Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

'The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows'. – Sidney Harris

Local Offer Website

Doncaster’s Local Offer website is here to help parents and carers find support for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

All families need extra support from time-to-time. Whether this support is from relatives, friends, community groups, schools, children’s centres, leisure centres, doctor’s surgeries or specialist groups, any additional help can make a valuable contribution and difference to the lives of people who need them.

Knowing what is out there gives you more choice and more control over what support is right for your child.

Click here for more information.

What does SEN mean and What is SEN Support?

SEN/SEND stands for Special Educational Needs/ Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. A pupil is identified as having Special Educational Needs if they are finding it harder than other pupils to make progress. This may be due to a specific learning difficulty, a recognised disability such as a hearing impairment, emotional, mental health or social difficulties, or speech and language difficulties. Some pupils will only receive support for SEN in school for a short time, others may receive support for their entire time in education. Schools have a SEN register that records all SEND pupils, and schools are expected to track the progress of these pupils closely.

Children with SEN are likely to need some extra or different support from other children of their age, and there are lots of different ways that teachers and educators can offer this to ensure that all children are able to access the education system.

What is SEN Provision?

Since September 1st, 2014, the SEND code of practice has been in effect. The aim of the reforms it brought about was to join provision across education, health, and care, which now spans birth to 25. Intervention should be made at the earliest possible point in a child or young person’s life and they and their parents should be fully involved in decisions regarding their support and outcomes.

SEN provision is all about providing every child with the best possibility to succeed in their learning, and recognising that this will mean using different strategies for each child. Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the children in their class, even where children access support from Learning Support Assistants or specialist staff. By being aware of how children learn best, we can decide how best to support them in reaching their full potential by providing an appropriate learning environment and teaching strategies for their needs.

Individualised learning plans can help educators to understand how best to tailor their teaching to ensure that pupils with SEND are able to access the learning and are supported across their range of needs which may include social and life skills as well as academic progress.

What are the different types of SEN in school?

The term SEN covers lots of different difficulties children may have. There are considered to be four main types of SEN. Many children identified as having SEN will have more than one of these types of need:

Cognition and Learning - children with cognition and learning needs may have a specific learning difference such as dyslexia, they may have a global developmental delay which affects their cognitive development, or they may have difficulties with working memory, affecting their ability to learn new information and skills.
Social, Emotional and Mental Health - children with SEMH needs may find it difficult to regulate their emotions, or may have difficulties with their mental health. They may present with challenging behaviours, or find social situations difficult.
Communication and Interaction - children with communication and interaction needs may have specific speech and language difficulties. Many Autistic children also have communication and interaction needs.
Physical and Sensory - this encompasses those with physical disabilities, and those who have sensory needs such as sensory avoiding or sensory seeking behaviours.

SEN covers a huge range of needs, and there is often a lot of overlap in the terminologies that are used. The groupings above are typically used for schools to understand how best to support different children. If children receive an EHCP (education, health and care plan), their needs are grouped into these 4 areas.

How are SEND Identified?

SEND can be identified at an early age, but for some pupils they may not be recognised or diagnosed until a later point. Schools will observe and monitor assessments of pupils regularly to identify students who may be making less progress than expected given their age and individual circumstances. Persistent withdrawn or disruptive behaviours can also be taken into consideration, as they may indicate that a child's needs are not being met.

Intent

At Mexborough St John, we believe it is every child’s right to receive an education that provides them with the appropriate tools to become independent and inquisitive learners, as well as valued members of our wider community. Our intention for children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) is to provide children with a programme of study that is high quality, engaging and aspirational and which meets their individual needs. By the time children leave Mexborough St John, we aim for all children, including those with additional needs, to reach their potential and flourish.

Implementation

At Mexborough St John, we aim to identify additional need swiftly, provide targeted intervention, work collaboratively with parents/carers and external agencies to ensure children’s needs are met so that they can achieve their own personal long and short-term goals throughout their school journey. This is achieved through the implementing of:

high quality provision
a graduated response
assess, plan, do, review cycle.

Through high-quality provision, we aim to:

Provide personalised and differentiated learning to allow all children to access our curriculum in an inclusive and supportive manner.
Provide high-quality, relevant and up-to-date training for all staff to meet the needs of all children.
Work collaboratively with parents/carers to gain the best understanding of each child’s need, as they know their children best.
Provide informative APDR (Assess, Plan, Do, Review) meetings every 12 weeks with parents and appropriate agencies to regularly assess and review progress and ensure children are achieving their full potential.
Provide a learning environment that is accessible, welcoming, supportive and safe, as well as tailored to individual needs.
Provide timely identification of needs and a consistent graduated response that allows teachers to ensure the correct procedures are followed, appropriate interventions are in place and, where necessary, accurate agencies are involved.
Use a range of assessment tools to track progress.

The graduated response:

SEND support should take the form of a four-part cycle through which earlier decisions and actions are revisited, refined and revised with a growing understanding of the pupil’s needs and of what supports the pupil in making good progress and securing good outcomes. This is known as the graduated approach. (Click here to see what this looks like at our school).

Assess Plan Do Review:

The Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle is part of the graduated approach to SEN support. It is a four-part cycle that ensures support is constantly being reviewed and adjusted where possible ( for more information).

Impact

As a result of the provision provided, children at Mexborough St John: -

Feel safe, happy and respected.
Have personalised and individual SMART targets that follow our graduated response and allow for smaller steps of progress to be identified and celebrated.
Are provided with life skills as well as academic skills to prepare them for the next stage of their learning journey and life outside school.
Have appropriate external agencies involved.
Are provided with appropriate interventions that are regularly reviewed and adapted to meet their needs.
Have supportive and trained staff who make appropriate provision for each child’s individual needs.
Have diversity celebrated throughout the school year e.g. My Happy Mind, Autism Awareness Week, Mental Health Week and key events and stories highlighted through Collective Worship and PHSE.

SEND Overview 2023-2024

Click on the first image for a larger PDF version.

Families Information Service

Doncaster

SEND Service
Doncaster

SENDIASS