SEND
Welcome to our SEND information page. We understand that if you believe your child may have Special Educational Needs or a disability you will have many questions that you need answers to. To help you understand SEND at Ringway Primary School, please watch the informative video below from Mrs Thomas, our school Special Educational Needs Coordinator.
A welcome from Mrs Thomas
Help and Support Manchester
Please use this link to find useful advice for offers available in Manchester
Ringway's SEND Offer
If you would like to know what provision is in place in school for your child or need any help because you are worried about your child you can contact school and we can arrange an appointment with our SENDCo (Mrs Thomas) 0161 437 1899.
The Special Education Needs Code of Practice 2014 Provides guidance to schools and parents about meeting the needs of pupils. Staff at school will work with parent/carers guiding them and informing them of any additional work they may need to do to support children and identify their strengths. If they need additional help they will be assessed in school and all of the information will be shared with parents/carers.
From September 2014 the government have introduced a single category of special educational need called ‘additional SEN support’ which replaces the old categories of school action and school action plus. This will be a simple and rigorous approach which will focus on the impact of the support provided for your child and how your child can access the help they need.
Manchester authority have a document called 'Manchester Matching Provision to Need Tool' which is used in schools to identify what level of support or intervention is needed to meet a child's needs.
How we identify children who may have SEND within our school
At Ringway Primary we monitor children's progress through ongoing assessment and tracking to ensure we identify any needs as early as possible. Children may have difficulty with some or a combination of the following:
- understanding information
- reading, writing or maths
- speech, language and communication
- understanding others / social interaction
- organising themselves
- physical or sensory difficulties
- social, emotional and/or mental health
- managing social interactions and behaviours
- some or all of their school work
If you feel that your child is experiencing significant difficulties with any of the above pleas raise your concerns with the class teacher in the first instance.
If a child has a high level of need when joining the school or after additional support in the form of an intervention they will be considered to have Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) and placed on the SEND register.
At Ringway Primary we believe that teaching pupils with SEND is a whole-school responsibility. Teachers are continuously planning, teaching and assessing, they consider the differences in pupils' abilities, aptitudes and interests. Some pupils may need increased levels of provision and support; the school will intervene and put the right provision in place.
Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)
A very small minority of children need an EHCP. An EHCP will normally be provided where after statutory assessment, the local authority considers the child's needs requires provision beyond what the school can offer. However, we recognise that a request for statutory assessment does not inevitably lead to an Education, Health and Care plan.
Education, Health and Care plans are reviewed annually. The SENDCo will organise the review and will invite relevant people to attend. These will /might include: parents and carers, SEN case workers, professionals who work with the children, SENDCo, the child's class teacher and their teaching assistant.
People who may support children with Additional Needs
SENDCo (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator)
Co-ordinates all SEND provision across school, helps teachers to identify children with additional needs and supports staff to provide additional support to meet the needs of all children.
Class Teachers
They will make sure that appropriate work is given to your child to meet their needs and ability.
Teaching Assistants
They support your children in class and also offer additional support through interventions to help with literacy, phonics, maths and life skills
The Child and Family Counselling Service
Offer counselling and emotional support to pupils in school through a referral made by our SENDCo.
Educational Psychologist
Will come to school to carry out assessments for children who have high levels of additional needs. The educational psychologist will also support school with requesting statutory assessments for children who require an education help and care plan.
Speech and Language Therapist
We have a link therapist at school to support children with their speech and language development.
Outreach Support
We work with agencies from across Manchester who specialise in children with additional needs and they can provide us with help, advice and resources.
School Health Service
The school nursing team will support families through a referral made by class teachers or the SENDco. Referrals can be made for emotional health reasons, such as anxiety / low mood, bereavement and self harm.
Trip and clubs
Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities are welcomed and actively encourage to go on all trips and to attend all clubs. Where appropriate, parents will be consulted from the planning stage and all reasonable adaptations and adjustments made to ensure that children with SEND can safely access and enjoy the social and skills development that such activities bring. The adaptations will usually be the result of the risk assessment and may include additional staffing (1:1 support if necessary), extra time allowances, amendments to the activity (eg through use of different equipment) etc. All activities within and outside school are covered by a risk assessment. These are carried out by Class Teachers and approved by the Headteacher. Additional risk assessments are carried out for specific children with advice from appropriate agencies, depending on their needs, when necessary.
There are leaflets below to download with information on:
- What all parents need to know about the new changes to SEN provision.
- What can I expect from Ringway if my child has a special educational need?
- A parent’s guide to the Education, Health and Care needs assessment
Ringway Primary School SEND information report
If your child’s needs are complex or severe we may ask the local authority for a statutory assessment. This will be in the form of a document that explains your child’s needs and the help they will be able to access. If your child needs extra help because they have been assessed, they will receive an Education, Health and Care plan, the local authority will provide extra resources for your child.
Access to the Curriculum
Ringway Primary School aims to offer an education that is both relevant and accessible, building on, and celebrating the strengths of all our pupils. They follow the guidelines laid down by Manchester’s Staged Procedures and follow this system for those children identified as having a Special Need. The school clearly makes every effort to be as inclusive as possible and offers all children access to their broad curriculum. The school is also aware that ‘reasonable adjustments’ must be made in some areas in order to ensure all children are included in all areas of the curriculum. The school also endeavours to work closely with parents through the stages of the child’s school life, including parents in the school community. The identification of SEN is built into the overall approach to monitoring the progress and development of all pupils through the school’s Policy on Teaching and Learning. Teachers understand that it is extremely important that they identify pupils who experience difficulties accessing learning and general school life opportunities early. This is achieved through continual use of classroom observations and assessments of all pupils. Progress is tracked on a termly basis and where appropriate, more frequently than this. The SENDCO liaises closely with all to analyse data and individually track pupils who are experiencing difficulties. Class teachers discuss any concerns with the SENDCO. If further action is deemed necessary, the parents are informed immediately. Students with significant health needs have Healthcare Plans, drawn up by the school in conjunction with parents/carers and associated medical professionals. The school makes appropriate provision and trains staff as required to accommodate students with particular needs. All students will access the curriculum and setting in core subjects which will allow students to make rapid and sustained progress regardless of their starting point. Class sizes will remain reasonable (typically below 30) and additional interventions and support for numeracy and literacy will support students to access the curriculum. The school is inclusive in line with its philosophy and legal requirements and there are no known barriers to any child accessing classrooms, activities or any part of the curriculum. The school will review at least annually the disability profile of the cohort and adjust provision and plans as required. In addition to this annual review the school will assess the needs of any new or prospective in-year transfer.
Complaints
In the first instance, complaints should be directed to the class teacher and the SENDCo, who will endeavour to resolve the issue. For the full complaints procedure, see the complaints policy
Parents may also wish to seek advise from the independent advisory service IAS
