical or medical need we may contact the sensory, physical and medical team to offer support to us. The staff who work in this department have specialist qualifications, knowledge and experience gathered over many years. They offer advice and support to all people involved, including the person with the impairment. For more information on this service click the link:

Speech and Language Team (SALT) If a child displays difficulty with communication it may be suggested that we contact the SALT team to gather advice or support. Communication difficulties can be evident in a variety of different ways – motivation to communicate with others, attention, understanding language etc For further information click the link: d= d=13575

On-going communication with parents If a child is recognised as being SEND there may be more regular contact with the class teacher than is usually required. This will also include a chance to discuss interventions and the impact that they are having. Obviously there will also be the regular parent’s evenings and reporting arrangements that are available for all parents.

Parent Partnership Parent Partnership Co-ordinators are a qualified team of professionals who have an experienced background in SEND. They are available to offer advice, listen to worries and concerns, offer home visits, support you in meetings and so on. They can be contacted on or click the link: service service

Statutory Assessment If it is deemed necessary after in school support has not been successful a statutory assessment may be requested in order to try to provide the child with the support they need. This does not have to be requested solely through the school. As a parent you may feel that your child needs further support than the school is able to provide. This can be requested through the LA. If you think this is required you can speak to the school, follow the link to Parent Partnership for more information or click the link below:

Key contacts Any concerns can be addressed through the class teacher initially as they have day to day contact with the child. They will be able to guide you through where your child is at and what support they are being given to aid their learning. It is likely that if your child is receiving support outside of the classroom you will have already been informed of this. If you wish to speak to someone else following this meeting you can make arrangements to meet with our SENCO and Inclusion Manager – Mrs Alison Evans. Mr Coates is always available to discuss concerns with parents. Remember if you are concerned please talk to us, we are here to help and hopefully put your mind at ease.