1. 1 VIEWLEY HILL ACADEMY

2. How does our school identify that children have special educational needs and/or disabilities? (SEND) What are the first steps school will take if SEND are identified? What should parents/carers do if they think their child has SEND? How can you raise concerns? What intervention is available to children? How will our school involve children in the assessment process? How will our school teach and support children with SEND? What expertise does the school and our staff have in relation to SEND? How does our school ensure that information about a child’s SEND or EHC plan is shared and understood by teachers and all relevant staff who come into contact with your child? How will our school include parents and the child in planning support? What access do our children with SEND have to facilities and extra curricular activities? Who will be talking with and keeping in touch with the parent/carer? How do we assess and evaluate the provision we have arranged for your child? How does our school plan transition for children with SEND? Who will be working with your child? How is the different provision delivered in our school? What role will your child’s teacher play in the additional provision? More information Which other services do we use to provide for and support our children? How will parents/carers be kept informed of engagement in additional provision whilst it is ongoing? How does our school encourage parents/carers to become involved in the additional provision?

3. Main Menu We assess children formally at the end of each half term and analyse this data against age related and national expectations. Pupils not meeting these expectations are identified as needing extra support. This may be provided via more personally differentiated work, some additional help through a small group intervention or more adult support in class. Where concerns remain despite this additional support, school will seek parental permission to access further specialist advice and guidance. For example: An assessment by the Academy’s Language and Learning Teacher An assessment by an Educational Psychologist A referral into The Bungalow Project (behaviour support) A referral into CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) A referral to School Health If SEND is identified, parents will be fully informed about their child’s specific difficulties and needs and what the academy will put in place to support them. If you as parents or carers believe there is a SEND concern regarding your child you should first of all raise this with your child’s class teacher, either at a termly consultation meeting or by telephoning to make an appointment. Useful contacts and links: Middlesbrough Parent Partnership Service SEN Code of Practice The main support for pupils with SEND is the class teacher whose responsibility it is to ensure that all children are making progress. In addition to the class teacher, the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO; Mrs Clarke) is available to parents to discuss and review progress. Children may be supported by teaching assistants who deliver specific programmes and interventions to address SEND. All staff who work with a child with SEND keep the class teacher informed as to progress so that there is an accurate picture of development. Children are kept informed about their progress through daily marking and feedback from their class teacher and any other adult who works with them. Targets are set and reviewed at least half termly but in many cases SEND targets are small step and managed over a shorter time frame. Children can talk to their class teacher at any point about their progress and to discuss their work. Further help and information will be given to help the children know how to make improvements. Viewley Hill provides a range of pastoral support to help parents, carers and children understand the systems and processes that are in place to support SEND. Mrs Moore, our Parent Support Adviser, is available to meet with parents and if possible, attend any external meetings to aid information sharing. The Bungalow Project also provides support and advice to parents and carers particularly in relation to emotional and social difficulties. The Headteacher is also available to meet with parents if this is felt to be useful.

4. Main Menu Communication and Interaction Social, Emotional and Mental Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties Health Difficulties Cognition and Learning Cognition and Learning Sensory and/or Physical Needs Sensory and/or Physical Needs At Viewley Hill we have high aspirations for all our pupils and we aim to provide high quality, inclusive education. In practical terms this means that we aim to ensure that children identified as having SEND have equal access to the curriculum and the opportunities provided at Viewley Hill Academy. We do this in the following ways: Carefully differentiated teaching, flexible timetabling and personalised resources including access to appropriate IT; High staffing levels to ensure that children are well supported by adults in their learning and to provide small group teaching or individual support where necessary; Access to specialist professionals and agencies such as the Academy’s Language and Learning Teacher, Educational Psychologist, Speech and Language, School Health, CAMHS. Outcomes of any external assessments are shared with parents and carers. Half termly meetings between SENCO and class teachers to discuss children’s progress and identify next steps; Termly consultation meetings with parents and carers to ensure you are kept fully informed and involved in the provision for your children; The class teacher is always the first contact to discuss a child and additionally, the school SENCO (Mrs Clarke) is available to meet with any parents who wish to discuss their child’s SEND provision. Children are made aware of their targets and their progress towards meeting these through discussions with the class teacher and teaching assistant if they have been working together. Progress is celebrated and rewarded with stickers, visits to other teachers and other small treats to keep children motivated. Carefully planned transitions involving the receiving setting. For children with a statement or EHC plan this will begin in Year 5. All children have access to extra-curricular activities such as clubs and residentials. Relevant adaptations will be made to ensure that children with SEND can participate as fully as possible. Please click on the links above for more details about how we plan and provide for children identified with SEND. Viewley Hill is a fully accessible, single storey site with a disabled toilet. Information regarding the Academy’s approach to inclusive education can be found in the following policies on our website and a hard copy can be provided on request: SEN Policy Accessibility Policy Equality Policy Supporting Children at School with Medical Conditions Policy Anti-Bullying Policy Intimate Care Policy

5. Main Menu Viewley Hill Academy employs a part time Learning and Language specialist teacher (Mrs Dickson) who can carry out detailed assessments of children’s communication and cognitive skills. The information from these assessments may be used in several ways: to refer into further specialist agencies e.g. occupational health, educational psychology to plan tailored interventions to address specific learning difficulties to support a request for statutory assessment (Education, Health and Care Plan) Sometimes Mrs Dickson delivers these interventions herself over a course of several weeks and other times Mrs Dickson trains a teaching assistant to deliver the intervention. All teachers and teaching assistants at Viewley Hill receive regular SEND training to ensure skills are updated and relevant knowledge is shared. Mrs Dickson works closely with the school SENCO and meets with parents following an assessment or review to ensure that parental views are considered and that information is fully shared. Viewley Hill has an additional early intervention class which is kept deliberately smaller than other class groups and is highly staffed (2014-15 17 children: 1 teacher and 2 FT TAs). This provision is for children in Reception and Y1 who are working well below age related expectations and/or require higher levels of support to access the curriculum. Sometimes this is closely linked to social development. All classes have a full time Teaching Assistant (TA) attached to them and each afternoon TAs deliver intervention programmes to children in their class who have been identified as requiring additional support. Mrs Clarke (SENCO) analyses half termly assessments to inform decisions regarding who should receive interventions and then this is discussed with the class teacher and TA. Adaptations are made to the curriculum, timetable and provision to meet individual children’s needs. For example there is a Lunchtime Club with a range of activities including art and IT which is available to children who struggle with the challenge of self regulation during unstructured time or who find the playground socially overwhelming. School trips and visits are carefully planned to ensure that children with SEND have their needs met e.g. all TAs have received first aid training and medication can be administered as necessary. The views of parents and carers are sought if it is thought that a particular experience, including after school clubs, may prove challenging and a plan will be drawn up with school to ensure that all staff involved (Viewley staff and external coaches) are fully aware of children’s needs. The majority of information sharing will be between the class teacher and parents/carers. Teachers are available at the end of the day as children are dismissed or can be contacted via the school office (telephone 01642 591 052) and an appointment can be arranged.

6. Main Menu Each half term the progress and attainment of all pupils at Viewley Hill is assessed and analysed. The performance of children identified with SEND is carefully monitored to check whether adequate progress is being made and to identify whether any further assessment or support is required. This is done via a meeting between the SENCO and class teacher and may also involve the Deputy Headteacher (Raising Standards Leader) and Headteacher if appropriate. Children’s views are sought regarding how effective they have found the support and how well they think they are doing. This helps to inform the next steps as children respond differently to the various intervention styles e.g. IT based, practical apparatus based, small group v individual sessions. Parents are kept informed of their children’s progress at termly consultation meetings but may have additional meetings if this is deemed necessary. Parents and carers are welcome to contact the academy at any point to discuss concerns regarding their child or to receive information regarding their progress and attainment. Children with high needs SEND (and who may be subject to an Education Health and Care Plan) will have an annual review which is a detailed multi agency meeting involving the children and parents/carers to assess the effectiveness of the support they have received over the year and whether any changes need to be made to their provision. It may be necessary to involve Local Authority Officers if specialist provision is deemed necessary e.g. an Infant Assessment Class, Junior Support Base or Special School placement. Transition between phases (Foundation Stage to KS1, KS1 to KS2 and KS2 to secondary school) is carefully planned. Additional visits are arranged for children with SEND to ensure that there is adequate time for information sharing between professionals, parents/carers and children. The majority of children transferring to secondary school have a week long transition; further access can be arranged if necessary. Information regarding SEN (e.g. assessment data, provision maps, specialist reports) is handed on to the new school SENCO. Transitions within school are overseen by the SENCO who ensures that staff are fully aware of the needs of the children in their care.

7. Plan Menu Communication and Interaction Access to small group and/or individualised interventions to develop skills in communication, interaction, emotional awareness, self care, flexible thinking Access to expert outreach staff via Beverley Special School (nursery is hosted on site at Viewley Hill Academy) Access to speech therapy service; 1:1 work and follow up back in the classroom Access to Educational Psychologist for assessment and support Enhanced access to visual approaches e.g. personal timetables Access to low stimulus area/workstations in classroom Flexible approaches to timetable Modifications to lunch and/or breaktimes; lunchtime club Enhanced access to additional aids e,g, fidgets, weighted resources Enhanced access to technology (tablets and PCs) Explicit teaching of generalising skills from one context to another Careful planning of transitions; photo books, early visits, meetings with key staff Mentoring and/or buddy systems Social stories developed alongside a TA

8. Plan Menu Cognition and Learning Cognition and Learning Regular, individually focused intervention Increased access to small group teaching and/or support Access to the Academy’s Learning and Language Teacher Access to Early Intervention Class (Reception/KS1) Access to Educational Psychologist for assessment and support Practical aids for learning e.g. number squares, time/number lines, pictures, photos, accessible reading material suited to ability Access to specific programmes to develop C&L e.g Nessie, Toe by Toe, Power of 2 Enhanced access to technology Adaptations to assessments to support access e.g. readers, scribe, IT, additional time, rest breaks Frequent repetition and reinforcement.

9. Plan Menu Social, Emotional and Mental Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties Health Difficulties Access to therapeutic work through The Bungalow Project Access to Early Intervention Class (Reception/KS1) Access to Educational Psychologist for assessment and support Access to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) Access to time out/individual work area Mentoring/buddying by peer or staff member as appropriate Individualised rewards system Access to counselling e.g. bereavement/grief services; domestic violence services Small group social skills intervention e.g. circle of friends Increased access to additional adults in the classroom Alternative curriculum opportunities

10. Plan Menu Sensory and/or Physical Needs Sensory and/or Physical Needs Physical aids to support access e.g. wheelchair, walking frame, hearing aids, large print materials Access to a specialist teacher/LSA for the hearing/visual impaired as required Concrete apparatus available to support learning Access to support for personal care Therapy programmes delivered in school, designed by specialists e.g. Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists Adapted curriculum to enable full access e.g. alternative recording devices, modified PE curriculum