Special Educational Needs and Disability Policy

About this policy

REVIEWED BY: Charlotte Lannigan
QUALIFICATIONS: BSc PGCE, National Award for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator accreditation and member of Montpelier Primary School’s Senior Leadership Team
POLICY REVIEWED: January 2022
REVIEW DATE: Annually

Rationale

This policy is a statement of the arrangements to ensure the inclusion of pupils with Special Educational Needs at Montpelier Primary School. It has been written with reference to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0-25 (2015), Supporting Pupils at School with Medical Conditions (2019) and the school’s SEND Information Report (2022).

This policy should be read in conjunction with the school’s following policies:

Anti-Bullying
Inclusion
Diversity and Equal Opportunities
Disability Equality Scheme
Accessibility Plan
Safeguarding
SEND information report

Aims & Objectives

We recognise that pupils learn at different rates and that there are many factors affecting achievement, including ability, emotional state, age and maturity. We believe that many pupils at some time in their school career may experience difficulties which affect their learning and we recognise that these may be long or short term. In implementing this policy, we believe pupils will be helped to overcome their difficulties.

Our aims are to:

Provide curriculum access for pupils who have SEND
Secure high levels of achievement for pupils who have SEND
Meet individual needs through a wide range of provision
Attain high levels of involvement and satisfaction from pupils, parent and carers
Carefully map provision for pupils who have SEND to ensure that staffing deployment and choice of intervention leads to progress
Ensure a high level of staff expertise to meet pupils needs
Work cooperatively with the Local Authority and other outside agencies, to ensure there is a multi-professional approach to meeting the needs of pupils who have SEND
Ensure that there is a shared responsibility for the provision of support for pupils who have SEND.

IDENTIFYING SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

A pupil has special educational needs if he or she has significantly greater difficulty in accessing the curriculum, which would call for a provision to be made. Pupils who may have SEND are identified using the criteria set out in the Code of Practice (2015):

Communication and Interaction; including speech and language needs and social communication difficulties
Cognition and Learning; difficulties with accessing the curriculum, particularly in the core subjects (maths, science and English)
Social, Emotion and Mental Health; including Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), difficulties with behaviour leading to difficulties in accessing the curriculum
Sensory and/or Physical; difficulties with mobility, sight and hearing.

The four areas give an overview of the needs that should be planned for, and to determine what action should be used to support pupils. Other factors that may impact on progress and attainment but are not SEND are:

Attendance and punctuality
Health and welfare
English as an Additional Language
Being in receipt of a Pupil Premium grant
Being a Looked After Child
Being a child of a Serviceman/woman.

Identification and Management of Pupils who have SEND
Class Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress of the pupils in their class, including where pupils access support from teaching assistants or specialist staff.

Teachers should set high expectations for every pupil and aim to teach them the full curriculum, whatever their prior attainment. All teachers are responsible for identifying pupils who have SEND and, in collaboration with the, SENDCO will ensure that those pupils requiring ‘different to’ or ‘additional from’ support are identified at an early stage.

Early Identification
We aim to identify pupils who may have SEND as early as possible. Some pupils in our school may be underachieving but will not necessarily have a special educational need. It is our responsibility to identify this quickly and ensure that appropriate interventions are put in place to help these pupils make accelerated progress. Pupils’ needs should be identified and met as early as possible through:

Classroom-based assessment and monitoring arrangements
Following up parental concerns
Liaison with feeder nurseries
Information from other external services and agencies
Undertaking a more in-depth individual assessment
Records from previous schools.

Where teachers decide that a pupil is not making sufficient progress, the SENDCO is consulted. If required, further understanding and knowledge of strategies to identify and support pupils is provided by the SENDCO for teachers. If the child is not making the required progress over a specific amount of time, a decision to place the child on the SEND register at SEND Support is made.

Placement of a pupil on the SEND register is made by the SENDCO after full consultation with parents, supplemented by evidence that, despite receiving high quality teaching, pupils continually demonstrate difficulty in one or more of the four areas of SEND needs and is making little or no progress over a specific period of time. The procedure for placing children on the SEND register follows the ‘Assess – Plan – Do – Review’ cycle.

Assess - Plan - Do - Review

Assess
Assessment is the process by which pupils who have SEND can be identified. This involves clearly analysing the pupil’s needs using teacher assessment and data in line with National Curriculum expectations. More detailed assessments may be administered by the SENDCO and advice from external support services may be sought to help clearly identify barriers to learning and address additional needs.

Plan
Planning will involve consultation between the teacher, SENDCO, parents and where appropriate, the pupil. Outside agencies can also be consulted to help plan interventions and to offer strategies and support to overcome identified barriers to learning. Targets and strategies will be recorded on an individual learning plan for pupils on the SEND register. All those working with the pupil, including support staff, will be informed of the pupil’s individual needs and the support provided.

Do
Where pupils are underachieving and/or identified as having SEND, the school provides additional support in a variety of ways. Specific strategies and additional resources will be provided to support their learning. In collaboration with the teacher, the SENDCO may organise a targeted intervention which may be taught by a teacher or TA, which can include:

Quality first teaching
Small group work targeting phonics and reading comprehension
One to one learning support
One to one pastoral support
Social skills group support
Emotional Literacy groups – Play and Learning to Socialise (PaLs)
One to one or small group Speech and Language support
One to one or small group Occupational Therapy support
Target focused writing and maths group

The SENDCO and teachers will work closely with TAs to plan and assess the impact of the support and interventions.

If a pupil who has SEND has a more complex need, the SENDCO may discuss with their parent about making a referral to an external support service. External support services make an important contribution in assisting to identify, assess, and provide for pupils who have SEND. The service will require access to pupils’ records in order to understand the strategies employed to date and the targets set and achieved. The specialist may be asked to provide further assessments and advice, and possibly work directly with the pupil. The school works closely with the following agencies:

ASD Outreach Team (AoT)
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
Education Psychology Service (EPS)
Hearing Impairment (HI) Service
Occupational Therapy (OT)
Primary Behaviour Service (PBS) Team
Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT) Service
Medical Officers

Occasionally, a pupil may require an Early Help Assessment and Plan (EHAP) where the needs of a child or young person are assessed and objectives and strategies are agreed with parents to meet those needs. The process aims to ensure that targeted support for the pupil from different agencies occur as early as possible. If a service can address the needs of the child successfully then an EHAP is not required.

Review
Pupils on the SEND register will have an individual learning plan that includes targets and strategies specific to their needs and records only what is ‘different from’ or ‘additional to’ the standard curriculum. The learning plan:

Will be a planning, teaching and reviewing tool which focuses on particular areas of development for pupils who have SEND
Will be accessible to all those involved in its implementation
Monitor how well provision matches need
Highlight repetitive or ineffective use of resources
Will identify pupils receiving additional SEND Support from the school’s delegated budget or in receipt of ‘top up’ funding
Informs and demonstrates how support is deployed
Will provide short-term SMART (Specific Measureable Attainable Relevant and Timebound) targets

Parents will be offered at least two SEND review meetings each year and these may take place during parent consultation meetings or separately. At the SEND review meetings, parents’ views of their child’s progress will actively be sought.

Where possible, the school will involve pupils in this process. Once targets and strategies have been agreed, a copy of the learning plan is made available to the parent. The learning plan may also be reviewed, coinciding with Parents’ Consultation meetings by the class teacher.

Teachers can use the learning plan to inform internal (professional) pupil progress meetings where data is scrutinised and strategies are reviewed to determine next steps for underachieving pupils. For pupils receiving SEND support, it is expected that class teachers’ adjust their own planning and consider the learning needs of individual pupils when providing appropriately pitched challenge and support across the curriculum.

Request for Statutory Assessment

Where concerns remain and a pupil at SEND Support has a significant and sustained need, the school and/or parent can consider requesting a statutory assessment for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) in line with local authority (LA) threshold guidance. This may particularly be the case where outside agencies have been involved in assessing the pupil or contributing to their provision. The school will provide the local authority with evidence of the action taken as part of SEND support.

An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will normally be provided where the LA considers that the pupil requires provision beyond what the school can offer and will document any additional support the pupil should recieve.

The school should have the following information available:

The actions and strategies implemented at SEND support
The pupil’s most recent individual provision map with projected support cost
Records and outcomes of regular reviews undertaken
Information on the pupil’s health and relevant medical history
Reading, writing and maths attainment and progress levels
Other relevant assessments from professionals such as support teachers and educational
psychologists
The views of the parent(s) and pupils
Any other involvement and reports by professionals.

However, the school recognises that a request for a Statutory Assessment does not inevitably lead to a pupil receiving an EHCP.

The Code of Practice (2015) encourages involving pupils and parents in the decision-making process, therefore, the EHCP will include targets for the pupil achieved through the views of the pupil and parent.

Reviewing an Education Health and Care Plan

Pupils with an EHCP will have an annual review meeting where the pupil will present their views about their learning and any additional support received. The SENDCO will organise these reviews and invite:

The child’s parent
The child
The relevant teacher
The SENDCO
Any other person the LA considers appropriate
Any other person the Head Teacher considers appropriate
Professionals and specialists who have assessed the pupil.

The aim of the review will be to:

Assess the pupil’s progress in relation to the targets set at the last annual review
Review the provision made for the pupil in the context of NC levels of attainment in core subjects and the four areas of need
Consider the appropriateness of the EHCP in relation to the pupil’s performance during the year, and whether to cease, continue, or amend it
Set new targets for the coming year.

Year 5 annual reviews are usually held in the spring term and they will indicate the provision required in secondary schools. Year 6 transition annual reviews are usually held at the start of the summer term. The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator of the high school will be invited to the year 6 annual review, which enables the receiving school to plan appropriately for the pupil in the new school year.

The SENDCO will write a report of the annual review meeting and send it, with any supporting documentation, to the LA.

Exiting the Special Education Needs Register

Where specific planned provision has been successful and progress has been made, so that a pupil is no longer working significantly behind year group expectations a pupil will be removed from the SEND register in consultation with parents. In a few cases, where pupils make accelerated progress, pupils, may be placed on the school’s SEND register for only a short period of time.

Where an external agency, OT or SaLT for example, discharges pupils, they may also exit the SEND register unless there are additional needs that require further SEND support. Pupils who come off the SEND register have their progress monitored by their class teacher and senior leaders, in accordance with the usual school procedures.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

It is necessary to monitor and evaluate the quality of SEND provision and the impact it has on pupils who have SEND. The monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of our provision for pupils is carried out in the following ways:

Classroom observation by the SENDCO and senior leaders
Work sampling on a termly basis
Scrutiny of planning and books
Informal feedback from all staff
Review meetings including parent, pupil, teacher and SENDCO when planning and setting new targets or reviewing existing targets
Monitoring individuals’ provision maps and targets by evaluating the impact of them
Pupil Progress Meetings
Discussion with parents and pupils about their views
Lesson observations
Termly evaluation of the effectiveness of interventions
At least termly evaluation of whether pupils in receipt of ‘top up’ funding and/or with
EHCPs are meeting their individual targets identified on learning plans.
External SEND reviews every 2-3 years

TRAINING AND RESOURCES

Appropriate training for staff is essential to ensure that there is progression for pupils who have SEND. Part of the SENDCO’s role is to develop awareness of resources and teaching strategies for use with pupils. All staff are encouraged to attend courses that help them acquire and develop the skills needed to work with pupils who have SEND.

Newly qualified teachers are offered support and in school training by the SENDCO. As a routine part of staff development, INSET is planned to address gaps in SEND knowledge and practice. Once identified and, where appropriate, outside agencies may be used to deliver the training. For pupils with an EHCP, the school receives a ‘top up’ of money from the LA to provide extra support.

This ‘top up’ is in addition to the delegated funds that the school provides. Pupils with an EHCP who are in receipt of delegated funding only will not receive ‘top funding’ from the LA.

This funding and the school’s SEND budget may be used to provide specialist training and professional development for staff. Recruitment, deployment, monitoring and review of support staff (including external specialist staff) is the sole responsibility of the school.

Where possible, staff will be trained to meet the needs of the EHCP. However, the school does not endorse therapies which are not in line with the culture of the school, such as ABA.

PUPILS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES

The school recognises that pupils who have SEND can face additional safeguarding challenges. The Designated Safeguarding Lead will consult with the SENDCO if a concern has been raised to plan the best course of action. Staff should be aware of any additional barriers when recognising abuse and neglect in this group of children.

These can include:

Assumptions that indicators of possible abuse such as behaviour, mood and injury relate to the child’s disability without further exploration
The potential for children with SEND and disabilities being disproportionally impacted by behaviours such as bullying, without outwardly showing any signs
Communication barriers and difficulties in overcoming these barriers.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Role of the Governing Body
The Governing Body’s responsibilities to pupils who have SEND include:

Ensuring that provision for pupils who have SEND is of a high standard
Ensuring that resources are allocated to support appropriate provision for all pupils requiring it
Ensuring that a qualified teacher is designated as SENDCO
Being fully involved in developing and subsequently reviewing SEND policy
Reviewing progress made and the effectiveness of the policy on an annual basis via the
school governor for Inclusion
Following the Code of Practice (2015) when carrying out these responsibilities.

The Role of the Head Teacher
The Head Teacher’s responsibilities include:

The day-to-day management of all aspects of the school including the SEND provision
Keeping the Governing Body well informed of inclusion practices and outcomes in the school
Informing parents that SEND provision has been made for their child
Ensuring that the school has clear and flexible strategies for working with parents, and that these strategies encourage involvement in their child’s education
Monitoring and evaluating the progress of all pupils and making strategic decisions which will maximise their opportunity to learn.

The Role of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCO)
The SENDCO plays a crucial role in the school’s SEND provision. This involves working with the Headteacher, senior leaders and the Governing Body to determine the strategic development of the policy. Other responsibilities include:

Managing the short and long-term operation of the policy
Co-ordinating the provision for pupils who have SEND
Evaluating regularly the impact and effectiveness of all additional interventions for pupils who have SEND
Managing support staff involved in supporting pupils who have SEND
Ensuring that learning plans for pupils who have SEND, have a high profile in the classroom
Liaising with and giving relevant advice to all members of staff
Carrying out referral procedures to the LA to request funding for an EHCP when strong evidence suggests that a pupil who may have a SEND which will require significant support
Implementing a programme of annual review for all pupils with an EHCP
Complying with recommendations from an EHCP
Making a contribution to INSET and organising continuing professional development for staff
Attending area SENDCO network meetings and training as appropriate
Meeting termly with class teachers to review and revise targets for pupils who have SEND, in person or online.
Maintaining and analysing year group and phase provision maps for pupils who have SEND
Liaising and consulting sensitively with parents and families of pupils on the SEND register in collaboration with teaching staff
Liaising with external agencies, LA support services, Health and Social Services, and voluntary bodies that support pupils who have SEND
Overseeing the smooth running of transition arrangements and transfer of information for pupils who have SEND
Making regular visits (at least half termly) to classrooms to monitor progress of pupils who have SEND.

The Role of the Class Teacher
The Code of Practice clearly acknowledges the importance allocated to the teacher, whose responsibilities include liaising with the SENDCO to agree which pupils are underachieving and how to facilitate progress.

The teacher’s role includes securing good provision and outcomes by:

Providing differentiated teaching and learning opportunities whilst maintaining cognitive challenge
Ensuring there is adequate opportunity to work on agreed SMART targets which are genuinely ‘additional to’ or ‘different from’ those provided as part of the differentiated curriculum
Ensuring effective use of resources, including TA support, to maximise outcomes for pupils
Being aware of the school’s procedures for the identification, assessment and provision of pupils who have SEND
Collaborating with the SENDCO to decide the action required to assist pupils to progress
Working with the SENDCO to collect all available information for pupils who have SEND
Collaborating with the SENDCO to develop plans for pupils who have SEND
Working with pupils who have SEND on a daily basis to deliver the strategies set out in their provision map
Developing constructive relationships with parents.

The Role of Support Staff
The contribution that support staff make in implementing the SEND policy is essential in ensuring that school is successful in supporting pupils who have SEND. They are expected to:

Deliver quality provision under the guidance of the class teacher
Discuss issues relating to SEND with the SENDCO
Work closely with the teacher and SENDCO to ensure successful outcomes for pupils who have SEND
Attend and participate in relevant training.

SUPPORTING PUPILS AND FAMILIES

Montpelier school firmly believes in developing a strong partnership with parents as this will enable pupils who have SEND to achieve their full potential. Parents are encouraged to contribute additional information and guidance to support their child at school. They will be consulted about additional support led by external professionals and will be invited to book a meeting appointment to discuss their child’s learning each term with the child’s class teacher. Parents may be invited to attend review meetings with professionals and external services to discuss next steps for their child.

The school will make available to all parents, details of parent partnership services in the LA. Our school’s SEND Information Report also provides further information about support for pupils who have SEND and is written in support of the Ealing Local Offer which informs parents of the services they can access from a range of local agencies.

More information about the Local Offer can be found: here.

ECIRS (Ealing Children’s Integrated Response Service) offers one point of entry for all referrals and requests for help, advice and information to parents.

Contact details are:

020 8825 8000
Perceval House
2nd Floor Blue Area
14-16 Uxbridge Road
Ealing
W5 2HL

The Ealing ISAID service (Information and Support on Disability and Special Educational Needs) provides free and confidential advice to support parents of children and young people aged up to 25.

Contact details are:

020 8280 2251
isaidealing@family-action.org.uk

Ealing’s Contact a Family offer information and support to parents and carers of disabled children, regardless of their need. Further information can be found: here.

Ealing Grid for London (website) also provides support for parents who have queries regarding children who have SEND.

SUPPORTING PUPILS AT SCHOOL WITH MEDICAL CONDITIONS

The school understands that pupils with medical conditions should be adequately supported so that they have access to all areas of the curriculum, including school trips and physical education. The school recognises these pupils may have their needs documented by health and social care professionals in an EHCP, and this information should be referred to. In some instances, pupils may require a medical care plan, which is written with parents and documents the need and outlines the procedures that should be followed in the event of the pupil requiring medical assistance.

ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS

The admission arrangements for pupils who have SEND is the same as for other pupils. The class teacher will usually meet with parents within two weeks to discuss how we can support vulnerable learners.

This is a good opportunity to share strategies about what works well and, after seeking parental permission, relevant information gathered may be shared with the SENDCO. If the child has a EHCP, we will carefully decide whether we can meet the needs of the child in our setting.

On entry to the school, the pupil’s records will be requested from the previous school. In some cases, the SENCO will visit the child in their current setting to support the transition process.

TRANSITION

At Montpelier Primary School, we ensure that transition for all pupils is a seamless process. Pupils who are at SEND Support are provided with strategies to facilitate transition between phases of education, key stages and year groups. If a new pupil coming to our school has SEND, we will contact the SENDCO of their previous school to gain further information.

When the pupil moves to a new school (including schools abroad), SEND records are forwarded to the school. We may contact their new SENDCO to inform them of targets and strategies we have found successful to support their learning. In some cases, a high school transition meeting is arranged early in the summer term for pupils in year 6.

Where pupils have been on the SEND register but are no longer on the SEND register, key historical information may be transferred to a new school. Records will be sent to schools in the UK or abroad in an electronic form after the receiving school has confirmed the child’s attendance. All data is maintained in line with the school’s data retention policy.

ACCESSIBILITY

Accessibility considers how the school alleviates barriers to learning and sets out the ways the school will increase opportunities for disabled pupils to participate fully in the school curriculum.

The school provides resources to support learning, such as writing slopes and move-n-sit cushions. We recognise that a small number of pupils may need additional arrangements to access the key stage 2 tests, which are based on normal classroom practice for children with particular needs. Ramps are situated at the main entrance of the school and a lift is situated in the Early Year’s playground for easier access to the second floor of the school.

The SENDCO will endeavour to arrange SEND review meetings with parents at times that are convenient for both parties. (See the school’s Accessibility Plan for further information.)

STORING AND MANAGING INFORMATION

Information collected about a pupil who has SEND is confidential and may be shared with school staff and professionals with the consent of the pupil’s parents, Head Teacher or SENDCO.

The SENDCO files a copy of a pupil’s provision and information from professionals. Most of this information can be accessed electronically from the school’s network. Teachers are provided with copies of plans, reports and assessments and will ensure this information is stored confidentially.

PRIVATE PROFESSIONALS

At Montpelier we support parents who ask private professionals to assess their children’s learning needs. This often involves a visit to school to talk to the SENDCO and observe the child in their classroom environment.

However, when ongoing intervention is required, this must take place at home and outside of the school day. The SENDCO is available to communicate with these professionals and receive their advice and recommendations. Where possible some of these strategies may be integrated into the school provision map.

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

The school’s complaints procedure is available on its website. The SEND Code of Practice outlines additional measures the LA must set up for preventing and resolving disagreements. These will be explained to parents if required. If parents have concerns, these can be raised with school staff below, who can be contacted in this order:

The Class Teacher
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCO) (SENDCO) – Mrs C Lannigan
Deputy heads – Mrs S Bracken and Mrs C Garofalo
Head Teacher – Mr A Rai
Chair of Governors – Mrs G Shawley

They can be contacted on 020 8997 5855 or admin@montpelier.ealing.sch.uk.

SEND POLICY REVIEW

The school considers the SEND Policy document to be important and, in conjunction with the Governing Body, undertakes a review of both policy and practice each year.

Policy Ratified: January 2022
Review: January 2023

APPENDIX 1

Special Educational Needs Glossary of Acronyms and Abbreviations

ADD Attention Deficient Disorder
ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
AoT Autistic Spectrum Disorder Outreach
Team CAMHS Child and Adolescent mental
Health Service
CI Communication and Interaction
CaL Cognition and Leaning
Complex Needs More than one significant problem
CP Child Protection
CSS Children’s Social Services
DLA Disability Living Allowance
EHAP Early Help Assessment and Plan
EHCP Education Health and Care Plan
EPS Educational Psychologist Services
EYFS Early Years Foundation Stage
HI Hearing Impairment
HV Health Visitor
LA Local Authority
LAC Looked After Child
LSA Learning Support Assistant
MLD Moderate Learning Difficulties
MSI Multi-sensory Impairment
OT Occupational Therapist
PBS Primary Behaviour Service Team
PD Physical Disability
PMLD Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
SAFE Supportive Action for Families in Ealing
SALT Speech and Language Therapist
SENAS Special Educational Needs Assessment Service
SEND Special Educational Needs and Disability
SENDCO Special Educational Needs Coordinator
SLCN Speech, Language and Communication Needs
SLD Severe Learning Difficulty
SpLD Specific Learning Difficulty
TA Teaching Assistant
TAC Team around the Child
TAF Team around the Family
VI Visual impairment

APPENDIX 2

SEND Generic Issues for all Staff to Consider

The following questions are ones that all staff should consider carefully when planning, delivering and evaluating support for pupils who have SEND. These are not listed below because they aren’t being adhered to, they are there simply to assist staff to analyse and evaluate the quality of provision on a cyclical basis.

Asking the ‘impact’ question
Class teachers should periodically evaluate the impact of additional support on the performance of pupils receiving that support. Over time is this support resulting in the pupil(s) concerned securing improvements? Is it making an appreciable difference? If the answer to these two questions is ‘no’, or ‘negligible’ they should consider what further action to take.
High expectations for all
Pupils who have SEND achieve the greatest progress when their teacher consistently has the highest expectations for their social and academic progress. All staff should start from a position of believing that every SEND pupil can succeed and the knowledge that they are more likely to do so if expectations are high.
Facilitating independence and self-help, or reinforcing dependency, with a possibility that this may result in ‘learned helplessness’.
Being an effective Teaching Assistant is a challenging role. There is always a danger that – with the best will in the world – one of the unintended consequences of providing support to a child is to make them reliant and dependent, rather than self-motivated and independent.
The scheduling of support
Withdrawing a pupil from a classroom creates issues around the continuity of a child’s learning experience. Pupils can find it a disorientating experience rejoining a class mid-session. In addition, teachers should be mindful of the classwork the child is missing during the time they are out of their classroom. Withdrawal support is a complex matter. Teachers need to take into account the experience of the child when scheduling this form of intervention.
The location of withdrawal support
The physical design of the buildings at Montpelier Primary School provide a number of shared, ‘breakout areas’. Many of these are located within access routes. As a consequence, they are not the ideal location for more sustained withdrawal work (over 15 minutes) as there are frequent distractions. Whenever possible enclosed, or semi- enclosed, spaces should be used for this form of provision. Whilst many suitable spaces exist, demand for rooms often outstrips supply.
Ensuring balance in entitlement
Some pupils, such as those with an EHCP and who have a large number of support hours, spend a great deal of time in 1:1 learning situations with an adult. In this scenario there is a danger that the opportunity to engage in learning with their peers is restricted. Peer–to- peer reciprocal learning is an important element in the overall learning experience. It is therefore important that all pupils have access to a full range of learning situations, including 1:1, small group and whole class.