Barry Primary & Nursery School

This is an exciting time for Barry Primary School as we respond to local and national changes involving Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Inclusion.  All schools follow the Government's SEN Code of Practice and the Education and Health Care plan system (EHC).

The Government has recognised that in the past, students may have been over identified as having SEN, when more probably they were simply underachieving in certain areas related to the curriculum and required intervention to enable them to make progress and catch up.  The SEN Code of Practice now focuses on schools meeting the wide variety of individual needs of its pupils, by ensuring access to appropriate provision. This will not necessarily mean that pupils will be identified as having a specific SEN. 

Barry Primary School is committed to ensuring provision for all of its pupils including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in line with section 69 of the Children and Families Act (2014).  We pride ourselves on meeting the needs of all learners either academically, socially or emotionally.  We ensure the delivery of varied provision to cater for the needs of pupils whatever their barriers to learning.

Pupils accessing extra provision in school will be added to the school’s provision mapping system, but may not necessarily be identified as having SEND or added to the SEND register.  Provision is closely monitored and targeted specifically to the needs of the group or individual.  Progress is reviewed by the class teacher and supported by the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo).  Any concerns will always be discussed with parents and carers and they will be kept informed of their child’s progress.

Progress for some pupils may not be in line with the expected national average however, this is progress, none the less and will be celebrated.

Pupils with SEND will be added to the SEND register when they have outside agencies involved and working with them or when their needs warrant further assessments to establish what they are - this will always be discussed with parents/carers.  These pupils may have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) with targets focused around the advice of the external agency involved.  These targets will be reviewed three times a year and parents will be informed of progress and next steps.

The Government and the Local Authority are keen to ensure that all pupils’ needs are met within a mainstream setting without the need for an EHC plan.  Sometimes as a school, we may be unsure if we can meet the specific needs of an individual pupil.  We may feel that a pupil requires a more specialist provision.  If we are unsure what the need of an individual pupil is or if we feel we are unable to provide the necessary provision required, we may consider applying for Statutory Assessment towards an Education and Health Care plan.  The Local Education Authority will then decide what the appropriate support for the pupils’ needs are.  This will be in a minority of cases.

At Barry Primary School, we are currently introducing the West Northamptonshire Council's SEND Ranges 0-25 guidance (2022).  This will enable us to identify consistent levels and next steps for all of our SEN pupils.

We endeavour to work closely, and creatively, with parents to develop focused and effective provision that meets the need of each individual pupil with SEN and the introduction of the SEND Ranges will support this further.