Special Educational Needs & Disabilities
As an inclusive school, we are proud of the support we offer to all pupils including those with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities.
Our school is part of the Schoolsworks Multi-Academy Trust and the West Worthing Locality of Schools who work collaboratively to ensure best practice and a common approach.
We ensure that all children are included fully in the life of our school, whatever their additional need may be.
The information below relates to our school. Further support for families and young people with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities is available via the West Sussex Local Offer website at westsussex.local-offer.org
Supporting all of our children to reach their potential is key. We work together with parents of children with Special Educational needs or disabilities, because we understand that you know your child best.
Mrs Helen Morris - SENCO: hmorris@hawthorns.school
What types of SEND does Hawthorns Primary School provide for?
Hawthorns is a small, mainstream, Primary School catering for pupils from age 4 to 11. We are an inclusive school. This means we provide for pupils with SEND which fall into one of more of the categories of need referred to in the SEND Code of Practice (communication and interaction, cognition and learning, social, emotional and mental health difficulties and sensory and/or physical) whose needs can be met in a mainstream setting.
How do we identify children with SEND and assess their needs?
We aim to identify children’s SEND as early as possible so that the child achieves the best possible outcomes. Underpinning ALL our provision at Hawthorns is the graduated approach cycle of: Assess, Plan, Do and Review which is used to identify and assess pupils’ needs to ensure they are met appropriately at every stage.
How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?
Hawthorns strives to provide an engaging and exciting curriculum for all children. Your child’s class teacher will plan for the variety of needs in the classroom by providing appropriate tasks and achievable outcomes to consolidate and extend children’s learning. For children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, the teacher may provide different resources for children to use or there may be an adult to assist a small group of children to complete the task as independently as possible.
How do we consult pupils and parents and involve them in the education of the pupil?
In line with the SEND Code of Practice, pupils at Hawthorns with SEND will be involved as much as possible in the decisions regarding their support and provision. Key staff such as the class teacher, teaching assistant and SENDCo will spend time getting to know the child’s strengths and needs. The level of discussion regarding a pupil’s SEND, support and provision will be appropriate to their age and stage of development. A range of activities can be undertaken to elicit pupil voice and this is then used to inform future planning.
Pupil and parent/carer views are fundamental to the ILP and Annual Review process.
How do we assess and review pupil progress towards outcomes, including opportunities to work with parents and pupils as part of this process?
Whenever we run an intervention with your child, we will assess them before the intervention begins. This is known as a ‘baseline assessment’. We do this so we can see how much impact the intervention has on your child’s progress.
We will track your child’s progress towards the outcomes we set over time and adapt our offer as we learn what your child responds to best.
This process will be continual. If the review shows a pupil has made progress, they may no longer need the additional provision made. For others, the cycle will continue and the school's targets, strategies and provisions will be revisited and refined.
Most children on the SEND register have an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) including short- term targets and linked provision which is regularly reviewed (at least twice per academic year) in collaboration with parents/carers and pupils
How do we support pupils to transition between phases of education?
All SEND pupils are supported with the transition between year groups and key stages as appropriate to their individual needs.
What is our approach to teaching pupils with SEND, and the additional support that is available to them?
Teaching staff will adapt teaching strategies and resources to meet the needs of the pupils with support from the SENDCo, subject leaders, senior leaders and advising agencies. There will be an emphasis on quality first teaching and ordinarily available inclusive practice.
How do we adapt the curriculum and learning environment with pupils for SEND?
At Hawthorns, we believe that all children should be able to have full access to the broad and balanced curriculum. We understand that some adaptations may need to be made to ensure that SEND children will be able to reach their full potential in all curriculum subjects.
We work closely with parents/carers and the pupil as well as external services for specialist advice in order to support all pupils and ensure both our curriculum and learning environment are inclusive.
What training and expertise do our staff have to support pupils with SEND and how do we secure specialist expertise?
Staff training changes each year dependent on the needs of the pupils and the professional needs of staff that are new to the school or are meeting pupils with SEND for the first time within Hawthorns.
Our SENDCo holds the National Award for SEN Co-ordination and has also recently completed Senior Mental Health Lead training. Our Pastoral Leader is trained as an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) and also trained in Emotional Based School Avoidance (EBSA) and Lego Therapy.
How do we involve other bodies to meet the needs of the pupil with SEND and to support their family, including contact details of support services and those for pursuing mediation?
Sometimes we need extra help to offer our pupils the support that they need. Whenever necessary we work with a wide range of external services to meet the needs of our pupils with SEND and to support their families.
What support do we offer pupils with SEND for their emotional, mental and social development, including extra pastoral support arrangements for listening to the views of pupils with SEND?
There are a wide range of outside agencies that can be accessed in order to help support the development of social, emotional and mental health of pupils. Some of these are available through the Local Authority/NHS and some are charities.
Our Policies
Our SEND policy and SEND information report can be located on our policies page or by clicking the here.