All teachers are teachers of children with Special educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and it is the responsibility of every teacher to ensure that children’s needs are being met in the classroom. Because of this, staff have access to a wide range of training and support from within our staff team and beyond. Staff are highly committed to their professional development.
In our most recent Ofsted report it was noted that, “The school is ambitious for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.”
What is the Graduated response?
The graduated response is the process we follow once a specific need has been identified
- Wave 1 – Quality first teaching
- Wave 2 – Bespoke targets on an AAM (All About Me Document)
- Wave 3 – Outside agency specialist involvement
- EHCP (Education, Health Care Plan)
Wave 1: Quality first teaching – How do we support in the classroom?
All children have a right to access quality first teaching in a classroom, delivered by a qualified teacher. If additional support is required, it will always be done within the classroom first.
This would mean:
- That the teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all children in their class.
- That all teaching is built on what your child already knows, can do and can understand.
- That different ways of teaching are in place, so that your child is fully involved in learning in class.
- That specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENDCo) are in place to support your child to learn.
- Reasonable adjustments to the environment or timetable, teaching and learning, provision and practice.
- Extra adult support.
- Additional resources, prompts or reminders.
- Adjusting the expectations of a task.
Wave 2: AAM – What if your child still needs help?
If your child still needs help, more specialised provision may need to be made. This may be 1:1 support with their class teacher and/or a trained TA. They may follow an intervention programme with a trained member of staff tailored to their needs. Support is designed specifically to meet their needs, to fill any gaps in learning, give extra opportunities to develop skills and understanding and to boost learning, self-esteem and confidence. In most cases, a personalised plan will be put into place for your child, and an All About Me Document (AAM) will be completed between the class teacher, the family and, where appropriate, the child. This will ensure everybody involved, including you, your child and all staff, know what targets have been set, how they are being supported and what the expected outcomes are. Meetings are held termly in school involving parents and carers, staff and, if appropriate the child. Our SENDCo may also join some of these meetings. During these meetings targets will be reviewed together, progress children have made will be discussed and new targets will be set. Parents will receive a copy of the AAM. If your child is receiving support at this level, they will be included on the SEND register.
Wave 3: Specialist outside agency support – Who else might we ask to support us in understanding your child’s needs?
We have access to a range of professional services, who can advise us on how to meet your child’s needs, if specialist intervention is required. These services include:
- Support from specialist staff from the Local Authority specialist SEND Hubs
- SALT (Speech and Language Therapy)
- Occupational Therapy Service
- Physiotherapy
- CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services)
We will refer to these services in circumstances where we feel more specialised advice is needed. A referral will only be made once we have already put wave 2 support in place, reviewed the impact it has had and decided in consultation with parents that a more specialised level of provision is required. If your child requires more specialist support and advice from outside agencies a formal referral will be made with your consent. Representatives from outside agencies will observe and give staff advice to ensure all your child’s needs are met.
EHCP
This is for children who may need additional support above and beyond the graduated response. Evidence is collected by school and other agencies and is discussed by a panel of experts to ensure school have the funding and additional resources and training to meets the needs of the child.