Welcome to the SEN information report for The Saints Federation which is part of the Norfolk Local Offer for learners with Special Educational Needs. All governing bodies of maintained schools have a legal duty to publish information on their website about the implementation of the governing body’s policy for pupils with SEN. The information published is updated annually.
The Saints Federation is committed to working together with all members of the schools communities. This local offer has been produced with pupils, parents/carers, governors and members of staff. We would welcome your feedback and future involvement in the review of our offer, so please do contact us. The best people to contact for 2024-25 are:
Mrs Esme Sexton – Federation SENDCo
If you have specific questions about the Norfolk Local Offer please visit Norfolk County Council SEN
If you are concerned, please talk to your Class Teacher.
Telephone numbers are
01379 642767 – All Saints site,
01379 687253 – St. Andrew’s site
01508 489395 – Hapton site.
Teaching Learners with Special Educational Needs
The Saints Federation aims to create an inclusive culture which is responsive to the diversity of children’s backgrounds, interests, experience, knowledge and skills. The Federation aims to provide a curriculum that is inclusive and purposeful for all pupils, recognising particular special educational needs of individual children, in any area of their learning and supporting them accordingly.
The Saints Federation values high quality teaching for all learners and actively monitor teaching and learning in partnership. Progress of all learners is measured and monitored to ensure learning and progress and pupil progress meetings are held with staff engaging in coaching and interventions.
The Federation School improvement and Development Plan is committed to developing learning for all and providing continued professional development opportunities for all staff.
Identifying Special Educational Needs
At different times in their school career, a child or young person may have a special educational need. The Code of Practise defines Special Education Needs as
“A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they
- have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
- have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 insitututions.”
If a learner is identified as having SEN, we will provide provision that is ‘additional to or different from’ the normal differentiated curriculum, intended to overcome the barrier to their learning.
Learners can fall behind national expectations for lots of reasons, these include being absent from school, changing school, having English as a second language or distractions. At All Saints, St. Andrew’s and Hapton we are committed to ensuring that all learners have access to learning opportunities, and for those who are at risk of not learning, we intervene. This does not mean that all vulnerable learners have SEN. Only those with a learning difficulty that requires Special Educational Provision will be identified as having SEN.
Assessing Special Educational Needs
Class Teachers, Support Staff, Parents/Carers and the learner themselves will be the first to notice a difficulty with learning. At The Saints Federation staff ensure that assessment of educational needs, directly involves the learner, their parents/carer and of course their Teacher. The Special Educational Needs Disability Co-ordinator (SENDCo) will also support with the identification of barriers to learning. For some learners we may want to seek advice from specialist teams. At The Saints Federation we have access to various specialist services including those provided by Norfolk County Council.
Supporting Learners with Special Educational Needs
Every Teacher is required to adapt the curriculum to ensure access to learning for all children in their class. The Teaching Standards 2012 detail the expectations on all teachers, and the Federation is proud of its Teachers and their development. Our Teachers use various strategies to adapt access to the curriculum including: visual timetables, writing frames, i-pads and laptops, peer buddy systems, positive behaviour rewards systems.
Each learner identified as having SEN, is entitled to support that is ‘additional to or different from’ a normal curriculum. The type of support is dependent on the individual learning needs, and is intended to enable access to learning and overcome the barrier to learning identified. This support is described on a provision map, which is evaluated and updated termly.
At The Saints Federation we share our provision map with other professionals ensuring equality of opportunity.
Monitoring Special Educational Needs
Monitoring progress is an integral part of teaching and leadership at The Saints Federation. Parents/Carers, pupils and staff are involved in reviewing the impact of interventions for learners with SEN. The Federation follows the ‘assess, plan, action, review’ model and ensures that parents/carers and children are involved in each step. Before any additional provision is selected to help a child, the SENDCo, Teacher, Parent/Carer and Learner agree what they expect to differ following this intervention. A baseline is also recorded, which can be used to compare the impact of provision.
Children, Parents/Carers and their Teaching and Support Staff will be directly involved in reviewing progress. This review can be built in to the intervention itself, or it can be a formal meeting held every eight weeks, where progress is discussed and next steps identified and agreed. If a learner has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC) the same conversations will take place, but there will also be a formal review of the Plan annually.
The SENDCo collates the impact data of interventions, to ensure that we are only using interventions that work.
Progress data of all learners is collated by the whole school and monitored by Teachers, SENDCo Leadership Team and Governors. The school is also monitored by the Local Authority and Ofsted.
Other Opportunities for Learning
All learners should have the same opportunity to access extra curriculum activities. At The Saints Federation we offer a range of additional clubs and activities. The Federation is committed to making reasonable adjustments to ensure participation for all.
All staff within the Federation have regular training on the Equality Act 2010. This legislation places duties on schools, settings and providers including the duty not to discriminate, harass or victimise a child or adult linked to a protected characteristic defined in the Equality Act and to make ‘reasonable adjustments.’
The Equality Act 2010 definition of disability is:
“A person has a disability for the purposes of this Act if (s)he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.” Section 1(1) Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
This definition of disability in the Equality Act includes children with long term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and cancer. Children and young people with such conditions do not necessarily have SEN, but there is a significant overlap between disabled children and young people and those with SEN. Children and young people may therefore be covered by both SEN and disability legislation.
Preparing for the next step
Transition is part of life for all learners. This can be transition to a new class in school, having a new teacher or moving on to another school, training provider or moving into employment. The Saints Federation is committed to working in partnership with children, families and other providers to ensure positive transitions occur.
Planning for transition is a part of our provision for all learners with SEN. Moving classes will be discussed with parents and children at their summer term review meeting. Transition to Secondary Schools will be discussed in the summer term of the Year 5, to ensure time for planning and preparation.
Have your say
All Saints, St. Andrew’s and Hapton is a Federation. We shape and develop provision for all our learners ensuring achievement for all. This SEN report declares our annual offer to learners with SEN, but to be effective it needs the views of all parents/carers, learners, governors and staff. So please engage with our annual process to ‘assess, plan, action and review’ provision for SEN.
If you have a concern please see the Federation Communication and Complaints Policies.
Please see our provision map below which outlines the support we provide for pupils with SEND.
