SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities)
At Manchester Road we are passionate about inclusivity and making education accessible to all. We foster and promote a culture of inclusion where every pupil has equal opportunity to success from their stating points.
Over recent years our staff have worked tirelessly to build and promote the success of the SEND provision at Manchester Road. With the introduction of a new sensory room, Hive intervention and targeted provision classroom (KS2), together with the training and deployment of highly skilled teachers and TA’s. We work closely with Health Visitors and pre-schools to support early identification and support. As a result the number of SEND pupils now on roll has increased significantly, with 33% of pupils on roll being either monitored as a SEND concern or forming part of the SEND register (including those with EHCP’s) . Approximately, twice national average for Education Health and Care Plans. The number of pupils with identified SEMH needs has also increased and as a result, we are working towards the Emotionally Friendly Schools accreditation with Tameside MBC.
We endeavour to empower pupils, provide them with opportunities to develop and to enable them to flourish irrespective of their individual learning difficulties. This is done in consultation with The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice, (COP), (2014), The Equality Act (2010), The Children and Families Act (2014), the Local Authority and correlating internal school policies.
For more information please read our school Annual SEND report.
Roles and responsibilities of the Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENDCO)
Manchester Road has two SENDCOs – Miss Vicky Leah ( Vice Principal) and Emma Brennan ( EY Leader)
Our SENCOs are responsible for the operation of the Special Needs Policy and co-ordination of specific provision made to support individual children with specific educational needs.
They meet with staff to discuss and monitor pupil’s progress and plan further interventions where progress is slower than expected. The Sendco’s will conduct Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP’s) annual reviews and attend support plan reviews as requested/required. Due to the high level of parent demand and queries, we now offer SENDCO surgery days for parents. These are held at least once every term and are updated on our school newsletter. Parents/carers are welcome to come into school or telephone on these days with any queries they may have. Alternatively, parents/carers can also contact the school office to make an appointment for a meeting on a separate date.
We believe that SEND (Special Educational Needs and/or Disability) is not about a label or diagnosis; it is defined by a student’s presentation of need and the amount of support that is needed to help students to make progress in their education and achieve their full potential. We recognise that each student is unique and therefore the support that they require should be personalised to their needs. The term ‘Neurodiversity’ is used to describe the differences in our brains that cause people to think and behave differently. We celebrate this diversity and look to recognise the unique potential that neurodiverse people have. We do this by holding regular assemblies to educate and promote neurodiversity. We also regularly send out information in the school newsletter to support parents/carers in understanding topics being covered and discussed in school. In some cases, external professional involvement may indicate referral for assessment to outside agencies. The SENDCO will start this process in collaboration with teachers and parents/carers.
Understanding and supporting different areas of need for parents /carers
The SEND code of practise (2014) outlines 4 primary areas of need. To understand how we identify the needs of pupils with SEND please read the SEND policy below. When meeting identified needs the teachers use a range of tools, teaching strategies and interventions to support them. We are passionate that all children have access to a broad and balanced curriculum, so where children receive additional support or intention this has been designed to ensure children continue to have access to the full curriculum.
For insight into the overview of need within our school, pupil achievements and progress, please read the MRPA SEND policy.
Useful links for parents/carers
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Understanding your child with send parents course Online Learning (heiapply.com)
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Tameside local offer link Here
Cognition and Learning (C & L)
At Manchester Road, children who have significant and persistent challenges with their cognition and learning may be offered the following support.
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Fischer Family Trust (KS2) or BRP (KS1) - An intensive 1:1 reading program deliver for 30 minutes each day.
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Paired Reading opportunities
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Better Reading Program
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Dynamo Maths program
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Reading Eggs
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Reading Plus
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Word Attack for learning spellings and reading
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Launchpad for Literacy
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Memory booster pack
All interventions are evidence based and have proven impact in raising the attainment and supporting progress of pupils. The children’s progress and attainment is closely monitored through the Birmingham SEND Toolkit which is designed to breakdown the full National Curriculum into a series of small steps.
SEN - Useful Links for Parents/Carers
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Literacy support for dyslexia that follows the Science of Reading | Nessy
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Dynamo Maths – Helping Overcome Dyscalculia & Maths Difficulties
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Learning to Read for Kids | Learn to Read with Phonics | Free Trial – Reading Eggs
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Online Maths Programme for Early Learners - Maths Made Fun! - Mathseeds
Communication and Interaction (C & I)
Under the Send code of practise pupils experiencing difficulties with communication and interaction refer to ‘those pupils with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and children and young people with ASD, including Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism’. We use
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Wellcomm speech and language interventions from EYFS to KS2 . This intervention can happen 1:1 or in small groups depending on need.
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Lego Therapy is a social development program that uses Lego activities to support the development of social skills within a group setting.
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Colourful semantics is an approach to support spoken and written language learning across the curriculum, and it is also a common approach used in speech therapy. It aims to help children develop skills when it comes to sentence development, understanding questions, developing narrative and understanding.
Useful links
Children's Speech and Language Therapy :: Tameside Children and Young People A fantastic website with a wealth of advice and support for families of children who have difficulties with communication, eating, drinking or swallowing.
SALT Parents Worksheets
Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)
SEMH (Social, Emotional & Mental Health) is a term that was introduced in the Special Educational Need and Disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice in 2014. It replaced the terms BESD (Behaviour Emotional Social Development) and EBD (Emotional & Behaviour Difficulties). The new abbreviation, SEMH, was the first term to drop the word ‘behaviour’, in an attempt to emphasise that behaviour is only ever a way of communicating something more significant. This is to ensure practitioners look beyond the behaviour to the trigger. Another key change to the term is the inclusion of mental health.
At Manchester Road we use the Zones of Regulation emotional literacy program which is taught regularly across school from EYFS to Year 6. Each classroom has a regulation station to support emotional regulation and promote active use of strategies.
In addition, Emotion coaching and Restorative approaches are woven through our school behaviour policy (available on the website) . As a school we worked with Tameside to be recognised as an Emotionally Friendly School.
Some specific interventions include
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Emotional check ins with individualised regulation toolboxes.
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Hot Shots a relaxation program including visualisation and breathing exercises.
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Access to the Mental Health Practitioner
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All staff trained in emotion coaching and supporting regulation.
Useful links
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Mental health support for 8-18 year olds living in Tameside and Glossop.Community Hive | Youth in Mind (togmind.org)
Community support available for parents/carers
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Home Page - Our Kids Eyes Offering support, information and activities to families who have children with special needs/disabilities in Tameside
Link to the Tameside children and young people mental health leaflet. Offering support, information and activities to families who have children with special needs/disabilities in Tameside
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Tameside directory