SEND
‘Parents appreciate the effective, individualised provision that is swiftly implemented, enabling pupils to flourish, emotionally and academically. As one parent commented, ‘children at Micklefield are seen as individuals not statistics.’ The school’s proactive approach results in a caring community, where the vision of faith, hope and love ties everything together.’
SIAMS Report 2023
At Micklefield CE Primary Academy, our SENDCo is Mrs Caroline Loring and she can be contacted via the office: 0113 2869232 or office@micklefieldprimary.org.uk.
As a school, we endeavour to ensure that all children, regardless of their individual needs, can access a rich and relevant, ambitious curriculum, in order for them to flourish. Our intent is underpinned by a deep understanding of the diverse needs of children with SEND; a commitment to high expectations, and a belief in the importance of early identification and purposeful, quality intervention. Our systematic and collaborative practices are rooted in meaningful, transparent relationships with our children and their families. By listening to each other and working together, we strive to ensure that our children develop a sense of confidence, independence, and self-advocacy, thus enabling them to take ownership of their learning.
A culture of inclusivity is fostered throughout our school, where children with SEND are valued members of the school community, and a strong emphasis is placed on celebrating diversity and promoting understanding and respect for all.
What do I do if I think my child might have special educational needs?
- Please contact the school and arrange a meeting with your child’s class teacher and /or Mrs Loring, our Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO).
- We will listen carefully to your concerns and discuss appropriate actions to support your child. This might involve seeking the advice of other professionals if necessary.
What specialist services and expertise are available or accessed by the school?
We have access to a broad range of services to support our children with SEN and/ or disabilities in school. These include:
Health services
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Physiotherapy
- CAHMS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service)
- School Nursing
Team Educational Specialists:
- Educational Psychology
- Complex Needs Team
- STARS Team (Autism outreach service)
We recognise the need for early support and intervention and have close links with the Early Years Team in Leeds to support children, staff and parents in Reception.
Our links with Garforth Extended Services also enable us to direct parents/ carers to other services that might be available to support them or their child.
How accessible is the school?
As a school, we are happy to discuss individual access requirements. Facilities we have at the moment include level access to school to make the building accessible to all and a disabled toilet facility.
Who can I contact for further information?
Please contact the school office who will be able to pass on your query to the relevant member of staff. If you would like to apply for a place they will also be able to give you information on how to apply. There is also a section of our website which covers this.
If I wish to discuss something about my child?
Please contact your child’s class teacher via email or speak to the school office to arrange an appointment.
How we support children with Special Educational Needs
At Micklefield, we do our best to ensure that the necessary provision is made for any pupil who has special educational needs and that those needs are known to all who are likely to work with them. We will ensure that teachers are able to identify and provide for those pupils with special educational needs, allowing them to join in all school activities together with pupils who do not have special educational needs.
If your child is making less than expected progress given their age and individual circumstances, the first response will be high quality teaching by your child’s class teacher targeted at their areas of difficulty. For your child this would mean:
Your child’s teacher would continue to set high expectations for your child and every child in the class.
Teaching would be differentiated to meet the individual needs of the children in the class.
In some circumstances, they may receive group or individual intervention:
Group/individual intervention may be necessary to specifically target your child’s needs. Eg. Through additional/specific resources; additional adult focus or adult-led work.
Concerns and actions taken would be recorded on an Internal Cause for Concern proforma (ICC) and shared with parents. Your child’s progress would then be monitored and recorded using the ICC.
If your child’s progress continues to be less than expected, your child’s class teacher, in liaison with the SENCO, will write an Individual Provision Map (IPM), which will include all actions designed to secure better progress. Your child may then be added to our SEND Register. For your child this might mean:
Specific group work with a smaller group of children/individual work with clear targets to help your child to make more progress. These groups might be led by a teacher or a support assistant who has been trained to deliver the programmes.
IPMs are shared with parents and reviewed at least termly with parents and class teachers, or with parents and the SENCO. The child's voice is also very important to us, and their views are sought as part of the review process.
After extensive work within universal and targeted support (see Provision Maps), it might be decided that your child needs additional and personalised support via an outside agency such as the Speech and Language Service, SENIT (Special Educational Needs and Inclusion Team), STARS (Specialist Training in Autism and Raising Standards) or Occupational Therapy. In this case, a referral would be made, and your child might participate in very small group work or individual work in school, led by or directed by a professional who is based outside the school.
Teachers and the SENCO will review all programmes regularly. These reviews will be shared with you each term. If you have any questions or concerns before these times, either your child’s class teacher or the SENCO will be happy to discuss them with you.
identification flowchart
SEND funding explained
As a school we receive the school budget from the Education Funding Agency; this includes the Notional SEND budget to support SEND children. This budget is used to support SEND children with all ranges of need, and is worked out using a national formula per pupil.
Blocks of funding are allocated depending on the number of children who meet the criteria and who are on the schools SEND register, and this money must be spent by school to support children with SEND. The way this money is spent is decided upon by the Head teacher in discussion with Governors.
Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Inclusion Fund (SENDIF)
SENDIF provides additional funding to support children who have low level needs or emerging SEND in Early Years. SENDIF is available for 3 and 4 year olds, and has different criteria to EYFFI. As with all funding, evidence must be provided to ensure that criteria is met.
The school uses the additional funds to put in place appropriate support to meet the needs of individual children. This might take the form of additional staffing to support a child to access the curriculum and develop independence or additional resources.
Decisions regarding the deployment of SEND funding are made by the Head teacher in consultation with relevant other professionals.
Links with other Professionals/Staff expertise
We have access to a broad range of services to support our children with SEND, which include:
Health services:
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Physiotherapy
- CAHMS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service)
- School Nursing
Team Educational Specialists:
- Educational Psychology
- SENIT (Special Educational Needs and Inclusion Team)
- STARS (Specialist Training in Autism and Raising Standards)
Staff Training
- The school SENCO attends termly network meetings within the cluster and city to keep abreast of current issues regarding SEND and to share good practice.
- Our Speech and Language Therapist offers regular support & training to staff to deliver individual programmes for children.
- Staff receive regular in-house training in SEND procedures and policies.
- Staff attend training and refresher training to support any published interventions which they carry out with children.
- All staff have received L1 Autism awareness training.
- Within the staff, we also have members who:
- Have received L3 Autism training
- Have received training in using the Autism Progression Framework
- Are trained in using basic Makaton
- Have a basic awareness of British Sign Language
- Have received training in how to use B Squared (a small-steps assessment tool for children with SEND)
- Have received Dyslexia training
The school is fully committed to providing staff with continued professional development, which includes training in areas of special educational needs and/or disabilities.
Guidance for Parents
If you have concerns about your child’s progress, please contact the school office to arrange a meeting with your class teacher.
If you think your child might have a special educational need, please contact the school office to arrange a meeting with your class teacher and the SENDCO.
We will listen carefully to your concerns and discuss appropriate actions to support your child. This might involve seeking the advice of other professionals if necessary.
School telephone number: 0113 2869232
Office email: office@micklefieldprimary.org.uk
Transferring from/to another school
If your child is joining us from another school, we will contact the SENCO at your child’s previous school and all information regarding additional or specialist support for you child will be passed on to us. Usually, a meeting or telephone conversation will take place to discuss your child’s needs and provision. We will also arrange a meeting with you, your child’s new teacher and the SENCO to discuss what their provision will look like at Micklefield.
Any funding your child received at their previous school will then be transferred to us, and we will be able to access any formal documents/records relating to your child via an online SEND portal.
If your child leaves Micklefield to join another school, or when transferring to High School, we will pass on any records and information about your child to their new school.
SENDIASS (SEND Information Advice Support Service)
If you would like advice and support outside of the school, SENDIASS is an advice support service available to parents and carers.
‘Leeds SEND IASS is impartial, confidential, arm's length from the Local Authority and schools, free and accessible to all parents and carers of children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities. Leeds SEND IASS involves parents and carers, children and young people in discussions and decisions about their individual support. Leeds SEND IASS will work with parents/carers children and young people to ensure that they are fully involved in the planning of SEN support for their individual needs in early years settings, schools and colleges.’
SENDIASS contact details:
Helpline
Tel: 0113 378 5020
Email: LeedsSENDIASS@leeds.gov.uk
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SEND Local Offer
Our Local Authority has a detailed website explaining the services and support that are available for families who have young people with SEND.
The ‘Services Provided by Leeds City Council’ section is divided into these sub-sections, each providing further sub-sections, details and links to useful information.
If you would like further information about the Local Authority’s SEND offer, or would like to explore their website, please follow the link: Local Offer