At Packmoor we are committed to ensuring equal opportunities, inclusion and freedom from discrimination for all our pupils. We value all children in our academy equally and strive to ensure that they enjoy equality of opportunity in all areas of the curriculum.
Below this brief explanation of provision for SEND at Packmoor are links to more detailed documents including the SEND Policy, the Academy’s Local Offer and links to useful websites.
The term ‘Special Educational Needs’ (SEN) has a legal definition, referring to children who have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn or access education than most children of the same age. Children with Special Educational Needs are assessed when they arrive in the academy or as soon as their needs become apparent.
Some needs are quite mild, requiring no more intervention than quality first teaching, regular encouragement and monitoring; some children need carefully differentiated work, while others’ needs are greater, and may require one or more of a range of strategies, varying from extra support provided by a Teacher or Teaching Assistant to the delivery of specific learning intervention materials administered to small groups or even on an individual basis.
A record of every child on the SEN register logs their needs, the support they have received and their progress and is kept by the co-ordinator.
All teachers have a responsibility to identify and meet the special educational needs of pupils. Those children should be taught together with their peers as much as possible and have full access to the national curriculum. We understand that children make progress at different rates and have different ways in which they learn best. When planning lessons based around the National Curriculum, your child’s teacher will take account of this by looking carefully at how they organise their lessons, classroom, books and materials.
All children on the SEND register have an individual provision map and a Personal Pupil Passport which identify the child’s needs, targets areas of particular difficulty and record interventions. These documents identify the steps that are to be taken to support the child’s learning, learning targets and a date for reviewing progress. They are discussed with both the child and parents. Parents are invited to reviews which assess progress made under the current plan and set new targets. These records will replace the system of Individual Education Plans (IEPs).
Where the school alone does not have the resources to provide sufficient help for the child a full assessment is carried out and, if the authorities agree to a ‘Education, Heath and Care Plan’ (EHCP), help is provided from central funds. This procedure applies to very few children. This process will replace the system of Statutory Assessment and the issuing of a ‘Statement of Special Educational Needs.’ Any pupils who currently have a Statement will have them converted to an EHCP as part of the review process.
Many children make good progress when given some extra help and are then no longer recorded on the SEN register; others will continue to need support if they are to make progress in the curriculum.
We have a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities policy which is available to all parents. Our policy follows the Code of Practice for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities 2014 and the Equality Act 2010.
Mrs E Bates is our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENCO). Should you have questions about SEND provision at Packmoor Ormiston Academy please do not hesitate to contact the academy.
Tel: 01782 234544
Email: [email protected]