Our Graduated Approach to SEND
High Quality Teaching is vital for all children and all of our children receive this; however for some children there are occasions when further help or additional support may be needed. You know your child best and you may feel that your child needs some additional help or support.
This article is to inform you of the types of support available, who can help, how to access this support and what a child with Special Educational Needs might receive at Christ Church & St Peter’s CofE Primary School.
The Phases of Support
The SEND code of practice 2014 states that schools MUST use a ‘graduated approach’ to supporting children with Special Educational Needs and here at Christ Church & St Peter’s C of E Primary School we operate a phased approach to ensuring that we are removing and reducing barriers to learning and ensuring that our SEN provision is of a very high quality.
The Phases
N.B. These phases are not automatically linear and where necessary children are started at the most appropriate phase or fast tracked through if we have the evidence of their needs requiring it.
| * | For most children, inclusive high quality 1st teaching will enable them to make good progress. This high quality teaching is adapted to meet the needs of individuals. |
| Phase 1 | If a child is not making as much progress as we expect or maybe has a specific area that they are finding tricky, teachers will raise a concern to the SENCo and monitor the child’s progress more closely. Parents too, can raise a concern. This could be shared at a parent’s evenings or by making an appointment with the class teacher or the SENCo. |
| Phase 2 | If a child continues to not make as much progress as we expect or maybe has a specific area that continues to be difficult, class teachers will organise an appropriate, measurable intervention for the child, make a reasonable adjustment to particular classroom practice or provide extra classroom support. |
| Phase 3 | If a child continues to not make as much progress as we expect or maybe has a specific area that they are still finding difficult, despite intervention, the SENCo will arrange for a specialist Teaching Assistant or Teacher to deliver a specialised programme or refer to an external agency for further support and assessment. At phase 3 termly Team Around the Child (TAC) meetings will be held to review and monitor progress. |
| Phase 4 | If a child needs the intervention and support at Phase 3 over an extended period of time (longer than the current school year) they will have a SEND Support Plan (SSP) written for them. The SENCo may then, in consultation with parents, decide to apply to the Local Authority for Intervention Funding to help support the child further. |
| Phase 5 | If a child has a specific special need or range of needs, a diagnosed need or ongoing needs then an Education Health & Care Plan (EHCp) could/ would be applied for. The government and Local Authority set out clear criteria to be met for an EHCp to be given. An EHCp is a legally binding document with statutory obligations in it for schools and other agencies and enables a child’s education to be safeguarded and ranked of highest importance as well as strengthening child and family choices and views. |
| Phase 6 | As a school, we will always make reasonable adjustments to any part of our school day, environment and teaching to ensure all children are included. However, if we cannot not fully meet the needs of a child, we would support the family in accessing a specialist placement for their child. A child MUST have an EHCp to go to a specialist placement. |
Within each phase and termly, the 4 part cycle occurs:
| Access | A range of assessments will be carried out to provide a clear analysis of a child’s needs, at regular intervals - planned opportunities |
| Plan | The teacher and the SENCo, in consultation with the parent and the pupil will plan the adjustments, interventions and support to be put in place, as well as the expected impact on progress, development or behaviour. |
| Do | The plan is implemented. The class teacher remains responsible for working with the child on a daily basis. Where the interventions involve group or one-to-one teaching away from the main classroom, the teacher should still retain responsibility for the pupil. The class teacher works closely with any teaching assistants or specialist staff involved, to plan and assess the impact of support and interventions and how they can be linked to classroom teaching. |
| Review | The effectiveness of the support and interventions and their impact on the pupil’s progress are reviewed on and by an agreed date (at a regular interval - a planned opportunity). The impact and the quality of the interventions along with the views of the pupils and their parents are evaluated. |
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