All of our teachers teach children with SEN and recognise the importance of identifying SEN early and making effective provision quickly. The identification and assessment of SEN is built into the school’s approach to monitoring the progress of all pupils.

We assess each pupil’s skills and levels of attainment when they first come to the school. This builds on the information from the child’s previous early years or school where appropriate, and provides us with information we need to monitor their progress. It also ensures that we discover any areas of difficulty early on. Where children already have their SEN diagnosed or identified we will work closely with the family and our partners to make sure we know as much as possible about the child before they start at the school.

Teachers are supported by the Senior Leadership Team to regularly assess pupils’ progress. This helps us to see any pupils whose progress:

• is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
• fails to match or better their previous rate of progress
• fails to close the attainment gap between them and their peers

Where assessments show that a child is not making adequate progress, our first response is to make sure there is high quality teaching in place. Making high quality teaching normally available to the whole class is likely to mean that fewer pupils will require additional support.

If their progress continues to be slower than expected the teacher will work with the family and the SENCO to carry out a clear analysis of the child’s needs and identify if they need additional support. There can be many reasons why a child doesn’t make the progress expected of them – perhaps there has been a significant change in family circumstances such as a new baby, a move of home, or the death of a relative. Or perhaps because they have a special educational need.

When considering if a child needs SEN support the school takes into account:

• the pupil’s previous progress and attainment
• the teacher’s assessment and experience of the pupil
• the pupil’s development in comparison to their peers and national data
• the views and experience of parents
• the pupil’s own views
• advice from external support services, where appropriate

The school uses a range of different assessment tools and systems to help identify and assess pupils with SEN. These tools and assessments gradually draw upon more frequent reviews and more specialist expertise to help understand a pupil’s SEN and to match them to appropriate interventions.