Special Education Needs & Disability Provision

Special Educational Needs and Disability Provision

We are committed to providing all our pupils with a broad, balanced, and enriched curriculum that is accessible to all and promotes Inclusion. We value all our children and work hard to ensure that they can flourish. Our Special Educational Needs and Disability Coordinator (SENDco) advises our team to ensure that all children are happy, safe, and achieving in school not only academically, but also emotionally and socially. She will also liaise with a number of external agencies to make sure the school has access to the right expertise to help the children who need extra support.

Valerie Steunou – Special Education Needs & Disability Lead

What is SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities)

A pupil has SEND needs if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special provision to be made for them.

They have a learning difficulty or disability if they have;

• A significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age: For example, they may have dyslexia, or have language and communication difficulties.
• A disability that prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools. For example, they may be visually-impaired or use a wheelchair.

Special Educational Provision is an educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for other children and young people of the same age by mainstream schools.

Children with SEND needs are placed on the SEND register. Parents are always involved in the decision to add a child to the register so it should never come as a surprise. It is always the results of discussions between the teaching team, the SENDco, and the family.

What do I do if I have concerns about my child’s progress?

The first step is to talk to your child’s teacher. They may be able to help straight away. They may advise that you make an appointment to see Ms. Steunou and discuss your concerns further. It may be that your child’s difficulties need extra support and equipment. We will discuss this together and decide whether your child needs to be on the SEND register.

My child is already on the SEND register:

This means that the school (or a former school) has assessed your child and you have already had discussions about their needs. Your child will receive extra support. This can take many forms: 1:1 support, paired support, small group teaching, use of technology like Chrome books, adaptations to the environment, extra equipment like work station, timers, ear defenders, etc.

Your child’s needs will be recorded in a Support Plan. In the Autumn term, you will meet with Ms. Steunou and your child’s teacher to discuss targets for the year. In the Summer term, you will meet again to discuss how your child has progressed against those targets. You and your child will be involved in shaping the support plan and we will actively seek your opinions.

My child’s needs are increasing: they are more complex and/or more severe

If despite extra support, your child is still not progressing, then it may be time to consider escalating the support and request an Education, Health and Care Plan Assessment (EHCAR). The school would apply to the LEA (North Yorkshire) for extra funding because your child’s needs are too severe/complex for the school to be able to provide enough support without extra funding.

Once the school applies for an EHCAR, the decision to award an EHCP or not resides with the SEND department at North Yorkshire County Council. We will hold a meeting where everyone involved in supporting your child will contribute. You and your child will be at the centre of this process. At the end of the meeting, a representative of the NY SEND department (ARO: Assessment Review Officer) will either recommend an EHCP or not.

Only a minority of children in mainstream schools have an EHCP. It is a statutory plan reviewed every year. It entitles your child to extra funding but does not equate to 1:1 support. The support is expressed as an amount of Element 3 funding calculated by the Council. It will follow your child wherever he goes, whatever school he/she attends provided the needs are still requiring extra support.

For further information, please call the school office or email admin.shs@ebor.academy

• Ebor SEN Policy

  EBOR SEND Policy

• SEN Information Report

  SEND Information Report

• Local Authority Local Offer – NYC

  Local Authority Local Offer – NYC

• Supporting Children with Medical Needs