Towcester Church of England Primary School

Always try to speak to your child’s class teacher first.  Mrs Clare Booth (SENDCo) is usually available at the end of school and on 01327 350332 or clare.booth@towcesterpri.org.uk

There are four broad areas identified as Special Educational Needs:

Communication and Interaction

Children may find it difficult to interact with people or understand the social aspects of the world around them which may include, talking to adults, playing with other children talking about unfamiliar topics, making or keeping friends, understanding facial expressions or sarcasm or inference. Children may need routines which restrict what they do or how they cope with changes to the normal day.

Cognition and Learning

Some children find learning, thinking and understanding more difficult than other pupils. Difficulties may include, learning important skills, times tables, understanding how to use letters and sounds to read and spell. These children may need more time to think about their ideas and answers.

Social, emotional and mental health

Some children find managing their emotions and behaviours which affects their daily lives. Difficulties may include listening and following instructions, following rules, sitting still, understanding their own feelings and taking responsibility for what they do.

Sensory and / or physical

Children with a disability may require changes to the environment around them to allow them to manage with their everyday life.

Difficulties may include using pencils or scissors, hearing what others say in the classroom, struggling to read normal sized text and require large text books and worksheets or coloured dry-wipe boards, moving around with the aid of a wheelchair or walking aid.

 At different times in their school life, a child or young person may have a special educational need. The Code of Practice 2014 defines SEN as follows:

“A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or a disability which calls for special education provision to be made for him or her. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty if he or she:

1. has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others the same age, or


2. has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16s institutions.”

Where pupils’ progress is significantly below age related expectations, despite high quality teaching targeted at specific areas of difficulty, provision of SEN Support may need to be made.

Key aspects of our work include:

• Our principle focus on meeting the needs of every child through quality first teaching and learning


• A great emphasis on working together to support he early identification of needs through careful, thorough and purposeful monitoring approaches


• Working flexibly to develop effective partnerships with children and their parents or carers, class teacher, the SENDCo, specialist staff (both within school and external professionals) to ensure that the school can meet the broad range of children with special education needs and disabilities


• undertaking a rigorous system of monitoring children’s attainment and progress which supports both academic and personal achievement and progress through the identification and removal of barriers to learning


• using a wide range of strategies to foster a culture of lifelong learning and independent living skills for all children

• Your child is rigorously tracked and monitored using the school’s tracking system. If there are concerns about their progress, or if your child needs additional support, then this will be identified and acted upon accordingly. This may be in the form of small group interventions or individual support.


• Your child is assessed regularly using professional discussions, marking, observations and questioning as well as formal tests and this is followed by a ‘pupil progress meeting’ involving class teachers, SENDCo, deputy and head teacher.


• If your child is not making expected progress they may have further assessments carried out by the school’s special educational needs and disabilities coordinator. Following this assessment, the SENDCo and class teacher will meet to formally discuss appropriate support or further action for your child.


• If your child requires additional support, these are known as ‘intervention sessions’ and may take place on a daily or weekly basis, depending entirely on their needs. The SENDCo and class teachers monitor the progress of these interventions and make judgements on their effectiveness by monitoring your child’s progress closely


• If you have concerns or think that your child may have additional and/or a special educational need that has not already been identified by us, then you can discuss this with your child’s class teacher and the SENDCo


• Parent and carer consultations are held twice a year for you to discuss your child’s progress with their class teacher.

Teaching and learning staff work very closely with the SENDCo to ensure the needs of your child are identified early and appropriate support strategies are put in place. We have teaching assistants who deliver planned interventions throughout the school to identified pupils. These include (but are not limited to):

• Socially speaking/Time to Talk


• Lego Therapy


• Read Write Inc. phonics tutoring programme.


• Black Sheep Speech and Language resources


• OT programme


• Colourful semantics


• Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI)


• Catch up Maths and Literacy

As well as support from school staff, your child may require the support of additional outside agencies who may offer the school advice about strategies to support your child or may work directly with your child and your family.

On occasion, additional agencies may be asked to provide support for your child. These may include, but are not limited to:

• school nurses


• specialist SEND support services from the Local Authority


• speech and language therapists


• educational psychologists


• community paediatricians


• occupational therapists


• physiotherapists

You will always be informed of any outside agency involvement with your child and may be required to provide permission for this to take place. You will be involved at every stage of the process and we will work very closely with you and the agencies involved ensuring all advice provided to the school to support your child is carried out and monitored.

Your child may require a personalised learning plan to support their learning and progress. The class teacher will discuss this with you and with your child. This ensures that you and your child have an input into, and gain an understanding 

of, their learning objectives. This will be shared with your child in a way that is appropriate to their age and stage of development and will be reviewed approximately every twelve weeks.  This will be stored on your child’s EduKey Online Profile that you can access, view and comment on.

When providing support that is “additional to” or “different from” we engage in a four-stage process:

Assess – this involves taking into consideration all the information from discussions with parents/carers, the child, the class teacher, professionals and assessments.

Plan – this stage identifies the barriers for learning, intended outcomes, and details what additional support will be provided to help overcome the barriers. Decisions will be recorded on an SEN Support plan and will form the basis for review meetings.

Do - providing the support – extra assistance for learning – as set out in the plan.                                                                                                                      

Review – measuring the impact of support provided, and considered whether changes to that support need to be made. All of those involved – learner, parents or carers, teacher, SENCO and outside agencies contribute to this review. This stage then informs the next cycle.

The school has a robust behaviour policy and guidelines that your child is encouraged to adhere to. Your child can be supported with their behaviour through an individual behaviour plan and through advice from outside agencies.

We recognise that some children have extra emotional and social needs that need to be developed and nurtured. All classes follow a structured PSHE curriculum to support this development and the whole school follows the ‘Zones of Regulation’ Program.

However, for those children who find aspects of this difficult we offer:

• Social awareness games and activities


• The Den – a space to go to talk to an adult


• Lunch time and play time support/play partners


• Lego therapy sessions


• Buddy system


• Individualised programmes of work including activities to complete at home


• Access external agencies and professionals and follow their advice


• Teaching Assistants trained in how to support pupils’ mental health.


• Teaching Assistants trained in how to support a pupil with anxiety, depression or attachment issues.

 Any pupils with additional medical needs are well catered for at Towcester C of E Primary School. All medical requirements are requested from parents prior to admission and these are added to the school medical needs folder. For those pupils needing medicine regularly, we complete an individual health care plan which is reviewed annually. Each classroom also has a green grab bag, which includes emergency first aid such as plasters and asthma inhalers.

We involve specific professionals to support the teaching and learning in school depending on the needs of the children, these include:

• Specialist Support Service (SSS) advise the SENDCo, teachers and parents on strategies to support all children with Special Educational Needs


• Educational Psychologist (E.P.) helps school assess children with the most significant needs. The E.P. is also involved when an application is made for an Education & Healthcare Plan.


• Target Autism Team advises teachers how to support children in school with Autistic Spectrum Disorder.


• Sensory Support Services (S.S.S.) support teachers of children with hearing and visual impairments in school.


• School Nurse (S.N.) and NHS 0-19 Team supports children and their families in school


• Speech and Language Therapists (SALT) support individual children in school and give advice for further intervention work that will be carried out by school staff

Other professionals visit school regularly to offer support and therapies. On occasions children who visit professionals in their clinics will send information to school to continue and use specific strategies in school. These include, National Health Services such as Paediatricians, Speech therapists, Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Community Health Specialists.

The school adopts a responsive approach to continuing professional development for all staff.  All staff in school receive high quality training and training will always be provided to ensure we can meet the needs of individual children as and where necessary. 

Various members of staff have specific training and deliver individualised programmes and support other members of staff, these include:

• Speech and Language training


• Supporting pupils with social and communication difficulties


• Protective Behaviours Training


• Mental Health First Aid


• Colourful semantics


• Teach team (de-escalation and positive handling)


• Cystic Fibrosis Training


• Lego Therapy training


• Dyscalculia training


• Diabetes training

Wherever possible, provision will be made for your child to access all areas of the curriculum, including extra-curricular provision. You will always be contacted before a planned activity or trip which would be away from the school site.

Comprehensive risk assessments are conducted before any off-site activity or trip takes place.

If appropriate, you may be invited to accompany your child on an off-site school activity or trip.

We endeavour to make adjustments to the physical environment where necessary. We can involve extra adult support to assist children if required. We will purchase or hire specialist equipment if recommended by professional services.

Each classroom uses a visual timetable and we create personalised versions if necessary. Social stories help children with daily routines and situations. All educational visits are risk assessed to include all children and all children are invited to attend after school clubs.

• The main entrance is easily accessible with double doors. 


• The Key Stage 1 building can be accessed across the playground. 


• There is a portable ramp for access into the buildings from the playground.


• The front desk has a wheel-chair height section.


• There are two disabled toilets.


• We ensure where ever possible that equipment used is accessible to all children regardless of their needs. The SENCO manages an SEN budget, used to ensure that all pupils have access to the very best equipment. 


• After-school provision is accessible to all children, including those with SEN.


• Extra-curricular activities are accessible for children with SEN.


• The school has a “Quiet Area” and an outside learning area. 


• The bungalow kitchen is wheelchair accessible with low rise tables and cooking facilities.

Transition is a part of life for all learners, whether that involves moving to a new class or moving to a new school. We recognise that transition is an important time for all children, but especially so for a child with SEN. Consequently, we work closely with parents, pupils and staff to ensure these transitions run as smoothly as possible.

Foundation Stage staff will visit pupils in their preschool/nursery setting before the summer holiday and children have the opportunity to visit the setting before starting 

school.  There will also be the opportunity for a home-visit. Concerns about particular needs will be brought to the attention of the SENDCo. Where necessary the SENDCo will arrange a further meeting with parents, previous setting, health visitor etc.

Class teachers of children joining from other schools will receive information from the previous school; if required the SENDCo will telephone previous school to discuss individual pupil’s needs.

We aim to make transition to the next class or next school as easy as possible for all children. We can make arrangements for the child to have extra visits, talk to the next class teacher, create a photograph transition book, hold a person centred review about things that help the child to be well and happy in school, arrange meetings with parents and the next class teacher or school etc.

Our special educational needs and disabilities budget is strategically allocated to meet the needs of those children on our special educational needs and disabilities register.

Our special educational needs and disabilities budget allows us to employ additional teaching and learning support staff who deliver some of our focused interventions. It also enables us to ensure that all of our staff are qualified and trained to support your child and to purchase specialist support and consultancy if required.

Your child’s progress and attainment are rigorously monitored and resources are deployed according to need.

We also use the budget to ensure that your child’s individual needs or disabilities are met through specific resources, interventions and educational programmes.

We adopt a graduated response to meeting your child’s needs. This means that we record concerns about your child at pupil progress meetings.

Your child’s progress is tracked and monitored. If your child’s progress is providing us with any cause for concern, their class teacher will consider implementing an in-class intervention programme. This may be in relation to specific subject areas or to your child’s personal development. The impact of all interventions will be measured and monitored closely.

If, following their class teacher’s intervention, your child’s progress continues to provide us with any cause for concern, your child’s class teacher and the school’s special educational needs coordinator will meet to discuss next steps with you. This may mean placing your child on our special educational needs and disabilities register.

At Towcester C of E Primary, we value the importance of building positive relationships with parents and families within our School community:

• You are invited to attend our parent and carer consultations which are held twice per year.


• If your child has an Individual Learning Plan, you have the opportunity to be part of the assessment and review process as their targets will be shared via EduKey. You can log in, view the targets and add your comments with the class teacher and SENDCo.


• Parents of children on our special educational needs and disabilities register are asked to complete a ‘one-page profile’ with their child, if possible. A one-page profile is a person-centred thinking tool that provides a way to capture who each pupil is and how best to support them. This invaluable parental and pupil contribution helps create a full picture of your child and helps us identify how to provide the right support at the right time and in the right way. Our approach to teaching is based on getting to know each child as an individual in order to support their learning, development and wellbeing.


• School staff meet and greet your child each morning and, likewise, at the end of the school day. In addition to this, the school’s Head Teacher or Deputy Head Teacher are usually available at the beginning and end of the school day.


• You will receive regular invitations to assemblies and performances your child is involved in throughout the year.


• You will also be invited to regular open mornings throughout the year which are aimed at developing your knowledge and understanding of how we teach in school.

We believe that supporting parents will benefit all children. Your child’s class teacher is regularly available to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns or worries you may have.

The SENDCo is also available to help, guide and support.  She is often available at the end of the day or can be contacted by phoning school 01327 350332 or by email clare.booth@towcesterpri.org.uk

We have a governor who is responsible for SEND, please see the Governor Page of our website. The role of the SEND governor is to meet regularly with the SENDCo to discuss provision offered in school and ensure the right services from in and outside school are supporting the children.

If you have a complaint about the school’s provision that cannot be resolved with the class teacher or the SENDCo, then please contact Mrs Beaton, the Head teacher and she will investigate further.  In most cases, we find that complaints can be dealt with successfully at this level.

However, if this is not possible, please see the complaints policy on the school website.

The intention of the local offer is to improve choice and transparency for families within every Local Authority (LA). It will be an important resource for parents in understanding the range of services and provision in the local area. Further information about Northamptonshire's local Offer can be found at https://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/councilservices/children-families-education/send/local-offer