SEND Offer

How do we know if a child/young person has special educational needs?

Pupils are identified as having SEND according to the following criteria:

• They have been identified with SEND on enrolment at our school
• There are concerns around their progress even when teaching is appropriately targeted or differentiated to meet their needs
• They are working at age-related expectations substantially below their age group
• They have continuing difficulty in developing literacy and numeracy skills even after support
• They have continuing difficulties with their social or emotional development which interfere with their own learning, or that of the class group, despite positive behaviour management techniques or appropriate school-based emotional support
• They have sensory, physical or medical needs which affect learning, such as a physical disability or a difficulty with hearing or vision
• They have continuing communication difficulties that prevent the development of social relationships and impact upon learning.

What do we do to help children/young people with special educational needs?

There is a wide range of support for children with SEND that are available in Cubitt Town covering areas such as:

• Literacy, such as Read, Write Inc. phonics, word reading, comprehension, spelling and writing
• Numeracy skills
• Speech Language & Communication
• Emotional needs
• Autistic Spectrum Disorder

How do we adapt our teaching for children/young people with special educational needs?

Children with special educational needs are taught alongside other children, and additional interventions are also put in place if needed to ensure their learning needs are met.

Class teachers plan to meet the individual needs of all children, and how other adults - usually teaching assistants - will assist in supporting children with SEND. This may involve any or all of the following:

• A different task for certain children;
• A different level of support for children who need it;
• A different outcome in terms of what work the children will produce;
• Different resources, equipment, etc. which will support the children to learn independently
• An adapted learning environment to support children's learning where appropriate.

Termly meetings between the SENCO and the class teacher are held to review children's progress and the effectiveness of targets and provision, and to set updated updated learning targets in the form of a Learning Plan which is shared with parents and pupils.

How do we decide what resources we can give to a child/young person with special educational needs?

Quality First Teaching includes a strong focus on all children's individual needs.

All staff, with the guidance of the SENCO, are involved in identifying how the child's needs are met, and the ongoing cycle of "Assess/Plan/Do/Review" is central to this. We assess a child's learning and progress, plan the learning activities that will address those needs, ensure the planned activities are put in place, and review the success of the work that has been done, before planning further support where required.

Teachers take into account specialist advice which may have been provided by particular external agencies such as the Educational Psychology Service, the Children's Speech & Language Therapy Service, the Children's Occupational Therapy Service or the Phoenix School Outreach Service for children on the autistic spectrum.

How do we check that a child/young person is making progress and how do we keep parents informed?

Careful monitoring takes place through observations, data analysis, reviews or meetings, which may include pupils, teachers, parents, the SENCO, TAs or outside agencies.

Pupil progress meetings are held termly for every class involving class teachers and senior leaders to analyse the progress of all pupils and identify which children may be struggling.

Parents are informed at regular Parents Meetings, or when the concern is more significant, are invited in to discuss progress and support.

What support do we offer for children's/young people's health and general wellbeing?

This can include:

• Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA)
• Friendship groups
• Circle of Friends
• Special arrangements for play & lunchtimes
• Children monitored by reports
• A range of resources to support the development of handwriting and other motor skills, and other sensory/physical needs as necessary.
• The use of IT to support a range of sensory/physical needs
• Staff who are trained to meet medical, physical, sensory needs as necessary - e.g. diabetes, epilepsy, etc.

Pupils with SEND are provided with opportunities to engage with key staff to raise any concerns they may have, which may include bullying.

What specialist external services do we use when we think extra help is needed?

• Our Educational Psychologist from the LB Tower Hamlets EPS works closely with children, parents and school staff
• The LB Tower Hamlets Parents Advice Centre for SEND
• The London Children's Practice provide Speech & Language Therapy services as required to assess and meet children's needs through therapy sessions and advice to staff
• For children on the autistic spectrum, the ASDAS Service based at the Wellington Way clinic assess children and the Phoenix School Outreach Team provide training, advice and resources for school staff
• Cherry Trees School Outreach Team for behaviour support
• CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service)
• Occupational Therapy Children's Service
• Speech & Language Therapy Children's Service
• Liaison with other NHS services as required
• Tower Hamlets Support for Learning Service Specific Learning Difficulties Team
• Support for Learning Service Behaviour Team
• Support for Learning Service Speech Language & Communication Team
• Support for Learning Service Vision Impaired Team
• Support for Learning Service Hearing Impaired Team
• Support for Learning Service Disabilities Team

We also work closely with with Health and Social Care and other Local Authority services to support children and their families.

What training have our staff have had or are they getting?

Training in SEND is part of the ongoing CPD for all staff. Specific training is organized whenever required.

The Tower Hamlets Support for Learning Service, with whom we have a Service Level Agreement, provides access to a range of traing opportunities.

Training in medical issues such as diabetes and epilepsy is provided by the School Nursing Team.

How do we include children/young people in activities and school trips?

We welcome and expect all children to take part in a full range of trips and extra-curricular activities. Comprehensive risk assessments are carried out, and we take all necessary steps to ensure that appropriate support is in place to enable them to do so regardless of their SEND or disabilities. This will include ensuring that additional staff and resources are in place to so that children can participate fully by providing individual support if that is required. Parents are fully consulted, and encouraged to take part if they so wish, and we welcome the opportunity to work with them to meet their child's needs.

All reasonable adjustments are made to ensure that all trips are accessible, and all such trips and extra-curricular activities are open to all children unless the risk is assessed as too high for certain children to participate.

Our school environment

We are on the 1st floor of a pre-war building, and although we have a lift, there may be some obstacles to being fully accessible in certain parts of the school.  Accessible toilets are available in the Infants School, which is located on the ground floor of the building.

We are committed to ensuring that funds are made available for any reasonable purchase of equipment that will support the learning of children with SEND.

Our Accessibility Plan outlines in detail measures that are taken to ensure that children with a disability are not treated less favourably than other pupils. All parents are made aware if their child is considered to have a disability, and what adjustments are made for them. They are given a full opportunity to participate in these decisions.​

How do we prepare for children/young people joining our school and leaving our school?

Most pupils join us from Cubitt Town Infant School. Transition arrangements include meetings with parents, pupils,the SENCO and staff from Year 2. Children visit for a day of learning in the Primary during the Summer Term.

Specific arrangements are put in place for children with SEND involving the SENCOs from the two schools, and other key staff such as Learning Mentors or TAs. Where appropriate, Primary School staff attend key meetings such as Annual Reviews during Year 2. Staff may then make additional visits to see the children in their classes if necessary. 

For mid-phase admissions we liaise with the previous school's SENCO, and arrange to meet where appropriate.

Similar arrangements are in place for transition to secondary school. Most local secondary schools runs a transition programme for children with SEND to ensure that they are comfortable about joining their new school, and they can be accompanied by Cubitt Town staff. We are also able to refer selected children to holiday transition programmes.

How are parents involved in school life?

We place a high priority on working with parents as this invariably leads to a better outcome for children. Parents are involved in a wide variety of meetings to address their children's special educational needs, many of them involving outside specialists. Parents' views are paramount in decisions about the next steps to assess children's needs, and any referrals that might be necessary.

We have worked with LB Tower Hamlets to ensure that Annual Reviews for children with EHC Plans follow a Person Centred approach, whereby high priority is given to the child and the parent's views.

Cubitt Town Community House provides a wide range of workshops, to help parents support their children's learning and their own personal development, and also provide family learning and trips. There is a regular East End Parents and Carers Together forum for parents and carers of children with SEND in conjunction with the LBTH Parents Advice Centre.

Who should parents contact for more information or to discuss a concern or complaint?

Any parents who have questions or concerns about their child should generally first contact the class teacher, and if in the resulting conversation the issue of special educational needs or disability is raised, the class teacher will then contact one of the SENCOs, Mike Coysh, or Angie Drew, who will be happy to meet with them to plan next steps.  Parent who have already worked closely with the SENCOs are welcome to contact them directly.

To email the SENCO Team please send an email to: senco@cubitttown-jun.towerhamlets.sch.uk

The Tower Hamlets website contains information about their Local Offer with all kinds of information about SEND in the Borough.