Manifold Church of England Academy

What are special educational needs?

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 learning difficulty or disability is a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age. Special educational provision means educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for others of the same age in a mainstream setting in England…. Health care provision or social care provision which educates or trains a child or young person is to be treated as special educational provision. Code of Practice 2014

We are committed to ensuring the best possible education for all pupils regardless of ability, background, ethnicity, gender or disability.  We continually monitor the progress of all pupils and take steps to intervene where there is evidence that individuals or groups are falling behind. Class teachers regularly liaise with our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCO), parents and external agencies to provide additional support for children who require it. Some children are more able (‘Gifted and Talented’) and we aim to ensure that these children’s needs are also well catered for.

Please see our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities policy.

Mrs Janette Mountford Lees is our named SENDCO (Special Educational Needs and Disability Coordinator) however, all staff have a duty towards identifying and supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities.

• differentiated by the class teacher to enable them to access the curriculum more easily.
• Teaching Assistants (TAs) may be allocated to work with the pupil in a 1-1 or small focus group to target more specific needs.
• If a child has been identified as having a special need, they will be given a Pupil Passport to Learning. We use a child friendly passport format to ensure that the child is fully involved in this process. Targets will be set according to their area of need. These will be monitored regularly by the class teacher and formally by the SENDCO. Pupil Passports to Learning will be discussed and reviewed with parents and a copy given to them three times a year.
• If appropriate, specialist equipment may be given to the pupil e.g. writing slopes, concentration cushions, pen/pencils grips or easy to use scissors.

Who can I contact for further information or if I have any concerns?

If you wish to discuss your child’s educational needs or would like further information about the support that Manifold Church of England Academy can offer, please do not hesitate to contact the Academy staff:

• Your child’s class teacher
• The Principal (Mrs Ackers)
• SENDCO (Mrs Mountford-Lees) - contactable through office@manifold.staffs.sch.uk Please mark correspondence FAO Mrs Mountford-Lees, SENDCO.
• Mrs Joyce (Teacher responsible for overseeing SEND on a day to day basis)
• For complaints please contact the Principal initially then if not satisfied you can have further discussions with the School Governor with responsibility for SEND (Mrs Judy Holt).

LOCAL OFFER

Since 2014, the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice has placed a duty on  Local Authorities to publish in one place, information about provision they expect to be available in their area for children and young people from 0 to 25 years of age who have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities. This is referred to as the 'Local Offer’. 

The Local Offer must include both local provision and provision outside the area that the local authority expects is likely to be used by children and young people with Special Educational Needs and /or Disabilities for whom they are responsible.

The Local Offer has two key purposes:

To provide clear, comprehensive and accessible information about the support and opportunities available.
To make provision more responsive to local needs and aspirations by directly involving children and young people with SEND, parents and carers, and service providers.

The Local Offer forms a significant part of the new SEND Code of Practice and focuses on statutory duties for local authorities. The Local Offer is what goes on every day to support children and young people with SEND and how we ensure quality around this. This includes what we expect to be available in schools, colleges and other educational provision.

This Statement sets out, the responsibilities of the school, Governors and the Local Authority for meeting the needs of pupils and their parents/carers who have been identified as having Special Educational/Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

By law, the Local Authority has to publish the arrangements for children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities and further details are available in the Local Authority Local Offer. All school receive funding in their budget to allow them to provide for pupils with SEND, and have the freedom to make the necessary arrangements using existing staff, or look for advice and support from outside the school. When a child has a special need, the school and its Governing body is required to fulfill the requirements set out in the Children and Families Bill 2014. 

Details of the Local Authority Local Offer can be found here.  

External support services for parents of pupils with SEND include

• Family SEND Partnership
• Parent In The Know newsletters

If you have a general or specific enquiry for the Family SEND Partnership, and would like to speak to one of their team, or you are a parent wanting to request information and support then please send an email or phone 01785 356921 during office hours.