Agenda item

Representatives from Discovery Primary Academy and Ayresome Primary School will be in attendance to provide information on how schools work with the Local Authority to identify and support children with SEND.

The Headteacher of Discovery Primary Academy and the Deputy Headteacher of Ayresome Primary School were in attendance to provide the scrutiny panel with information on how schools worked with the Local Authority to identify and support children with SEND.

 

The Headteacher advised that Discovery Primary Academy:

 

·         was a special school for children with severe learning and associated complex needs;

·         had an increasing cohort of children who were on the autistic spectrum;

·         was part of Tees Valley Education Trust;

·         was a free school;

·         opened in 2018 with 36 children;

·         currently had 89 children on roll;

·         had 110 (+) pupils accepted for the September intake;

·         provided provision for 3 to 11 year olds;

·         had been approved to provide secondary provision from September 2022, which would initially be offered to Year 7 pupils;

·         had 55% of pupils in the 10% most deprived decile; and

·         had 60% of pupils accessing Free School Meals (FSM).

 

In terms of accessing provision at Discovery Primary Academy, the following procedure was followed:

 

·         The school received a referral from the Local Authority:

o    once paperwork had been received, a high-level assessment of need would be undertaken;

o    conversations took place between the school and the Local Authority’s SEND case officers to ensure delivery of the correct placement;

o    a series of observations and discussions with multi-agency professionals would take place; and

o    visits would be undertaken whereby school staff would visit the child in their home and the child and his/her parents would have the opportunity to visit the school setting.

·         If it was determined that Discovery was best placed to meet the needs of that child, the child would be offered a place at the school. If the parents/carers decided to accept the place, then funding would be explored and agreed with the SEND case officers to ensure delivery of effective support to meet the needs of the child.

·         In terms of transition, the school worked with the Local Authority to ensure transport was arranged to enable the child to get to and from the setting. The school had a rapid transition procedure or a staggered approach. The rapid procedure provided access to the placement at the earliest stage and the staggered approach enabled the child to adjust to the new setting gradually. The school worked closely with the family to determine the best approach for a child.

·         If a child’s needs changed, further assessments were commissioned. The school continued to liaise with other professionals and adapted provision accordingly, ensuring that the school and the Local Authority continued to be responsive to the child’s needs.

 

At Discovery, the primary need of children was severe learning difficulties (and associated needs) and there was an increasing number of pupils on the autistic spectrum, the school therefore offered:

 

·         high staffing ratios;

·         a personalised learning approach;

·         integrated therapies, delivered alongside the curriculum;

·         outdoor play and learning;

·         high expectations for all;

·         a communication immersion environment;

·         staff skilled in working with pupils with Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD) and associated needs;

·         an environment that was responsive to need;

·         high proportions of enrichment activities in and out of the academy;

·         pastoral support for both pupils and parents;

·         preparation for adulthood;

·         three curriculum pathways:  early years, informal and semi-formal;

·         academic, social, emotional and life skills; and

·         therapeutic support.

 

In terms of the work undertaken to prepare children for adulthood, the school focussed on four key areas:

 

·         Independence, focusing on feeding, personal hygiene, toileting, dressing, tidying and organisational skills.

·         Friends, Relationships and Community, focusing on developing friendship groups, enjoying hobbies/activities and becoming part of the community.

·         Good Health, focusing on outdoor play, exercising, sensory therapies, healthy minds and promoting good mental health and well-being.

·         Employment, focusing on routines, timetables, responsibilities, communication, resilience and perseverance in addition to numeracy, reading and writing.

 

In terms of multi-agency working, Discovery worked with the Local Authority (including the SEND Team, the Virtual School, the Sensory Teaching, Advisory and Resources Service (STARS) and Social Care), play therapists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, educational psychologists, voluntary sector organisations, the Community Nursing Service and the Learning Disability Child Adolescent Mental Health Service (LD CAMHS).

 

Members heard that there was a constant dialogue between the school and the Local Authority to ensure the most appropriate agencies were involved with the child. It was explained that working with the Local Authority was extremely important in ensuring appropriate support was in place to enable children to achieve the best possible outcomes. In addition, constant dialogue and discussion ensured that appropriate training was delivered to staff members and it enabled the school to develop its secondary provision and offer outreach support.

 

To demonstrate the positive impact of partnership working, the following case study was shared:

 

It had been determined that in order to meet a child’s needs, alternative provision was required. The school liaised with case officers and the senior leader of the Local Authority’s SEND Team. The school also liaised with the child’s social worker to build/develop a relationship with the family. Initial meetings were held at the child’s current school to allow parents to attend a familiar environment. Transition opportunities were provided for parents to enable them to meet all those staff members who would work with the child at Discovery. A planned transition took place for the child. The school liaised with the Integrated Transport Unit to arrange home to school transport and the right level of funding was provided to enable the delivery of personalised support for the child.

 

As a result of the partnership work that had taken place:

 

·         the child was making progress in the setting and had settled in well;

·         personalised support with a focus on therapies for social, emotional and academic needs ensured all of the child’s needs were met;

·         the family felt well supported and able to approach staff;

·         continued close working between education and social care enabled the delivery of a holistic approach; and

·         the child’s attendance was improving.

 

In general, partnership working enabled the delivery of:

 

·         bespoke packages of support for individual children;

·         training and support for all SEND Coordinators to enable them to develop knowledge and confidence; and

·         Continuing Professional Development (CPD), which was brokered by Local Authority and designed and delivered by TvED.

 

It was commented that the school was also involved with:

 

·         the SENDCo network, which shared information and discussed best practice; and

·         the SEND Strategic Group, which aimed to develop/improve processes and systems.

 

It was highlighted that most importantly, partnership working enabled person centred planning to take place.

 

A Member raised a query in respect of waiting lists. In response, the Head explained that a rigorous place planning process, involving the Local Authority working with all the providers of specialist provision in the area, determined future demand and ensured sufficiency of placements.

 

A Member raised a query in respect of when the school would be moving to its new building located on the former Nature’s World site. In response, the Head explained that it was hoped that the move would take place in time for the start of the new academic year in September (2022). From September, the primary provision would be located at the new build on the former Nature’s World site and the secondary provision at the temporary site at Bramble’s Farm. The school was currently working with the Local Authority to put plans in place for a new build for the secondary provision.

 

In response to a Member’s query regarding funding, the Head explained that adequate funding was provided to Discovery to ensure it had sufficient staffing levels.

 

The Deputy Head explained that Ayresome Primary was a mainstream school, located in central Middlesbrough. There were currently 740 pupils on roll, however, due to high levels of mobility that number had fluctuated throughout the year. Although pupils eligible for Pupil Premium funding equated to only 54% of the student population, 90% of pupils lived in the 5% most deprived areas of the UK. Members also heard that 25% of pupils had SEND, with increasing levels of complexity.

 

In terms of identifying where a pupil may be having difficulty, which may be because of SEN:

 

·         In school, admissions meetings were held for each child, observational assessments and teacher assessments were undertaken and discussions were held with parents.

·         The school worked closely with health visitors, speech and language therapists and the School Nursing Service to seek advice and share information.

·         The school worked closely with the Ethnic Minority Achievement Team (EMAT) to undertake assessments in home language and to liaise with parents to gain additional information.

·         The school also worked closely with the Local Authority’s Admissions Team, its Portage Team, inclusion officers, educational psychologists, social workers and the Virtual School to seek advice and share information.

 

Working with partners ensured a constant exchange of information in respect of each child’s needs.

 

At Ayresome Primary, the support that school provided to those students who have or may have SEND included:

 

·         personalised learning plans and provision;

·         SEND support plans with targets that were Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely (SMART), so that progress could be monitored;

·         reviews of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) so they remained relevant;

·         small group interventions linked to learning;

·         additional support through applications for High Needs Funding (HNF);

·         additional adult support in school;

·         access to in-school interventions, linked to physical development, including fine motor skills;

·         access to in-school support linked to Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH);

·         specific/bespoke staff CPD linked to children’s needs (delivered by the Local Authority);

·         outreach support from specialised staff from the Local Authority;

·         parental workshops; and

·         access to the Early Help Team through referrals;

·         access to the Disability Social Work Team through referrals; and

·         access to agencies such as SEND Information and Advice Support Services (SENDIASS), Daisy Chain, etc.

 

The school worked closely with the Local Authority’s inclusion officers, Outreach/Inclusion Team, Virtual School, Sensory Teaching, Advisory and Resources Service (STARS), educational psychologists and

SEND case officers.

 

The Local Authority assisted Ayresome Primary in meeting the needs of pupils with SEND and ensuring appropriate support was in place to enable them to achieve the best possible outcomes. The partnership work had enabled the school to access HNF to provide additional staff and resources to meet the needs of children. There was a constant exchange of information, enabling the school to access advice, guidance, support, interventions and bespoke CPD for staff members.

 

The Deputy Head shared a case study to demonstrate the positive impact of partnership work:

 

A child had missed school due to pandemic and struggled with a transition into Reception. The child was displaying challenging behaviour, which included violence towards staff and children. The child was also being destructive to property in the classroom. The school put forward a referral to social care, due to concerns at home. The child’s challenging behaviour escalated with increased violence towards staff, which had led to fixed-term exclusions and could have led to a potential permanent exclusion, given the level of concern. The school put forward a request for Alternative Provision (AP). Following consultation with the SEND Team and the child’s parents, the school put in place a part-time timetable for the child of 30 minutes per day. With the assistance of the Local Authority, HNF was applied for to enable the school to provide 1:1 support. Advice and guidance was provided to the school by the Inclusion Officer. Specialist teachers and the Outreach/Inclusion Team provided support in school, both in the classroom and by providing staff CPD.

 

Given the support provided, AP was not required. The child’s time in school increased, as behaviour improved due to strategies put in place. The child was now attending school full-time and the school was able to meet the child’s needs. Staff members felt confident to deploy strategies and opportunities to re-set, if behaviour deteriorated. Regular reviews were undertaken and there was open communication with the Inclusion Officer.

 

A Member commended the partnership work that had been undertaken to support the child, enabling the child to attend full-time education.

 

A Member raised a query regarding the school’s use of fixed-term exclusion. In response, the Deputy Head explained that the child’s challenging behaviour escalated very rapidly. For the school, exclusion was very much the last resort. At the time of the fixed-term exclusion, applications had been made to the Local Authority for additional support and those were being processed.  The Early Years and Primary Inclusion Lead advised that risk of permanent exclusion needed to be flagged with the Local Authority to demonstrate the level of concern, ensuring action was taken as a matter of urgency.

 

In response to a Member’s question, the Deputy Headteacher advised that although children in Reception and KS1 were entitled to receive universal FSM, some children were not eligible. The school therefore worked with food banks, FareShare and Greggs to ensure that no child went without a meal.

 

The schools were thanked for attending the meeting and for providing the scrutiny panel with detailed information on how they worked with the Local Authority to identify and support children with SEND.

 

AGREED

 

That the information presented at the meeting be considered in the context of the scrutiny panel's investigation.