At Bardsey Primary Academy, the education and wellbeing of all our children is paramount. We treat all children with respect, and we differentiate our learning to cater for individual needs. We firmly believe in the importance of working and communicating with parents to ensure continuity between school and home. We also believe that a multi-agency approach is the ideal for all SEND children as this ensures that families feel supported and that people are working together to provide the best possible education for their child.
 

Bardsey Primary Academy recognises as stated in the Special Education Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice (SEND) that:

A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.
 

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:

• have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or

• have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.
   

The four main areas of need are:

Cognition and Learning
Children and young people with cognition and learning difficulties may have barriers to learning which impact on their understanding of the curriculum, this can also lead to difficulties with organisation and memory skills, or have a specific difficulty affecting one particular part of their learning, such as in difficulties with literacy, numeracy and motor skills.

Communication and Language
Communication and interaction may mean that children and young people have speech, language and communication difficulties which make it difficult for them to make sense of language or to understand how to communicate with others, this can also include Autistic Spectrum Conditions.

Social, emotional and mental health

This may lead children and young people to having difficulty in managing their relationships with other people, may cause difficulty with regulating emotions and lead to lack of motivation, focus and challenging behaviour. Children and young people with this difficulty may become withdrawn or isolated and it can affect their health and wellbeing.

Physical/Sensory

Children and young people with visual and/or hearing impairments, or a physical need may need ongoing support and additional resources or equipment. Some children and young people may have needs in more than one of these areas.

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SEND Information Report October 2023:

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Please see some frequently asked questions answers below for further information.

What do I do if I think my child or young person may have special educational needs?
The first person to contact is your child’s class teacher. They will have a firm idea of your child’s ability and how they are coping with the work given to them in class. They will then pass any concerns onto the school’s Special Educational Needs and Disability Coordinators (SEND Team). An action plan will then be put in place detailing what work needs to be carried out by the school, how often and by whom. In very severe cases of special educational need, the school will make a referral to an Educational Psychologist or the Complex Needs Team. In all cases, parents will be kept informed throughout the entire process. There may be some cases where school will recommend parents approach their GP with their concerns or school may also suggest that an Early Help Plan or an Educational Health Care Plan be considered. This decision will only be taken after in-depth discussions with multi-agencies and in conjunction with the family and the pupils involved.

How will I know how well my child or young person is doing and how will you help me support my child’s learning?
In addition to the Annual School Report given to all parents, we hold two meetings a year where parents are invited to come along and discuss their child’s progress. However, we have a very open-door policy at our school and teachers are very happy to answer brief queries at any time or for a more detailed discussion they will happily make an appointment for a mutually agreed time. If your child has an IEP, these will be shared and reviewed with parents termly and guidance will be given on how parents can support their child in working towards their targets. Each term a class newsletter is sent home telling parents what their child is learning that term and offers advice as to how they can support their child at home. Teachers will contact parents as soon as they feel any child is beginning to dip in their progress since early intervention will often rectify the situation. Children with a more long-term SEN or disability will be involved with multi agencies who will communicate closely with each other to ensure parents are kept fully informed of progress. We hold curriculum evenings for parents to find out how we teach certain subjects so that the same methods are taught at home. Regular reviews will be held to support those pupils who hold an EHP / EHCP.

How will the school help children and young people transfer to the next phase of education?
For those SEND children who require it, we offer additional transition days to visit the new school and acclimatise to the new building and new systems. For other vulnerable children who may just find the transition to High School especially difficult, the school will seek out support from Targeted Services who offer good transition activities and will allocate funding to support this if appropriate. The Headteacher/SEND Team will liaise with the SENDCo of the new school to ensure vital information is passed on and CP records are transferred securely to the new school then dated and filed appropriately in our archive. Parents of SEND children are well supported by the school in their decision of which school to send their child on to. A member of the SEND Team will visit the new school with parents if requested to talk about the child’s needs and whether that school offers the appropriate facilities for that individual and discussions will also be held with parents about whether a Special School setting may possibly be the best option for their child.

Who can I contact for further information?
The school office is a good place to start for any enquiries on 01937 572612. The staff that work in there, Mrs Hedley and Mrs Marsh, will help you or point you in the right direction to get the right answers. You can also email sendco@bardsey.leeds.sch.uk and your email will be picked up by Miss Earnshaw, our SENDCo.

A copy of our SEND policy can be found here.

Further information on the Leeds Local Offer for pupils with SEND can be found at https://leedslocaloffer.org.uk/#!/directory

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If you are not satisfied with the provision that your child is receiving in relation to SEND, all complaints should follow the Academy complaints procedure as set out in the Trust policy. We want to ensure that the needs of all pupils are met. If you feel that you need to speak to a member of staff with regards to a complaint please speak to the SENDCo . If the complaint is with regards to this member of staff please speak to the Principal and if further support is needed the governing body.