The William Amory Primary SEND Offer

The William Amory School is an inclusive school and may offer the following range of provision to support children with special educational needs. The range of support that we can give will follow assessment by ourselves and/or external agencies. Parents will be informed if we have intervention or support that we are able to give their child(ren).

Who should I contact to discuss the concerns or needs of my child?

Class Teacher
Headteacher

Other Key Staff are:
Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Coordinator (SENCO) – Mrs A Robinson
She is responsible for:

Checking on the progress of your child and extending range to outside agencies.
Applying the school’s SEND policy.
Coordinating provision for children with SEND and developing the school’s SEND policy

SEND Governor – Mrs M Fryer

SENDCo Mrs A Robinson (Has temporarily been Mr Wilken during lockdowns of 2020/2021)

How can I find out about how well my child is doing?

On-going monitoring takes place by child’s teachers to identify students who are not making progress or who have behaviour needs which are affecting their ability to engage in learning activities or affecting other children on their ability to engage on their learning. After discussions with staff and parents, additional support may be put into place. The views of the student or young person about their support will be given consideration at this stage. Any additional support is documented in an Education healthcare plan (formally an IEP). In consultation with the teacher, SENCO and parents, short term targets are agreed which prioritise key areas of learning or behaviour to address and by which progress can be measured. Where external agencies are involved, their advice will be communicated to parents with information of how the school may be able to accommodate that advice. Actions agreed take into account each student’s strengths as well as their difficulties. In some cases teaching assistant support may be allocated. Formal review meetings are held as required. Parents, relevant external agencies and, when appropriate, children are invited to this review and their contribution is valued. The impact of support offered where appropriate is considered and next steps are set. Where there are support arrangements, these will be updated and revised accordingly. If not involved already, this might include referral to external agencies.

If your child is continuing to have significant difficulties, further external expertise may be requested. Additional funding is available from the Local Authority and the school will always endeavour to apply for this additional funding if it is appropriate to do so.
If the Local Authority consider that your child fits their Banded Funding Criteria, an agreement will be drawn up and implemented with the school staff, parents and the Local Authority, along with and the school’s Educational Psychologist and other professionals where appropriate. Further details about this process will be explained in the LA Local Offer. It should be noted that the processes detailed above are subject to conditions and, although we would endeavour to complete them in a timely manner, certain criteria need to be met before moving to the next stage. This process can take time to complete.

Tests and Examinations: Access Arrangements

For some students additional arrangements and adjustments can be made to enable them to fully access a range of tests. This might include additional time, rest breaks or the use of a scribe or word processor. In some circumstances children can be exempt from sitting the SATs test at the end of Key Stage II. The class teacher will inform you about eligibility and applications for these arrangements.

How accessible is the school?
The William Amory Primary School has access ramps to all of Key Stage I. The design of our building means that Reception class and parts of Key Stage II are up stairs (3 steps in the case of reception, a full flight of stairs for the ICT suite and Years 5 and 6). The use of tablets and classroom PCs would negate the need for access to the ICT suite.

How will teaching be adapted to meet the needs of my child?
Teachers are skilled at adapting teaching to meet the diverse range of needs in each class. Daily planning takes into account individual student’s needs and requirements. Differentiation is approached in a range of ways to support access and ensure that all students can experience success and challenge in their learning. Grouping arrangements are organised flexibly with opportunities for both ability and mixed setting to maximise learning opportunities for all. Additional adults are used flexibly to help groups and individual students with a long term goal of developing independent learning skills. Monitoring takes place to avoid students becoming over reliant and dependent on this adult support.

Intervention

We may provide the following additional support in terms of intervention for children that we consider would benefit from it:

William Amory Accelerated Reading Programme
Rapid Maths
Rapid Reading
Sir Kit’s Quest Reading programme
Wolf Hill Reading programme
Units of sound dyslexia support
Nurture Programme
Phonological Awareness Training
Personal and medical care as required such as to assist disability, diabetes or other specific medical needs that we are able to support.

What support from outside does the school use to support my child?

The school can work with a number of external agencies to seek advice and support to ensure that the needs of all children are fully understood and met. These include:

Referrals to outside agencies as required including – Sensory Support, Educational Psychologist, School Nurse and Inclusion Support Service.
Referral to Staffordshire Support Services such as Social Services or Families First.
Liaison/Communication with Professionals/Parents, attendance at meetings and preparation of reports.

How will the school help my child move to a new class or school?

Children and young people with SEN can become particularly anxious about “moving on” so we seek to support successful transition by:

Contacting the School SENDCO and sharing information about special arrangements and support that has been made to help your child achieve their learning goals. We will ensure that all records are passed on as soon as possible.
When moving groups/forms in school we share information with new teacher.
In year 6 – 7 transition the SENDCO will attend the primary/Secondary Transition day meeting to discuss specific need of your child and the nature and level of support which has had the most impact.

Further SEND information required:

Admission arrangements for pupils with SEND or disabilities – It should be noted that The William Amory complies with the Admission arrangements set out by Staffordshire County Council. Their admissions policy is inclusive and can be found elsewhere on this page.
Adults and parents of children should feel free to visit the school to have a look at our facilities. The school currently caters for children with visual and hearing impairments; medical and learning considerations. We have the ability to deal with mobility and physical disability. It would be unrealistic to list how the school could accommodate all areas of SEND, but the school is willing to talk on a personal level to any concerned.

For further information about Staffordshire County Council’s offer please follow this link (or click on the image below).