Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

The BAWB Federation has an inclusive ethos and works in partnership with families and experts at North Yorkshire’s SEND Hub to provide the best possible outcomes for all children.

We believe early identification of need is key to finding the right support to enable children to overcome barriers and thrive in our schools.

Support and communication with parents is key to this. Please come and talk to us if you feel your child needs some extra help. Our class teachers are a great first point of contact, a wealth of knowledge and will probably already have begun to identify any possible areas of additional need. They may put some informal support in place to see if that helps your child and will log the conversation as a ‘short note’ (the recommended term in the SEND Code of Practice for a school record of these early discussions).

You are, of course, also welcome to make an appointment to chat to Vicky Collins, the SENDCo, at any point, including at these earliest stages. She can be contacted directly on: headteacher@b-a-wb.co.uk. 

From this point onwards, the school will use the graduated approach, as recommended in the SEND Code of Practice, to support your child.

This approach is used throughout the different stages of SEND support in schools: 

1. ‘Short Note’ in-class support and monitoring. There would usually be between one and three cycles of this, each of which can last between half a term and a term, depending on progress

2. If the child requires more support, the school will arrange to meet with you to discuss them being placed on the SEND Register. If it is agreed that this would be in the child’s best interests, the child will then get an Individual Education Plan (IEP) which details both in-class provision and one-to-one or small group interventions. These IEPs are reviewed with families at the end of each term, at which point it might be deemed that the child no longer needs additional support or that they need a new IEP for the following term. The SENDCo and class teachers will closely monitor progress in order to make informed decisions about the best next steps for the individual child.

3. If it is felt the school requires additional expertise and support, the SENDCO may suggest a referral to the SEND Hub to request an expert in the particular area of need to do some assess the child and advise the school further. This can only be done after three cycles of in-school SEN support.

4. For a small minority of children, an Educational Health and Care Plan (EHCP) may be required. This is a legal document for children with complex needs requiring support beyond normal mainstream school provision. The SENDCo will advise you on whether this might be right for your child and will guide you through the process.

Policies

Local Offer for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Every Local Authority is required to publish information about services that are available in their area for children and young people from birth to 25 who have Special Educational Needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and also services outside the area that children and young people can use. This is known as the Local Offer.

Information on North Yorkshire Council’s local offer can be found by clicking this link.

All schools are required to complete an SEND Information Report that will contribute to the local offer and briefly detail the school’s provision. This is contained in the document here.