Special Educational Needs

Meet our Inclusion Team!

	Mrs Denise Burgess is our headteacher and overseas our inclusion team. She is the Designated Safeguarding Lead and was Acting Senco from April 2023 - January 2024.
	Mrs Vikki Borner is our SENCO. She can be contacted on 01234 266245 or via email at senco@gdps.uk . Her working days are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
	Mrs Kelly Harvey is our SENCO Assistant. She is an experienced practitioner both in mainstream and special schools. She works all week.
	Ms Nikki Rodd is our cover Inclusion Teaching Assistant and works Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning and all day Friday helping our inclusion team.
	Mrs Emma Synott, our Family Support Worker is part of our inclusion team. More information on her role can be found on her page HERE.

All Bedford Borough (LA) maintained schools have a similar approach to meeting the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and are supported by the LA to ensure that all pupils, regardless of their specific needs, make the best possible progress in school.

All schools are supported to be as inclusive as possible, with the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities being met in a mainstream setting wherever possible.

The four broad ‘areas of need’ are Communication and Interaction, Cognition and Learning, Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties, and Sensory and Physical Needs.

Click here for our SEND Policy 2024 - 2025.

Click here to see our SEND information report 2024 - 2025.

Click here for our Inclusion Policy 2024 - 2025.

Great Denham Primary School Graduated Response (information on this can also be found in our school information report)

Assessment (formal or informal) recognises a child is making less than expected progress.

This could be characterised by progress which:

Is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
Fails to match or better the child or young person’s previous rate of progress
Fails to close the attainment gap between the child or young person and their peers
Widens the attainment gap
It can include progress in areas other than attainment – for instance where a child or young person needs to make additional progress with wider development or social needs in order to make a successful transition to adult life (COP, 2014: 6.18).

Quality First Teaching (QFT)

Assess what their particular needs are under the broad heading/s; Cognition and Learning; Social, Emotional and Mental Health; Communication and Interaction; Sensory and/or Physical

Plan Use the Bedford Borough SEND Support and Provision Guidance 2019 and the guidance on the following pages to put into place Quality First Teaching strategies

Do Put these strategies into place for a minimum of 8-10 weeks

Review Re-assess the progress the child has made, is the gap closing? Include views of parents and the child.

If yes continue with strategies. Continue Assess, Plan, Do Review cycle within QFT.
If no complete cause for concern sheet for SENCO and move on to Targeted support.

Assess Where progress continues to be less than expected the class teacher, working with the SENCO and parents, should assess whether the child or young person has SEN.

A child or young person has SEN if: they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made
A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if: they have significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age or has a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools
SEN provision is that which goes beyond the differentiated approaches and learning arrangements normally provided as part of high quality personalised teaching. Children or young people with SEN require action that is additional to or different from the usual range of differentiated activities.

Targeted Support

Plan If agreed that the child has SEN meet with parents (and child where appropriate) and the SENCO and, in collaboration, use the Bedford Borough SEND Support and Provision Guidance 2019 to put into SEN ‘Targeted Support’ providing some additional or different actions to enable the child or young person to access independent learning and the curriculum. Create a Learning plan for the child outlining their targets (no more than 3) which relate to their area/s of need and the support that will enable them to meet these. Child is placed on the SEND register.

Do Put these strategies into place for a minimum of 8-10 weeks

Review Re-assess the progress the child has made, is the gap closing? Include views of SENCO, parents and the child.

If yes, is Learning Plan is still required? If not child can be removed from SEN register. If plan still required continue with strategies with new or amended targets and continue Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle within Targeted Support.
If no, move on to Personalised support.

Personalised Support

Assess Where progress continues to be less than expected the class teacher, working with the SENCO and parents, should consult with specialists to support their own interventions with children and young people. Schools must seek parental consent before consulting any specialists.

Plan Use the advice from the specialists and Bedford Borough SEND Support and Provision Guidance 2019 to put into place SEN ‘Personalised Support’ to build on the arrangements for SEN ‘Targeted Support’ to match provision to meet a child or young person’s needs, this may include allocated adult support.

Do Put these strategies into place for a minimum of 8-10 weeks

Review Re-assess the progress the child has made, with SENCO, parents and any specialists involved, is the gap closing?

If yes, continue with strategies with new or adjusted targets. Continue Assess, Plan, Do Review cycle.
If no consider an EHCP assessment.

EHCP Assessment

Assess If there is evidence that despite having taken relevant and purposeful action to identify, assess and meet the SEN of the child, they have still not made expected progress, the teacher, parents and SENCO should consider making a request for an EHCP assessment.

Plan Evidence should be gathered from school, home and specialists to support the assessment request. An EHCNAF form should be completed and submitted to the Local Authority. Meanwhile, personalised support should continue with new or amended targets.

Do Put these strategies into place for a minimum of 8-10 weeks or until EHCNAF process is complete

Review

If EHCNAF accepted new targets will form basis of EHCP plan and school learning plan.
If refused, consider re-application with new evidence or re-assess the progress the child has made, with SENCO, parents and any specialists involved. Continue with or adapt strategies with new or adjusted targets. Continue Assess, Plan, Do Review cycle within personalised support.

What is the Local Offer?

The LA Local Offer

• The Children and Families Bill came into force in September 2014. From this date, Local Authorities and schools are required to publish and keep under review information about services they expect to be available for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) aged 0-25. This is the ‘Local Offer’.

• The intention of the Local Offer is to improve choice and transparency for families. It will also be an important resource for parents to help them gain an understanding of the range of services and provision in the local area.

Click here to view Bedford Borough Council's Local Offer

The School SEND Information Report

This utilizes the LA Local Offer to meet the needs of SEND pupils as determined by school policy, and the provision that the school is able to meet. Great Denham's information report can be found in our policies section.

For more information on services available in the Bedford Borough to support you, please click HERE.