Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
We pride ourselves on our provision for pupils with SEND and aim to be an inclusive school. In addition to our resourced provision for pupils with Autism we have a wealth of experience of meeting the needs of learners with a wide range of needs within the mainstream body of the school.
We recognise that you know your child best and you may feel that they need some additional help or support for some or all of their time at school. Our SEND (Special Educational Needs/Disability) page is to inform you about the support we offer at Ivy Bank Primary School and hopefully it will help you to understand who can help and how this support can be accessed.
If you would like further information about Special Educational Needs at Ivy Bank please email sendco@ivybank.cheshire.sch.uk
Mrs Barber ( SENDCo )
Mrs Barber co-ordinates provision for our SEND pupils working in mainstream; as well as working on general SEND coordination across school she is a qualified SENDCo who, as well as teaching mainstream year 1 has over 20 years experience of teaching pupils with a range of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Mrs Barber holds a Mental Health First Aid qualification and leads well-being across the school.
Mrs Oliver (Assistant SENDCo)
Mrs Oliver assists in leading and managing the provision of special educational needs learning support at Ivy Bank. Mrs Oliver has a wealth of experience of supporting pupils with a range of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Mrs Oliver leads the medical needs co-ordination across the school.
Additional Support
Children learn and develop in different ways. Teachers know and understand this and use different teaching styles to plan work at different levels in order to meet the needs of all pupils in their class. This is called 'ordinarily avaliable inclusive provision'. Our aim is to provide the highest quality learning environment for your child and for them to achieve their full potential.
If a child continues to have difficulty after intervention or has a high level of difficulty when they join our school, they may be considered to have Special Educational Needs/Disability (SEND).
The SEND Code of Practice: 0-25 years (January 2015) describes four broad areas of need;
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Children with a Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND) have learning difficulties or disabilities that prevent them from making the same progress as other children of the same age. They will require different support or help e.g. modified tasks, extra time or breaks in formal assessments.
Our Continuum of Need for SEN contains the following levels of need:
- First Concerns
- SEN Support
- Complex
- Specialist
We work closely with outside agencies who will only come in to see your child if you have given us the permission. These include:
- Educational Psychologists
- Cheshire Autism Support Team (CEAT)
- Occupational Therapists
- Speech and Language Therapists
- Physiotherapists
- NHS Mental Health School Team (MHST)
SEND information report / Local Offer
Further details of our Special Educational Needs Provision is contained in our SEND information report which forms part of the Local-Authority wide local offer. This document can be found below.
The Local Offer offers information for parents, in a single place. The Local Offer helps children, young people and their parents to understand what services and support they can expect from a range of local agencies - including their statutory entitlements. On the Local Offer, you will find information about national and local services and organisations which can offer support to Cheshire East families. There are also details of clubs, groups and activities especially for children and young people with disabilities and special educational needs (SEND).
The Cheshire East Toolkit for Special Educational Needs and Disability is aimed at all educational providers and outlines the provision and support that Cheshire East Council expects to be in place in all educational settings which support children and young people with SEND in the Cheshire East area. You can find further information regarding the toolkit here: Cheshire East Toolkit
Further Advice & Support
Cheshire East’s Information, Advice and Support service (CEIAS) provides a free confidential and impartial service. As detailed in the SEND code of practice, each Local Authority must provide a service that provides Information, advice and support to parents, carers and young people from 0-25 years of age.
Their main aim is to empower parents by providing information, advice and support around a child’s special educational need. The team is also able to provide direct information, advice and support to young people (aged 16-25) in their own right, if requested, in line with the Children and Families Act 2014.
They offer a wide range of support from telephone/email as well as arranged face to face meetings where appropriate. The service will also signpost to other relevant services and sources of support.Cheshire East Information Advice & Support website
Cheshire East Parent Carer Forum is led by parents for parents and carers of children and young people aged 0-25 with additional support needs and disabilities in Cheshire East. They work in partnership with commissioners and service providers across health, social services and education. Many of their members also say the benefit of the Forum is to have easy access to friendly, local people who understand what it’s like to have a child with additional needs and are willing to help. Cheshire East Parent Carer Forum
Space4Autism is a registered charity that supports families and children living with Autism. They run various activities and clubs for children and training courses for adults.