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SEN Provision at Beechdale

Our SEN Provision

There are four broad areas of special educational need, these are: 

  • Communication and Interaction
    This area of need includes children with Autism Spectrum Condition and those with Speech, Language and Communication Needs
  • Cognition and Learning
    This includes children with Specific Learning Difficulties, Moderate Learning Difficulties, Severe Learning Difficulties and Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties
  • Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties
    This 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
    This area includes children with hearing impairment, visual impairment, multi-sensory impairment and physical difficulties.
The kinds of SEN that are provided for:

At Beechdale Nursery School, we have experience of supporting children and young people with a wide range of need including:

  • General learning Needs
  • Speech, Language and Communication Needs
  • Behavioural difficulties
  • Social and emotional needs
  • Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC)
  • Downs Syndrome
  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Hearing Impairments

The school provides data on the levels and types of need to the Local Authority. This is collected through the school census.

Our approach to teaching children & young people with SEN

At Beechdale Nursery School, we pride ourselves in being very inclusive and will endeavour to support every child regardless of their level of need.

We follow the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage at a level and pace that is appropriate to children’s abilities and level of need. By encouraging independence at all age and ability levels we endeavour to develop confidence, improve self-esteem and promote enthusiasm in all our pupils through a rich, stimulating environment and a variety of additional opportunities.

  • Ensure that all pupils have access to the school curriculum and all school activities.
  • Help all pupils achieve to the best of their abilities, despite any difficulty or disability they may have.
  • Ensure that teaching staff are aware of and sensitive to the needs of all pupils, teaching pupils in a way that is more appropriate to their needs.
  • Pupils to gain in confidence and improve their self-esteem.
  • To work in partnership with parents/ carers, pupils and relevant external agencies in order to provide for children’s special educational needs and disabilities.
  • To identify at the earliest opportunity, all children that need special consideration to support their needs (whether these are educational, social, physical or emotional)
  • To make suitable provision for children with SEND to fully develop their abilities, interests and aptitudes and gain maximum access to the curriculum.
  • Ensure that all children with SEND are fully included in all activities of the school in order to promote the highest levels of achievement.
  • To promote self-worth and enthusiasm by encouraging independence at all age and ability levels.
  • To give every child the entitlement to a sense of achievement.
  • To regularly review the policy and practice in order to achieve best practice.
How do we adapt the curriculum and learning environment for children & young people with SEN?

We believe that inclusive education means supporting all pupils to learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of school life alongside their peers. We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage which includes a range of additional opportunities to enrich the experiences of our children. Our curriculum also includes the social aspects that are essential for life-long learning, personal growth and development of independence.

At times and when it is felt appropriate, modifications to the curriculum may be implemented. To successfully match pupil ability to the curriculum there are some actions we may take to achieve this:

  • Help all pupils achieve to the best of their abilities, despite any difficulty or disability they may have.
  • Modify language presented to children by using visual prompts so instructions can be easily understood.
  • Provide visual timetables to children so daily routines can be understood.
  • Modify the curriculum/provision to meet individual needs, for example using additional resources to support joining in with group activities or quiet spaces to support listening and attention.
  • Ensure that teaching staff are aware of and sensitive to the needs of all pupils, through sharing good practice in staff meeting times and regular recall and review meetings.
  • Offer additional resources/facilities to develop children’s interests and aptitudes and gain maximum access to the curriculum at an appropriate level.
  • To make suitable provision for children with SEND to fully develop their abilities, interests and aptitudes and gain maximum access to the curriculum. Children with high needs can be provided with their own box of resources for example a sensory box to support sensory or emotional needs.

We understand that children learn and develop in different ways. Teachers and Teaching Assistants nursery nurses recognise this and use different teaching styles, resources and plan different levels of work in the nursery to cater for the various ways children learn.

More details on how we adapt information, our environment and curriculum can be found in the Accessibility Plan which you ca find in the School Policies section of our website.

How do we identify, assess and review children with special educational needs?

Most children and young people in mainstream schools will have their special educational needs met through good classroom practice. This is called Quality First Teaching.

Early Identification of Need

In deciding whether to make special education provision to support educational, social, physical or emotional needs, we:

  • Work in partnership with parents/carers. Detailed information about a child is taken from parents when their child begins nursery.
  • We have regular parent meetings and take into account any concerns raised by Parents. We pride ourselves on having an ‘open door policy’ where at any point parents can talk to staff.
  • Consult and liase with external agencies. We work closely with Speech and Language, Occupational Therapy, CAMHS, Educational Psychology, Health Visitors and One Point Staff.
  • Use assessment tools & materials. The Nursery uses Target Tracker and Early Years developmental framework where appropriate. The nursery uses the Durham “Flying from the Start” assessment scheme and the Developmental Journal where appropriate.
  • Use observations from key people and other members of the staff team.
  • Use Short Notes which are shared and discussed with parents.
SEN Support

Where a pupil is identified as having a special educational need we follow a graduated approach which takes the form of cycles of “Assess, Plan, Do, Review”.

  • Assess a child’s special educational needs through key person and SENCO observations, assessment of a child’s development and progress and through discussions with parents.
  • Plan the provision to meet your child’s aspirations and agreed outcomes through producing a Short Note or SEN support plan outlining the additional provision that we will make. This will include agreed outcomes for the child and how these outcomes will be met.
  • Put the provision in place to meet those outcomes. This could include a language support programme, individual or small group work or the use of particular resources such as PECS cards or visual prompts/timetables.
  • Review the support and progress through key person and SENCO observational assessment, use of assessment schemes and discussions with parents/carers. Regular meetings and discussions will take place with parents, staff and other professionals in order that all views are sought when reviewing outcomes and setting new ones.

As part of this approach every child with SEN will have an individualised SEN Support Plan that describes the child’s needs, outcomes & provision to meet those needs.  Parents/carers and child/YP (where appropriate) views are integral to this process. If parents/carers have concerns they are given the highest priority and a meeting is arranged with the Headteacher, who is also the SENCO.

In evaluating SEN provision, outcomes are evaluated in relation not just to individual children but for the cohort of children as a whole. Regular monitoring of provision by the Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher ensures that all children, including children with SEND receive high quality teaching. Children with SEND access the full curriculum and provision alongside their peers. As the nursery is small, all staff are made aware of individual needs of children through staff meetings so this enables all staff to have a unified approach.

A small percentage of children and young people with significant and/or complex needs may require an assessment The purpose of an EHCP is to make special educational provision to meet special educational needs of the child or young person, to secure the best possible outcomes for them across education (SEND Code of Practice p.142). It is a legal document that describes a child or young person’s special educational, health and social care needs.that could lead to an Education, Health and Care Plan.

For more detailed information see the Local Offer

For further information please view or download our Accessibility Plan which can be found in the School Policies section of our website.

How do children with SEN engage in all activities?

We enable all children to engage fully in all aspects of school life. To do this, we:

  • Ensure that all children with SEND are fully included in all activities of the school in order to promote the highest levels of achievement. This could include adjusting the way activities are planned, differentiated and delivered
  • Ensure that all pupils have access to the school curriculum and all school activities, for example adapting learning materials such as equipment and activities to suit each child’s needs.
  • Ensure every child has the entitlement to a sense of achievement through celebrating progress with children and parents through learning stories.
  • When planning activities such as visits and trips SEN children are considered to ensure they can fully participate.

We have systems in place for each child to have their own key person who will know them best and be proactive in planning for their needs and interests, working closely with parents when doing so. SEND children are observed closely and their achievements are celebrated in their Learning Journey and planning documents. This information is then used to tailor the curriculum to meet the interests and motivations of each child using methods of delivery that are appropriate to their needs.

How do we evaluate the effectiveness of SEN Provision?

We continuously ensure the provision has a positive impact on the outcomes for all of our children/young people. We do this in a variety of ways, including:

  • Robust evaluation of policy and practice through data analysis of individual progress
  • SENCO and Governor monitoring each term
  • Learning walks
  • Learning Journal scrutiny
  • Regular staff recall and review meetings
  • Regular meetings with parents/carers
  • Questionnaires and feedback from parents
  • Discussions with external agencies eg EP, SALT