SEND Provision

SEND offer

How does Dearham Primary School know if pupils need help and what should I do if I think that my child may have Special Educational Needs?

Some children may arrive in our school with arrangements already in place to provide them with additional support for their learning. For others, their needs will only become apparent once they have been with us for a little while.

How we identify pupils with special educational needs:

• Pupils are observed during all aspects of learning and school life and assessments of a child’s progress take place constantly.
• All staff monitor how each individual child interacts with others and how they meet or work towards the targets set for them.
• Staff refer concerns to our SENDCo who will seek advice from external services where appropriate.
• If a pupil is causing particular concern, they may be referred to an external agency who will visit the school to speak to staff and conduct an observation, enabling them to prepare a report giving advice on the best way to meet the pupil’s needs. Parents will be fully informed and involved with all decision making and referrals would only be made if parents, teachers and the SENDCo felt this was necessary.
• Our assessment and tracking system enables us to quickly highlight where pupils are failing to make progress.
• We work closely with parents and carers and value personal communication.

What you should do if you are concerned:

• In the first instance, you should raise any concerns with your child’s class teacher as the first point of contact.
• If you continue to be concerned or need further advice, please make an appointment to speak to our SENCO, Mr Peter Blease. It is likely that he will already be aware of your concerns as your child’s class teacher will have shared this information with him.

How will Dearham Primary School support my child?

Your child’s class teacher will work closely with you as parents, the SENDCo and the Headteacher to ensure that a manageable and achievable plan can be put in place to support your child. Their needs will be clearly identified and outcomes and targets will be set and reviewed regularly with the child, parents and professionals.

What the support looks like in our school:

High quality class teaching

• Teachers have the highest expectations for your child and all other pupils in the class.
• Teaching will focus precisely on what your child needs to learn and the teacher will reflect on any individual targets that they have.
• Teachers will use a variety of teaching styles and strategies to ensure that your child is fully involved in learning.
• Teachers will put in place specific strategies, as suggested by external agencies or the SENDCo, to support your child in their learning.
• Small group intervention work.

Dearham Primary School is an inclusive academy school and we are committed to providing the best possible environment where children can feel safe and secure in order to provide positive learning outcomes. Many pupils will have some form of special need during their time in education but the term ‘Special Educational Needs’ refers to pupils who have learning difficulties or disabilities which cause them to have significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others the same age.

Identifying a suitable school for a child can be a difficult process, particularly if the child has some form of special educational need. Our School Offer describes the provision available at Dearham Primary School and sets out our commitment to providing high quality learning for all of our pupils. We describe our Offer by addressing a series of questions typical of those raised by families of children with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND). We hope that this information will assist parents in making a decision that is right for their child but we would always encourage prospective parents to contact the school to arrange a visit. This would enable them to meet staff, view our provision and talk about their child’s unique needs. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school and make an appointment to see either the Headteacher Ms Jacqui Wilson or the SENDCO Mr. Peter Blease. Both are able to give advice and offer support to families of children with SEND.

• Where specific gaps in learning are identified and it is considered appropriate for your child to receive additional intervention, a senior teaching assistant or class teacher may deliver a programme of work to address this. This intervention may take place within a small group of pupils with similar needs.
• Your child’s progress within this intervention group will be closely monitored and provision adapted where appropriate.

Individual support 

• Where your child has quite unique, specific needs, it may be appropriate for them to have individual support to ensure that they are able to access the curriculum.
• Individual support may take place within the classroom setting to allow them to access the normal curriculum or outside of the classroom with a modified curriculum.

Specialist intervention 

• If your child has specific needs that require an external professional, they may work with them within school on a specific programme.

How will I know how my child is doing and how will Dearham Primary School help me to support my child’s learning? 

• At the beginning of the academic year you will be invited to attend a curriculum evening, which be an opportunity to meet your child’s class teacher and any staff who may work with them. During these curriculum evenings, you will be given more information on what your child will be learning as well as guidance on how you can support your child throughout the year.
• In the Autumn and Spring term you will be invited to a parent/teacher interview to talk about your child’s learning progress and discuss any concerns you or the class teacher may have and how this will be addressed.
• If your child’s class teacher has concerns at any other point in the year, they will speak to you to arrange an appointment to discuss this further.
• Class teachers are very approachable and are always be willing to speak to you if you have any concerns or require information. The Headteacher and class teacher will be available first thing in the morning and after school. If greater confidentiality or time is required then a more private appointment can easily be arranged by contacting the school office.
• At the end of the summer term you will receive your child’s end of academic year report informing you of their progress in all areas of the National Curriculum. If you have any concerns, you will be given the opportunity to meet with your child’s class teacher to discuss this.
• Any child who has a SEN Support Plan as a result of a Statement of Special Educational Need or Education, Health Care Plan will have the opportunity to meet with the class teacher and SENDCo every term to review progress. They will also have a more formal six monthly or annual review with all adults involved in their provision.

What support will there be for my child’s overall well-being?

Dearham Primary School has been graded by OFSTED as ‘Outstanding’ for Behaviour and Safety. Children behave well in our school as standards and expectations are high.

We support your child’s well-being in the following ways:

• Our curriculum is designed to support children to know how to keep themselves safe from harm and lead heathy lifestyles through the delivery of programmes such as Kidsafe and the Kapow PSHE scheme.
• All staff receive Level 1 Safeguarding training and are skilled in identifying child protection issues and knowing what action to take.
• We operate successful intervention groups, which provide support for pupils who may experience problems with their self-esteem and social skills.

We work closely with external agencies such as Family Action to offer specific workshops and offer support to families.

What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by Dearham Primary School?

Within school:

• The SENDCo in school is Mr. Peter Blease who is also the Year 5 class teacher four afternoons a week.
• The Governor with responsibility for SEND in school is Mrs. Louise Maguire ( on a temporary basis),  who can be contacted via the school office.
• We have many teaching assistants who specialise in reading intervention, delivery of phonics, behaviour management, pastoral care and working with children with autism.
• If we feel our strategies have not met the needs of a child in our care, we will access specialist skills and support from other sources such as the Local authority when we plan for a child with a specific special educational need.

Outside school:

• Ruth Illman is our educational psychologist and he works closely with the SENDCo.
• We work with a number of local health visitors.
• Tracy Norquay and Naomi Cartmell are the Speech and Language therapists currently working with our school.
• Lisa Bingol is our Specialist Advisory Teacher for the Early Years.
• We work with a number of professionals within the Footsteps Child Development Centre.
• Anne-Marie Hall is the Specialist Advisory Teacher for Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

What training have the staff at Dearham Primary School received in order to support children with SEND?

Staff professional development is a priority and our staff development plan provides opportunity for staff to share information, train and keep up to date with current educational developments. We also network within our local consortium to keep our professional knowledge current and to share expertise.

How accessible is Dearham Primary School?

• Our building is fully wheelchair accessible after from one upstairs classroom. Disabled access is available at the rear of the school.
• A disabled parking bay is available close to the entrance of the building.
• We have two disabled toilets within school, one of which contains a changing bed.

How will the school prepare and support my child to join the school or to transfer to a new school or next stage of education or life?

Regardless of any special educational need, before any child joins our family at Dearham:

• We would encourage you to bring them into school in order to meet that staff, class teacher and peers. Many children choose to spend a day with their class before they join our school to get to know us and understand the school routines.
• We would also request their previous setting to provide necessary information and data, with the inclusion of medical plans, support plans and education health care plans, before your child arrives.
• Often the teacher will contact the child’s former class teacher and, if possible, arrange a meeting to receive a full briefing on the child including their progress, development and needs.
• Children entering the Early Years, either in Nursery or Reception, will receive a home visit from the class teacher and another member of Early years staff to observe them in their own environment and provide an opportunity for you to share any other information you feel is important.

Transition to another school

If your child leaves us to join another, for example moving on to secondary school, the following provision is in place:

• The class teacher and SENDCo will liaise with the new school to ensure all information is passed on.
• Visits to the new school will be arranged with extra transition days available where necessary.

How are the school’s resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?

The school’s resources are allocated based on the priority of needs of the children in our care. The school follows the Department for Educations Code of Practice 2015, to ensure that we meet our statutory duties for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

It is our duty of care to use funding allocated by the Education Funding Agency and the Local Authority to meet the targets and objectives outlined in the SEND Support Plan/Behaviour Plan/Care Plan.

Children with a statement of Educational Needs (Education Health Care Plan) will be prioritised first, as outlined in the Code of Practice.

How do you reach a decision about what type and how much support my child will receive?

The decision will be made based on the needs of each child, the funding available, child and parental views and the professional opinions of the agencies involved with providing support for the child.

Identified children with Special  Educational Needs and Disabilities will be allocated funding and resources as recommended in their Educational and Health Care plan. This may manifest in many ways such as additional support in class, physical resources to support learning, staff training or specialists working alongside the child and family.

These questions and answers are not an exhaustive list. If you have any further, specific questions please do not hesitate to contact school and speak to Mr Blease (SENDCo) or Ms Wilson (Headteacher).

Families Information | SEND Information Hub (Local Offer) (cumberland.gov.uk)