Inclusion
Welcome to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Inclusion area of our website. Below you will find some useful information about our SEND provision, including information about Admissions and our School Offer and Information Report.
Miss Morgan is the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCo) at Tidbury Green School. If you have any concerns about your child's needs, please get in touch and a convenient time to meet to discuss this can be arranged
If you cannot find the information you are looking for here, please don’t hesitate to contact her:
- By phone at Tidbury Green on 01564 823189
- By email at office@tidbury-green.solihull.sch.uk
Tidbury Green is a fully inclusive school that is wholly committed to providing the best possible education for all of its children regardless of their gender, ethnicity, social background, religion, sexual identity, physical ability or educational needs. We are a mainstream school for 2-11 year olds and we are able to deliver this offer consistently across all Key Stages and areas of our school. Tidbury Green School is fully wheel chair accessible and we have an appropriately sized disabled toilet on site, and toilets and sinks have been adapted in all year groups.
Tidbury Green is a fully inclusive school...
Under the Children and Families Bill, which became law in 2014, Local Authorities are required to publish, and keep under review, information about services that they expect to be available for children and young people with disabilities and Special Educational Needs aged 0-25. This is called the Information Report or Local Offer. Solihull Local Authority's offer can be found here.
The intention of this, is to improve choice and transparency for families. It will also be an important resource for professionals in understanding the range of services and provision in the local area. As part of this, all schools must also publish information about what they can offer. This is called the School Information Report, and ours can be found below.
Admissions
Applying for or choosing schools if your child has SEND
Most children with special educational needs can be taught in mainstream schools. If your child has more severe or complex needs they may need to go to a special school or school with a specialist unit.
If your child doesn't have a statement of Special Educational Needs or Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) you apply for a primary school place in the same way as other parents.
If your child has a statement of Special Educational Needs or EHCP, the school named in it must offer them a place.
If your child is being assessed for Special Educational Needs you should follow the standard process. If you don't apply for a place and your child doesn't get an EHCP, you may miss out on a place at one of your preferred schools.
Choosing a mainstream schoolYou should find out:
- whether the school has experience of children with similar needs and what strategies have been effective
- what the school's Special Educational Needs and Disability policy is
- how the SENCO passes information about children to teaching staff
- how your child would be supported in class
- how you'd be involved in your child's progress and development.
If your child has an EHCP and you're unsure if a school is suitable for them, you can talk to your named officer.
Choosing a special school or school with special unitSpecial schools only take children who have a particular type of educational need such as Visual Impairment or Physical Disability. Some mainstream schools have special units to support children with particular needs.
Our special schools and specialist units within mainstream schools only admit children with and EHCP whose needs are very severe and complex.
Our Offer
Do you have children with SEND at Tidbury Green?
Tidbury Green is a mainstream school and the vast majority of our pupils make expected progress and are achieving Age Related Expectations. For some children, the progress they are making socially, emotionally or academically slows or stops. If, after carefully targeted interventions, this does not improve, we may identify them as having a Special Educational Need. These children will have a One-page Profile written for them, detailing the provision in place and the targets we are working towards.
What kinds of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities do children at Tidbury Green have?
We make provision for children across a range of additional needs, from the Four Broad Areas of Need, in the SEND Code of Practice. These are:
- Communication and Interaction (for example Speech and Language, Autism, Asperger’s and PDA)
- Cognition and Learning (for example Specific Learning Difficulties like Dyslexia, Working Memory Needs, Processing Differences)
- Social, Emotional and Mental Health (for example Anxiety, Self-Harm or ADHD)
- Sensory and Physical (for example Hearing/Visual Impairment, Motor Skills Needs, Sensory Processing Differences, Tourette’s Syndrome)
How are children with SEND supported at Tidbury Green?
With the Code of Practice emphasising that the majority of children should be educated together, this will always be the first level of support. We strive to meet the needs of all our pupils through high-quality teaching and a personalised approach. Some children however, will still need further support to achieve fully. We think of this as a ‘Waves’ approach.
- Wave 1 – Universal - most children: The delivery of high-quality and inclusive teaching, that takes the learning needs of all pupils into account, and strives for all children achieving within the classroom.
- Wave 2 – Targeted - some children: Some children may need further support to reach their targets. This may still be provided within the classroom as part of lessons, but more specifically tailored to their needs.
- Wave 3 – Specialist - few children: A minority of pupils may need individualised and highly-tailored interventions.
The support given to each child at Tidbury Green is different, according to their own personal needs. Every child we teach is unique, so dependent on the needs of your child, a range of strategies and approaches may be put in place to support their progress. A map of the typical interventions or support that a child may receive at each wave, can be found here.
In some cases, where a child's needs are complex and of a high-level, an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) may need to be applied for. This will always be discussed with the child's parents/carers in the first instance, and consent gained. If you or the school feel this may be appropriate for your child, then we will follow the guidance from the Local Authority to request an assessment.
How do we involve parents of children with SEND in their child’s education?
At Tidbury Green we believe that together we are stronger. Building excellent relationships with our families is of the upmost importance here. We recognise the value of working as a team to support each of the children who attend our school, to make the best possible progress, and to enjoy their school journey. For this reason, we welcome the input of families in all stages of SEND support.
Families of pupils with SEND will be invited to review their child’s progress and provision (as detailed in their One-page Profile), with the SENDCO, at least twice a year. At these meetings, we can collaboratively to plan for the most appropriate provision and targets for your child. This is in addition to the usual Parent Consultation Meetings and Open Afternoons with the Class Teacher.
The SENCO also holds half-termly coffee afternoons in which parents can informally ask questions, listen to guest speakers and become involved in the direction of SEND within our school.
The views of parents/carers are very important to us at Tidbury Green. If you ever have any concerns about your child's progress, please do not hesitate to contact me or your child’s Class Teacher.
How do we involve pupils with SEND in their own education and planned provision?
It is important to us, that our SEND pupils to feel that we are working with them in order to plan the right support, rather than doing it to them. All children are involved in sharing their views for their One-page Profiles. Where age appropriate, the child may also be able to suggest what they feel supports them best. All children at Tidbury Green embody the ‘Never Give Up’ spirit, and we use this to encourage our SEND pupils to find solutions to things that are challenging and to work with them to overcome barriers.
How is the curriculum adapted to support pupils with SEND?
We aim for our curriculum to give all pupils access to a full and well-rounded learning journey and to experience success. Every child at Tidbury Green should feel confident to be able to independently tackle learning adapted to their level. High-quality planning and teaching takes place in all classrooms, designing lessons that allow all learners to achieve. This adaptive teaching may occur through grouping, teaching style, pace, alternative recording opportunities, materials used, support provided or tweaks to the learning environment. Subject leaders also plan for and suggest useful reasonable adjustments that could be made in their curriculum area.
How is inclusion promoted across the broader school experience?
Ensuring that we follow statutory guidance from the Code of Practice, where possible we want all children to be included in everything that takes place at Tidbury Green, so that they are able to reach their full potential. To make sure that all children have the chance to be involved, we work closely with our parents/carers, the SEND Governor, the Local Authority and other relevant experts, to ensure that any pupil's additional needs are catered for and any barriers to their attainment are overcome. We can also make special arrangements, when necessary, to allow all children to be part of day and residential trips as these often support the curriculum and are a valuable part of any child's education.
Where possible, support and provision is shared with our Before and After School Provision. We are particularly proud of our extensive range of teacher led clubs. These have been equally popular with SEND pupils and those without SEND.
How do we promote social and emotional development?
Promoting social and emotional development in school is crucial for the overall well-being and success of our pupils. At Tidbury Green, we know that kindness and courtesy count, and work tirelessly with our pupils and families to create a positive and inclusive school climate. We are a school where children feel safe, respected, valued and supported. Both through our PSHE curriculum and bespoke modelling for pupils, we teach explicit social and emotional skills such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship-building, and responsible decision-making.
We foster positive relationships with our pupils and their families. This is supported by the work of our Family Support Worker, who encourages a collaborative and empathetic approach to problem solving.
We are an anti-bullying school. We ensure that our pupils are educated about what bulling is and what to do if you notice it happening. All staff act quickly if a bullying situation arises, to ensure that children feel safe and secure at Tidbury Green.
How are pupils with SEND identified and assessed, and how is their progress monitored?
In most cases, the assessment for children with SEND begins in the same way as for other pupils. Class teachers monitor the rate of progress that their pupils are making. When this rate of progress slows, stops or appears to be different to what is typically expected, then further investigation into a range of areas can be carried out. This could be done through observation, assessments or through discussion with key adults (including the child’s family). This investigation may be carried out by staff in school and, in some occasions, external inclusion team staff.
We will always inform parents if we have any concerns that a child has additional needs. We value your input in planning to meet these needs and so wish for you to be involved at all stages. We will often recommend initially that eyesight and hearing are checked, in order to rule these out as contributing factors or underlying causes.
We use a continual cycle of Assess, Plan, Do, Review for all pupils, including those with SEND. This allows us to closely monitor the progress SEND pupils are making, plan for and provide effective support and evaluate its impact. The SENDCO specifically monitors SEND pupil progress and also analyses this at key data collection points across the year. For SEND pupils, progress towards their individual targets is also measured and collated on their One-page Profile.
How do we work with other agencies to promote good progress and gain the most effective support?
Currently, we receive additional support from Specialist Teachers from Solihull's Specialist Inclusion Support Service in several areas. This includes teachers from the following teams:
- Sensory and Physical
- Communication and Learning Difficulties
- Social, Emotional, Mental Health
- Autism
- Early Years Support and Assessment
- Speech, Language and Communication
Where appropriate, we also refer children to Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Physiotherapy, Educational Psychology and the Specialist Assessment Service. Parental permission will always be gained before a referral to any of the above teams is made. Where needed we may also refer a child to CAMHS for mental health support.
All external visitors (coming in to work with, assess, monitor or review children) will need to be agreed by the head-teacher. When they are in school, they may be accompanied by a member of our staff, where appropriate, to support their work.
What expertise and training do staff have to support children and young people with SEN?
We regularly carry out whole staff training. Throughout the school year there are training sessions devoted to SEND practice. This allows all staff to remain up-to-date with school processes and initiatives as well as those from the Local Authority or the Government. This is usually delivered by school staff, but has also been delivered by external agencies or experts in different areas of SEND.
How do we prepare pupils for moving on to the next stage of their education?
All children at Tidbury Green are supported in their transitions between years, Key Stages and schools. Before children move into their new classes, the previous and next class teacher meet to discuss the class and the individual needs of the children within it. The class teachers specifically discuss the needs of children with SEND and look at what works well for that child, as well as areas in which they may need more support.
All children spend three days of the last week of the Summer Term with their new teacher. This reduces anxiety about moving classes for all children, but is particularly effective for children with SEND. For those children who find change difficult to manage change, it allows them and their families to build a relationship with their new teacher before the new school year starts.
We also support our Year 6 pupils in their transition to Secondary School. They have days out at their new schools and we pass on relevant information to their next school to help in the transition process.
Key Documents
Special Educational Needs and Disability Policy
Where can I go for more support with my child at home?
Although we hope to be able to offer you and your child all of the support that you may need, we understand that sometimes having an independent service, which provides specifically for parents of children with SEND, will be important to you. Below is some information and the contact details for such a service.
Solihull SENDIAS
Solihull SENDIAS offer a free confidential and impartial service for children and young people with Special Educational Needs & Disability (SEND) and their parents and carers. We are legally trained to offer information advice and support to children, young people & their parents, to help them make informed decisions and play an active role in their own or their child’s education. We explain SEND processes and procedures in straight-forward language so everyone knows what to expect and what part they play. Contact us via:
Telephone: 0121 516 5173
Email: Solihullsendias@family-action.org.uk
Website: www.family-action.org.uk/solihullsendias
