SEND

Does your child have special educational needs or a disability?

We are here to help you as well as provide a happy environment for them - to enable their learning.

Our Offer:

SEND information report

Our Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Offer

At Rustington Community Primary School (RCPS), our ‘SEN information report’ aims to provide you with information about how we meet the needs of the children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities. RCPS is a mainstream school with over 600 pupils. Our dedicated staff continuously monitor and review the curriculum and wider aspects of the school to enable each individual child to achieve their best and fulfil their potential. Through the staff’s best endeavours every child is given equal opportunities to enable them to succeed.

How does the school know if my child needs extra help?

At RCPS we monitor every child’s levels of attainment and rate of progress over time. Teaching staff will raise their concerns, either academic or pastoral, with both parents and carers and these will be followed up by members of the Inclusion Team. We value concerns raised by parents and carers and also children themselves but appreciate that behaviours at home are often not reflective of what is seen in school and will support or refer for support appropriately. When required, other agencies supporting the child may also identify needs.

If you have any concerns that your child might have Special Educational Needs please speak initially to your child’s class teacher, you do not need to wait for a parents evening to do this.  Appointments can be made through the office.

Following this, advice can be sought from your child’s Year Group Leader or Mrs Holden (Assistant Head for inclusion)

How will the school support my child?

High quality teaching by your child’s class teacher is at the core of our provision and the school follows the advice set down in the Ordinarily Available Inclusive Practice document provided by West Sussex Local Authority (this document is linked at the bottom of the information report.) In class support may be provided through the class teacher or teaching assistant. This could be a targeted group within class or an individual or group intervention program such as phonics, Zones of Regulation, Block Club, Memory Magic. Children who have been identified as having additional educational needs will have their targets and provision recorded in an ILP (Individual Learning Plan.) These will be provided in consultation with parents and child to identify specific targets and will be reviewed regularly for impact and progress. This collaboration will take place during parent’s evening meetings.

If a child is identified as having SEN, we will provide support that is ‘additional to’ or ‘different from’ the high quality teaching normally provided. When providing support that is ‘additional to’ or ‘different from’ we engage in a four-stage process: Assess, Plan, Do and Review.

Assess – this involves taking into consideration all the information from discussions with parents or carers, the child, the class teacher and assessments. Our aim is to quickly identify children who are not making good or better progress as early as possible.

Plan – this stage identifies the barriers to learning, intended outcomes, and details the additional support that will be provided to help overcome the barriers.

Do – providing the support; extra assistance for learning or learning aids.

Review – measuring the impact of support provided, and considering whether changes to that support need to be made. All of those involved – the child, their parents or carer, teacher and, if needed, the Inclusion Leader – contribute to this review. This stage then informs the next cycle, if necessary.

Outside agency advice will be sought where necessary and the advice will be acted upon and shared with parents. RCPS is committed to providing an adapted curriculum to support the needs of every child, close planning in year teams ensures that learning can be tailored to a child’s individual needs.

The nominated SEN School Community Councillor will liaise with the SENCO and Senior Leadership Team to monitor progress, use of resources and standards.

Who will explain this to me?

At RCPS we endeavour to maintain high levels of communication with all of our parents and carers. We have an open door policy for parents/carers and appointments can be made with a specific member of staff as required. In addition to the above, parents are invited to attend the termly parent consultations where progress, targets and any extra support that is needed can be discussed with your child’s teacher.

Your child’s class teacher remains responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the pupils in their class, including where pupils access support from teaching assistants or specialist staff. 

If required, additional advice can be sought from meetings with our SENCO and you can contact the office to request this.  

How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?

At RCPS, we aim to provide a broad, balanced and inclusive curriculum designed to engage and motivate the children in their learning. The curriculum and teaching will be modified to meet the needs of all children - teachers and support staff will use a range of strategies such as use of resources and different methods of recording work whilst ensuring high expectations for all children. Children with significant special educational needs may follow an individually adapted curriculum which will be planned and overseen by their class teacher. Regular monitoring and review of provision is undertaken by class teachers with support from the Inclusion team and all children on the SEND register have individual targets which are frequently reviewed.

How will School know how my child is progressing?

As a school, we continuously assess and review children’s progress. Class teachers continuously assess each child and observe areas of strength and those for further development. Children’s progress and attainment are tracked from entry in Year 3 through to Year 6, using a variety of different measures including national and age related expectations.

Children who are not making expected progress are discussed in Year Teams on a frequent basis and with the Inclusion team when appropriate.

If your child has an ILP (Individual Learning Plan), it will be reviewed termly or before, if your child has achieved their targets. If your child has not achieved their targets, these will be reviewed and adapted into smaller steps or a different approach may be tried so that your child does make progress.

How will I know how my child is progressing and the impact of any interventions they participate in?

At RCPS we communicate with parents in a variety of ways. Teachers are available at the end of each day for more informal drop ins and you can always contact the office for a phone call home if you do not make school pick-ups.  Parents’ Consultations are held in the autumn and spring terms and members of the Inclusion team are also available at this time.  More formal meetings with the SENDCo can be made through the office.

ILPs will be discussed in parents’ consultation meetings and in the summer term class teachers will send home their Annual Report.  Children who have an Educational Health Care Plan will also have a statutory annual review meeting. School will also share any reports from outside agencies such as Autism and Social Communication Team (ASCT,) Speech and Language targets from NHS SALT support or Learning and Behaviour Advisory Team (LBAT.)

How will the school help me to support my child?

We can support parents in a variety of ways. However, if you require further support please contact your child’s class teacher, a member of the Inclusion team or Senior Leadership Team.

• Regular opportunities for parent/ teacher discussions
• Co-production of ILPs (Individual Learning Plan) between school, child and parents
• Collaboration during an EHCP (Educational Health Care Plan) assessment and annual review
• Parent workshops for supporting aspects of the curriculum and emotional development e.g., phonics workshop, parenting course for supporting children with anxiety
• Shared feedback following outside agency assessments
• Knowledge of children’s current targets shared through their ILP  
• Strategies to help support effective homework e.g., reading, TTRockstars/ Numbots or more specific revision activities 
• Connect Parents/Carers to outside agency support both locally within the community and through the Local Authority
• Half termly knowledge organisers are published on the school website

What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the school?

We access support services on a needs basis and so this can vary from term to term.

Mrs Holden is the Assistant Head for Inclusion, she is the named SENDCo and designated teacher for Children Looked After.  

Within the inclusion team we have; a full time Home School Link Worker who can support families at home, an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) who can work with pupils to support their emotional needs, a highly trained Teaching Assistant who delivers Speech and Language support to our high needs children, a Higher Level Teaching Assistant who delivers interventions for children who show dyslexic or dyscalculic traits.  We also have our own school welfare officer to support with medical needs.

We can also access a range of external services such as:

• NHS Speech and Language Therapists
• Occupational Therapists
• Physiotherapists
• Sensory Support Team
• Learning and Behaviour Team (LBAT)
• Autism, Social Communication Team (ASCT)
• Social Care
• Early Help Team & Dedicated Schools
• EMAT (Ethnic minority and traveller support service)
• Educational Psychology Service
• Family Link/Support Worker
• Educational Welfare Officer
• CAMHS (Child, Adolescent Mental Health Service)
• CMHLs (Community Mental Health Liaison Service)
• Virtual School (children we look after)
• Paediatricians
• Alternative Provision College
• Fair Access Team
• Child Development Centre (CDC)
• Thoughtful - Mental health Support Team (MHST)

Please note that there are limited numbers of children that we can referrer to LBAT AND ASCT. Some of these external services have incredibly long wait times for assessment.  This is out of the control of the school. 

What training have staff had or are currently having to support children with SEN?

Our training needs are under constant review and are planned to meet the needs of the children we care for as well as ensuring we meet statutory requirements. We have staff trained and qualified in the following areas,

• NASENCo Award
• Speech and Language Training
• Robust Vocabulary
• Speech Sounds
• Social Communication
• Senior Mental Health Lead
• Mental Health First Aid
• Song of Sounds Phonics
• Toe by Toe
• Precision Teaching for early reading skills
• Jump Ahead
• Dyslexia & Dyscalculia
• Targeted Mental Health Service Training
• WASP & HORNET phonics intervention
• Social and Emotional Development of children
• Supporting children with anxiety
• Zones of Regulation
• Drawing & Talking intervention
• Attachment Training
• Emotion Coaching
• ACE’s – Adverse Childhood Experiences
• Lego Therapy (Block Club)
• Mindfulness
• Safeguarding
• Peer abuse
• First Aid
• EVOLVE (Risk Assessments for Educational Visits)
• Team Teach Training
• Bespoke medical training in response to individual needs. E.g. Diabetic, use of Epi-pens
• Many of our teaching assistants have NVQ Level 3 and the following Diploma in Supporting Teaching and Learning.
• Prevent Training
• Widgit
• Supporting children with autism (delivered by ASCT)

What support will there be for my child’s overall wellbeing?

Your child’s class teacher has overall responsibility for the pastoral and social care of every child in their class. This is supported by the Year Group Leader and the wider arching Senior Leadership Team.

We offer a robust RSHE (Relationship, Sex & Health Education) curriculum, and Worry Monsters, Zones of Regulation sessions and circle time activities are an integral part of every classroom. Topics and ideas from the RSHE curriculum are also interwoven into our whole school assemblies.

In addition the school has a named Senior Mental Health Lead – Mrs Michaela Pullar and several Mental Health First Aiders.  Also within the school we have our team of Nurture Ninjas who are available to every child for wellbeing checkups. Children may also be referred to the ELSA for more bespoke interventions and we can also make referrals for support through the Thought-Ful programme to a trained mental health practitioner.

Children are given opportunities to develop communication skills and self-esteem through a range of clubs and activities. We also run Pupil Parliament throughout the school to enable pupil voice.

The school is also able to offer Forest School opportunities to all classes through our outdoor learning programme and smaller additional interventions for named children.

How will my child be included in activities outside of the classroom including school visits?

We operate an inclusive curriculum which includes all educational visits.

Education visits are planned and risk assessed using the West Sussex EVOLVE system. Pre-visits are made by staff taking into consideration the needs of all children. Where needed there is additional adult support for children who require it. e.g. for mobility reasons. It is our school’s policy that at least one member of staff on every visit will be a trained first aider. Specific individuals can receive a programme of support from the inclusion team prior to school visits to help with the changes of structure and routine.

How does the school support my child during times of transition?

All staff at RCPS work hard to ensure a smooth transition for pupils both between schools and between year groups. Current class teachers liaise carefully with the new class teacher in the summer term to ensure that provisions are maintained and areas of needs are communicated.  The inclusion team will offer transition booklets for parents and carers to use at home and additional transition sessions are available if needed.

Children starting school at EYFS will have home visits from their new teacher and a member of support staff.  Teachers will meet with nursery staff and visit key children in their nursery setting if needed. Additional stay and play sessions can also be offered.

Secondary school year leads or a member of the SENDCO will visit RCPS to meet with the children and talk with the class teacher before transition day. Additional sessions can also be offered for key children.

ELSA sessions can also be tailored with a transition theme to support key children.

How are the schools resources allocated and matched to the children’s needs?

We ensure that all children with Special Educational Needs have their individual needs met to the best of the school’s ability with the funds available. We have our Inclusion team, Teaching Assistants and ELSA who are partially funded from the SEN budget and deliver support programmes and interventions designed to meet groups of children and individual needs and we access specialist support from outside agencies where appropriate.

The School’s Community Council liaise with Senior Leadership Team in the allocation of the SEN budget. Funds and resources are allocated on a needs basis and regular and robust assessment of children’s progress highlights the impact of the current provision. This is reviewed and modified if necessary to ensure that resources are being used to best effect.

How are the decisions made about how much and what type of support my child will receive?

Decisions are made based upon the needs of your child. Following assessment and identification of need, children requiring support that is ‘additional to or different from’ their peers will be discussed further to establish a programme of support. These discussions are held with the Inclusion Lead and class teacher but can include other professionals if appropriate.  Assessment is not necessarily external and support is not reliant on a diagnosis from a professional body. At RCPS we strive hard to meet a child’s learning or emotional need regardless of a formal diagnosis. Resources are allocated to support the needs of the child and the capacity we have to provide additional support at that time.

Any individual or group interventions are continually monitored and reviewed for impact on progress. ILP’s will be modified accordingly.

How accessible is the school environment?

The majority of our school site is single level and is wheelchair accessible. Disabled toilet facilities are available and in the year 5/6 building there is an accessible lift to enable access to the upper floor. 

Each child’s specific needs are identified and where appropriate specialised equipment is used. e.g. standing desks, back support cushions etc

Who can I contact for further information?

The first point of contact is always your child’s class teacher as they remain responsible for the teaching and learning of all children in their class.

You could also arrange a meeting with your child’s Year Group Leader, a member of the Inclusion team or a member of SLT.

Please direct your initial enquiry through the school office office@rustington.academy

Our SEN policy which can be found on our school website Rustington_SEND_Policy.pdf

Further details and support can be found at the West Sussex Local Offer Local Offer - West Sussex County Council

Contact SENDIAS – send.ias@westsussex.gov.uk

Ordinarily Available Inclusive Practice

Who can I contact if I have a complaint?

We would always encourage anyone to share their frustrations with a member of staff.  Making an appointment with your child’s class teacher, year group lead, assistant head teacher or the head teacher will allow you to discuss the nature of your complaint, and we will work quickly to resolve any concerns or issues. 

A copy of our complaints procedure can be found here - Complaints_procedure.pdf (rustington.academy)

For further information or advice, please contact Mrs Holden our Assistant Head Teacher – Inclusion ( Inclusion includes SEND Co-ordinator) via the office.

Accessibility plan

SEND Policy