The school's Special Educational Needs and Disability Coordinator is Sonia Oldbury and she can be contacted by:

Tel: 01777 817350

Email: sendco@everton.notts.sch.uk

Annual SEND Report 2022-23

1. What kinds of special educational needs (SEN) does Everton Primary School make provision for?

Everton celebrates the differences amongst all our children and values the contributions which every member of the school makes to the school community and our wider community.

We recognise that good quality teaching for all children is vital to unlocking their potential.

This SEN information report is also available on the Nottinghamshire local offer and gives detailed information about the support that we provide for pupils with SEND.

Nottinghamshire Local Authority outlines four broad areas of need where pupils may have a special educational need.

1. Cognition and learning.
2. Social, emotional and mental health difficulties.
3. Communication and interaction.
4. Sensory and physical needs.

We aim to include all pupils at Everton regardless of the nature of their special educational need. Our school is single level, with level or ramped access at all entry points. We have a large accessible toilet space and a sensory room. Additional access equipment such as hoists, plinths, supportive seating and radio loops are sourced as necessary from the local authority to meet individual pupils’ specific needs.

2. How do we know if pupils need extra help and what should a parent/carer do if you think that your child might have special educational needs?

Pupils have special educational needs if they have a learning need that calls for special provision to be made. Pupils have a need if they:

• have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age.
• have a disability which hinders or prevents them from making use of educational facilities of the kind provided for children of the same age in the school.
• are under statutory school age and fall within the definitions above or would if special education provision was not provided for them.

Pupils do not have a need solely because their language used at home is different from the language in which they will be taught.

As a school, we apply the graduated response approach to assist in the identification of special needs. For further details of this approach please read our Special Educational Needs policy on the school website. If you think, or know, that your child has a special educational need or are worried about their progress then please speak to your child’s class teacher or contact  the school's Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo), Mrs Sonia Oldbury, via the school office.

3a. How do we evaluate the effectiveness of our provision for pupils with special educational needs?

Class teachers develop termly targeted support plans for all pupils identified as having special educational needs. The specialist provision identified is agreed in discussion with parents, the pupil and the SENCo. These plans are reviewed on a termly basis with the parents and pupil and additional feedback is sought at these review meetings.

Across the school, the progress of SEN pupils is reviewed termly by the SENCo to evaluate the effectiveness of the provision and to compare the progress of pupils identified with special educational needs with the progress of the whole school. This information is used to support the senior leadership team in developing CPD staff and resources in the school.

Additionally, the head teacher, SENCo and lead SEN governor complete an annual formal evaluation of the SEN provision based on progress data, child, parent and staff surveys and information from review meetings. This report is published by the governing body of the school in accordance with section 69 of the Children and Families Act 2014.

3b. How will the school and I know how my child is doing and how will the school help me to support my child’s learning?

Everton Primary School monitors, evaluates and records the progress of all pupils every term. The SENCo supports teaching staff in evaluating the effectiveness of their SEN provision and offers further support as required. Class teachers will review progress with parents at least twice per year, at these meetings progress will be reviewed, new targets set and ideas shared on how best to support your child.

3c. What is Everton’s approach to teaching pupils with special educational needs?

At Everton, we aim to offer excellence and choice to all our children, whatever their abilities and needs. We have high expectations of all our children and encourage them to strive to achieve challenging targets. For pupils with identified special educational needs, we aim to achieve this through the removal/reduction of their barrier to learning. All our pupils should feel that they are valued members of our school community and should take pride in the successes they achieve. We aim to create an environment that meets the special needs of all pupils and which will enable them to have full access to our whole curriculum including educational visits, clubs and extended hours provision.

We use a 'pupil voice' approach to obtain a full picture of pupils' and parents' views about themselves, the school and the community and then use this to develop a bespoke plan for development.

Where a child makes little or no progress despite well planned and delivered support, the school will consider involving specialist support from the family SENCo, Nottinghamshire School and Family support services and other agencies. Such referrals are made in agreement with the parent and child and will either be at the termly family of schools’ springboard meeting or, if needed through an emergency referral.

If a child has complex or lifelong difficulties the school may suggest to the parents and child that a statutory assessment of need should be made through consideration of the development of an Education and Health Care Plan. More information about this process can be found at www.nottshelpyourself.org.uk.

3d. How will the curriculum and learning be matched to my child’s need?

Your child’s class teacher will provide excellent targeted classroom teaching (Quality first teaching).

This includes:

• having the highest possible expectations for every child.
• all learning is based on what the child already knows and understands.
• different approaches to teaching are involved, including practical activities so all children can join in the learning.
• pupil specific strategies are in place such as seating positions, use of specific resources, provision of assistive technology, sensory audits of the classroom.
• provision to pre-teach, re-teach where specific gaps in knowledge are identified.
• regular sharing of information with you to help you support your child at home.

Specific further group or individual support.

This would mean your child is involved with a specific intervention which could be run in the classroom by the class teacher or TA or run elsewhere in school by the teacher, TA or other specialist staff in school.

Specialist support offered by supporting agencies including;

• speech and language therapy.
• specialist support from county specialist teacher services.
• specialist sensory provision for pupils with a hearing or visual impairment.
• provision of occupational therapy.
• provision on behaviour management from Bassetlaw Primary Behaviour Partnership specialists.
• Support from the NHS  Healthy Families Team.
• Support from the Educational Psychology Service.

Before any referral to an outside agency is made, we would always discuss it with you first and ask for your permission for them to be involved. Involvement of specialist services is usually for a fixed duration and leads to further development of supporting ideas and training for your child’s class teacher.

If the specialist identifies a more complex or lifelong learning need they may suggest to the parents and child that a statutory assessment of need should be made through consideration of the development of and Education and Health Care Plan. More information about this process can be found at www.nottshelpyourself.org.uk.

3e. How are decisions made about the type and amount of support my child will receive?

Decisions on levels of support are made by class teachers, the SENCo and Head Teacher during pupil progress meetings that are held termly at the start of each term. If the SENCo identifies that further support is required beyond that which the school is expected to fund, then the SENCo will make an application for additional funding from a budget held by the family of schools. This is referred to as additional needs funding.

3f. How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including educational visits?

We include all children in all out of classroom activities. The need for specialist provision including equipment and staff or alternative inclusive activities is considered by the class teacher, SENCo and educational visits coordinator prior to the booking of any activities outside the classroom.

3g. What support is in place for my child’s overall well-being?

Everton is a Thrive affiliated school and through this provides whole class and individual support for pupil well-being. We use 'Take Five' principles to develop pupil self-regulation and have a Mental Health First Aider trained member of staff. When required, we also have access to external counsellors via the 'Think Children' charity.

We also work closely with our Healthy Families team and can make referrals to NHS services including CAMHs (Children and Adolescent Mental Health service) if required.

3h. What steps has Everton taken to improve accessibility for disabled pupils at the school?

Everton is continually looking for ways to improve accessibility both for current pupils with disabilities and potential future pupils. Our current accessibility plan focuses on the improvement of the accessibility of written information for pupils, parents and carers; increasing the awareness of staff in planning and differentiating for pupils with disabilities and ensuring that any changes to the physical environment of the school include the potential needs of disabled adults and pupils.

Recent examples of improvements include the provision of a new, accessible sensory room, the removal of a pinch point corridor to open up hall space and improve the accessibility of the main hallway and the decluttering and redecoration of classrooms to reduce sensory load and improve access within each classroom.

4. Who is the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) at Everton and how can I contact them?

The SENCo is Sonia Oldbury who can be contacted via email at soldbury@everton.notts.sch.uk or via the school office 01777 817350.

5a. What training have staff supporting special educational needs had and what is planned?

At whole school level staff have received;

• Thrive training.
• Autism Education Trust Autism Awareness training.
• CRB training (coping with risky behaviours).

Individual training is provided based on current needs of class teachers and teaching assistants.

Currently we have staff trained in the use of;

• Inference Training.
• Dyslexia Portfolio Screening.
• Communications Champion (link to NHS Speech and Language Service).
• Demand Avoidance.
• Unlocking letters and sounds interventions.
• Mental Health First Aid.

We are currently part of the pilot 'NHS Autism in Schools' project as an accelerator school for implementation in Nottinghamshire. This will provide in depth training, access to resources and specialists to develop staff confidence in working with pupils with autism and their families.

We are also starting 'Commando Joe' training for staff to support self-esteem and well-being for children.

5b. What specialist services and expertise are available to or accessed by the school?

We have current or recent experience of working with services including:

• Nottinghamshire County Council cognition and learning team.
• Nottinghamshire County Council communication and interaction team.
• Nottinghamshire County Council specialist disability services team.
• East Midlands Education Psychology Service.
• NHS Speech and Language team.
• NHS Healthy Families Team.
• NHS Occupational Therapists and physiotherapists.
• Bassetlaw Primary Behaviour Partnership.
• NHS Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Service.
• NHS GDA assessment referral pathway.
• Think Children Counsellors.
• Omega Solutions Sensory support.

6. How will equipment and facilities to support children with special educational needs be secured and how accessible is the school?

We access equipment for pupils with disabilities through the County Physical Disability support service. The service also provides training for staff in the use of the equipment and supports the writing of care plans and risk assessments.

The county sensory team assess and provide equipment for pupils with visual and/or hearing impairment.

For pupils with additional funding, we can make a referral for assistive technology from the county specialist teacher.

Our school is single level with level access or ramps at all entrances. We have a large accessible toilet and a small sensory room. Our outdoor areas are all sloping.

7. What are the arrangements for consulting parents of pupils with special educational needs?

At Everton, we know that a close working relationship with parents is vital to ensure the early and accurate identification and assessment of special need. This enables the school and family to identify the correct effective provision to meet these needs. The ongoing effectiveness of the provision is monitored and reviewed through regular meetings of the school and family.

The frequency of these meetings will depend upon the complexity of the needs of the individual child but will occur at least twice per year.

The family will always be consulted prior to the involvement of specialists from outside the school.

8. What are the arrangements for consulting children with special educational needs and involving them in their education?

As soon as children are able to contribute to discussions about their education teachers will discuss targets and interventions with them. We use a bespoke pupil voice to capture a holistic view of the pupils with SEN. Pupils are invited to prepare for and attend their own review meetings.

9. What do I do if I have a concern or complaint about the SEN provision made by Everton Primary School?

Initially, If you have any concerns or complaints regarding the care or welfare of your child you should discuss these with your child’s class teacher and SENCo.

If this is not sufficient to sort concerns, please make an appointment to see the Head Teacher who will be able to investigate these for you and, if necessary, advise you on formal procedures for complaint.

The school’s complaints procedure can also be found on the school website.

10. How does the governing body involve other organisations and services in meeting the needs of pupils with special educational needs and supporting the families of such pupils?

The governing body ensures the school accesses the Nottinghamshire Early Help Unit and MASH to engage social care with any pupil when needed, this includes pupils with special educational needs. The governing body supports the SENCo to network with a wide range of support services by ensuring time is available to attend family SENCo meetings, Springboard meetings and other training relevant to the SENCo. The governing body has supported the involvement on further organisations including Think Children and Omega solutions sensory support to provide additional support for pupils whose needs cannot be met through our usual providers.

11. How does the school signpost organisations and services who can provide additional support to children with special educational needs and their families?

The school makes use of the Nottinghamshire local offer, contacts within the family of SENCos and discussions with other professionals to identify further organisations who can help support children and parents. These contacts are shared in review meetings and through day to day communication with parents. Recent referrals include to Ask Us Nottinghamshire (the parent partnership for Nottinghamshire parents with special needs children) and APTCOO (A place to call our own) who offer parental support for families of neurodiverse children.

12a. How will Everton prepare for my child to join the school?

Everton encourages all new starters in EYFS and from other schools to attend for taster sessions to meet staff and children. Where pupils with identified special educational needs are joining from other settings, the SENCo will visit the child in their setting to observe them and discuss their current needs and provision prior to transfer.

12b. How will Everton prepare for my child to transition between phases?

Our Early Years unit and key stage 1 team work closely together throughout the year, enabling children to get to know adults and adults to know children. At the end of their final year in Early Years, pupils have the opportunity for two weeks of transition into their new class to establish class routines and expectations. The use of provision is maintained for pupils as they move into year 1.

Pupils transferring between classes in school also have a transition period to their new classes. This can be structured accordingly with consultation between the SENCo, Head Teacher, class teacher and parents/carers with the child’s best interests in mind.

When SEN pupils leave Everton to our feeder school, The Elizabethan Academy, they are provided with extra transition days prior to their peers to learn about the school, its nurture unit and to meet key support staff. For SEN pupils, staff from Everton and the Elizabethan meet with parents and the pupil to help plan the transition and set targets for the first term. Any pupil who is receiving additional funding from the family of schools money retains the funding for the first term of secondary to ensure they have the support they need in their new setting. The Elizabethan is then responsible for applying for further funding if it is still required. For pupils transferring to other secondary schools we aim to offer a similar service.

12c. How will Everton prepare for adulthood and independent living?

This is mainly an objective of secondary settings supporting SEN pupils. However, the ethos at Everton for all pupils is developing independent learners and adults and we believe that we provide this equally for all pupils in the school.

13. Where can I access further information?

Please contact the Head Teacher or the SENCo.

Contact details:

Tel. 01777 817350

Head Teacher: office@everton.notts.sch.uk

SENDCo: sendco@everton.notts.sch.uk