SEND Information Report
Our SEND Information Report – which is part of Durham County Council’s Local Offer – provides details about how we support children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in our school.
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The SEND Information Report was reviewed and updated on September 2023. It is updated annually with views of parents/carers taken into consideration. It is monitored, evaluated and ratified by our governing body, through our SEND governor.
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At Annfield Plain Infant School, we are committed to the equal inclusion of all pupils in all areas of school life. We recognise the diverse and individual needs of all of our pupils and take into account the additional support required by those children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). This SEND Information Report should be read alongside the school’s SEND Policy, the Equalities Information and Objectives and the Accessibility Plan.
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Key Contacts, SENDCO, and SEND Staff
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Our SENDCO is Mrs K Clayson who can be contacted on (01207) 234 691, or by emailing p2213.admin@durhamlearning.net
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Our designated SEND Governor is D Northey, who can be contacted on (01207) 234 691, or by emailing p2213.admin@durhamlearning.net
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More details of the SENDCO’s role can be found in the SEND Policy which you can find in the School Policies section of our website.
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SEND Admissions
For information on the admission of pupils with a disability, please visit the School Admissions section of our website and view the Accessibility Plan in our School Policies section. If you would like to discuss your child’s SEND in more detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment. The full range of local support available for children/ young people with SEND and their families within and outside of school can be found in the County Durham Local Offer
Our SEND Provision
Details of Identification and Assessment of Pupils with SEND
If your child has SEND, it is important for us to carry out formal assessments to identify their strengths and identify their needs accurately. To do this, we will use a range of methods depending upon their needs. When your child enters our school, their current attainment is assessed to give us a ‘baseline’ from where they will progress. In addition to the assessments that all children take part in and depending upon their needs, other assessments may be needed. These could include:
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Communication and interaction (SLCN, ASC)
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Speech Link Assessment
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Well_comm
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Speech Therapy Assessments – which may focus on sound production, language understanding, or other relevant assessments of your child’s needs
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Cognition and learning (MLD, PMLD, SLD, SpLD)
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Subject specific assessment
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Education Psychology Assessments – which may include memory, understanding, reasoning, logic, and general skills assessment.
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Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties
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Venture Through Play
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Assess through observations of pupils
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Sensory and/or Physical Difficulties
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Movement Programme baseline assessment
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Handwriting and copying skills baseline assessment
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Write from the Start
Your child will be assessed against age related expectations for children who are working on the National Curriculum (i.e. the same as the majority of other children in their year group), or they may be assessed against other measures for children who are not ready to work on National Curriculum Levels (i.e. the steps before the National Curriculum).
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Aspirational targets are set for all children to ensure that all children make good progress, including those not ready to access the National Curriculum. The outcomes of all assessments are shared with parents and carers at our Parent Evenings and in your child’s School Report. If other agencies are invited to work with your child, you will be invited to attend a meeting where the outcomes of these assessments and their next steps will be shared with you. If parents have any concerns then these can be shared with the class teacher and or SENCo who will arrange a meeting to discuss and resolve any difficulties.
The kinds of SEND that are provided for:
At Annfield Plain Infant School we have experience of supporting children and young people with a wide range of need including:
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Communication and interaction – Includes pupils with Autism and those with Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN).
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Cognition and learning – Includes pupils with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) , and Moderate learning difficulties (MLD).
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Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties – Includes any pupils who have an emotional, social or mental health need that is impacting on their ability to learn.
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Sensory and/or Physical Difficulties – Including pupils with visual impairment, hearing impairments, multi-sensory impairment and physical difficulties.
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The school provides data on the levels and types of need to the Local Authority. This is collected through the school census.
Our approach to teaching children & young people with SEND
Inclusive education means supporting all pupils to learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of school life alongside their peers. Our curriculum includes, not only the formal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum / National Curriculum, but also a range of additional opportunities to enrich the experiences of all pupils.
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The Curriculum also includes the social aspects that are essential for lifelong learning, personal growth and development of independence.
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To successfully match pupil ability to the curriculum there are some actions we may take to achieve this:
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Ensure that all pupils have access to the school curriculum and all school activities.
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Help all pupils achieve to the best of their abilities, despite any difficulty or disability they may have.
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Ensure that teaching staff are aware of and sensitive to the needs of all pupils, teaching pupils in a way that is more appropriate to their needs.
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Pupils to gain in confidence and improve their self-esteem.
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To work in partnership with parents/ carers, pupils and relevant external agencies in order to provide for children’s special educational needs and disabilities.
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To identify at the earliest opportunity, all children that need special consideration to support their needs (whether these are educational, social, physical or emotional)
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To make suitable provision for children with SEND to fully develop their abilities, interests and aptitudes and gain maximum access to the curriculum.
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Ensure that all children with SEND are fully included in all activities of the school in order to promote the highest levels of achievement.
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To promote self-worth and enthusiasm by encouraging independence at all age and ability levels.
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To give every child the entitlement to a sense of achievement.
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To regularly review the policy, procedures and practice in order to achieve best practice.
How we identify, assess and review children with special educational needs and disabilities
Most children and young people in mainstream schools will have their special educational needs met through good classroom practice. This is called Quality First Teaching.​
As a school we measure children’s progress in learning against National expectations and age related expectations. The class teacher continually assesses each child and notes areas where they are improving and where further support is needed. We track children’s progress every term from Nursery through to Year 2 to ensure that we can carefully monitor progress and attainment. Children who are not making expected progress are identified and a discussion takes place concerning why individual children are experiencing difficulty and what further support can be given to aid their progression.
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​Early Identification of Need
In deciding whether to make special education provision to support educational, social, physical or emotional needs, we:
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Work in partnership with parents/carers, pupils
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Consult with relevant external agencies
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Use assessment tools & materials
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Use observations
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Use Short Notes
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Other
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As a school, we assess all children continuously across all areas of learning including the four broad areas of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. We assess informally everyday through observations and we carry out formal assessments at the end of every term to measure progress and identify the next steps in learning. We work in partnership with parents, carers and pupils by building good relationships, working together and supporting each other. If there is an identification of need then we will discuss this with parents and if needed provide a pupil with a Short Note. We will share this with parents and may begin to gather evidence to inform whether to make special education provision and consider if we need to consult with relevant external agencies and use assessment tools and materials to ensure early help or identification of SEND happens.
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Early Years, Key Stage 1 and 2 staff and the SENDCO, where necessary, liaise with Nursery or the child’s previous school.
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On entry into Early Years, we assess the children using the Well_comm and Speech Link programme as this can be an early indicator of a child experiencing difficulties.
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If a child is performing below age expectations then meetings will be held with the class teacher and SENDCO. Observations of the child may also take place.
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SEND is discussed at each staff meeting so that all staff can contribute to the identification process.
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We have regular parent meetings and take into account any concerns raised by Parents. We pride ourselves on having an ‘open door policy’ where at any point parents can talk to staff.
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Concerns raised by teacher for example behaviour or self-esteem is affecting performance.
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Liaison with external agencies we work closely with The Centre, Movement Support, Speech and Language, Occupational Therapy, CAMHS, Crisis Response, Educational Psychology, The School Nurse, and Behaviour Support.
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Health diagnosis through local pediatricians at the hospital
How we adapt the curriculum and learning environment for children & young people with SEND
What are the different types of support available for children with SEND at Annfield Plain Infant School?
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Class teacher input via excellently targeted classroom teaching also known as Quality First Teaching.
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For your child this would mean:
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That the teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all pupils in their class.
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That all teaching is based on building on what your child already knows, can do and can understand.
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Different ways of teaching are in place so that your child is fully involved in learning in class. This may involve things like using more practical learning.
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Specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENDCO or outside staff) are in place to support your child to learn.
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Your child’s teacher will have carefully checked on your child’s progress through the use of School Tracking Systems, National curriculum tests, internal tests and assessments. A pupil’s progress will be assessed regularly and shared with parents, pupils and professionals involved.
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Specific group work within a smaller group of children.
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This group, often called Intervention groups by schools, may be:
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Run in the classroom or outside.
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Run by a teacher or most often a Teaching assistant who has had the training to run these groups.
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He/ She will engage in group sessions with specific targets to help him/her make more progress.
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A Learning Support Assistant/teacher will run these small groups
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Specialist groups run by outside agencies e.g Speech and Language therapy OR Occupational therapy groups.
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For children who have been identified by the class teacher as needing some extra specialist support in school from a professional outside the school.
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This may be from:
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Local Authority central services such as the Autism Outreach Team or Sensory Service ( for students with a hearing or visual need).
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Outside agencies such as the Speech and Language therapy (SALT) Service.
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More details on how we adapt information, our environment and curriculum can be found in the Accessibility Plan which you can find in the School Policies section of our website.
SEND Support
Where a pupil is identified as having a special educational need we follow a graduated approach which takes the form of cycles of “Assess, Plan, Do, Review”.
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This means that we will:
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Assess a child’s special educational needs and disabilities
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Plan the provision to meet your child’s aspirations and agreed outcomes
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Do put the provision in place to meet those outcomes
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Review the support and progress
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As part of this approach every child with SEND will have an individualised SEND Support Plan that describes the child’s needs, outcomes & provision to meet those needs. Parents/carers and child/YP (where appropriate) views are integral to the this process.
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A small percentage of children and young people with significant and/or complex needs may require an assessment that could lead to an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
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This means your child will have been identified by the class teacher as needing a particularly high level of individual or small group teaching which cannot be provided from the budget available to the school.
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Usually your child will also need specialist support in school from a professional outside the school. This may be from:
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Local Authority central services such as the Autism Outreach Team or Sensory Service (for students with a hearing or visual need).
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Outside agencies such as the Speech and Language therapy (SALT) Service.
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For your child this would mean:
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The school (or you) can request that the Local Authority carry out a statutory assessment of your child’s needs. This is a legal process which sets out the amount of support that will be provided for your child.
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After the school have sent in the request to the Local Authority (with a lot of information about your child, including some from you), they will decide whether they think your child’s needs (as described in the paperwork provided), seem complex enough to need a statutory assessment. If this is the case they will ask you and all professionals involved with your child to write a report outlining your child’s needs.
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After the reports have all been sent in the Local Authority will decide if your child’s needs are severe, complex and lifelong to make good progress. If this is the case they will write a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an EHC Plan. If this is not the case, they will ask the school to continue with the support at School Action Plus and also set up a meeting in school to ensure a plan is in place to ensure your child makes as much progress as possible.
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The Statement or EHC Plan will outline the number of hours of individual/small group support your child will receive from the LA and how the support should be used and what strategies must be put in place. It will also have long and short term goals for your child.
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The additional adult may be used to support your child with whole class learning, run individual programmes or run small groups including your child.
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This type of support is available for children whose learning needs are:
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Severe, complex and lifelong.
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If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.
For more detailed information see the Local Offer
How children with SEND engage in all activities?
We enable all children to engage fully in all aspects of school life. To do this:
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We enable all children to engage fully in all aspects of school life. We do not see SEND as a barrier to accessing the full curriculum and ensure that children with SEND are fully included in all activities in order to promote the highest levels of achievement.
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To do this, we:
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Ensure that all children with SEND are fully included in all activities of the school in order to promote the highest levels of achievement, for example; ensuring that children with language delay are supported with visual aids and prompts.
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Ensure that all pupils have access to the school curriculum and all school activities, for example; additional adult support to model and support learning.
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Ensure every child has the entitlement to a sense of achievement through celebrating progress with parents, for example; we have a weekly achievement assembly where academic and non-academic progress is celebrated.
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When planning activities such as visits and trips SEND children are considered to ensure they can fully participate, for example; staff will visit places and complete risk assessments.
Support for Emotional & Social Development
At Annfield Plain Infant School we consult with a wide range of external agencies and we maintain close partnerships in order to access the best professional advice and to ensure the emotional and social development needs of SEND children are met. We access courses run by the NHS, who offer a wide range of programmes and support such as managing anger, emotions, anxieties and Attentional Difficulties. We work with the Local Authority who deliver support and training on, general behaviour, self-esteem and nurturing. We were part of The Durham Resilience Project and worked with all staff and pupils to assess, plan, improve and review our whole school approach to resilience. In addition to this, children in Year 2 receive mediation training to support them in their roles as Mini Buds. We also work closely with the Local Authority and Private Providers of additional services, such as Educational Psychologists, Occupational Therapy, , CAHMS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) School Nursing Service, Social Services and Medical Professionals. We often hold multi-professional meetings in school so that parents are comfortable in the school environment and the child can join us easily, if it is appropriate.
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We are an inclusive school; we welcome and celebrate diversity. All staff believe that children having high self-esteem is crucial to a child’s well-being. We have a caring, understanding team looking after our children. The class teacher has overall responsibility for the pastoral and social care of every child in their class, therefore this would be the parents’ first point of contact. If further support is required the class teacher liaises with the SENDCO for further advice and support.
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As a school we have a very positive approach to all types of behaviour with a clear reward system that is followed by all staff and pupils – The Traffic Light system based on Good To Be Green. The children are rewarded with didi dots on a class chart every week for positive and kind behaviour and can be awarded at the end of the week with certificates. To ensure that positive messages reach parents information on rewards are uploaded onto the school Facebook page every Friday.
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If a child has behavioural difficulties an Individual Behaviour Management Plan (IBMP) is written alongside the child and Parents to identify the specific issues, put relevant support in place and set targets.
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After any behaviour incident we expect the child to reflect on their behaviour with an adult. This helps to identify why the incident happened and what the child needs to do differently next time to change and improve their behaviour.
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Attendance of every child is monitored on a daily basis. Lateness and absence are recorded and reported upon to the Head Teacher. Support is given through an incentive scheme where good attendance is actively encouraged throughout the school. We award children termly on their attendance rate. We employ an EWO to monitor attendance and support vulnerable families.
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If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.
Looked After Children with SEND
We have a Designated Teacher for Looked after Children (LAC), Mrs Ann Kane who liaises closely with the SENDCO to ensure all teachers in school understand the implications for those children who are looked after and have SEND.
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A significant amount of children may be undiagnosed when they begin to be looked after and we work quickly and effectively to assess any undiagnosed SEND to ensure that they are addressed as quickly as possible. Mrs Kane works closely with all LAC with SEND and with all staff to ensure that they understand the implications for LAC with SEND. LAC with SEND are supported in school and have a Support Plan which is reviewed every term.
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All LAC have a statutory Care Plan, which is drawn up and reviewed by the Local Authority that looks after them. The Personal Education Plan (PEP) is a legal part of the Care Plan; which is a statutory requirement for LAC in education provision. Mrs Kane ensures that LAC have a PEP which is also reviewed every term. The Support Plan and the PEP should compliment each other.
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If a LAC with SEND requires further assessment for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) we are particularly aware of the need to avoid any delays for LAC and carry out the EHC needs assessment in the shortest possible timescale. Addressing a LAC’s SEND will be a crucial part of avoiding any breakdown in their school and or care placement.
How we evaluate the effectiveness of SEND Provision
At Annfield Plain Infant School, we evaluate the effectiveness of SEND provision to ensure that pupils receive the best support to meet their needs and as part of the Graduated Approach of Assess, Plan, Do and Review. We currently evaluate the effectiveness of SEND across the four broad areas of SEND provision in the following ways:
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Communication and interaction (SLCN, Autism)
We use Speech and Language Link Assessment to assess before and after any intervention to evaluate the impact of the provision.
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Cognition and learning (MLD, PMLD, SLD, SpLD)
We use the assessment data provided by teaching and support staff to assess before and after any intervention to evaluate the impact of the provision.
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Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties
We use the Boxall Profiles to evaluate the impact of a provision in the Nurture Group. We also use the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire to help us to assess before and after any intervention to evaluate the impact of the provision. We can also assess through observations of pupils throughout the school day over a period of time.
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Sensory and/or Physical Difficulties
We use the Movement Programme to assess before and after any intervention to evaluate the impact of provision on Gross Motor Skills and Fine Motor Skills.
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How are resources made available to support children with SEND?
The resources we use to support children with SEND depend upon their needs and they are allocated on an individual basis. Once your child has been identified as SEND, their needs will be assessed and targets and outcomes will be identified. It is the responsibility of the SENDCO to ensure that the resources that are required are made available and that staff are aware of their individual needs. We are very flexible in our approach and we constantly monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of our interventions and the provision that we provide.
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As part of our staff professional development, all members of staff received training to support children with SEND:
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School-based CPD – systems and procedures, staff audit, staff planning and agreed action points.
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‘SEND Outcomes –good quality outcomes, SEND Support Plans and Primary Areas of Need’.
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Supporting children with Autism.
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Sensory Specialist Training – Sensory Issues for Pupils, Sensory Classrooms.
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Behaviour Management, Disability Awareness, Moving and Handling, Dyslexia, Physical Impairments and Speech and Language Difficulties.
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Attachment Difficulties, Low Mood, Anxieties.
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Staff Training: will vary each year depending upon the needs of the children.
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A small percentage of children and young people with significant and/or complex needs may require an assessment that could lead to an Education, Health and Care Plan.
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For further information please view or download our Accessibility Plan which can be found in the School Policies section of our website.
SEND Transition
How do we support children/young people with SEND starting at our school and how does our school help prepare to meet your child’s needs
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At Annfield Plain Infant School we recognise how important a successful transition is to our pupils with Additional Needs.
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Early Years Staff make visits to all feeder Nurseries to meet the children who will be starting our school. They spend time working with the children, observing them in a familiar environment and talking to their key workers. We encourage all new children to visit the school prior to starting and this is done through a series of transition days. For children with SEND we organise further visits to assist with the acclimatisation of the new surroundings. We would also do more visits to current nurseries.
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The SENDCO attends EHCP meetings in the summer term for children moving from Nursery to Infant School in the Autumn Term.
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We work in partnership with our feeder Junior and secondary schools to provide an enhanced level of transition for those whom we feel would benefit from this. This may take the form of additional visits for pupils, one to one / small group working with Junior school staff or pupil and Teaching Assistant. The period of transition depends on the individual needs of the pupil.
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If it is felt appropriate Junior school colleagues will attend Annual Reviews to meet the current class teacher, parents and most importantly the pupil. We have found this strategy particularly useful in easing any worries or concerns parents and pupils may have.
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We are particularly keen to involve parents/carers as much as possible in their child’s transition to Junior school. School staff will take opportunities to work alongside parents/carers to visit the junior school in advance of placement applications being submitted to the Local Authority. This ensures parents/carers can make the most informed placement decision for their child. When a Junior school has been allocated to the child, parents are fully involved and consulted at all stages of the transition process.
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If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.
Disability and Accessibility
We are committed to providing a fully accessible environment which values and includes all pupils, staff, parents and visitors regardless of their education, physical, sensory, social, spiritual and emotional needs. We are committed to challenging negative attitudes about disability and accessibility and to developing a culture of awareness, tolerance and inclusion.
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What we do to prevent pupils with disabilities from being treated less favourably:
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At Annfield Plain Infant School, we do our best to ensure that all children can access all things as best as we can. We do not see SEND as a barrier to accessing the full curriculum and ensure that children with SEND are fully included in all activities in order to promote the highest levels of achievement.
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Our Accessibility Plan and the short, medium and long term actions, will be reviewed and adjusted on an annual basis and a new Accessibility Plan will be produced every three years.
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The Accessibility Plan contains relevant actions to:
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Improve access to the physical environment of the school, adding specialist facilities as necessary.
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Increase access to the curriculum for pupils with a disability. This covers reasonable adjustments within teaching and learning, specialist aids and equipment and the wider curriculum of the school, such as after school clubs, visits etc,
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Improve the provision of information to pupils, staff, parents and visitors with disabilities. All information will be made available in various formats within a reasonable time frame.
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The facilities to assist access are outlined in our Accessibility Plan which you can find in the School Policies section of our website.
Consulting with our SEND Pupils, Parents & Carers
Consultation with Children and Young People with SEND
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Teachers/SENDCO and Support Staff will work with children and young people to identify the support needed to meet agreed outcomes. The provision is planned and interventions are allocated to individual needs. The children take an active role with setting their outcomes and discussing them with the class teacher/SENDCO. The children have regular meetings with staff to discuss their progress and support.
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Consultation with parents and carers of children and young people with SEND
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We are committed to working with parents and carers to identify their child’s needs and support. Parents and carers will be involved throughout the process.
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There is a range of ways this can be done, for example:
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Termly parents/ carers evenings;
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Ongoing discussions with a class teacher and/or SENDCO;
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An ‘open-door’ policy, where parents and carers are welcome to come into school to discuss any concerns they may have;
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Through regular reviews of their child’s SEN Support Plan/ EHC Plan.
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We offer an open door policy where you are welcome any time to make an appointment to meet with either the class teacher or SENDCO and discuss how your child is getting on. We offer advice and practical ways that you can help your child at home. We provide regular homework to support and complement the work carried out in school.
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We believe that your child’s education should be a partnership between parents and teachers, therefore we aim to keep communication channels open and communicate regularly, especially if your child has complex needs. Sometimes, we operate a home/school link book which your child will bring home regularly so that comments from parents and teacher can be shared and responded to when needed, this ensures that we can also work together and there is a constant line of communication.
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If your child is on the SEND register they will have a Support Plan which will have individual targets. This is discussed at a meeting with parents and class teacher on a termly basis. The targets set are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time scaled) targets with the expectation that the child will achieve the target by the time it is reviewed. If your child has more complex SEND they may have an Education Health Care Plan, which means that a formal meeting will take place to discuss your child’s progress and reports are regularly written.
Compliments, Complaints & Feedback
We are always seeking to improve on the quality of education we provide for children with SEND and are keen to hear from parents about their child’s experience.
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We would also like your views about the content of our SEND Information Report. If you would like to comment please complete the online form in the Contact Us section of our website.
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Compliments are always greatly received and can be passed on either directly to staff and the SENDCO, or formally recorded via our regular questionnaires to parents or in the form of a letter to the Head Teacher. These positive comments will be published on this area of our school website.
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We hope that complaints about our SEND provision will be rare, however, if there should be a concern the process outlined in the school Complaints Policy should be followed.
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Further information can be found in the Complaints Policy in the School Policies section of your website or by visiting the Durham County Council Local Offer website.
Key Policies for SEND
All of our school policies can be found on the website but the most important ones for parents of children with SEND are listed below:
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SEND Policy
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Equality Policy
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Equality Information and Objectives
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Accessibility Plan
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Anti-Bullying Policy
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Behaviour Policy
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Medical Needs Policy
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Complaints Policy
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If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.