“Our vision for children with special educational needs and disabilities is the same as for all children and young people – that they achieve well in their early years, at school and in college, and lead happy and fulfilled lives”.
(SEND Code of Practice
)

  We take our duties towards children with special educational needs and disabilities seriously and are constantly striving to improve our provision. We welcome parental contact and are always available to discuss your child’s needs.  Below are links to useful documents from North Yorkshire County Council and the school.

Our SENDCo is Mrs Farrah Hutton. She can be contacted via the school office on 01947 893373 or admin@lythe.n-yorks.sch.uk  at any time during working hours.

Staff Links

All staff and family work together closely at Lythe School to ensure that each child has the tools to establish themselves as independent, community-minded individuals and ultimately, that they flourish. Our aim for every child is to ”be the best you can be, and let your light shine.”

Our rich curriculum helps to develop a broad range of skills, ensuring that every child finds enrichment and has an opportunity to shine. Children with a special educational need are encouraged and supported to develop an enabling mind-set and a range of skills in order to enjoy success in one area or another.

We aim to equip each child in readiness for the challenges they may encounter. We recognise that, for some children, the challenges that they are faced with mean that they need additional targeted support.  We therefore work closely with families and, if needed, professional bodies in order to properly support each child.  We encourage active participation from all those involved. We firmly believe that with right and timely support and guidance, each child is able to progress and be proficient to tackle the challenges that life presents.

SEND Report December 2023

What kinds of SEND do we provide for?

Lythe is a caring and inclusive school and we will do all we can to ensure high quality access to children of all needs. Children) with a wide range of SEN are welcomed into the school. If a parent of a pupil with an EHCP requests a place at the school, we will make our best endeavours to meet needs and welcome the child.

We make provision for children with:

 Cognition and learning difficulties.

  • Physical and Sensory needs.
  • Communication and Interaction difficulties, including autism.
  • Social, Emotional and Mental health needs. 

 Who to speak to

We have a qualified SENDco, Mrs Farrah Hutton.  Our governor responsible for oversight of our SEND provision is Mrs Sue Metcalfe, who can be contacted on smetcalfe@lythe.n-yorks.sch.uk.

How do we identify SEND?

 The identification of SEN is built into our overall approach to monitoring the progress and development of all our pupils. Through careful analysis of pupil progress information and discussions with staff about children’s experiences in school, we are able to identify children who may require additional support early. Parents may also raise concerns about their child’s progress and these should be passed to the SENDCo for response within 2 working days.

We will then follow the Graduated Response approach, following the steps in the flowchart provided here.

Arrangements for consulting parents of children with SEN and involving them in their education

Parents will be contacted at an early stage, as showing in the flowchart. Working together with families is essential and parents will be informed and consulted as part of the plan-do-review process, so at least half termly and more frequently if required,  working with the class teacher and/or SENDCo to evaluate the effectiveness of actions and plan next steps.  Meetings may be held in person or via telephone/Teams, or parents may wish to communicate via a method such as a home-school book for regular information sharing.

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

Pupil voice will be collected as part of writing an IEP, using a method appropriate to the child’s age, development and understanding.

Arrangements for assessing and reviewing children and young people’s progress towards outcomes. This should include the opportunities available to work with parents and young people as part of this assessment and review.

All pupils with SEND should make at least expected progress, in line with their peers. This will include progress made with personal targets as recorded on their Individual support plan, and overall progress on the National Curriculum measured against the school’s tracking system. Assessment information is gathered in a number of ways, depending on the format or activity being undertaken. For example, information maybe gathered from formal assessments, or from work taking place during lessons etc. In addition, more specific and focused assessment approaches are used to identify precise progress. These may include the use of The Engagement Model (gradual and small steps for to clearly identify progress) and ratio gains. Formal review of Individual Education Plans will take place as agreed during the writing of the plan, but at least half termly. EHCP reviews will be carried out in line with statutory requirements. 

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

We believe that inclusive education means supporting all pupils to learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of school life alongside their peers. Some of the actions we may take to achieve this are:

  • Help all pupils achieve to the best of their abilities, despite any difficulty or disability they may have.
  • Modify the curriculum to meet individual needs
  • Ensure that teaching staff are aware of and sensitive to the needs of all pupils, teaching pupils in a way that is more appropriate to their needs.
  • To make suitable provision for children with SEND to fully develop their abilities, interests and aptitudes and gain maximum access to the curriculum.

More details on how we adapt information, our environment and curriculum can be found in Equality Statement and Accessibility Plan which can be found in the school policies section of our website.

At Lythe School we do our best to ensure that all children are offered the opportunity to participate in activities outside the classroom and extra-curricular activities. We ensure that reasonable adjustments are made to enable children with SEND to access a full curriculum and to enrich the experiences of all pupils. We are prepared to seek advice, resources, equipment and training in order to provide high quality experiences for our children.  As a school we ensure that suitable and accessible transport is provided and that comprehensive risk assessments cover travel arrangements to ensure that all children are safe during excursions.

The expertise and training of staff to support children and young people with SEN, including how specialist expertise will be secured

Staff training is taking place this academic year to help support children with Communication and Language needs, including autism, provided by the North Yorkshire SALT time. Online training will also take place this year in supporting children with dyslexia.

Where additional expertise or support is needed, a referral will be made to the North Yorkshire SEND hub.

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

A child’s progress against National Curriculum, school and personal IEP targets will be assessed at the end of each plan-do-review cycle, so at least half termly.  This may be done by formal school assessments alongside peers, specialist assessments to identify progress in specific areas or measure very small steps, by observation or informal assessment activities undertaken as part of class work.  The results of this review will be recorded on the IEP and provision may stop if no longer needed, continue if it is effective, or change or stop if it is not effective.

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

Across many lessons, pupils work collaboratively, sharing experiences, knowledge and skills successfully. In addition, all children are encouraged to take an active role in school life through participation in school clubs, which are open to all children regardless of need.  Activities outside school, for example Forest Schools and swimming lessons, are risk assessed, adapted and staffed so that every child can participate alongside their peers.

Support for improving emotional and social development. This should include extra pastoral support arrangements for listening to the views of children and young people with SEN and measures to prevent bullying

 Pupil voice is a part of the plan-do-review cycle and children will be asked in an appropriate way to share their views and feelings.  Children have age and developmentally appropriate ways of reporting concerns if they cannot speak immediately to a member of staff.  Emotional and social issues are included as part of our Assembly programme and understanding of protected characteristics is included in discussions and in specific PSHE teaching.

How the school involves other bodies, including health and social care bodies, local authority support services and voluntary sector organisations, in meeting children and young people’s SEN and supporting their families

 We recognise the importance of working with other professionals to establish a secure and comprehensive understanding of each child. With this in mind, we work with other agencies to gather expertise advice and amend classroom provision accordingly. At Lythe School, these other agencies include: the SEND Hub, Educational Psychologists, health care professionals, speech and language therapists and specialist teachers in particular areas of SEND provision. This work takes place following referrals made by the SENDCo and in agreement with the child’s parents or carers. This takes place following discussions with parents/carers and class teachers to carefully identify the purpose of obtaining this additional support and advice.

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

Please see our Complaints Policy on our Policies page.

North Yorkshire Council’s Local Offer

 The local offer is North Yorkshire County Council Local Authority’s publication of all provision that ‘they expect to be available across education, health and social care for children and young people in their area who have SEN or are disabled, including those who do not have Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans.’ Code of Practice 4.1 The North Yorkshire local offer can be found by clicking here. 

 

 

Please see our Policies page for all policies relating to Special Educational Needs.

 

External links