SEND provision

As a Trust we are dedicated to supporting all pupils to progress and flourish into confident young adults by the time they leave us. The pupils in our schools who have Special Educational Needs (SEN) are especially important to us, due to the adversity they may face on a day-to-day basis.

To reassure you that we are dedicated to investing in SEN provision across the Trust, please see below to what has already been implemented and what we will be developing further.

Since January 2023

• All schools have undertaken a review of their SEN provision with the Director of SEN and Safeguarding.
• Two SENDCOs who were new to post from January 2023 have received regular mentoring sessions to support them in their role.
• Each school has increased its Graduated Approach provision and invested in additional assessments and interventions to support pupils in all four areas of SEN.
• Staff have shared their SEN training needs, which have been incorporated into the 23/24 training calendar.
• The IPSEA L2 SEN Law for SENCOs course has been accessed by 5 of the Trust SENCOs. The training covers: The SEN legal framework, Statutory duties on schools
• Statutory duties on local authorities, Education Health and Care (EHC) needs assessments, EHC plans, Naming a school or college in an EHC plan and Annual reviews.
• We have worked closely with City of York Council’s (CYC) Education Psychologists to develop our Emotional Based School Avoidance strategies (EBSA), in order to identify and address these needs for pupils who are struggling to attend school due to anxiety related issues.

From September 2023 we aim to strengthen and enhance the SEND offer by:

Having clear aims:

• Children’s needs are identified early, and effective support is put in place quickly during the life of a problem or need.
• Staff have the knowledge, understanding and skills to provide the right support for children and young people who have SEN or are disabled.
• Parents and young people know what they can reasonably expect their school to provide, without having to request additional support.
• There is sufficient and flexible provision to meet need.
• Aspirations for children and young people are raised through an increased focus on life outcomes.
• Children, young people and parents co-produce the provision for children and are engaged in co-production of strategy.

Our key priorities are:

• Partnership and co-production with parents/carers, children and young people with special educational need and/or disability
• Early recognition of needs and appropriate intervention
• Strengthening inclusion in mainstream settings
• SEN provision is responsive to and meets need and improves outcomes
• Fair and efficient use of resources
• Integrated working between agencies

We also aim to strengthen and enhance the SEND offer with:

• A dedicated SEN training agenda for our staff, which includes training in all four areas of SEN, including:
  • Autism
  • ADHD
  • Moderate Learning Difficulties
  • Specific Learning Difficulties
  • Sensory Needs
  • Speech, Language and Communication Needs.
• The training is being delivered by a range of professionals including CYC Educational Psychologists, ADHD Foundation and Applefields special school.
• Each term will have a focus on an area of need that will include the relevant CPD from a specialist service, a SEN strategy tip of the week to apply to the school environment and a termly newsletter on that particular area of need for staff and parents. There will also be a termly intervention training offer for support staff to access, which will build up the bank of interventions schools can offer to support pupils.
• All SENCOs to access the level 3 SEN Law for SENCOs advanced training from IPSEA. This advanced level training day is designed for professionals advising or supporting families of children and young people with SEND.
• Trust SENCO Network meetings will be taking place regularly to share good practice and have a solution-focussed approach for areas to develop.
• Further develop communication links with parents as well as informal events for parents to attend and network with other parents who have children with SEN.
• Offering a Trust alternative provision offer for pupils who may have Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs. The provision will offer short term places for pupils in KS3 to support them reintegrate back into their mainstream school successfully and a KS4 offer for pupils to work towards practical qualifications in a smaller setting, whilst supporting their SEMH needs. There will also be an alternative provision offer for key stage 2, based at Carr Junior, for pupils who will require additional intervention.

Contacting your SENCO

We are keen to work in partnership with parents and welcome conversations regarding the SEND provision your child receives. In the first instance we would ask that parents meet with the school SENCO to discuss these matters and consider all the options available. Their details can be found on the school websites.

SEN and Safeguarding newsletter

This term, colleagues in our schools have received weekly emails providing tips, advice and strategies to employ when working with children with SEN and to help improve safeguarding. Since September we have focused on the following themes:

• SEN: Cognition and Learning 

• Safeguarding: Child-on-Child Abuse

Please click here to read the December 2023 newsletter which includes the key points we wanted to share with parents and carers.