Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)

Long Crendon School... the place to grow!

At Long Crendon School we believe that all children should feel positive about themselves and who they are.  All children are incredible and should feel that way about themselves.  Every child can feel challenged in different ways whilst at school and by making adaptations we can support all children to flourish in the way that they should.

What are ‘special educational needs’?
Children have Special Educational Needs (SEND) if they have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn than most children of the same age.  Their special educational needs may fall into one or more of the following areas: Communication and interaction; Cognition and learning; Social, emotional and mental health difficulties; Sensory and/or physical. If your child is considered to have special educational needs or a disability  (SEND) then further help is required. 

What ‘special educational provision’ is given at Long Crendon School?

The graduated approach
All children make progress at different rates, and it is the responsibility of the Class Teacher to respond to all pupils’ needs with quality first teaching. The majority of pupils will respond to good teaching and will make progress, but there are a minority of children who need extra provision.

If normal good practice within the classroom does not result in progress then the class teacher, in conjunction with the SENDCo (special educational needs and disability co-ordinator) will begin to review the child’s access to the curriculum. This is the graduated approach, as detailed below.

No SEND (Monitoring)  →    SEND Support   →    EHC Plan (Educational Health Care Plan)

SEND Support
The decision to begin SEND support for a child happens when a teacher has specific concerns that have been monitored over time with the involvement of the SENDCo. The teacher and SENDCo will work in collaboration with the parents/carers of the child and SEND support may begin.

The teacher will complete an SEND Support Plan for the child in liaison with parents/carers and the child as appropriate. This plan details the child’s strengths and barriers to learning, and also shows targeted interventions for that child. These interventions may be small group or 1 to 1 depending on their needs. Small targets will be set for each barrier, with clear success criteria. 

Our approach to SEND support follows the recommended cycle: ASSESS – PLAN - DO – REVIEW process.

The teacher will work in collaboration with parents/carers, teaching assistants and the SENDCo to review targets at termly intervals during a SEND review meeting. A child’s learning will be assessed and then the team will plan appropriate targets and support going forward for the next cycle if this is appropriate.  Some children may no longer require SEND support.

Statutory Assessment
The special educational needs of most children will be met through SEND Support. Some children however - those with severe, complex or long-term learning difficulties or disabilities will need to have extra support arranged for them by the local authority (LA). Following this Statutory Assessment, the LA may decide to issue an Educational Health Care Plan (EHC Plan). This plan describes the area(s) in which your child has needs and includes details of extra resources that are required to help the school support your child further. The support for your child will usually take place at the school but may on occasions involve working with other professional organisations.

Working in Partnership with Parents/Carers
You will be invited to all review meetings and kept fully informed as to the progress of your child. You are encouraged to support your child and take part in the review and target setting process

What is inclusion?
All pupils at Long Crendon School receive an inclusive education. Whatever a child’s ability, they have an entitlement to be educated in a mainstream school whether or not they have SEND. 

A really warm welcome to you, my name is Madeline Poote and my role here at Long Crendon School is the SENDCo (Special educational Needs and Disability Co-ordinator) and pastoral lead.  This means that I work closely with the headteacher and with all staff, parents and carers to ensure that we identify any child with additional needs.  We then make adjustments and implement strategies and support to ensure that their needs are met in school.

I have worked in a wide range of schools and have loved gaining experience  teaching all year groups in a primary school and being part of the leadership team.  I became SENDCo in 2011 after returning to work following the birth of my first child, I now have three children of my own.  I have completed the National SENDCo Award, which ignited a real passion for inclusivity and the mental health and well being of children.  I feel passionately that all children are incredible and it is important that they all feel this way no matter what their barriers to learning may be.  I believe that all children should shine regardless of their ability in whatever area of the curriculum they enjoy.  A barrier to learning is like a gate that needs to be opened and by removing this barrier it is then that the child can run free in the meadow the other side and truly flourish!  

We are an inclusive school and aim to ensure that a child who needs additional support is happy with the support they receive, for example, some children enjoy going out of the classroom to work with an adult or in a small group, whereas another child may prefer to stay in the classroom. It is vital that we build on a child’s self-esteem and by working closely in collaboration with parents and the child we can achieve this successfully.  At Long Crendon School we cater for individuals by creating a personalised SEN Support plan which outlines the key outcomes we are focusing on and a plan of how it will be achieved.  This is agreed with parents and we have regular SEN review meetings with parents to discuss progress towards these outcomes.  The communication with parents is high priority because working in collaboration we know brings the most positive outcomes.

It is a huge privilege to spend our days working with these amazing young people.  At Long Crendon School we have a team of extremely committed teachers and learning support assistants who work closely together to ensure that every child can shine.  We gain expertise from outside agencies and professionals such as the speech and language service, educational psychologists, CAMH’s (Child and adolescent mental health team), specialist teaching service, Family Support service, School nursing team and recently we have worked very closely with the PRU (Pupil Referral Unit) on developing strategies for managing more challenging behaviour.    All of these services and many others work closely with us on planning the support we provide and we are extremely committed to ongoing SEND training and development for all staff.

If you have a concern about your child, for example, you may have a history of dyslexia in your family and have considered if your child is dyslexic, or perhaps your child has angry outbursts at home or struggles to come into school each day.   Whatever your concern please communicate with your child’s class teacher in the first instance in person, by telephone or email.  The teacher will welcome a discussion with you because by working together as a team, we can ensure that support is implemented for your child and early intervention is vital to achieve the best outcomes.  The teacher will approach me for further support if this is required.

To contact the SENDCO Mrs Poote, please email mpoote@longcrendon.bucks.sch.uk or alternatively phone 01844 208225.

Welcome Coffee Mornings

On the first Tuesday of each month Mrs Poote, the SENDCO, organises a coffee morning in the school library 8.45am - 9.45am.  All parents and carers are welcome to come along to these coffee mornings, you may have a child already on the SEND register, need advice or support in managing behaviour at home, be considering a possible diagnosis for your child or perhaps your child struggles to sleep at night.  Everyone is welcome to come along and it is not just for parents and carers of SEND children.  A warm welcome will await you and a hot drink and biscuit!

The intention for these coffee mornings is to provide an informal space for parents and carers to build relationships both with each other and the staff at Long Crendon School.  Working in collaboration with parents and carers provides the best outcomes for all children. We invite visitors to some of the sessions, for example we have had the school nursing team, the autism specialist teacher, a dyslexia specialist, Thomley Hall activity centre as some of our guest speakers.  On other occasions we chat informally amongst ourselves working together in partnership to further improve outcomes for SEND pupils. 

Our final coffee morning of this academic year will be on Tuesday 2nd July 2024 8.45am - 9.45am in the school library.

Useful Links and documents

Useful links