Q3: What are the different types of support available for children with SEND at St Mary of the Angels?

Class teacher input via quality, differentiated, targeted classroom teaching also known as Quality First Teaching
 
For your child this would mean:
  • That the teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all pupils in their class.
  • That all teaching is based on building on what your child already knows, can do and can understand.
  • That the teacher is also aware of the need to revisit, revise and consolidate as appropriate within the differing groups in her/his classroom.
  • Different ways of teaching are in place so that your child is fully involved in learning in class. This may involve things like using more practical learning.
  • Specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENCO or outside staff) are in place to support your child to learn.
  • Your child's teacher will have checked on your child's progress and will have identified gaps in their understanding/learning; this will then trigger a need for some type of extra support to help them make the best possible progress.
All children in school should be getting this as a part of quality classroom practice when needed.

Specific group work with in a smaller group of children

This group, often called an intervention or booster group in school, may be run

  • in the classroom
  • in a smaller teaching area in school;
and may be facilitated by a teacher or a Teaching assistant, who has had appropriate training to run these groups.

For your child this would mean:

  • He/she will engage in group sessions with specific targets to help him/her to make more progress regularly for an identified period of time.
  • A Learning Support Assistant/teacher or outside professional (like a Speech and Language Therapist) will run these small group sessions using the teacher's plan.
This type of support is available for any child who has specific gaps in their understanding of a subject/area of learning. It is used across an identified fixed period of time(usually between 8-10weeks) before children are re assessed and targets are reviewed as appropriate. Parents are kept updated on progress and next steps.

Specialist groups or individual support for your child run by outside agencies, eg. Speech and Language therapy, Educational Psychologist advice and consultations, Occupational therapy groups, etc
 
These are groups or individual support for children who have been identified by the class teacher/Inclusion Manager/Senior Management team as needing some extra specialist support in school from a professional outside the school. This may be from:

  • Local Authority central services such a Educational Psychology or the Sensory Service ( for students with a hearing or visual need).
  • Local Authority central services such as the Speech and Language therapy.
  • Other outside agencies such as CAMHS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service) and other Senior Advisory services and teaching bodies such as the B'Ham LA Advisory SEN Support service.
For your child this would mean:

  • Your child will have been identified by the class teacher/Inclusion Manager/Senior Management team (or you will have raised your worries) as needing more specialist input instead of, or in addition to quality first teaching and intervention groups.
  • You will be asked to come to a meeting to discuss your child's progress and help plan possible ways forward.
  • You may be asked to give your permission for the school to refer your child to a specialist professional, eg. a Speech and Language Therapist or Educational Psychologist. This will help the school and yourself understand your child's particular needs better and be able to support them better in school.
  • The specialist professional will work with your child to understand their needs and make recommendations, which may include:
    • Making changes to the way your child is supported in class, eg. some individual support or changing some aspects of teaching to support them better.
    • Support to set better targets which will include their specific expertise.
    • A group run by school staff under the guidance of the outside professional, eg. a social skills group.
    • A group or individual work with outside professional.
  • The school may suggest that your child needs some agreed individual support in school. They will tell you how the support will be used and what strategies will be put in place.
This type of support is available for children with specific barriers to learning that cannot be overcome through Quality First Teaching and intervention groups.

Specified Individual support each week in school

Until September 2014 this support was provided via a Statement of Special Educational Needs. Government legislation now means that all new assessments will be via an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Walsall Local Authority in their most recent SEN Newsletter (July 2014) advised parents and schools that existing statements will be converted to EHCP, across a 3 year period, with ample notification in advance to all. In the mean time, here at St Marys, we will continue to implement the advice identified on all statements in place currently.

This type of support means your child will have been identified by the class teacher/ Inclusion Manager/ Senior management team as needing a particularly high level of individual or small group teaching which cannot be provided from the normal budget available to the school.

Usually your child will also need specialist support in school from a professional outside the school. This may be from:

  • Local Authority central services such as Educational Psychology or Sensory Service (for students with a hearing or visual need).
  • Local Authority central services such as Speech and Language therapy, Early Help team (who offer family liaison and support where they can be of assistance).
  • Other outside agencies such as CAMHS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service)and other Senior Advisory services and teaching bodies such as the B'Ham LA Advisory SEN Support service.
For your child this would mean:

  • The school, parent or Early Help representative (if your child is receiving support from the Walsall Early help or Family support teams)) can request that the Local Authority carry out the new assessment towards developing an EHCP. A key worker will be appointed at this stage to assist in ensuring that the correct information is appropriately forwarded to the LA SEND department for assessment. This may be a member of school staff.
  • The assessment will be made based on the evidence presented by all professionals. Children's views feature strongly in the new approaches to assessing needs. Schools are now much more involved in shaping the provision for children and parents are much more involved, in consultation with schools, in decisions about resources to support children's progress.
  • The time taken to produce an EHCP plan, should the request be successful, is now 6 weeks shorter than the old statementing process, and should take 20 weeks.
  • In the event of a request being unsuccessful, parents will be informed and advised on next steps by the LA.
This type of support is available for children whose learning needs are:

  • Severe, complex and lifelong.
  • Need considerable weekly personal support.