Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Information Report 

This page is designed to share with you the information about SEND at Buxton Junior School. If you can't find the information you require here, or want to discuss any information from the page further then contact the SENCO.

Our SENCO is Rebecca Hewison

Hello!  My name is Rebecca Hewison and I am the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) at Buxton Junior School. My role is to oversee the provision  for children with SEND and make referrals to external agencies. In addition I provide support to class teachers and teaching assistants and identify any staff training needs and provide or source training. I enjoy  watching our pupils as they travel on their journey through our school, celebrating their achievements, and supporting them to be the best they possibly can.

You can contact me by email at: rhewison@buxton-jun.derbyshire.sch.uk

Our SEND Governor is Victoria Whitehouse and she can be contacted via the school office on 01298 22156 or alternatively you can contact her by emailing: info@buxton-jun.derbyshire.sch.uk and your message will be forwarded.

Derbyshire Local Offer, What is it?

To access Derbyshire County Council's (DCC) Local Offer click here.

The Local Offer from DCC is designed to help and support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities to be more confident in their communities and live independently.

What is Special Educational Needs and/or Disability (SEND) ?

The Child and Family Act (section 20) defines special education needs as the following:

A child or young person has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:

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

 - 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

At Buxton Junior School, we embrace the fact that every child is different, and, therefore, the educational needs of every child are different. We believe we create a positive and supportive environment for all pupils through an ongoing holistic understanding of our pupils and their needs. All pupils have access to high-quality teaching in the classroom whilst being supported with appropriate interventions.

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) believe special educational needs should be part of a proactive approach to supporting all pupils and not be seen as an ‘add on’. Our aim is to understand the specific barriers pupils face when learning and what they need to thrive so that they can be included in all that school has to offer.

How does the school know if pupils need extra help? 

Information is gathered about to measure how our pupils progress both within lessons and socially. Class teachers will have discussions with parents, the SENCO, the Well-being Coordinator, and the Assessment Coordinator about children who may need extra support in school.

Evidence can include: 

• Parent and child voice
• Information gathered from other members of staff who work with a child
• Attainment levels 
• The progress a child is making over time
• Behaviour records
• Attendance records  

What should I do if I think my child has SEND?

Firstly, contact your child's class teacher through the class email address and they will contact you to discuss your concerns. (Class emails can be found by clicking this page of our website , then click on the year group your child is in and the class emails are listed for that year group.)  Your child's class teacher will then be able to share the concerns with the SENCO, or you can contact me directly on rhewison@buxton-jun.derbyshire.sch.uk. Following the initial discussions a plan can be made going forward.

How will school support my child?

There is significant evidence suggesting that high-quality teaching for pupils with SEND is firmly based on strategies already used in mainstream classrooms.

At Buxton Junior School the following strategies are used to support all pupils through quality first teaching (QFT):

• flexible groupings to ensure no pupils are permanently streamed as this can be detrimental to some pupils’ learning and may have longer term negative effects on attitudes and engagement with education.
• cognitive and metacognitive strategies; we endeavour for our pupils to be proactive in their efforts to learn because they are aware of their strengths and limitations; pupils are guided to personally set goals and task related strategies. We aim for our pupils to become self-regulated learners.
• explicit instruction, teacher-led approaches with a focus on clear explanations, modelling, and frequent checks for understanding. This is followed by guided practice before moving on to independent practice.
• scaffolding; when pupils are working on a written task, to provide a supportive tool or resource such as a writing frame or a partially completed example. The aim is to reduce support of this nature over time, this may be a over the course of the lesson, or a longer period such as a week or term.
• technology, this can be used by a teacher to model worked examples; it can be used by pupils to help them to learn and to practice and to record their learning.

How will the curriculum be matched to meet my child's needs?

Teachers in school will provide children in their class with an appropriate curriculum through QFT and appropriate adaptations for children's needs. 

Where children need the curriculum to be further modified this will be done in discussion with the SENCO, the Assessment Coordinator, parents, and when appropriate, the child. The 'next steps' will be identified and delivered to move the child's learning on. Often in these circumstances, the children's individual needs will have been assessed and they will be in receipt of additional funding either through Inclusion Funding or an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) as this allows for greater flexibility with delivery of a bespoke curriculum. For more information on Inclusion Funding and EHCPs, see the section below. 

In all circumstances we ensure delivery of a broad and balanced curriculum.

How will I be involved in planning for my child's education and support?

We believe SEND pupils and their parents/carers must be actively involved in the discussion and decision making processes at all stages. The process will be based around the 'Assess, Plan, Do, Review' cycle, as outlined below: 

Information gathering will include a meeting in the first term with the SEND pupil, their parent/carer, and their class teacher (and in some cases the SENCO). This discussion will be structured in such a way as to establish a good understanding of the pupil’s areas of strength and need, parent/carers’ concerns, agreed outcomes sought for the child, and the first stages to achieving these.  Class teachers will record on your child's pupil plan the intended support and carry this out over the following term. Parents/carers will be sent a copy of their child's pupil plan after the meeting in SEND week.

There will be two further occasions during the school year when pupils and their parents/carers will be invited into school to discuss with the class teacher (and in some cases the SENCO) areas of strength and need.   At these meetings the previous support will be reviewed, current needs assessed, and next stages of support planned. The class teacher will record the discussions on the pupil plan and parents/carers will be given a copy following the meeting. 

At the end of the academic year, your child's teacher will summarise the progress made and decide on areas for continued development for your child. This information will be part of the handover to your child's new teacher, allowing for continuity of progress for all pupils. 

Parents/carers are encouraged to contact their child's class teacher via email (class emails are on the website) if they have any questions, concerns or require further information or need to request a meeting. 

If your child has an EHCP then you will be invited into school for two SEND meetings and an annual review of the EHCP (Education Health Care Plan). The dates of your SEND meetings may be different to the school SEND weeks as the date of the annual review is decided by the issue date of the plan. There is information about this process on this website. DCC are moving to a online version of the annual review process; please speak to the SENCO about how you register for this process. 

What if my child needs additional support in school? 

There are times when a child's needs require additional funding, other than that ordinarily available within school. If this is the case then school and parents can work together to apply for additional funding to meet the needs of the child. 

Derbyshire County Council (DCC) provide temporary funding through Inclusion Panel Funding. School can apply for this funding which is available for a period of up to 39 weeks. DCC require schools to fund the first £6000  of support, after which they will provide additional funding for support if they decide it is necessary. Parents/carers are involved in the application for Inclusion Funding and will have discussions with the SENCO about how this would be allocated.

An education health care needs assessment can lead to an education, health care plan (EHCP). An EHCP outlines the special education, health and care needs of the child or young person. It sets out the extra help and support they will need in order to overcome barriers to learning (more information can be found on this website).

Parents and/or school can apply for a needs assessment, however, it is usually the case that we will work together to collate the evidence that DCC will require to agree to assess. As with Inclusion Funding, DCC require the school to fund the first £6000 of support. More information in applying for a needs assessment can be found on this website.

How is SEND provision organised at Buxton Junior School?

At Buxton Junior School we have three waves of support:

Wave 1 (Universal) is the expectation of 'Quality First' teaching, where good quality teaching and suiting work to individual children means that every pupil is included. The needs of all children are considered, with high expectations for them. Short term support is included in Wave 1, e.g. filling gaps in knowledge, revision of calculation method. 

Wave 2 (Targeted) is more targeted at pupils with SEND specifically. There could be access to specialist resources within the school, such as nurture groups, therapies, identified interventions and some 1:1 support. The graduated approach cycles of 'Assess, Plan, Do, Review' will monitor and keep all involved informed of the pupil’s progress.

Wave 3 (Specialist) is where external specialists may be asked to advise on more pupils at Wave 3. Subsequent cycles of the graduated approach, alongside annual reviews if the pupil has an EHCP, will monitor the progress the pupil is making.

As previously mentioned, The Education Endowment Foundation believe special educational needs should be part of a proactive approach to supporting all pupils and not be seen as an ‘add on’. Our aim is to understand the specific barriers pupils face to learning and what they need to thrive so that they can be included in all that school has to offer. This means a pupil accessing Wave 3 (Specialist) provision will be accessing Wave 1 (Universal) Quality First teaching at the same time, the adults supporting that child just make it a more personalised approach to meet their needs. 

What specialist services can be accessed by school?

Through DCC Inclusion Support Services (ISS) school have access to an advisory teacher who scan provide support in the following areas: 

• Behaviour Support 
• Autism 
• Specialist Service for Special Education Needs
• Sensory and Physical Support 

School purchase a number of sessions from Derbyshire Educational Psychology Service. These sessions can be used for staff training and  assessments for individual children depending on our needs within school.

School can make referrals for children to be assessed for autism, ADHD, and assessment at the Child Development Centre (CDC). You can read more about the services and the referral process on the CDC website. If you would like school to support you in this process please contact your child's class teacher on the class email address. 

School can make referrals to children's speech and language therapy (SALT). Information about the service and the referral process can be found on the children's SALT website. Please have a read through the details on the page as there are criteria and limitations for referrals. 

School can make referrals to Compass, Changing Lives, who will support children with their mental health. Information about the service and further advice can be found on their website.

School can make referrals to the School Nurse who can provide advice and support with sleep, behaviour, diet, etc. There is more information on DCC website. 

There are other services who come into school to support pupils with their physical needs e.g. physiotherapy, hearing impairment, visual impairment. These services are accessed through your GP or health visitor. The specialist services then make contact with school and work with us to support your child's needs. 

What training have staff supporting pupils with SEND had?

All our teaching staff and teaching assistants attend regular training to develop their understanding of SEND across the school. Positive relationships are key to the running of our school. Buxton Junior School has taken part in DCC's Virtual School, attachment and relationship aware schools programme (ARAS), and all staff have been involved in forming our Positive Relationship Policy using the ARAS principles. 

Staff are receiving training from the school autism advocate. This is a programme DCC are delivering across school settings and has been designed by the Autism Education Trust (AET) to support good practice in schools and other public settings. The AET champion a world where being different is something to be celebrated and where all autistic learners experience a positive education which supports their wellbeing.

Watch this video from the AET which explains their work.

Training on interventions which support and complement pupils learning e.g., Nessy, IDL, Little Wandle Phonics, Write Away, is delivered to staff who work with the relevant children. 

Individualised training is given for specialised needs e.g. moving and handling, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, by external agencies. 

How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom?

Teachers will plan activities and trips with the needs of all pupils in mind.

All pupils have access to all extra-curricular activities both on and off site.

How accessible is the school environment?

Buxton Junior School is a single site school, with one external classroom. All classrooms are accessible for wheelchair users, as are all doorways throughout the site. This includes widened doorframes and slow-closing fittings on each door. We have made sure that there is good lighting and safety arrangements for all visually impaired pupils.

There is a disabled toilet in the main building and the external classroom.

There is a disabled parking space at the front of the school. 

Individual accessibility requirements due to a child's impairment will be discussed and planned for with the SENCO.

How will the school support my child with the transitions to and from Buxton Junior School?

Our school works closely with Buxton Infant School and Buxton Community School. Throughout your child's time at Buxton Infant School your child will have visited our school numerous times as our transition programme starts when they are in reception! Pupils in the Years 5 and 6 make regular visits to Buxton Community School for curriculum activities so they become familiar with the school.

Our staff work closely with staff in other schools to make sure transitions meet the needs of individual children, some of whom may need extra visits and/or additional transition activities to support them with their move. 

If your child is not joining us from Buxton Infant School contact the SENCO to discuss what will help your child to feel more settled with their transition to Buxton Junior School e.g., pictures of their classroom and staff.

If your child is not moving onto Buxton Community School, speak with their Year 6 teacher who will be able to share with you the enhanced transition information from other local secondary schools. 

If your child has an EHCP then you will have a transition review in either Year 1 (for the move to KS2) or Year 5 (for the move to KS3). These will be organised by your child's school and they will also invite the SEND officer from DCC and possibly the SENCO from the school to which your child is transitioning to attend the meeting.