SEN Information

Welcome to our school SEN information report which will form part of Cumbria’s Local offer for learners with Special Educational Needs (SEN). We have a duty to publish information for parents, carers and learners within our school about our policy for pupils with SEN. This information is updated annually.

At Warwick Bridge School we try to meet the needs of all the children in our school including those with Special Educational Needs. This document sets out how exactly we as a school meet the needs of children with SEN.

We welcome your feedback on our offer, so please feel free to contact us.

  • Head Teacher - Mr M Ashton
  • Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) - Miss Natasha Hogarth
  • Special Educational Needs Governor - Mr Phil Brown

How we identify pupils with Special Educational Needs

A child or young person may at different times in their school life have a special educational need. The Code of Practice 2014 defines SEN as:

‘A child or young person has SEN if they have a’ learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her’ 

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she: 

  • has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
  • has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools.

There are four broad areas of need. These are:

  • Communication and interaction
  • Cognition and learning
  • Social, emotional and mental health difficulties
  • Sensory and physical needs

All staff at Warwick Bridge School have responsibility for the identification of a child who may need additional support or have special educational needs. Staff should use their experience and knowledge of children to identify the needs of individual children.

We encourage information to be shared between all staff members and the SENCO in an attempt to identify needs at the earliest possible point.

Our evidence will be in the form of assessments, observations, pupils work, discussions with staff members, advice for external agencies e.g. Specialist Teachers, Education Phycologists, Social Care etc., informal parent discussions and parents meetings.

What should you do if you think your child may have SEN?

If you feel that your child may have Special Educational Needs it is important that you share your concerns as soon as possible with your child’s class Teacher / SENCO. Class Teachers are available to talk to parents at the end of the day.

If you feel you have a lot to discuss/share with the class Teacher /SENCO please arrange an appointment. You can do this in many ways including making an appointment with the class Teacher in person, sending an email directly to the class Teacher or school office or leaving a message at the school office.

The class Teacher will then be in touch to arrange an appointment at a time convenient for both you and the class Teacher.

To contact the SENCO please leave a message with the office staff. The SENCO will then phone you to arrange a meeting.

Once a meeting has taken place, the following will happen:

Children who are identified as having SEN will automatically access support from within the school that is tailored to meet their needs. If it is decided that there is a need for additional resourcing then a decision will be made with parents about applying for an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP)/ Support from the Early Help Team.

How we will support pupils with SEN

At Warwick Bridge School we believe all pupils should have equal access to a broad and balanced curriculum that is differentiated to meet individual needs and abilities.

Once it has been established that your child has Special Educational Needs, the following is put into place: 

  • Your child’s name will be added to the school’s SEN register.
  • Their level of SEN support will be identified.
  • Agreed referrals for appropriate assessments, if relevant, will be made e.g. Educational Psychology, Occupational Therapy, Speech and language.
  • An Individual Pupil Plan (IPP) will be written by the class Teacher (sometimes with involvement from the SENCO and any other involved agency) identifying the specific areas of need, targets for your child and additional provision required to meet these targets.

Each term a meeting will be arranged at the meeting the targets within the IPP will be reviewed and new targets will be set.

To try to meet your child’s needs school may implement the following:

  • Additional adult support in class.
  • Intervention groups e.g. Maths Recovery, Reading Intervention.
  • 1:1 support from a specialist Teacher.
  • Additional training for staff working with your child. 
  • Outside agency involvement.

Our Curriculum

We aim to make all aspects of the curriculum meet the needs of all our children. Each class Teacher is responsible for ensuring the curriculum is delivered to their class in an inclusive and cross curricular manner. Within each classroom differentiation is apparent for groups of children and individuals.

Some interventions will be delivered to children/small groups by a Teacher or Teaching Assistant.

How we assess pupils with Special Educational Needs

All children in the school are monitored on an ongoing basis in Reading, Writing and Maths. At the end of each half term, Teachers assess the pupils in their class against National Curriculum outcomes. This information is shared with the Head Teacher and SENCO. Parents also receive this information in the form of a termly report.

If your child is not making progress we are quick to respond to this and put support in place. If needed, referrals will be made for assessment from external agencies.

Class Teachers and teaching assistants monitor the children’s well-being in an ongoing manner and will discuss concerns with the Head Teacher and SENCO.

All children who access additional support are monitored on the school provision maps.

Our school Provision map

When  we provide support to pupils that is ‘additional to’ or ‘different from’ we do so in a four step process, a gradual approach that consists of Assess, Plan, Do and Review.

  • Assess - this is the first stage in providing specific support for pupils. Information is gathered and considered from parents, carers, the child, class Teacher and assessments and observations.
  • Plan - here we identify the barriers to learning, intended outcomes, and details of the additional support that will be provided. These plans will be recorded on an individual pupil plan.
  • Do - providing the extra support or resources in order for pupils to achieve their specific targets as set out in their individual pupil plans.
  • Review - measuring the impact of the support provided and considering if any changes to that support may be needed.

All involved in this process - the pupil, their parents or carers, class Teacher and SENCO contribute to the review process. This stage is key to informing and continuing the cycle.

How we assess the impact of interventions

An assessment will take place at the beginning of any intervention that will be used as a baseline for measuring the progress made by a child and towards the targets that have been set. If the progress that is made is considered to be less than anticipated we well adapt the frequency or intensity of such interventions. If a child has made little progress with interventions and adjustments to interventions, advice and support may be sought from other professionals (specialist support), with the parents/carers consent. Advice may involve Early years Specialists, Educational Psychology, Specialist Teachers (these include specialisms in Speech and Language Communication Needs , Severe Learning Disability, Literacy, Medical need etc.)

Regular meetings are held with Teaching Assistants to discuss progress of pupils within their class. Termly Pupil Progress Meetings are held with the schools Senior Leadership Team (SLT) where the progress of all children is discussed but those with individual pupil plans will specifically be discussed.

Where a child has an Education, Health and Care plan (EHC), there will be an annual review held in addition to the termly review meetings, taking into account the views of the child, their parents or carers, and all other professionals involved with the child.

SEN funding

Each Year the school receives SEN funding for SEN pupils. Our SEN budget is spent in the following ways.

  • Support in school e.g. a specifically trained Teacher/Teaching Assistant
  • Equipment and resources
  • Assessments
  • Support from outside agencies

We are quick to respond to children’s needs and progress as a result changes may be made to the resources and support your child is accessing.

For further information, any queries or if there is anything you wish to discuss, our SENCO is Miss Natasha Hogarth and she can be contacted on: 01228 560390 .

Details of the Local Authority's Local Offer can be found here.

If you require the School’s Complaint Policy, please download from our policies page.