Westbourne Primary School

The Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011 and is allocated to schools to work with pupils who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years (known as ‘Ever 6 FSM’). Schools also receive funding for children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months, and children of service personnel.

The Government believes that the Pupil Premium, which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most.

In most cases the Pupil Premium is paid direct to schools, allocated to them for every pupil who receives free school meals. Schools decide how to use the funding, as they are best placed to assess what their pupils need.

They are held accountable for the decisions they make through:

• the performance tables which show the performance of disadvantaged pupils compared with their peers.
• the new Ofsted inspection framework, under which inspectors focus on the attainment of pupil groups, in particular those who attract the Pupil Premium.

The Local Offer was first introduced in the Green Paper (March 2011) as “a local offer of all services available to support disabled children and children with SEN and their families. This easy to understand information will set out what is normally available in schools to help children with lower-level SEN as well as the options available to support families who need additional help to care for their child.”

The South East 7 (SE7) framework will allow the Local Offer to provide parents/carers with information about how to access services in their area, and what they can expect from those services. With regard to Education, it will let parents/ carers and young people know how school and colleges will support them, and what they can expect across the local settings. During the last year, the Local Offer Steering Group has developed questions for schools, and trialled them with a small number of settings.

There are 14 questions, devised in consultation with parents/carers and other agencies, which reflect their concerns and interests. These will be answered by agencies, schools and colleges to provide information to parents and carers to enable them to make decisions about how to best support their child’s needs.

We know when pupils need help if:

• concerns are raised by parents/carers, teachers, TAs, the pupil’s previous school (if appropriate) or healthcare professional.
• there is  a lack of progress.
• there is a change in the pupil’s behaviour or attitude.
• a pupil asks for help.

• If you have concerns then contact your child’s teacher or Miss Sibley, the SENCo.

• Each pupil’s education programme will be planned by the class teacher with the support of the SENCo if necessary. It will be differentiated accordingly to suit the pupil’s needs and recorded on a provision map. This may include additional general support by the teacher or teaching assistant (TA) in class or a specific intervention carried out in small groups or 1:1. The length of time of the intervention will vary according to need but will generally be for a term. The interventions will be regularly reviewed by all involved to ascertain the effectiveness of the provision and to inform future planning.
• Pupil Progress Meetings are held 3 times a year. This is a meeting where the class teacher meets with a member of the SLT to discuss the progress of the pupils in their class. This shared discussion may highlight any potential problems in order for further support to be planned and included in the provision map.
• Occasionally a pupil may need more expert support form an outside agency such as the Educational Psychologist, Speech and Language Therapist etc. Referral forms are then completed in conjunction with parents/carers and forwarded to the most appropriate agency. After a series of assessments, a programme of support is usually provided to the school and parents/carers.
• The Governors of Westbourne Primary School are responsible for monitoring Safeguarding and Child protection procedures. They are also responsible for the monitoring and correct administration of the Disclosure and Barring service procedures and the school’s Single Central record. In a support and challenge role the Governors ensure that the school is as inclusive as possible and treats all children and staff in an equitable way. They monitor and review the accessibility plan and all other statutory policies as defined by the DfE.

• When a pupil has been identified with special needs their work will be differentiated by the class teacher to enable them to access the curriculum more easily. This may be by task, grouping, additional structure or equipment.
• TAs may be allocated to work with the pupil in a 1-1 or small focus group to target more specific needs.
• If appropriate, specialist equipment may be given to the pupil e.g. writing slopes, concentration cushions, pen/pencils grips or easy to use scissors.

• You will be able to discuss your child’s progress at Parents Evenings.
• Appointments can be made to speak in more detail to the class teacher or SENCo by visiting the school office.
• A meeting to review your child’s learning plan will be held each term.

• The class teacher may suggest ways of supporting your child’s learning through meetings and at parents’ evenings.
• Miss Sibley, the SENCo, may meet with you to discuss how to support your child.
• Miss Sibley may meet with you to discuss strategies to use if there are problems with your child’s behaviour/emotional needs.
• If outside agencies or the Educational Psychologist have been involved suggestions and programmes of study are normally provided that can be used at home.
• Appointments can be made with your child’s class teacher or with Miss Sibley if you need strategies to support your child at home.

The school offers a wide variety of pastoral support for pupils who are encountering emotional difficulties.

These include:

• Members of staff such as class teacher, teaching assistants and SENCo who are readily available for pupils who wish to discuss issues and concerns.
• The school can access support from the Family Link Worker who can provide support for pupils through 1-1 sessions where problems are discussed and solutions planned. 
• Peer Mentors in Year 5 and 6 offer support to their peers for a range of difficulties that children may be encountering.

Children with medical needs

• All staff receive regular epipen training delivered by the School Nurse.
• Where necessary and in agreement with parents/carers, medicines prescribed by a doctor are administered in school but only when a medical form is signed to ensure the safety of both child and staff member.

At times it may be necessary to consult with outside agencies to receive their more specialised expertise.

The agencies which can be accessed by the school include:

• Educational Psychology Service
• Sensory Support Team for children with visual or hearing needs.
• Traveller Support Service
• Speech and Language Therapy
• Occupational Therapy Service
• Physiotherapy Service
• Ethnic Minority Achievement Team
• Inclusion Support Team
• Behaviour Support Team
• Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
• School Nursing Service
• Social Services
• Family Link Worker
• Play Therapist
• Informal Family Care
• Winston’s Wish Charity

• The school has a School Development Plan, which includes identified training needs for all staff to improve the teaching and learning of children including those with SEND.  This may include whole school training on SEND issues or to support identified groups of learners in school, such as ASD, dyslexia etc.
• We make an annual audit of training needs for all staff taking into account school priorities and personal professional development. Particular support is given to new members of staff and to training that addresses children’s specific needs.
• Whole staff training takes place to disseminate knowledge, strategies and experience, to ensure consistency of the school’s approach for children with an SEND.
• The SENCos of each school in the locality meet together each term to share good practice.
• Individual teachers and support staff attend training courses run by outside agencies that are relevant to the needs of specific children in their class e.g. from CAMHS, Speech and Language Therapy Service etc.

It is the school’s policy to enable every child to participate as fully as possible in all elements of the wider curriculum. 

• Risk assessments are carried out and procedures are put in place to enable all children to participate.
• If a health and safety risk assessment suggests that an intensive level of 1:1 support is required a parent or carer may also be asked to accompany their child during the activity in addition to the usual school staff.

Our school has an accessibility policy which is reviewed regularly.  As part of this review, we ensure that the school is accessible for all children, including those with physical and sensory needs or where English is not a first language.

At Westbourne Primary School we understand that moving schools can be a stressful time and therefore many strategies are in place to enable pupils’ transition to be as smooth as possible.  These include:

• Meetings between the previous or receiving schools prior to the pupil joining/leaving, both for teaching staff and the SENCo.
• Additional visits are also arranged for pupils who need extra time in their new school.
• The Headteacher or the SENCo are always willing to meet with parents/carers prior to their child joining the school to share concerns or pass information about specialist support or agencies already working with you.
• Secondary school staff visit pupils prior to them joining their new school.
• Our SENCo meets with the SENCos from the secondary schools to pass on information regarding SEN pupils.  Further transition visits are arranged if it is felt necessary. Where a pupil may have more specialist needs, a separate meeting is arranged with the SENCo, the parents/carers and where appropriate the pupil.

• The SEN budget is allocated each financial year.  The money is used to provide additional support or resources dependent on an individual’s needs.
• Additional provision may be allocated after discussion with the class teacher at pupil progress meetings or if a concern has been raised by them at another time during the year.
• If any concerns are raised by our SENCo on completion of the assessment she uses then further support may be allocated to your child.
• Individual Pupil Premium payments are used to support that pupil’s learning.
• Additional funds are received for pupils with a Statement of Special Educational Needs/EHCP.

• When they start the school, every child’s needs are carefully assessed, following discussion with early years providers  and decisions are made based on the ability of a child to access the curriculum and make progress.
• The SENCo will work closely with you and all staff to discuss relevant interventions, adult support and advice from specialist services to make best use of available resources.
• During their school life, if further concerns are identified due to the pupil’s lack of progress or well-being then other interventions will be arranged.
• We regularly assess the impact of any additional support and resources and report pupil’s progress to parents.

All parents are encouraged to contribute to their child’s education.

This may be through:

• discussions with the class teacher.
• during parents evenings.
• during discussions with the Headteacher, the SENCo or other professionals.
• Parents are encouraged to comment on their child’s Learning Plan with possible suggestions that could be incorporated.