SEND Information Report – last reviewed February 2024

Our SEND Information Report is reviewed annually with parents and carers.

Firs Primary is a fully inclusive school where all children are encouraged to reach their full potential and to participate fully in the life of the school. We welcome children with a wide range of educational, medical, sensory, social, emotional and behavioural needs and, in partnership with parents and external specialist services, staff work together to provide a learning environment and experiences which are effective in meeting their individual needs. Children and parents are actively encouraged to help make decisions about academic, social or behavioural targets to promote the children's independence, confidence and self esteem.

Our SEND offer at Firs Primary School is therefore based on:

• appropriate and effective teaching
• open and honest communication
• a partnership approach

Who can I contact about Special Educational Needs at Firs Primary School?

We have an open door policy where we will discuss any concerns that parents or carers may have and then work together with teachers and the SEND Team in order to resolve them. To discuss your child’s education and needs with their class teacher or any member of the SEND Team, please contact the school office to make an appointment.

Phone: 0121 464 3792

Email: enquiries@firs.academy

Who is in the SEND Team at Firs Primary School?

Miss Hartshorn is our SENCo. She has day-to-day responsibility for reviewing our SEND policy and arranges specific provision made to support individual children with SEND, including those who have Education, Health and Care plans. She supports our children who have physical, medical and speech & language needs and liaises with external agencies in order to implement expert advice with a focus on all four broad areas of learning (see further information on this below). She is also our Cognition and Learning Champion. Specialist teachers from the Pupil and School Support Team specifically support her with this.

Mrs Sturridge is our SENCO Assistant. She supports Miss Hartshorn with arrangements for the specific provision made to support individual children with SEND, including those who have Education, Health and Care plans. She is also our Occupational Therapy (OT) champion and oversees the Physical and Sensory aspects of our SEND provision. Specialist Teachers from the West Midlands Speech and Language Occupational Therapy Team and the Communication and Autism Team specifically support her with this.

Mrs Beacham is one of our Teaching Assistants and is also our Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) champion. She oversees the Communication and Interaction aspects of our SEND provision. Specialist Teachers from the West Midland Speech and Language Team and the Communication and Autism Team specifically support her with this.

Miss Moon is our Senior Learning Mentor and is also our Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) Champion. She oversees the SEMH aspects of our SEND provision, supported specifically by Specialist Teachers from the Communication and Autism Team, our Educational Psychologist, Specialist Teachers from Beacon Behaviour Support and Mental Health Practitioners from COMPASS Mental Health Support Team. Miss Moon is also responsible for the co-ordination of Care Plans as part of her role as Medical Needs Lead.

What can I do if I am not happy with the provision for my child?

We aim to provide reasonable adjustments for all children where possible. If you are not happy with your child’s provision, we would initially like the opportunity to discuss this with you in person. In this case, please contact Miss Hartshorn (our SENCO) or Mrs Sturridge (our SENCO Assistant). If you have already tried to informally resolve a complaint about an aspect of the Special Educational Needs provision at Firs Primary School, and you are still unhappy, our Complaints Procedure can be found here.

What types of Special Educational Needs does Firs Primary School make provision for?

We support the needs of all children including those with SEND (Special Education Needs and Disabilities). These needs include:

• Cognition and Learning - â€‹Cognition refers to the steps your brain takes to be able to take in, process and understand information; learning is the process of being able to take in that new information, form new memories and make connections with the things that you already know. At Firs, we have a number of ways to assess and then deliver the right type of provision related to Cognition and Learning needs, including the Birmingham Access to Education Toolkit Assessments (for Year 1 to Year 6). Further information about these assessments is included below. Cognition and Learning also includes Specific Learning Difficulties such as Dyslexia or Dyscalculia – Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words; Dyscalculia is a specific and persistent difficulty in understanding numbers which can lead to a wide range of difficulties with mathematics.
• Communication and Interaction – Communication is the giving or receiving of information by speaking, writing or using some other way of expressing yourself; interaction refers to the communication between each other. At Firs, we have a number of ways to assess and then deliver the right type of provision related to Communication and Interaction needs including WELLCOMM. Further information about these assessments is included below. Communication and Interaction also includes English as an Additional Language (EAL), although children with EAL are not necessarily children with SEND. This will depend on their progress regardless of any difficulties in understanding English. At Firs, we have a number of ways to assess and then deliver the right type of EAL provision including the Birmingham Access to Education Toolkits.
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) difficulties – In this context, social refers to the activities children may be involved in which also involve meeting and spending time with other people; emotional means relating to or expressing feelings or being influenced by them; mental health refers to children’s well-being and their ability to cope with life’s difficulties and realise their potential. At Firs, we have a number of ways to assess and then deliver the right type of SEMH provision including a Strengths and Difficulties baseline and then follow up questionnaire.
• Sensory and/or physical needs – Sensory refers directly to the senses and their impact on children i.e. touch, taste, smell, hearing, sight; physical means things relating to the body. At Firs, we have a number of ways to assess and then deliver the right type of Sensory and/or Physical provision including Occupational Therapy Screening Tools with support from our Occupational Therapist.

These needs encompass the four broad areas of learning as set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 0-25, published in 2014. A link to the Code of Practice can be found here.

How are Special Educational Needs identified at Firs Primary School?

All of our children are supported through adaptations and quality first teaching strategies. This means that activities are planned according to the objectives each child is working on, regardless of ability. This can include changes to the physical environment, use of resources, changes to teaching styles as well as level of adult support. Any support is given with a view to ensuring each child can build up to being as independent as possible within their own learning journey.

We monitor the progress of our children in all areas of the curriculum and our teachers and school staff are encouraged to raise concerns with our SENCO in the first instance. Teaching staff are trained to look for various indicators as potential concerns, including:

• Lower than expected attainment or progress
• Changes to previous rates of progress
• A widening gap between their attainment and that of their peers
• Poor or falling attendance (although this alone would not mean that a child has SEND)
• Behaviour that is affecting learning and the ability to get on with others (this behaviour may indicate an emotional, social or health difficulty)
• Diagnoses of behavioural, emotional, social and/or health problems or differences

At Firs Primary School, all staff are involved in assessing whether a child needs additional support as part of a special educational need. This is part of our Graduated Approach:As identified above, if any member of staff or a parent believes a child has a possible additional need, an Initial Concerns Evaluation (ICE) is completed. This initial part of the process also follows the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ Graduated Approach. Assessments using the Birmingham Access to Education toolkits are also completed.

What happens once my child has been identified as needing additional support?

At Firs Primary School, all children who are identified as needing additional support have an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) which includes a profile of their areas of strength and areas for development, their targets for that term and how the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ Graduated Approach will be used to assess the impact of the support they receive during the term. This is shared with children and their parents, so that they can also contribute to the plan. A final copy is then given to parents, along with suggestions of strategies they can use to support their child at home.

Children also have a One Page Profile, which gives lots of information to help staff get to know them, talk to them about their interests and to immediately know which strategies support them best with their learning and social interactionhis. This is co-constructed with the child initially and shared with parents, so that they can also add any additional information which they feel will be supportive e.g. strategies which are particularly successful at home.

Finally, if the additional support is because of a possible Cognition and Learning need, ongoing toolkit assessments will also be completed.

Reviews for these documents take place as follows:

• ILPs – at the end of each term, in order to inform the targets on the next ILP. This review is also shared with children and parents.
• One Page Profiles – as part of the transition process every year, and more often if this is necessary on an individual basis
• Toolkits – at the end of each term, in order to inform the targets on the next ILP.

Parents and carers are invited to attend a Parent Consultation Meeting each term in order to review their child’s progress and discuss next steps. These meetings are held separately to other Parent Consultation meetings in order to allow for a longer period of discussion time. Suggestions for support at home, linked to the toolkit assessments, are also given at this time.

How will Firs Primary School measure my child’s progress?

The progress of all children, including those with SEND, is tracked using the school’s assessment tracking system. Children are assessed regularly using teacher marking, observations and questioning as well as more formal assessments such as curriculum tests and standardised tests. If a child has a Cognition and Learning need, they are also assessed regularly using the Birmingham toolkits.

The progress each child is making is discussed at SEND Parent Consultation Meetings.

How will Firs Primary School involve my child in decisions about their education?

At Firs Primary School, we aim to involve children in all aspects of their education. For children with SEND, we use a variety of strategies to support this, including:

• Person centred review meetings
• Self-assessment of work
• Having a range of equipment available to use
• Flexible groupings (ensuring that the child has a range of different partners to work with)
• Ensuring the child has a designated adult to go to if they need help
• Membership of the Pupil Leadership Team
• One Page Profiles
• Medical Alert Cards
• ‘Check-in’ cards
• Personalised visual timetables
• Learning breaks
• Personalised work stations
• Use of the Sensory Room

What type of provision will my child get at Firs Primary School?

Depending on the needs of your child, they may receive some of the different provision available in school which is listed below: 

Cognition and Learning

Examples of support in our school:

• All children receiving additional support for their Cognition and Learning needs are assessed using the Birmingham Access to Education Toolkit continuums for 'Mathematics', 'Reading', 'Writing' and 'Speaking and Listening'. These are used by teachers to assess smaller steps of progress in order to make adaptations to planning and resources for those children who are approximately two years or more behind their peers in their learning.
• The toolkits are also used as a teaching tool – each band includes a hyperlink to suggestions for different strategies to employ to support the teaching of those objectives.
• Children who are assessed using the toolkits also have their own ‘Busy Tray’ in class, which contains activities they can complete independently in order to ensure opportunities for ‘over-learning’ some of the objectives they have just learnt in order to develop confidence and ensure that they are secure in their learning.
• We have teaching staff who are trained to: 

- Support children in small groups or 1:1 within the classroom – this involves the delivery of evidence-based interventions such as ‘Wellcomm’ for Speaking and Listening, ‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds’ for Reading, ‘Write From The Start’ for Writing and ‘Plus 1’ or ‘Power of 2’ for Mathematics. 

- Pre and post tutor children outside the classroom to ensure they experience success within the classroom – this involves teaching staff ensuring that the ongoing assessments they make are used to inform learning opportunities BEFORE a lesson is delivered (pre-tutoring) and AFTER a lesson is delivered (post-tutoring) in order to support children to remember the information they have been given.

• Miss Hartshorn is our Cognition and Learning Champion and has ongoing specific training in this area, which she then shares with other teaching staff.
• We also have support from Specialist Teachers from the Pupil and School Support Team in order to gain expert advice when supporting our children with Cognition and Learning needs.

Communication and Interaction

Examples of support in our school:

• We run intervention groups across the whole school using 'Wellcomm' to support children to gain skills relating to speech, language and communication.
• We run intervention groups using 'Talk About' to support children learn and understand different social skills.
• We help children when things change by using One Page Profiles, transition booklets and visual timetables, for example.
• Mrs Beacham is our Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) Champion and has ongoing specific training in this area, which she then shares with other teaching staff.
• We have support from a Speech and Language Therapist from West Midlands Speech and Language Therapy every Monday afternoon, and support from Specialist Teachers from the Communication and Autism Team (CAT) when needed, in order to gain expert advice when supporting our children with Communication and Interaction needs.
• We also have support from an NHS Speech and Language Therapist as part of the NHS Balanced System. You can find out more information about this system on the following website: https://www.bhamcommunity.nhs.uk/childrens-slt

Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties

Examples of support in our school:

• All of our staff have ongoing Trauma Informed Attachment Awareness training as part of their schools programme (TIAAS). More information on this programme can be found on the following website: https://birminghameducationsupportservices.co.uk/Page/16281
• Teachers set high expectations for behaviour and have support from the Senior Leadership Team to do so.
• Parents and carers are actively involved in support for their children through the use of daily ‘check-in’ cards if an additional focus is needed. These are used to look for patterns in behaviour in order to be able to provide more targeted support where necessary.
• We use ‘Emotional First Aid Plans’ and ‘Risk Assessments’ to identify potential triggers and the best strategies to support children when they are feeling dysregulated and distressed. Parents and carers are also actively involved in the creation of these and they are shared with all staff who work with those children.
• We also use ‘Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans’ (PEEPS) to support individual children with fire drills and lockdown practices. Parents and carers are also actively involved in the creation of these and they are shared with all staff who work with those children.
• Our Pastoral Manager supports children and families in a wide variety of ways, for example signposting families to local area support, working with families to improve attendance, liaising with external agencies and focusing on early intervention to anticipate concerns before they arise.
• Our Pastoral Manager, Senior Learning Mentor and SENCO Assistant provide 1:1 mentoring sessions as needed – these are identified through a referral process which any member of staff or parent/carer can use, and impact is measured through a ‘Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire’. This includes Attachment Based Mentoring.
• We offer structured lunchtimes including additional adult support to offer a set routine on a daily basis.
• We also offer lunchtime activities for all children wishing to access them in an area called ‘Chillville’ – ‘’Chillville’ encompasses ‘The Haven’ for KS1 children and ‘The Oasis’ or ‘The Zen Den’ for KS2 children. ‘The Haven’ and ‘The Oasis’ provide opportunities for children to have some ‘quiet time’ and take part in mindfulness activities such as colouring, making puzzles or reading. ‘The Zen Den’ provides opportunities for more physical and sensory activities, with an emphasis still on mindfulness, such as yoga, sensory play etc.

• Each classroom has a ‘Calm Corner’, incorporated within the book corner, in order to provide a space for children to go to whenever they are feeling overwhelmed.
• A wide range of after school clubs are available which support children to develop positive relationships with their peers in smaller groups while enjoying activities they are particularly engaged with. These clubs include photography, sensory activities, cooking, football, art and board games.
• Miss Moon is our Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) Champion and has ongoing specific training in this area, which she then shares with other teaching staff.
• We have support from our Educational Psychologist, Specialist Teachers from the Communication and Autism Team (CAT) and Specialist Teachers from Beacon Behaviour Support when needed, in order to gain expert advice when supporting our children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs.
• We also have support from the Compass Mental Health Support Team which includes individual or group work focusing on anxiety, workshops on peer pressure and transition between year groups (Year 6 to Year 7 in particular). They also attend our Parent Coffee Mornings and Parent Consultation Meetings.

Sensory and/or physical needs

Examples of support in our school:

• We have a ‘Sensory Room’ which is accessed as part of planned and unplanned provision.
• Each classroom has a ‘Calm Corner’ which is designed to allow children to take some time-out when they have feelings which may overwhelm they, encouraging them to take some time to manage those feelings.
• We include ‘Sensory Circuits’ as part of our whole class and intervention provision, as required. Children who need further support with this across the course of the day are able to independently access this outside their classroom whenever needed.
• We run intervention groups, for example ‘Dough Disco’ in EYFS, ‘Write From The Start’ across KS1 and KS2, for children to develop both their fine motor and gross motor skills.
• We run after school clubs which are particularly focused on developing or working on related skills e.g. sensory activities.
• Mrs Sturridge is our Occupational Therapy (OT) Champion and has ongoing specific training in this area, which she then shares with other teaching staff.
• We have support from an Occupational Therapist from West Midlands Speech and Language Therapy every Wednesday afternoon, and support from Specialist Teachers from the Communication and Autism Team (CAT) when needed, in order to gain expert advice when supporting our children with Physical and Sensory needs.
• We work with the Physical Difficulties Support Service (PDSS) and Sensory Support for visual and hearing impairments.

How is Firs Primary School made accessible to children with SEND?

There are ramped entrances to Firs Primary School giving access to all buildings.

We have a First Aid Room and disabled toilet which is wheelchair accessible.

We have nappy changing facilities in our EYFS setting.

All children have access to our extra-curricular activities – for example, school trips, after school clubs, lunch time activities. Where possible and appropriate, adjustments are made to ensure that all children are fully included in these activities, including the use of risk assessments where needed.

We have a Sensory Room in the KS1 part of our building.

The Firs Primary School Accessibility Plan can also be found here.

How will Firs Primary School support my child with additional needs when they are starting at the school, moving to a different class or leaving the school?

At Firs Primary School, we aim to make times of transition as easy as possible for children and their parents.

When a child starts with us, we will:

• Meet with the child and their parents to talk about their needs and answer any questions about our school
• Meet with staff from the child’s previous school or setting – if this is not possible, this will be in the form of a telephone call
• Read reports and other documentation from people who have previously worked with the child
• Arrange visits to our school so that the child can be familiar with the setting before they officially start
• Discuss the strategies that will help the child in school with any adults who will be working with them.

When a child moves to a new year group, we will:

• Introduce the child to their new teacher and other new staff they will be working with
• Talk to the child and their family so that we can answer any questions they may have about their new year group
• Discuss the strategies that will help the child in school with any adults who will be working with them

When a child moves to a new school, we will:

• Talk to key staff at the new school about things that help the child to learn well and be happy in school
• Arrange additional visits to the new school with a member of staff from our school if needed
• Talk to the child and their family so that we can answer any questions they may have about their new school

What support will Firs Primary School give to me as a parent or carer of a child with SEND?

Firs Primary School offers an open door policy so that you can always speak to someone. If you would like to speak to someone about your child, please contact the following people (in this order, unless you do not feel that that is appropriate for your query):

• Your child’s classteacher – via the Main Office on 0121 464 3792 or on Class Dojo
• Your child’s phase leader – via the Main Office on 0121 464 3792 or enquiries@firs.academy
• A member of the SEND Team - via the Main Office on 0121 464 3792 or enquiries@firs.academy
• Miss Hartshorn, the SENCO - via the Main Office on 0121 464 3792 or enquiries@firs.academy

Once you have left a message, that member of staff will get back to you as soon as possible.

Where can I get more information and support with regards to SEND across Birmingham? 

Birmingham Local Offer

Information about the Birmingham Local Authority’s Local Offer can be found on the following website: https://www.localofferbirmingham.co.uk/

The information you will be able to find on the Local Offer website includes:

• Sources of support, advice and information for children, young people and families, including support groups and forums
• Special educational, health and social care provision for children and young people with SEN or disabilities
• Arrangements to identify and assess children and young people with SEN, including how an assessment can be requested
• Ordinarily available provision, which refers to the activities, experiences and strategies that are ordinarily available within the existing resource within mainstream setting for all children and young people, including those with SEND
• Other educational provision, for example leisure activities, sports or arts provision
• Information about provision to assist in preparing children and young people for adulthood including post-16 training and provision
• Arrangements for travel to and from schools, post-16 institutions and early years providers
• Childcare, including suitable provision for disabled children and those with SEND
• Support available to young people in higher education, particularly the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) and the process and timescales for making an application
• Arrangements for resolving disagreements and for mediation, and details about making complaints

There is also a facility to translate the website to different languages along with various accessibility tools to make the website more accessible for all.

Watch this video to understand what the Local Offer is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcAblK6EVQ0

Click here to view the Ordinarily Available guidance.