Governors Report to Parents & Carers 2023/2024
This report outlines Special Educational Needs and Disability practice at Birkby Junior School and will give you further information about how we identify and support pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
At Birkby Junior School we work hard to create a secure, accepting, collaborative and stimulating school community in which everyone is valued and all children can achieve their best. We are an inclusive school and this permeates every aspect of school life from teaching and learning in classrooms to attendance and after-school club provision. We aim to increase learning and participation for all children and particular attention is paid to the provision made for different groups of children within school who may be vulnerable, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
All children are entitled to a broad, balanced and challenging curriculum. This includes those who have SEN or disabilities. By setting suitable learning challenges, responding to children’s diverse needs and overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils Birkby Junior School strives to ensure that all pupils learn and make good or better progress.
SEND Policy
Our SEND Policy can be accessed through our school website. If you would prefer a paper copy please contact our School Office, who will be happy to help. Our SEND policy is reviewed annually and approved by our Governing Body.
Three members of staff lead on SEND throughout school:
Mrs Emma Mills is our Inclusion Manager and an Assistant Head Teacher.
Miss Jo Gallagher and Mr Matt Henshaw are our school SENDCOs.
Mrs Louise Walker is our SEND Officer and manages our large team of support staff.
Our SEND Governor is Mrs Pauline Campbell. She spends time in school on a regular basis, attending Additional Needs Team meetings, monitoring provision and meeting with support staff.
Pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
The table below outlines the number of pupils recorded on school’s SEND register. The number of pupils registered fluctuates during the year, particularly at SEN Support, reflecting pupils who join school and also leave. Staff regularly review the progress of pupils recorded on the SEND register to ensure pupils are correctly identified and their individual needs are met.
It should be noted, that although current SEND data is generally in line with Kirklees and national averages, a recent SEND review has shown that school's high quality inclusive practice provides effective support for children with low level SEND. This means that a number of children are successfully supported through Quality First Teaching without the need for additional and/or different interventions.
Autumn Term 2023 SEND data
|
Year Group |
SEN Support |
EHCP |
SEND total |
Number in year group |
% of year group |
|
|
3 |
28 |
3 |
31 |
140
|
22.1% |
|
|
4 |
28 |
2 |
30 |
138
|
21.7% |
|
|
5 |
21 |
3 |
24 |
145
|
16.6% |
|
|
6 |
22 |
5 |
27 |
152 |
17.8% |
|
|
% of school (579)
|
17.2% |
2.3% |
19.5% |
|
||
|
Kirklees average 2021 |
12.22% |
2.13% |
14.35% |
|
||
|
National average 2022 |
13.0% |
4.3% |
17.3% |
|
||
The number of pupils with SEND can fluctuate over the school year as new children join the school. Our SEN Register is reviewed weekly so that we have an on-going, accurate record of pupil need.
Our SEN register is analysed by both gender and ethnicity.
Parental Involvement
Partnership with parents and carers is valued by all staff and is an important part of our provision of pupils with SEND. Informal communication at the start and end of each day, through our home-school diaries and over the telephone is part of our daily practice. In addition to our regular Parents’ Evenings parents and carers are also invited to attend termly review meetings, to meet staff and outside agencies and set and review Additional Needs Plans. ANPs are also shared and discussed at the Spring Term parents’ evenings in March. Parental involvement in school life is encouraged – for example, parents attend adult education classes in school, help as volunteers in class and work as Reading Friends.
Budget
School allocates a budget for SEND, the majority of this budget is used to fund salary costs for our large team of support staff. An additional £9,000 is allocated to pay for supply cover to release teaching staff to take part in provision map workshops and termly pupil review meetings and £3,000 for resources to support SEND. Commissioned services such as Speech and Language Therapy and School Nursing are also funded through school’s budget. In addition, for 2019/2020 school has budgeted £7887 to fund commissioned Locala School Nursing and £1260 for additional support from and Independent Speech and Language Therapist.
Outside Agencies
Our Additional Needs Team continues to work very closely with many outside agencies, who work alongside school staff to assess pupil’s needs and plan tailored provision for them within school including:
- Educational Psychology
- Speech and Language Therapists
- Behaviour Support Service - Engage Academy
- Occupational Therapy
- Physiotherapy
- Family Support Workers
- Early Help Consultants
- Local Authority SEND and Commissioning Team (SENDACT)
- Locala School Health – 0-19 Practitioners
- Specialist Outreach for Visual and Hearing Needs
- Specialist Outreach for Autism
- Staff from specialist provisions such as Castle Hill Special School
- Mobility Officer
- Targeted Youth Support
- Mental Health Support Team
- Children’s Emotional Wellbeing Service
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service
- Attendance and Pupil Support
Training
All staff receive regular training to make sure they are able to meet the needs of all learners, usually during staff meeting time, INSET days or during the school day as appropriate. In addition, all support staff meet twice per half-term take part in bespoke training, either led by a member of our School Leadership Team or by an outside agency. This year training has included:
Recent training in school has included:
- Medical Needs
- Understanding Mental Health and Wellbeing
- Attachment Needs
- Reading
- Autism