1) What is SEND?

SEND stands for Special Educational Needs and/or Disability and has a legal definition. Children with SEND may have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn than most children of the same age. At The Meadows Primary School, we are committed to ensuring that all pupils, regardless of their specific needs, make the best possible progress in school.

SEND students may require additional support and/or resources when completing learning tasks at school. Provision can be considered to fall under the following four broad areas:

• Cognition and learning.
• Social, emotional and mental health.
• Communication and interaction.
• Sensory and/or physical

2) How does the school know if my child has SEND and what should I do if I think my child has SEND? 

We recognise that identifying SEND is very important here at  The Meadows Primary School and use a variety of different ways to assess whether a child has special educational needs. Some of the ways we identify SEND include:

• Observations.
• School-based test results.
• Information from parents and carers.
• Information from the child or young person.
• Specialised assessments carried out by members of the school’s support services.
• Information from previous schools or settings.
• Results from end of key stage assessments.
• Discussions with adults who work with the child or young person.

If you are concerned about your child please do not hesitate to speak with their class teacher, our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENDCo) Mrs Blair, our Assistant SENDCo Mrs Lis Dobrashian-Yates or to our Assistant Head Teacher, Mrs Ali.

3) What does your school offer for SEND pupils?

At The Meadows Primary School we follow guidance given to schools in the SEND code of practice:

Examples of general class based provision include:

• Teachers adaptations to lessons to help the child or young person learn along with the rest of the class.

• Classroom learning can be adapted by using the following; personalised work stations and learning breaks.

• Extra support being given in a small group by an adult to help the child or young person learn the things they are finding difficult (in or out of the classroom).

• Extra support being given to the child or young person by an adult for a short time during the day to support their learns skills. Usually an expertly trained Teaching Assistants.

• Setting up Education Support Plans to share with everyone, including the parent/child.

• Teachers using support programmes especially made to help the child or young person to build social communication and interaction skills.

• Teachers using strategies in the classroom to help the child or young person manage routines or changes (for example visual timetables, task boards or social stories).

• Teachers seeking advice from outside agency professionals and specialist staff, to be equipped to support child or young people.

• Adaptations to the school environment where possible and specialist equipment is used.

Our more unique provision at The Meadows Primary includes:

All staff have had ‘Peacemakers’ training.   This initiative focuses on restorative justice and circle times to promote peace. We have a team of staff have been part of ‘Peacemakers Champions ’. They are used for high level intensive mediation 1 on 1 for all children) and are working on a whole school strategy.

‘Peer mediators’ are year 5 and 6 children who help resolve conflict with Key Stage One children.  They are around for lunchtime and wear distinctive blue bibs.

Other important questions you might have:

How do the school know how much progress is being made by pupils with Special Educational Needs?

All children’s progress, including those children or young people with SEND, is tracked using the school’s assessment tracking system Insight Tracker. All pupils are assessed regularly using teacher marking, observations and questioning as well as more formal assessments such as curriculum tests and standardised test. In Birmingham, we also have access to the Birmingham Language and Literacy and Maths toolkits which support assessment when a child or young person is making small steps of progress. We can use these to assess our SEND students, alongside Target Progress Tracker. This, along with other data, helps the school to monitor how well interventions are working. The progress each child is making is discussed at pupil progress meetings with the class teacher, Senior Leadership and the Inclusion Team; and with parents at review meetings.

What extra-curricular activities can a pupil with Special Educational Needs access at school?

All children have access to our extra-curricular activities. Where appropriate and possible, adjustments will be made to ensure all children and young people with SEND are fully included in these activities.

What training do the staff in school have in relation to pupils with Special Educational Needs?

In our school we believe that all staff should be involved in supporting pupils with SEND and we make sure that staff have appropriate training. Various staff have been trained for different aspects of SEND including: - Precision Teaching, Direct Phonics, Structured Peer Tuition, specialist teaching for Dyslexia, ASD level 2 or 3, Person Centred Review facilitation, Asthma, Allergies and Epipen.

How do the school get more specialist help for pupils if they need it?

Specialist Help that we have access to at The Meadows Primary:

Agency or Service	Who they work with	How school can get in contact with them
Communication and Autism Team (CAT)	Children or young people who  have a diagnosis of Autism or communication difficulties. They will also provide support for families of children or young people with these difficulties Short presentations with a chance to chat will take place each term.	School have an allocated worker who they will contact after a parent or carer signs a referral form
Educational Psychology Service (EPS)	Children or young people with more complex needs. An Educational Psychologist will always be involved with a child or young person who is referred for an Education, Health and Care Plan.	School have an allocated professional who they will contact after a parent or carer signs a referral form
Physical Disability Service (PDS)	Children or young person with physical difficulties which impact on their access in the school setting.	School can contact for support and advice and an allocated worker who they will contact after a parent or carer signs a referral form
Pupil and School Support (PSS)	Children or young people who are working below the levels expected for their age.  A Pupil and School Support Teacher will also work with staff in schools offering support, advice and training.	Pupil and School Support teachers regularly visit schools.  School will let parents or carers know if they need to work with the child or young person
Sensory Support Service (SSS)	Children or young people who have particular sensory needs such as visual or hearing difficulties where access to the usual school environment is effective.	Pupils are usually referred following a medical diagnosis, however school can phone them for further support and general advice.
Traded Speech and Language Therapy Service (SALT)	Children or young people with a high level speech and language difficulties.	School pay additionally for the needs of children in mainstream.  This worker The family doctor can also refer if needed.
Occupational Therapy	Children or young people with physical difficulties that require regular exercise.	Pupils are usually referred following a medical diagnosis, however school can phone them for further support and general advice.
School Nurse	Children or young people with medical needs particularly where medication is needed.	School can fill in a form which parents or carers sign to refer to our allocated School Nurse. School can phone them for further support and general advice.

How are parents of children and young people with Special Educational Needs involved in the education of their children?

Our school has an open-door policy to parents ensuring we are always approachable, so parents feel involved in the education of their child. In addition, our school aims to regularly involve parents in the education of their child through a variety of different ways including:

• Regular meetings with SENDCo, class teacher and/or support staff.
• Target setting (on an Education Support Plan) so parents can see what their child is working on next.
• Regular curriculum letters to inform parents of what will be going on during the term.
• Information on the school website.
• Parents’ evenings.
• Parent drop-ins/coffee mornings.
• Signposting to parent groups
• Seeking parents’ views
• · Access to our family support worker (Pathfinder)

How are pupils with Special Educational Needs involved in their own education?

At The Meadows Primary School we aim to involve all children in the evaluations and implementation of their own education. For children and young people with Special Educational Needs we use a variety of strategies to support this including:

• Person Centred Reviews and teachers or in 1:1 meetings with the SENDCo. 
• Target setting takes place during conversations and/or with the SENDCo/support staff. This way students have some control and ownership over their learning. 
• Where appropriate we have medical alert care plans and One Page Profiles. 
• One Page profiles are shared with the necessary staff so that their needs and behaviours can be met and understood. 
• Visual timetables are used consistently throughout the school so that children have a clear idea of what their school day will involve. 
• Children have a choice/range of equipment available to choose to use during their lessons. 
• Children work with a range of different partners and not just in set groups. 

If a parent of a child with Special Educational Needs has a complaint about the school's handling of children with SEND, how does the governing body deal with the complaint?

If you have a complaint, it is advised that you initially read the schools complaints policy. Following this, you may request to speak to Miss Waeland (Headteacher) or Mrs Blair (SENDCo). Our school and governing body take complaints seriously and will act upon these on an individual basis. We will do everything we can to resolve the issue. 

How does the governing body involve other people in meeting the needs of pupils with Special Education Needs, including support for their families?

In our school we have a governor who is responsible for Special Educational Needs.

Their job is to meet with the SENDCo regularly.  In these meetings, the SEN governor makes sure that children, young people and families are being supported by the right services from in and outside of school.  

Who are the support services that can help parents with pupils who have Special Educational Needs?

These are the external support services that can help parents:

Agency	How they support parents	How to contact them
Special Educational Needs and Disability Information and Disability Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS)	Special Educational Needs and Disability Information and Disability Advice and Support Service exists  to explain special educational needs procedures, to help you understand the law and procedures that affect you and your child, and to provide information on other issues that may be useful.	Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service Opening hours: 8:45am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Lancaster Circus PO Box 16289 Birmingham B2 2XN Telephone: 0121 303 5004 Birmingham City Council Link
Autism West Midlands	Supports families with any questions about ASD	0121 450 7582 Autism West Midlands Link
Forward Thinking Birmingham	Supports children with emotional and mental health issues, with counselling and advice and support for other family members. There is a drop in Digbeth (Pause). If you are in crisis	Attending your GP surgery for a referral, speak to the pastoral team at school or complete a parent referral Forward Thinking Link Services Link Urgent Help Link

How do the school support pupils with Special Educational Needs through transition?

We aim to make times of transition as easy as possible for the children and young people at The Meadows Primary School.  We always meet and talk to the child or young person and their family so that we can answer any questions they may have about the new school. In addition to this:

When starting at our school we may:

• Meet with/contact staff at the child or young person’s previous school or setting.
• Provide the child or young person with a transition book that has photographs of the key staff and areas around school.
• Read reports from people who have worked with the child or young person previously.
• Arrange visits to our school so the child or young person gets to see it before they start properly.
• Give any adults working with the child or young person a one page profile describing the things that help to support them in school.

When moving to a new year group we:

• Introduce the child or young person to their new teacher.
• Plan for at least a session, during the summer term, where the child and class will work in their new classroom and with the new staff.
• Hold transition meetings where staff meet with previous staff to pass on information and appropriate strategies.
• Give any adults working with the child or young person a one-page profile describing the things that help to support them in school.

When moving to a new school we may:

• Talk to key staff at the new school about things that help the child or young person to learn well and be happy at school.
• Arrange extra visits to the new school with a member of staff from our school if that is what the child or young person wants.

How can parents find the Birmingham Local Authority’s local offer?

The Birmingham Local Authority’s Local Offer can be found at:

Birmingham Local Offer

A local offer brings Parents & Carers of children and young people with special educational needs & disability, (SEND), together with a wide and diverse range of Specialist or Targeted Service Providers.