This SEND information Pack is written with reference to Wigan LA’s Local Offer and reflects how we meet the requirements of that document.
A direct link to the LA Local Offer can be made by clicking on https://www.wigan.gov.uk/Resident/Education/Special-Educational-Needs-and-Disability/Local-Offer/index.aspx
The SENCo at Gilded Hollins is Mrs C Malley. She may be contacted via the school office, either in person or by phoning 01942 678903. If you are considering Gilded Hollins as the school for your child and would like to know more about our provision then either Mrs Malley or Mrs Burns would be very happy to meet with you to discuss your child’s particular needs.
Frequently asked questions. Please click on the question below to reveal the answer.
This SEN information report for Gilded Hollins Community Primary School sets out the information about the implementation of the governing body’s policy with regards to special educational needs and disabilities. It has been written in accordance with section 69(3) of the Children and Families Act 2014 and follows regulation 51 and schedule 1 of The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.
It should be read alongside the SEND Policy.
The information includes:
Children and Families Bill 2014
The Children and Families Bill takes forward the Government’s commitments to improve services for vulnerable children and support families. It underpins wider reforms to ensure that all children and young people can succeed, no matter what their background. The Bill reforms the systems for adoption, looked after children, family justice and special educational needs. The Government is transforming the system for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), so that services consistently support the best outcomes for them. The Bill extends the SEND system from birth to 25, giving children, young people and their parents or carers’ greater control and choice in decisions and ensuring needs are properly met.
It reforms the provision by:
What is the Local Offer?
The Local Offer is a description of all the services available to support disabled children and children with SEND and their families. This information sets out what is normally available in schools to help children with SEND as well as highlighting what support is available for families who need additional help to support children with more complex needs.
Wigan’s Local offer
Wigan’s Local Offer provides parents and carers with information about how to access services in the region and what they can expect from those services. With regard to education, it allows parents, carers and young people know how schools and colleges will support them.
You can access the Wigan SEND site and see details of their Local Offer at www.wigan.gov.uk/sendlocaloffer. Educational settings are also required to provide information, as described in the SEND code of Practice. Below you will find some frequently asked questions from parents who wish to understand more about Gilded Hollins School and what is provided for children with SEND.
Which areas of need do we at Gilded Hollins make provision for during this academic year 2022 / 2023?
How does Gilded Hollins Primary School know when a child needs extra help?
Staff know when pupils need help if:
If you have any concerns about your child’s progress, the initial point of contact is your child’s class teacher. You may also contact the SENCO, Mrs Malley.
What should I do if I think my child may have special educational needs?
If you have any concerns about your child having any additional needs, you can request a mutually suitable time to speak to your child’s class teacher. From this meeting the class teacher will feedback to relevant professionals within school and advise parents accordingly. If parents feel they still have further questions, then an appointment can be made with the SENCO.
We will always share information about the support your child is receiving in school and welcome your input in reviewing your child’s progress. We offer an open door policy and teachers are available daily to discuss your child’s needs, although an appointment offers a more appropriate designated time to devote to your child.
How does Gilded Hollins support a child with SEND?
Each pupil’s educational programme will be planned by the class teacher. Work is differentiated accordingly to suit a pupil’s individual needs. This may include additional general support by the class teacher or by a teaching assistant in class.
If a child has needs related to more specific areas of their education, such as phonics, reading, spelling or number work, then the pupil may be taught in a small intervention group. This will be run by a teacher or teaching assistant. The length of time of the intervention will vary according to need, but is reviewed each term. These interventions are recorded on a school provision map and are monitored regularly for impact by the SENCO.
Occasionally, a pupil may need more expert help from an outside agency such as Speech and Language Therapy and the Targeted Educational Support Service linked to Wigan Local Authority. A referral will be made, with your consent, and sent to the relevant service. After further assessments, a programme of support may be given to the school and parents / carers.
The staff and governors at Gilded Hollins ensure that the school is as inclusive as possible and treats all children and staff in an equitable manner. They monitor and review statutory policies as defined by the Department for Education. Gilded Hollins has a designated governor for SEND who oversees the work of the SENCO and staff and ensure that the provision set out in the SEND policy is being carried out efficiently. The governor currently with this responsibility is Mrs Madelaine Williamson Pires.
How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?
All teachers at Gilded Hollins match the curriculum to the needs of the individuals in their classes. The children are taught from their own starting points appropriate to their needs.
When a child has been identified with special needs their work will be differentiated (adapted) by the class teacher to enable them to access the curriculum more easily.
Teaching assistants may be allocated to work with a pupil one to one, or with a small group to target specific needs.
How will both you and I know how my child is doing and how will the school help me to support my child’s learning?
At Gilded Hollins we monitor the individual progress of all children closely by having termly meetings with staff to evaluate progress and attainment as well as setting further support for those children not making steady progress.
Those children identified as having SEND are monitored closely by the SENCO to ensure that any interventions are having an impact on learning and so ascertain the effectiveness of our provision.
On some occasions, more formal assessments may be carried out to ascertain how much progress has been made and to inform the next steps in planning for your child. (Such assessments may include reading or spelling age assessments, Sounds-write assessments or maths assessments). Specialist teams linked to the Local Authority may be called upon to carry out these assessments. Your child’s class teacher will explain any assessments they have used with your child.
Parents can work with school to support their child’s learning by:
How do we gather the views of children?
It can be difficult for any child to express their views on their learning and progress. We support each child according to his or her individual needs. Children’s views are important to us and we regularly discuss their learning with them.
Where children have an individual progress plan, teachers will review and discuss the objectives within the plan with child so that can recognise their strengths and areas for development.
What support will there be for my child’s overall well-being?
The learning mentor oversees the implementation of detailed health care plans in consultation with parents/carers for any child requiring medical assistance. These plans are shared with all staff who are involved with that pupil.
The Learning Mentor will ask other medical practitioners to come into school to train relevant members of staff i.e. diabetic nurses, epilepsy nurses etc.
Where necessary, and in agreement with parents/carers, medicines are administered in school but only where a medicine consent form is in place to ensure the safety of the child and protect the member of staff.
There are a number of trained first aiders in school at all times.
The school offers a variety of pastoral support for children who are experiencing emotional difficulties. All members of staff are readily available in the first instance should any pupil wish to discuss issues and concerns. The learning mentor works closely with the SENCO to develop a programme of nurture sessions for children who may need extra support.
Children who have social, emotional and mental health problems, have their needs met through individual plans and additional support or interventions. If behaviour needs are an increasing concern, the school may ask for the help of the local authority in the form of advice from the Behaviour Support Team, the writing of a Pastoral Support Plan and access to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service or Startwell, a service that gives direct support to families. School will always ask families to be fully involved in these processes.
The school looks at each child individually to ensure that their needs are met. Should a child require extra provision during unstructured times, such as playtime and lunchtimes, this would be written into a separate behaviour support plan and implemented initially by the learning mentor.
What specialist services and expertise are available at, or accessed by, the school?
There are a wide range of services available to provide teachers with more specialised expertise. The main agencies used by the school are:
There may be other services used dependent on the specific needs of a pupil.
What training have the staff supporting children with SEND had?
The staff at Gilded Hollins are continually updating their training through different courses, staff meetings, bespoke training, workshops etc. to ensure that staff are proficient in all relevant knowledge and skills. Over the past year, the staff have had training in the following areas:
In addition to this, the school has regular visits from the TESS team who provide advice to staff to support the success and progress of individual pupils.
The NHS Speech Language Therapist visits as requested to assess and plan support for specific pupils. These targeted programmes are then delivered by the Learning Mentor or a Learning Support Assistant.
How will my child be included in activities both inside and outside of the classroom?
Gilded Hollins is a fully inclusive school and we will always do our best to ensure that all children can take part in all activities within school and no child with SEND is treated less favourably than others. Every child with SEND is an individual and, as such, his or her needs must be treated individually. Activities may be adapted or extra support provided to ensure that all children can take part in all activities planned wherever possible. Risk assessments are carried out and procedures put in place to allow all children to participate. Parents will be asked to contribute to discussions about how best to support their child in these activities.
How accessible is the school environment?
As a school, we are happy to discuss individual access requirements. Specific health and medical requirements will be discussed on an individual basis. Parents are welcome to enquire or visit at any time to discuss any concerns.
How will the school prepare my child for joining the school and transferring to a new school?
Before entry into Gilded Hollins reception class all information will be gathered regarding any SEND so that any necessary support can be planned for. Meetings will be arranged for those children who are already known to Early Years SEND Services to make school aware of their needs to ensure the correct support is in place. |
For children who find change a challenge, we also organise transition sessions at the end of an academic year in preparation for a change of teacher and classroom. These involve talking about how things will change and how things will stay the same, as well as visiting new classrooms and teachers. All children in the school have a “Move Up Day” when they meet their new class teacher.
When children transfer to a new school, information about their educational needs is always shared with the receiving school and records passed on. At the end of Year 6 staff from the receiving secondary school will visit Gilded Hollins and talk to staff about the individual strengths and needs of all pupils. Additional visits to the secondary school may be arranged if necessary.
How are the school’s resources allocated and matched to children’s needs?
The school is given a notional SEND budget. The money is used to provide additional support or resources dependent on an individual’s needs.
Support can take many forms and our guiding principle is providing the highest quality education for all children. To this end, we ensure that each class has an allocated teaching assistant to help support the class teacher. We want the best for our pupils just as you want the best for your child.
Support may include (but is not restricted to):
How is the decision made about what type of, and how much, support my child will receive?
If a child is not making enough progress, a graduated response is required. The school will put in the necessary additional support as well as differentiating work further. The class teacher is best placed to know if there are any concerns regarding the child and will speak to the SENCO to discuss next steps. The class teacher and SENCO will carefully monitor progress.
If the child continues to make insufficient progress then the class teacher and SENCO will make the decision for that child to access relevant interventions.
Should a child continue to need support, an individual plan will be drawn up to ensure all learning needs are met. The type and level of support will be discussed with parents as regularly as necessary. This may vary from child to child. We always aim to work in partnership with parents to achieve the best possible outcomes for all students.
How will the school evaluate the effectiveness of the SEN provision made for pupils?
The effectiveness of SEN provision is measured in two ways.
The views of parents and pupils on how successful the provision has been in enabling them to attain their outcomes is discussed at parents evening and when updating any individual learning plans.
The progress and attainment levels of those children with SEND are measured termly during pupil progress meetings or more often if appropriate.
This data will be shared with governors and will be judged by external moderators such as Ofsted.
Who can parents/carers contact for further information?
If you want to discuss your child, the class teacher is your first point of contact. If you require any further advice or support with your child's needs you can make an appointment with Mrs Malley, the SENCO.
Should you need any further help, there are a number of parents’ support groups that are available. Please do not hesitate to come and ask for details.
Should you have a complaint, please come into school as soon as possible as we have found that many issues are quickly resolved by making staff aware and talking through a problem. However, we recognize that there may be times when discussions need to go further. Therefore, we have a complaints procedure that is available on our website or as a paper copy should you require it.
This Information Report has been written with guidance from the SEND Code of Practice (Jan 2015), the Equality Act 2010 and Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 relating to school systems for responding to the needs of pupils with SEND.