1. Objectives  To provide an overview of the legal framework which defines the requirements of the school information report  To explain the differences between the school information report and the local offer  To detail the 13 areas that must be included in the school information report  To provide a template and exemplar to aid the completion of the school information report  To understand the role of the school in publishing and reviewing the school information report

2. SEN Information Report The Legal Framework  Children and Families Act 2014, Part 3, Section 69 (3) imposes a duty on the governing bodies of maintained schools, maintained nursery schools and the proprietors of Academy schools to prepare a report containing SEN information  Regulation 3 specifies the 13 areas that must be covered in the SEN information report  The SEND Code of Practice, sections 6.79 – 6.83 (Pages 106-107) provides statutory guidance on the SEN information report and states: The information published should be updated annually and any changes to the information that occurs during the year should be updated as soon as possible It should include arrangements for supporting children and young people who are looked after by the local authority and have SEN The information must be easily accessible by young people and parents and set out in clear, straightforward language The report must be published on the school website

3. SEN Information Report and the Local Offer Differences and Similarities  The local authority is responsible for publishing a local offer. The local offer sets out in one place all the services and support available across education, health and social care to children and young people resident in their area who have SEND  The local offer must include an authority wide description of the special education and training provision available in its area (including out of borough provision)  Many of the arrangements the local authority must publish about individual schools is similar to that in the SEN information report, however, the requirements in the SEN report about the school’s arrangements for identifying, assessing and making provision is much more detailed

4. SEN Information Report 13 areas 1.The kinds of special educational needs for which provision is made at the school 2.Information about the school’s policies for the identification and assessment of pupils with special educational needs 3.Information about the school’s policies for making provision for pupils with special educational needs (a) how the school evaluates the effectiveness of its provision for pupils (b) the school’s arrangements for assessing and reviewing the progress of pupils with SEN (c) the school’s approach to teaching pupils with SEN (d) how the school adapts the curriculum and learning environment for pupils with SEN (e) additional support for learning that is available to pupils with SEN (f) activities that are available for pupils with SEN in addition to those available in accordance with the curriculum; and (g) support that is available for improving the emotional and social development of pupils with SEN

5. SEN Information Report 13 areas 4.The name and contact details of the SEN Co-ordinator 5.Information about the expertise and training of staff working with children with SEN and about how specialist expertise will be secured. 6.Information about how equipment and facilities to support children and young people with SEN will be secured 7.The arrangements for consulting parents of children with SEN about their needs and involving them in their education 8.The arrangements for consulting young people with SEN about their needs and involving them in their education 9. Any arrangements made by the governing body relating to the treatment of complaints from parents of pupils with SEN concerning the provision made at the school

6. SEN Information Report 13 areas 10.How the governing body involves other bodies, including health and social services bodies, local authority support services and voluntary organisations, in meeting the needs of pupils with special educational needs and in supporting the families of such pupils. 11.The contact details of support services for the parents of pupils with special educational needs, including those for arrangements made in accordance with clause 32. 12.The school’s arrangements for supporting pupils with special educational needs in transferring between phases of education or in preparing for adulthood and independent living. 13.Information on where the local authority’s local offer is published.

7. EXEMPLAR TEMPLATE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF THE SEN INFORMATION REPORT – SEPTEMBER 2014 1. What kinds of special educational needs do we make provision for in our school? Include a brief description of your school, if you are a mainstream school describe how you are inclusive, if you are special school describe the types of special educational needs you provide for. Hollytrees is a community maintained primary school. Hollytrees is committed to an inclusive education for all pupils and aims to provide a learning environment which is flexible enough to meet the needs of all members of our school community.

8. 2. How does our school know if your child needs extra help? Detail your policies and procedures for identification and assessment – details of any tests, the role of the SENCO and other specialist staff. Observations by class teacher and other staff. At Hollytrees we know when pupils need help if:- concerns are raised by their class teacher, parent or the child limited progress is being made. there is a change in the pupils behaviour Tests used in our school include Dyslexia Early Screening, Speech and Language screening.

9. 3. Who can you speak to at our school if you think your child may have special educational needs? Detail the key staff in your school that parents should contact. If you have concerns about your child, you can come and discuss them at any time. You can talk to any of the following people:- Your child’s class teacher Our special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) – Mr John Gordon Headteacher – Mrs Caroline Jones

10. 4. How do we know what progress your child is making and how will we keep you informed? Include here your school’s systems, processes and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of provision for SEN. Describe Governors responsibilities and how they are involved in monitoring. Include how your school judges the impact of support provided to children with SEN. Describe your arrangements for keeping parents informed and opportunities for regular contact. Monitoring progress is an integral part of teaching and leadership within Hollytrees. As well as parents, children and staff our governors are involved in reviewing the impact of interventions with learners. We follow the ‘assess, plan, do, review’ model. Progress data for all learners is collated by the whole school and monitored by staff, the Headteacher and Governors. Our open door policy provides parents with the opportunity for discussion face to face or on the telephone. We hold regular celebration assemblies and class assemblies. Each child with SEN has their own learning targets that they are working towards and these are discussed at termly review meetings with parents.

11. 5. How will our school support your child and how will the teaching be adapted to meet their needs? Describe your school’s approaches to differentiation and the skills that staff have to support this. Detail your inclusion policy, reasonable adjustments that your school makes. Describe the use of Individual Education Plans and how learning is planned. We are committed to giving your child every opportunity to achieve. We do this by offering a wide ranging curriculum that is differentiated by the class teacher to support the specific needs of your child. Your child will be given an individual education plan which will detail how the curriculum will be tailored and the support, adaptations and aids that will be provided. We are a fully inclusive school that takes reasonable action to ensure that your child can access all learning opportunities. For further details of how we do this, please take a look at our inclusion policy which is published on our website.

12. 6. How are decisions made about the type and how much support my child will receive? Outline here the additional support and types of support offered to children. Describe how the school’s resources are allocated. Describe who is involved in the decision making process and how you involve parents. Hollytrees School has a budget for SEN which is allocated each financial year. This money is used to provide additional support or resources identified in their individual education plan. Additional provision will be made available if reviews and assessments identify that your child is not making the progress we and you would expect. The types of support available may include a teaching assistant, specialist input from professionals such as an educational psychologist, specialist software for use on laptops, iPads or other alternative recording devices. If, through discussion with yourself, the SENCO and other staff in our school, it is agreed that the school cannot meet your child’s needs through existing resources, an application may be made to the local authority for an Education, Health and Care Plan. This process can be found on the local offer website.

13. 7. How will our school help you to support your child’s learning? Describe the opportunities for regular contact about things that have happened in school eg home school book. Details of parent training or learning events. Describe how the parents can support learning outside of school. We actively encourage you as a parent to be involved with your child’s learning. The class teacher may suggest ways of how you can support your child alongside homework activities. If outside agencies or the Educational Psychologist has been involved suggestions and programs of study provided by them are normally provided that can be used at home. We also run a number of training sessions for parents throughout the school year which are published on our website. Our school also has an active parents group and if you are interested in joining please contact Julie Smith on 01254 61259 for further details.

14. 8. What specialist services and expertise are available or accessible through our school? Describe the involvement of other services/organisations involved with your school. This could include heath, social care, LA support through the SEN team and advisory teachers, school nurses, speech and language. We work closely with and have access to the following agencies to support your child’s needs:- Therapy services including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language Advisory teachers within the inclusion support service Educational Psychology Team SEN Team Social Services Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (ELCAS) Parent Partnership Barnardos – Independent Supporters

15. 9. How are the staff in school supported to work with children with special educational needs and what training do they have? Outline your school’s approach to staff training and development. If you have specialist staff detail their qualifications and expertise. Include information on disability awareness training and the wellbeing of children. We have an extensive programme of training and development available in our school for both teaching and support staff. Our SENCO, Mr Gordon holds the National Award for Special Educational Needs Co-ordination Qualification. All staff undertake training in relation to safeguarding and disability awareness. Some staff have specialist training in supporting, behaviour management, language and communication difficulties and supporting children with autism.

16. 10. How will our school ensure that your child is included in activities outside the classroom, including physical activities and school trips? Describe the involvement of parents in planning activities and trips. Provide information on the types of activities that are available and how your school assists children to access them. Include information about support that is provided during lunch times, breaks, and at the beginning and end of the school day. Activities and school trips are available to all children in our school and full details are available on our website. A risk assessment will be carried out with you and procedures put in place to ensure that your child can participate. We are always looking for volunteers to accompany our children on trips and visits, so please contact your class teacher if you would like to get involved. Personal assistants are employed in our school to help if your child requires support during break and meal times and we have a wide range of clubs that take place during lunch breaks and after school. A full schedule is available on our website.

17. 11. How will our school support your child’s overall wellbeing? Explain the pastoral, medical and social support available. Detail the school’s policy for medical conditions, management of medicines and provision of personal care. Describe support for behaviour, avoiding exclusions, increasing attendance and how children are kept safe. Describe how children are given the opportunity to contribute their views. The well-being of your child is central to the ethos of our school, our open door policy and proactive approach to dealing with any concerns or issues that your child is facing enables Hollytrees to provide a happy safe and caring environment. The emotional wellbeing of your child is extremely important to us and our well-being co-ordinator Sally Jones is there to provide help and support to both you and your child, so feel free to contact her if you have any concerns. If your child has a medical need then a care plan will be prepared in consultation with you and the appropriate medical practitioners. Many of our staff are trained in first aid. All our policies in relation to the well-being of your child are available on our website.

18. 12. How accessible is our school both indoors and outdoors for children with special educational needs? Detail the school’s accessibility policy. Describe the school’s resources eg disabled changing and toilet facilities, wheelchair access. Have there been improvements in the auditory and visual environment. Detail any specialist equipment that is provided and how it is secured if required. Our school is fully accessible with dedicated disabled parking bays and a ramp to access the school. Internally we have a lift and overhead hoists. We have specialist changing facilities and toilets. Full details are available in our accessibility policy (attached).

19. 13. How will our school prepare and support your child when joining our school and when transferring to a new school? Detail your school’s approach to transition. Provide information on links with other schools. Explain what support you provide to their child’s new school. We will arrange for your child to attend a number of introductory events at our school. These will include activity days where your child can meet their class teacher and other children who will be starting school at the same time. We have developed excellent relationships with other schools in our area. Your child will have the opportunity to visit their new school and meet their new teacher on various occasions. We will ensure that all the relevant information about your child’s needs are discussed at a transition review meeting and all the appropriate records are forwarded to the new school.

20. 14. Who can you contact for further information? Include a web link to the local authority’s local offer. Details of who to contact if a parent is considering sending their child to your school. Detail the first point of contact if a parent wanted to discuss something about their child. Details of who to contact if they are worried about their child’s provision. Ensure contact details of the SENCO are included in this section. Details of who else will have a role in their child’s education. Provide details of your complaints procedure. If you have concerns relating to the school provision, please speak to the Head Teacher or SENCO. The formal complaints procedure can be accessed on our website. Our Governing Body has a designated SEN Governor, Colin Reynolds, responsible for reviewing practice and supporting the SENCO. Blackburn with Darwen’s local offer sets out a range of support and services available to you and your child. This can be accessed at www.bwd-localoffer.org.uk