Christ Church First
School
Special Educational Needs
SEN Information Report
This report is to inform you of the types of support available to your child at Christ Church First School. It will help you to understand who can help and how this support may be accessed. This is linked to the Somerset’s Local Offer containing information that describes the entitlement of children and young people in Somerset schools.
Our School SEN Policy can be reached through our school website.
Our Accessibility Plan can be reached through our school website.
Somerset’s Local Offer can be found here: Somerset Local Offer
Who is the school’s SEN Co-ordinator (SENCO)?
Mrs A. Bowden, Assistant Head and SENCO.
Contact details: 01373 463781, enquiries@christchurch.bwmat.org
What is a special educational need?
A child or young person has a SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:
(a) have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
(b) have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.
The four categories of need in the SEN Code of Practice are:
Communication and interaction
Cognition and learning
Social, mental and emotional health
Sensory and/or physical
Children who have a special educational need?
We receive information from parents and carers, and/or from professionals when a child enters our school. We also track each child’s progress (in any area including social or emotional development) to see if it:
(a) is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
(b) fails to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress
(c) fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers
(d) widens the attainment gap
(From SEN Code of Practice 2014 )
Children’s progress is tracked carefully by class teachers and reviewed at regular team meetings and at termly meetings by the Senior Leadership Team.
We have a graduated response to identifying children with needs. This means that there are 3 different levels of support depending on the child’s needs and progress.
Universal Support – In the first instance, any concerns will be addressed through “Quality First Teaching” in the child’s class – this will include a more personalised approach and careful adaptations to the curriculum and environment within the classroom.
SEN Support – Where a child continues to make less than expected progress, the teacher (with the support of the SENCO where necessary) will provide small group or individual additional targeted support, this may include assessing their needs using appropriate assessment tools. At this stage the child and parents will be involved in creating a shared plan called a passport.
High Needs Support – If SEN Support does not have sufficient impact, then the SENCO will become involved to carry out appropriate assessments to provide more specialised, individual support.
If in-school support does not have an impact or if a child’s needs require more specialist assessment, the SENCO will refer to appropriate external support agencies to provide advice to the school on how to meet the child’s needs. At this stage a request for an Education Health and Care Needs Assessment will be considered (EHCNA).
Initially, the first two levels of support are given by the class teacher and a teaching assistant to ensure needs are being met within the class. If the Class Teacher feels the child still isn’t making the required progress, they will discuss these concerns with the Special Education Needs & Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCo). If parents or carers have any concerns, they should initially raise these with the class teacher. The class teacher will provide advice about how to support your child with their learning and if any further support is needed, then they will ask the SENDCo for further advice.
How will the curriculum (including trips and physical activities) be matched to my child’s needs?
At Christ Church we believe all children should have access to a full, broad curriculum. Universal: Teachers plan high quality lessons using recognised schemes of learning – Quality First Teaching. All work within class is pitched at an appropriate level, so that all children are able to access the lesson’s objectives according to their specific needs. Teachers have a range of strategies that they employ to support all the children within their class this is supported by the use of a Graduated Response Tool which offers further strategies at each level of support.
SEN Support may be provided within the classroom on an individual basis or as part of a small intervention group delivered elsewhere in the school by a Teaching Assistant. Groupings of children can change regularly according to needs and understanding. Interventions are monitored regularly and start and end data is gathered to ascertain the impact of the intervention.
High Needs support is when your child may need further intervention to support their learning in a specific area of the curriculum or where targets have not yet been met, or they may have met their targets when the intervention has been completed.
We are committed to ensuring that all children have access to external visits and trips. In all cases a plan will be put in place, with appropriate external agency advice where necessary, and risk assessments carried out. Where for physical reasons a child cannot participate, for example in an adventurous activity, alternatives will be provided where needed or the activity itself adapted for all.
What equipment or resources do you use to ensure that learning and the environment is accessible for all?
Teachers plan creatively to incorporate a range of supportive resources in the classroom. For example, the use of check lists, word banks, practical maths equipment, use of iPads and other technology to name a few.
Some children benefit from working at individual workstations, whilst others have sensory or movement breaks incorporated into their school day.
We have alternative lunchtime options for children who benefit from a quieter, structured lunchtime session.
Christ Church First School is a fully accessible flat site, with a history in supporting children with physical disabilities. We have a fixed hoist and disabled toilet, and several staff are Moving and Handling trained.
Where a child has other needs, such as visual needs, the site has been adapted to meet these needs, for example lines painted to show changes in level and blinds fitted for light sensitivity.
How do you know if my child is making progress?
Class teachers check on children’s understanding throughout lessons and plan future learning according to what they observe and the work the children produce. They also reflect on more formal assessments for English and Maths that happen three times a year.
Pupil Progress meetings are also held throughout the year by the class teacher and a school leader and involve a reflection on the progress of every child in a class in relation to national expectations, age-related expectations and personalised targets.
School parents’ evenings are held termly to discuss children’s progress and review how their child’s needs are being met. These are of extended length for parents of children with SEN. A child’s SEN Passport, including a support plan, will be reviewed and written in collaboration at this meeting. Support plans will include what additional provision will be provided at school and how this can be supported at home.
The progress of children working in small group interventions is also reviewed regularly to ensure that it is meeting the needs of the child and helping them to make progress.
If a child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) then, in addition to the 3 passport reviews, there will also be an annual review meeting with the SENDCo to monitor progress which is then reported back to the Local Authority.
The SENDCo is responsible for monitoring the impact of provision for children with a SEND, ensuring that they make progress and that needs are met.
What support is available for my child’s wellbeing?
We pride ourselves on our positive, nurturing ethos, which focuses on inclusion and helps children to form trusting relationships with their peers and with adults working at Christ Church.
All teachers greet each child every day, each class has regular emotional check ins, a calm space for any child to use and all children are taught using the Jigsaw curriculum which includes specific teaching about wellbeing.
In school, we have a trained ELSA worker, a play therapist and a movement psychotherapist to work with individual children where emotional or behaviour needs are higher.
Parent, Family Support Workers are also available to be referred to where whole family support would be beneficial.
Where a child needs support with behaviour it is essential to explore the reasons for this behaviour, working together with parents and outside agencies. We have a school behaviour policy that is consistent throughout the school. If a child needs further support then an individual therapeutic behaviour plan may be drawn up in consultation with parents.
Where a child has specific medical needs, a plan will be drawn up in consultation with health professionals to ensure that needs are met, this includes personal and intimate care plans where needed.
What other agencies do you work with?
External agencies we can access include:
Autism advisory teacher
CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service)
Education Welfare Officer (attendance)
Educational Psychologist
Frome Learning Partnership (FLP) Team (PFSAs, Permanent Exclusions and Vulnerability Panel)
Hearing support service
Integrated Therapy Service (Speech & Language/Occupational Therapy/Physiotherapy)
Learning Support Service
Outreach from local Specialist Schools
Paediatrician
Physical Impairment and Medical Support Service
Social Services
Vision support service
What special training have the staff had?
Where appropriate, staff have received additional training in the following areas:
Attachment and ACES training,
Autism awareness (including Autism in Early Years) (AET)
ELSA training
Hearing awareness
Individual Literacy Intervention
Moving and Handling
Sensory integration workshops
Trauma Informed Schools
SCERTS (ASC Training) SENCO is a SCERTS champion
Enteral Feeding
Diagnostic Assessment
Vision awareness
Catheterisation training
How will the school prepare and support my child for transitions?
For children starting the school in Reception with known needs, a 'School entry planning meeting’ involving all professionals and parents will be held to plan the transition and provision.
On starting school, several “Starting School” sessions for parents and children are provided to enable good, supportive transition.
Photo books about the child’s new class/school will be provided for those children who need this.
All children participate in a transition morning.
On transition to middle school, SENCOs meet to discuss all children with additional needs.
Middle school SENCOs are invited to the Annual Review Meeting.
Additional meetings for vulnerable pupils are arranged between class teachers.
Additional visits are arranged for those children who need this support.
School Entry Planning meetings are arranged with the middle school and parents for those children with the highest needs.
The Passport for every child with a SEND is an important way of communicating need and specific information about how best to support that child. All Passports are reviewed every July by the outgoing class teacher in preparation for being passed to the new class teacher ahead of September.
What are the arrangements for the admission of disabled children to school?
If your child has a disability and you would like a place at the school, please contact the school office (01373 463781) initially to enquire and ask to speak to Ali Bowden (SENCO) to discuss your child’s needs and how we can best meet them. We will be happy to arrange visits to the site and arrange school entry meetings to ensure provision is made for any extra needs.
Who can I contact for further information or if I have a concern?
The first point of contact for any further information should be your child’s class teacher.
If you remain concerned, please contact the school SENCO, Ali Bowden.
For other concerns please refer to the school’s complaints procedure.
Additional support for parents/ carers is available from:
SENDIAS – 01823 355578 or visit the website SENDIAS
Parent Carer Forum – 01458 259 384 or visit the website Somerset Parent Forum
ccfs accessibility plan and policy 2023.pdf