SEND Information Report 2024-2025

 

Vision and Values

Merstham Park School supports each child to thrive personally, socially and academically. We give our students opportunities to develop enquiring minds, a lifelong love of learning and to become well-rounded members of the community. At Merstham Park School we strongly believe in celebrating every success and preparing our children for the future. We trust this information report, together with our SEND policy, provides you with a flavour of our inclusive approach at Merstham Park School.
 

Who to contact

If parents have concerns about Special Educational Needs, they should contact Mr. Briggs directly, using the email kbriggs1@glfschools.org 

Where students have concerns, in the first instance they should contact the Learning Mentor. The Learning Mentor will then inform the Assistant Headteacher / SENCO, Mr. Briggs.

Surrey’s Local Offer is available here: https://www.surreylocaloffer.org.uk 

 

The kinds of SEND that are provided for:

The SEND Code of Practice specifies four areas of SEND and the school uses the same terminology. They are:

• Communication and interaction

• Cognition and learning

• Social, emotional and mental health difficulties

• Sensory and / or physical needs

Students may have needs that include more than one area of SEND. Our task will be to consider the individual needs of the child and ensure that the best outcomes for that student are achieved through the best possible support. The SENCO is also available for contact, by appointment, by parents who are concerned about their child’s progress or who may believe their child may meet the SEND criteria.

 

Arrangements for consulting parents of children with SEND and involving them in their child’s education

At Merstham Park School, we believe in developing strong home-school links and parents are welcome to  make an appointment to speak to the SENCO, should they have concerns about the overall progress of their child and they suspect it may be related to SEND.

Where SEND needs have been identified, support is recorded within the SEND Support Plan, and parents receive a copy. Parents of students with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) are invited to attend an Annual Review.

The school also has a regular reporting cycle where parents are informed of progress. All students are set targets or next steps by their teachers. We believe in partnering with parents to support a child’s learning and encourage parental support through:

• Student achievement and progress shared at parents’ evenings

• Homework

• SEND Support Plans (SSPs) shared with parents

• Learning Mentors contactable through phone calls and emails (after school)

• Academic reports

• SEND Coffee Mornings

• SEND Parents Evening in the Summer Term

 

Our ‘Universal Offer’ at Merstham Park School

Merstham Park School is a mainstream academy. An academy is a state-funded, community school serving local residents, providing free education for students of all abilities. We aim to recognise the strengths and interests of every child, providing a broad range of opportunities for them to experience success and belonging, and to progress academically.

Our school community is diverse, including in respect to neurodiversity.  Our ‘universal offer’ therefore includes teaching and learning strategies that we know are most likely to be effective for all learners.  This includes strategies that consider ‘cognitive load’ (how many pieces of information we can hold in our short-term memory at any time); attention and sensory processing (carefully considering unhelpful distractions and/or building in opportunities for movement within lessons); direct vocabulary instruction (to support children with speech and language needs to access the language of the classroom and the curriculum); use of visual resources (to support with understanding and to build independence), and executive functioning (for example how to tackle a task with multiple-steps, time management, personal organisation skills).  We include these strategies in our general teaching because they are helpful for everyone – and vital for some.

Pupils develop and progress at different paces. There can be many reasons for this: absence, illness, friendship worries, disrupted sleep patterns, moving house, a change in circumstances at home and, in some cases, special educational needs. In many cases, pupils benefit from small adaptations or temporary adjustments for short periods of time e.g., continued use of ‘manipulatives or physical resources in Maths; using a writing frame to support with paragraph sequencing; a task-manager board or adaptive IT.

In noticing that a pupil has a particular barrier and/or need, teachers can try the strategies as part of their ‘universal’ approach. All pupils will need additional support and benefit from adaptive teaching at times; it does not automatically mean that they have a special educational need.

Our ‘Universal offer’/ Ordinarily Available Provision document sets out a range of strategies for teachers and pupils to try when they notice that a child is experiencing a specific barrier or need in their learning. We introduce ‘universal plus’ strategies gradually as a tightening spiral of support, learning with the child and their parents about what works and has impact. Nearly all these strategies can be applied in the classroom, within lessons, without the need for additional resources or preparation of separate / different activities. They are evidence-based adaptive teaching and learning support strategies, rather than ‘interventions’ or ‘SEN Support.’  Your child’s teacher/s will let you know when different strategies to support learning and engagement are being tried with your child. Your child’s name does not need to be included on our SEN Register for them to benefit from these ‘universal plus’ adaptations.

If we continue to have concerns about your child’s progress despite having implemented and reviewed the impact of appropriate strategies through our ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ cycle, we will discuss these with parents and may consider including more targeted Special Educational Provision or interventions for your child. We may discuss adding your child’s name to our Special Educational Needs register, for as long as they continue to receive that additional support and intervention. 

In most cases, it is most effective for teachers to apply the ‘least amount of support’ first, and gradually increase the intensity of support provided if a child does not progress.  There should also be a plan to build independence by reducing or removing that support as a child progresses, so that we are not reducing a child’s opportunities to develop their independence by providing more support than they need.  This also reduces the time a child spends in ‘SEN interventions’, where they may be separated from the curriculum, their teacher and their peers. In this way, we support pupils’ preparation for the next phase of education and ultimately adulthood.

The diagram below shows how support moves fluidly up and down the different levels depending on a child’s needs.  This can be within a year, or across a pupil’s school career.  We take a personalised approach for each pupil.

Arrangements for consulting young people with SEND and involving them in their education

All students on the SEND Register attend a meeting with a Learning Support Assistant twice a year to discuss and suggest possible changes to their SEND Support Plan. The SENCo runs a survey and a focus group each year, to gauge students’ views of the support they receive.

 

Arrangements for assessing and reviewing children and young people’s progress towards outcomes

Students with SEND (new to the school) are initially identified by the SENCO during the Primary Transfer process. These students are monitored and data is collected on them to inform a judgement by the SENCO about their SEND level. This data includes Key Stage 2 SAT data, Cognitive Ability Tests, Reading Tests and feedback from teachers and staff. The SENCO may also call on other professionals, such as Educational Psychologists or Specialist Teachers for Inclusive Practice, to assist them in determining a student’s needs. A similar process will be employed for students in Years 8 – 11, with the data from periodic assessment being used by the SENCO to judge SEND level as students progress through the school.

 

Arrangements for supporting children and young people in moving between phases of education and in preparing for adulthood

As students move from Key Stage 2 (primary) to Key Stage 3 (secondary), we work with our feeder schools to ensure that we are aware of students’ needs and where possible visit all primary schools and meet with the students who will be coming to us. In the case of students with EHCPs, the SENCO will join the Transition Review meeting. Incoming Year 6 students with EHCPs are invited to visit the school with their parents or a primary school professional to meet the SEND Team and see the school facilities. 

We also receive support from external agencies and Surrey County Council for pupils who may require some specialist help concerning transition to secondary school. Additional transition days/meetings may be held depending on the needs of the child.

As young people prepare for adulthood, we support them to make reasoned choices about their future, whether that be in higher education or employment. Our curriculum embeds Careers information and Guidance, and we engage with local colleges to prepare our students for the next steps in their education.

At the annual review of Year 11 students with an EHCP, a Transition Plan will be agreed. 

If the SENCO believes the placement of a student with an EHCP is unsuitable, they will refer first to the SEND Team at the relevant Local Authority for advice.  An Educational Psychologist’s report may then be sought and the SENCO will submit a report to the Local Authority. This may result in a recommendation for the student to transfer to another school. Transfer arrangements are made on a case-by-case basis. 
 

The approach to teaching children and young people with SEND

At Merstham Park School we recognise that the quality of teaching within the classroom is the greatest influence over a student's progress and we therefore invest in training to ensure our classrooms are an inclusive place to be.

We adopt a graduated approach to meeting the needs of all students through quality teaching and our staff make reasonable adjustments to help include all students, not just those with SEND. 

 

How adaptations are made to the curriculum and the learning environment of children and young people with SEND

At Merstham Park School we provide an inclusive curriculum and make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the needs of all learners. Staff are trained in ‘Quality First Teaching’ strategies to support access to the curriculum.

Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all children in their class, including children with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and children with medical conditions.  High-quality teaching, adapted and differentiated for individual children, is the first step in responding to children who have, or may have, SEN. Teachers carefully plan ‘scaffolds’ to support each child’s learning within a lesson, building from their starting point.  These ‘scaffolds’ are removed over time, so that each pupil develops their independence.  In this way, they are effectively prepared for exams, and for adulthood.

In addition, we liaise with external agencies such as speech and language therapists to deliver individual programmes of support in school, as recommended by the multi-professionals with whom we work.

Lesson observations by senior staff ensure the school continues to develop its inclusive ethos and training needs are identified from these observations.

 

The expertise and training of staff to support children and young people with SEND

Our staff receive regular training and updates on SEND, and all of our teachers hold Qualified Teaching Status.

The Assistant Headteacher / SENCO has an MA in Education, the National Award for SEND Coordination, and the Certificate in Educational Testing, certified by the British Psychological Society.

We aim to ensure that all staff working with learners who have SEND possess a working knowledge of the difficulty to help them in supporting access to the curriculum.

Where it is deemed that external support is necessary, we discuss any referrals with parents in the first instance and gain full consent before proceeding with a referral. We have a good working relationship with many specialists from outside agencies and encourage their involvement with our more needy students. Currently we have regular contact with teams from:

• Educational Psychology

• Specialist Teachers for Inclusive Practice (Learning and Language Support)

• ASD Outreach

• Speech and Language Therapy

• Occupational Therapy

• Hearing Support

• Vision Support

• School Nurse

• Physical and Sensory Support

• Family Support Worker

• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)

 

Evaluating the effectiveness of the provision made for children and young people with SEND

We ensure that resources and interventions to support the students’ learning are available within an allocated budget and are detailed on a student’s SEND Support Plan. We review the needs of the learners within the school and endeavour to put in place provisions in order to be able to cater for these needs. The SENCO carries out learning walks which include reviewing how provision is delivered. Our budget is allocated according to our provision management and is therefore carefully aligned to individual needs and our School Development Plan.

Some of the funding the school receives may go towards funding training so that in-house provision is more targeted at students’ needs.

Decisions are made as to whether specific interventions are proving to be effective both in terms of the time spent on them and the finance used in providing the intervention.

Each year we review the needs of the whole cohort to see if there are any changes. Decisions are then made as to whether any additional interventions need to be put in place.

 

How children and young people with SEND are enabled to engage in activities available with children and young people in the school who do not have SEND

Merstham Park School is an inclusive school and we make every endeavour, where possible, to include all students in all activities. Students are encouraged to take part in school trips and activities and all reasonable adjustments and adult support will be provided to ensure that students can participate in school trips along with their peers. Risk assessments are carried out for all trips prior to the visit.

 

Support for improving emotional and social development

All students are regularly consulted on their education and the school has a robust student voice system including a Student Council to ensure that everyone has a voice. In addition, students study PSHE throughout their education and this includes lessons on emotional welfare and safety. Our pastoral support includes a team of staff trained in Emotional Literacy and Thrive.

 

Arrangements for handling complaints from parents of children with SEND about the provision made at the school

In the first instance if a parent has a concern, they are encouraged to speak to the Learning Mentor. If the matter cannot be resolved at this stage then the SENCO may become involved and a meeting convened to discuss the nature of the complaint and look for a resolution to the issue.

A copy of the school's complaints procedure can be found on the school’s website. The complaints procedure will outline the formal steps the school will take in handling each complaint.

Where a resolution between the parent and school cannot be reached then parents will be advised to follow the GLF Complaints Policy procedure.

Further information on the Local Authority’s Local Offer can be found at:  https://www.surreylocaloffer.org.uk