SEND Information Report

Welcome to our SEND Information Report, which is part of Durham County Council’s Local Offer for children and young people with Special Educational Needs. You can find the Local Offer here.

At South Hetton Primary School, we are committed to the equal inclusion of all pupils in all areas of school life. We recognise the diverse and individual needs of all of our pupils and take into account the additional support required by those children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). We recognise that all children are entitled to a quality of provision that will enable them to meet their full potential. We believe in positive intervention, removing barriers to learning, raising expectations and levels of achievement and working in partnership with other agencies in order to provide a positive educational experience for all our pupils including those with a special educational need or disability.

At South Hetton Primary School, we ensure that all pupils, regardless of their specific needs, make the best possible progress.

The SENCo is Mrs Tamsin Hill.

The SEND governor is Mrs Ashley Willmore

At South Hetton Primary School we aim to:

Create an environment where all children feel safe, secure, supported and successful
Create an environment that aims to meet the specifics needs of the children
Make clear expectations of all partners throughout the Assess, Plan, Do, Review process for SEND
Identify the roles and responsibilities of all staff in the provision for SEND
Enable all children to have full access to the curriculum and any additional, or extra-curricular activities that are available

There are four broad areas of SEND, these are:

Communication and Interaction

Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have difficulty in communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty: · saying what they want to · understanding what is being said to them · or they do not understand or use social rules of communication. The profile for every child with SLCN is different and their needs may change over time. They may have difficulty with one, some or all of the different aspects of speech, language or social communication at different times of their lives. Children and young people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder including Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism, are likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction. They may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination, which can impact on how they relate to others

Cognition and Learning

Support for learning difficulties may be required when children and young people learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs, including Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD), Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD), where children are likely to need support in all areas of the curriculum and associated difficulties with mobility and communication, through to profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) Specific learning difficulties (SpLD), affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.

Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties

Sensory and/or Physical Difficulties

Some children and young people require special educational provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. These difficulties can be age related and may fluctuate over time. Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning, or rehabilitation support.

Staff within the school are skilled in the recognition and support of the four broad areas of SEND and additional support from external agencies is sought as and when appropriate.

The information that must be included in our SEND Information Report can be found under the image headings or from the SEND menu. We will continue to add information on the website and welcome your feedback by using the on-line form.

Key Policies

School policies can be found on our website, with the following policies being particularly relevant to parents of children with SEND:

Reviewed October 2020