Welcome to our 2023-2024 SEND Information Report which is part of Durham County Council’s Local Offer for children and young people with Special Educational Needs. Our SEN Information Report will provide details about how we implement our policy and practice to deliver high quality SEN provision for children and young people with SEN.
Definition
A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made that is additional to or different from that made generally for other children or young people of the same age. (CoP 2015, p16)
Broad Areas Of Need – There are four broad areas of special educational need, these are:
Communication and interaction – Includes pupils with Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) and those with Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN).
Cognition and learning – Includes pupils with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) , Moderate learning difficulties (MLD), Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD) and Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD).
Social, Emotional and Health Difficulties – Includes any pupils who have an emotional, social or mental health need that is impacting on their ability to learn.
Sensory and/or Physical Difficulties – Includes pupils with hearing impairment, visual impairment, multi-sensory impairment and physical difficulties.
Our Intent
At Copeland Road Primary School, we would like our SEN pupils to fulfil their potential and achieve well based on their individual starting points. We will develop their knowledge, understanding and skills, encouraging them to apply what they know with increasing fluency and independence. Copeland Road Primary will make every effort to remove barriers to learning by making reasonable adjustments to our provision as well as providing support and differentiating content appropriately.
Key Contacts
Our SENCO is Mrs Sabrina Hughes and she is working towards the National Award for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (NASENCO). She can be contacted on 01388 832576 or by emailing s.hughes200@copelandroad.co.uk
Copeland Road Primary School Ethos and Approach
Our aim is to provide quality education in a safe and caring environment.
At Copeland Road 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 (SEN). We recognise that all pupils are entitled to a quality of provision that will enable them to achieve their potential. We believe in positive intervention, removing barriers to learning, raising expectations and levels of achievement and working in partnership with parents, pupils and other agencies in order to provide a positive educational experience for all our pupils including those with a special educational need or disability.
These vision and values statements were developed following pupil, parent, staff and governor questionnaires and discussions with pupils, staff and governors in 2016.
We aim to provide a safe and caring learning environment where all of the children can enjoy learning, experience success, increase their self-respect and aspire to reach their full potential. Children are at the heart of our school and we take great pride in developing our pupils to be the best that they can be.
We aim to ensure that the children who leave Copeland Road Primary are independent, inquiring learners with self-belief and have an enduring respect for others. We aim to instil a lifelong love for learning and a strong grounding for future success.
To achieve our aims we focus our teaching and learning on the needs of the pupils by having knowing the children well and having the highest expectations for all our pupils. We challenge all children to strive for academic, creative, sporting and personal achievement within a broad, vibrant and enriched curriculum.
We celebrate perseverance, resilience and risk taking, ensuring children welcome challenge and are not frightened to make mistakes. We encourage children to take ownership of and responsibility for their learning, so they have the confidence and curiosity to ask questions, solve problems and respond to quality feedback. Children are praised for hard work, determination and having a positive attitude.
In order to create an inclusive school where everyone can flourish, whatever their background, we promote an ethos of respect and empathy, where diversity is valued and celebrated – both within school and the wider world. Safeguarding and welfare is extremely important and pupils are taught the virtues of kindness, appreciation and what it means to be courageous.
Care is taken to educate everyone in the Copeland Road community about the needs of others and how best to meet them. We foster open and honest communication with parents, carers and specialists and actively seek to engage with all members of the school community in a positive and supportive manner.
We strive to promote the arts to ensure that all of the pupils understand and appreciate all areas of learning and are able to use their skills and knowledge in creative and imaginative ways. We foster links with local artists and participate in art events whenever possible.
Consultation in Production and Review Arrangements of SEN Information Report (SIR)
At Copeland Road Primary School we ask parents to complete a questionnaire annually (Autumn Term Parents Evening) and our pupils share their views by completing, ‘My Views’ independently or with a member of staff by writing or drawing. The information gathered from parents and pupils is used to improve our SIR. The SIR is reviewed and updated annually.
Admissions
Children and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan follow a different admission and transfer process for a new school. Please continue to complete Durham County Council’s parental preference form, as part of the admission process to a new school. You continue to have a right to request a particular school and this will be considered alongside the information that we have about your child’s special educational needs. The information would have been provided as part of the Education, Health and Care assessment or following the review meeting.
For Children and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan the SEN team can be contacted on 03000 265878.
The School Places and Admissions Team can be contacted on 03000 265 896 or by clicking on this link to the Durham County Council School Places and Admissions Team website.
If you would like to discuss any SEN requirements or our Local Offer in detail, please contact the school to arrange an appointment with Mrs Summerfield (Headteacher) or Mrs Hughes (SENCO).
The full range of local support available for children/ young people with SEND and their families within and outside of school can be found in the County Durham Local Offer
