2. What are the different types of support available for children with SEND in Hawthorn Tree?

Class teacher input via excellent targeted classroom teaching also known as Quality First Teaching.

For your child this would mean:

• That the teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all pupils in their class.
• That all teaching is based on building on what your child already knows, can do and can understand.
• At times the teacher may direct the class based Teaching Assistant to work with your child as part of normal working practice.
• Different ways of teaching are in place so that your child is fully involved in learning in class. This may involve things like using more practical learning.
• Specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SENDCO or outside staff) are in place to support your child to learn.
• Your child’s teacher will have carefully checked on your child’s progress and may have decided that your child has gaps in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress.
• All children in school should be getting this as part of excellent classroom, practice when needed.
• Specific group work with in a smaller group of children.

This group, often called intervention groups by schools, may be:

• Run in the classroom or outside.
• Run by a teacher or most often a Teaching Assistant who has had training to run these groups.

Children requiring SEND Support (School based)

This means they have been identified by the class teacher as needing some extra support in school.

For your child this would mean:

• He/she will engage in small group sessions with specific targets (linked to an ISEND Support Plan) to help him/her to make progress.
• A teaching/learning support assistant or teacher will run these small group sessions using the teacher’s plan.
• This type of support is available for any child who has specific gaps in their understanding of a subject/area of learning.
• The class teacher will review the child’s progress on a termly basis with the parent and together plan new targets for the next SEND Support Plan.

Children requiring SEND Support (with outside agency involvement)

This means they have been identified by the SENDCO as needing some extra specialist support in school from a professional outside the school. This may be from:

• Local Authority central services such as:

Autism Outreach, Sensory Education Support Service (for pupils with a hearing or visual need), Pathways (for children with behaviour difficulties), Specialist Teachers and an Educational Psychologist.

• Outside agencies such as:

Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) Service, Community Paediatrician, CAMHs, School Nurse.

For your child this would mean:

• Your child will have been identified by the class teacher or SENDCO (or you will have raised your own concerns) as needing more specialist input instead of or in addition to quality first teaching and intervention groups.
• You will be asked to come to a meeting to discuss your child’s progress and help plan possible ways forward.
• You may be asked to give your permission for the school to refer your child to a specialist professional e.g. a Speech and Language Therapist or Educational Psychologist. This will help the school and yourself understand your child’s particular needs better and be able to support them better in school.

The specialist professional will work with your child to understand their needs and make recommendations, which may include:

• Making changes to the way your child is supported in class e.g. some individual support or changing some aspects of teaching to support them better.
• Support to set targets which will include their specific expertise.
• A group run by school staff under the guidance of the outside professional e.g. a social skills group.
• A group or individual work with outside professional.

The school may suggest that your child needs some individual support in school.  They will tell you how the support will be used and what strategies will be put in place.  This type of support is available for children with specific barriers to learning that cannot be overcome through Quality First Teaching and intervention groups.

Specified Individual Support

This is usually provided via an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This means your child will have been identified by the class teacher or SENDCO as needing a particularly high level of support or small group teaching (the amount of hours will be specified by an EHCP), which cannot be provided from the budget available to the school.

Usually your child will also need support from professionals outside the school. This may be from:

• Local Authority central services such as the ASD Outreach Team or Sensory Service (for students with a hearing or visual need).
• Outside agencies such as the Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) Service.

For your child this would mean:

The school (or you) can request that the Local Authority carry out a statutory assessment of your child’s needs. This is a legal process which sets out the amount of support that will be provided for your child.

After the school have sent in the request to the Local Authority (with a lot of information about your child, including some from you), they will decide whether they think your child’s needs (as described in the paperwork provided), seem complex enough to need a statutory assessment. If this is the case they will ask you and all the professionals involved with your child to write a report outlining your child’s needs. If they do not think your child needs this, they will ask the school to continue with the support at School Action Plus.

After the reports have all been sent to the Local Authority (L.A), the L.A will then decide if your child’s needs are severe, complex and lifelong and that they need more specified extra support in school to make good progress. If this is the case they will write a Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP). If this is not the case they will ask the school to continue with the support at School Action Plus and also set up a meeting in school to ensure a plan is in place to ensure your child makes as much progress as possible.

The EHCP will outline the number of hours of individual/small group support your child will receive from the LA and how the support should be used and what strategies must be put in place. It will also have long and short term goals for your child.  The additional adult may be used to support your child with whole class learning, run individual programmes or run small groups including your child.

This type of support is available for children whose learning needs are:

• Severe, complex and lifelong.
• Need more than a specified number of hours support in school.