We know when a pupil needs help if:
• Concerns are raised by parents/carers, external agencies, teachers, the pupil’s previous school or setting or the pupil themselves, regarding concerns relating to inadequate levels of progress or inclusion
• Screening (such as that completed on entry or as a result of a concern being raised) indicates gap in knowledge and/or skills.
• Whole school tracking of attainment outcomes indicates lack of expected rate of progress
• Observation of the pupil indicates that they have additional needs

Within school, all children will be assessed by their class teachers in Reading, Writing, Spelling, Phonics and Maths depending on their age and stage of ability. This will give staff baseline data from which they can work and will identify specific areas in which children require additional support. Pupils in Early Years will have their Speech and Language ability assessed using a standardised assessment called WellComm.

Class teachers, supported by the senior leadership team and subject leads, will make regular assessments of progress for all pupils. These will identify pupils making less than expected progress given their age and individual circumstances. This can be progress which:

• is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
• fails to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress
• fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers
• widens the attainment gap

For those pupils working significantly behind their peers, further standardised assessments may be carried out by class teacher or the SENDCO (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator), Mrs Yates. Pupils with standardised score between 85-115 are considered to fall within the ‘average’ range and will be monitored by class teachers. Pupils with standardised scores below 85 will require additional support for their learning needs.

High quality teaching targeted to meet the needs of your child’s areas of weakness will be our initial response. Where progress continues to be less than expected, the class or subject teacher, working with the SENCDO, will then assess whether the child has SEN as the pupil’s response to such support can help identify their specific learning requirements. If children are identified as requiring additional support, teaching staff will initially contact parents/carers to share the assessment results. At this meeting, staff will talk through what additional support they plan to put in place for your child and what they aim for the outcomes of this support to be. The school SENDCO will be involved in this meeting and if appropriate, the child will also be included so that they can share their views and what works for them with regards to their learning.

After an agreed period, class teachers will then evaluate the progress your child has made in the identified area(s) of learning. If good progress has been made, progress will continue to be monitored within class.

Where there has been little to no progress or it is decided during this early discussion that special educational provision is required to support increased rates, parents will be informed that the school considers their child may require SEN support and their partnership sought in order to improve attainments.

Pupil details on Bromcom (our school database) will be updated to reflect which areas your child requires additional support in. Following this, your child’s class teacher will write an Individual Learning Plan/Individual Behaviour Plan for your child. This will consist of targets focussed on your child’s specific needs and agreed support that will be put in place to help them make progress. This is known as Assess, Plan, Do and Review. Your child will be considered to have SEN if ‘they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her’(SEND Code of Practice 2021) and they therefore require additional support above and beyond that which the majority of their peers receive.

Early help, also known as early intervention, is support given as soon as a problem emerges, at any stage in a child or young person's life. Before joining Pye Green Academy in either Reception or Nursery, staff will carry out a home visit. At this visit, parents/Carers can share in confidence any concerns they have regarding their child’s needs. Parents are also asked to inform staff of any outside agencies who may be already working with the family. If required, a plan of action can be put in place at this stage so that any needs can be quickly identified and addressed.

Before any child joins Pye Green Academy, contact will be made with their previous educational setting and, if appropriate, visits to the setting will be carried out. This will allow staff to see the child in the comfort of their current setting and liaise with previous educators regarding any needs which may need to be catered for.

For any pupils joining the school between Y1-6, close communication will be made with both parents and the child’s previous setting before the child starts at the school. This allows open discussions to be held with regards to what support the child may require at Pye Green Academy.

Any parental concerns are best raised immediately, and we strongly encourage parents to do this. Initially this should be via your child’s class teacher either in person, by calling 01543 227175 and speaking to office staff or by emailing enquiries@pyegreen.uwmat.co.uk where you can ask for your concern to be directed to the appropriate teacher.

Following this, there may further discussion with the school SENCDCO, whose name is Mrs Yates. Parents may also contact the SENDCO directly if they feel this is more appropriate and this can be arranged through emailing enquiries@pyegreen.uwmat.co.uk where your query will be passed on.

Please rest assured, all parents will be listened to. Their views and their aspirations for their child will be central to the assessment and provision that is provided by Pye Green Academy.

The school SEND Policy can be accessed by following the link.

The following policies can also be found on the school website by clicking here Pye Green

Accessibility plan
Assessment Policy
Admission arrangements
Children with health needs who cannot attend school
Supporting pupils with medical conditions
School Behaviour policy
Schools Exclusion
Health and safety
Equality information and objectives (public sector equality duty) statement for publication
Teaching & Learning Policy and Remote Education Policy

All pupils identified as having SEND will have an individual learning plan or an individual behaviour plan, dependent on their needs. On this plan it will give an overview of the child’s strengths, difficulties, area of need, specific difficulties and support strategies used. Teachers, in conjunction with the SENDCO if necessary, will decide on specific targets for your child to work on to help address their individual needs. On your child’s plan, it will detail what staff want the outcome to be, what provision will be in place and who will deliver this.

This SEN support detailed above that has been put in place for your child will take the form of a four-part cycle; decisions and actions are revisited, refined and revised with a growing understanding of the pupil’s needs and of what supports the pupil in making good progress and securing good outcomes. This is known as the graduated approach.

Your child’s targets will be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and have a set timescale). Your child will be supported to know what their targets are and what they need to do to improve. These targets are above and beyond those which other pupils in the class have and are put in place to increase the rate of progress. There will be a review of the impact of the differentiated teaching being provided and any additional strategies to further support the success of the pupil will be considered.

Your child’s individual plan will be officially reviewed formally 3 times per year. A new plan will be shared with all parents in line with parent’s evenings – usually November, March and June. Throughout the year, teachers will be continually assessing the child’s progress and should targets be met or need adjusting this will be completed within the plan cycle. Pye Green Academy have an open-door policy and as such staff will make regular contact with parents and encourage parents to make contact if they would like to discuss their child’s progress or express concerns.

During the academic year, if required, pupils in all year groups across school have access to interventions to support learning. Pye Green Academy will use evidence-based interventions delivered via small group or one-to-one instruction. These sessions will often be brief (20?–?50mins), occur regularly (3?–?5 times per week) and are maintained over a sustained period (8?–?20 weeks). Careful timetabling will be in place to enable this consistent delivery. Connections will then be made between the out-of-class learning in the intervention and classroom teaching.

Throughout the week, pupils at Pye Green Academy with SEND will engage in the activities in school alongside pupils who do not have SEN – we are an inclusive school, and we are proud of this.

If after two cycles of Assess, Plan, Do and Review (Graduated Response) school feel that your child is still not making progress a discussion will be held with you regard the possibility of school making a referral to an outside agency for additional support or advice, if available.

Within school, all pupils are entitled to Quality First Teaching. This is a style of teaching that emphasises high quality, inclusive teaching for all pupils in a class. Quality First Teaching includes differentiated learning, strategies to support SEN pupils’ learning in class, on-going formative assessment and many others. All staff at Pye Green Academy are aware that this is the expectation and, as such, your child will have work appropriately differentiated for them as required. For those children who need additional prompts these will be provided, with the aim of making our pupils independent learners.

Differentiation matches what is taught and how it is taught to pupil’s abilities and aptitudes. Our staff provide challenge to all levels of ability across all classroom tasks and the teacher will base the level of work given to pupils on current performance. At times, pupils may need individual learning outcomes in some areas and where necessary, these will be implemented by teaching staff.

All pupils are encouraged to be independent learners and staff facilitate this through regular reinforcement of instructions and personalised feedback enabling pupils to keep moving forward. Pupils will also be encouraged to make effective use of the classroom environment to support them including by using information from displays, desk prompts and their peers as appropriate. For some pupils there may be a need for different stationary – reading overlays, coloured paper, ergonomic pencils/pens, therapy bands, weighted cushions, fiddle toys or other sensory devices.

For some pupils further differentiated work is required for them to access leaning alongside their peers. This may include, but is not limited to: -
• Allowing pupils to record their learning in a variety of ways such as mind maps, pictorially or by using a laptop/word processing software
• Providing pre-teaching of certain concepts or vocabulary before the main body of the lesson
• Allowing additional brain breaks or sensory breaks between sections of the lesson
• Breaking lessons into easily manageable ‘chunks’ with clear success criteria for each section
• Opportunities for flexible groupings and pairings so that pupils have access to positive and aspirational role models for their learning
• Personalised ‘Now and Next’ boards or a visual timetable
• Communication prompt cards

For pupils with specific needs who may require additional arrangements so that they can take part in
the Key Stage 2 (KS2) tests, Pye Green Academy will follow the Department for Education access arrangements guidance which details the arrangements available for pupils participating in the KS2 national curriculum tests. Access arrangements might be used to support pupils who have:
• difficulty reading
• difficulty writing
• difficulty concentrating
• processing difficulties
• a hearing impairment
• a visual impairment
• English as an additional language

The school receives funding to respond to the needs of pupils with SEND. This funding is then used to provide the equipment and facilities to support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities through support that might include:
• Targeted differentiation to increase access to learning
• In class, adult support aimed at increasing skills in specific area of weakness
• Out of class support
• Small group tuition to enable catch up
• Provision of specialist resources or equipment
• Implementation of strategies from support agencies e.g. Behaviour Support/Educational Welfare Support

For any pupil the SENDCO feels meet the criteria for an Education, Health and Care Plan, following two cycles of Assess, Plan, Do, Review and also the involvement of outside agencies, school will submit and EHCP request via the Staffordshire Hub. Prior to this, funding can be applied for AEN (Additional Educational Needs) although pupils will still need to meet the EHCP criteria for this to be an option.

LAC (Looked After Pupils) will have a PEP meeting each term at which school can apply for up to £500 per term to help support the pupil needs within the setting.

Eligible pupils are included in our School Based Tutoring Programme and are provided catch up tuition for a period of 10 weeks for either Reading, Writing or Maths. Parents will be contacted should their child be eligible for this.

In conjunction with the Virtual School for Looked After Pupils, certain activities can be provided outside of school time to help support them socially and emotionally – this may include activities such as football clubs and sports coach support.

For pupils with SEN but without an EHCP, the decision regarding the support provided will be taken at joint meetings with school staff. This may include members of the senior leadership team, SENDCO and class teachers.

For pupils with an EHCP, this decision about the report each child will receive will be reached in agreement with parents when the EHCP is being produced or at an annual review.

Parents will be fully involved in reviews of their child’s individual learning plans and EHCP, in their annual reviews.
They will also be involved through discussions with the class teacher, SENDCO or senior leadership team member. This may take place during parent’s evenings, or during meetings with support and external agencies.

Children aged 3 and 4 years old, who are in receipt of the disability living allowance (DLA) and claiming an early education funded place could be eligible to apply additional funding through the Disability Access Fund (DAF). This could mean that we could get access to a one payment of £615 per calendar year for each eligible child. This would aid in making reasonable adjustments at the setting and improve accessibility.

DAF Funding can be applied for by us as a school though the Early Years Provider Portal.

The Pupil Premium funding provides additional funding for pupils who are claiming Free School Meals, who are in the care of the local authority or whose parents are in the Armed Services. The deployment of this funding is published on the school website.

All teachers carry out a range of assessments on a daily basis – this may be through the use of formal assessments at the end of a unit of work for example or during day-to-day teaching, where they will be monitoring what their pupils have made progress with or still need to work on.

Pupil data is logged termly for all pupils on our secure school tracking system. However, for those pupils with an Individual Leaning Plans, they will be assessing your child’s progress towards those specific targets more regularly.

During meetings with school staff, they will inform you of where your child should be heading next in terms of their learning. This may be in terms of what they would like them to achieve in a set amount of time or may be a more quantifiable target such as how many phonic sounds they want them to know by a set date. Where appropriate, individual children will be encouraged to know their targets and what goal they are looking to achieve.

Each term there will be an official parents’ evening which all parents will be invited to. A written report will be provided to parents at the end of the year. In between these times, should you wish to discuss your child’s progress with their class teacher or the SENDCO, please make an appointment via the main school office by calling 01543 227175 or emailing enquiries@pyegreen.uwmat.co.uk

Communication with parents will differ from child to child. Some parents find a communication diary helpful, whereas others prefer a regular chat with staff or email correspondence. This preferred method will be discussed with you when your child’s individual learning plan is discussed. You will have the opportunity to share your views and find the way that works best for you.

Any parents/carers with special educational needs will have a named person they can go to should they require advice and support. This person can support them through more regular communication, support with form filling or liaising with external agencies etc. This person will ensure the views of the parent are fully included and that they are helped to understand the process during the time their child is registered at Pye Green Academy.

Sometimes, pupils may have support from an outside agency. Whenever specialist services are working with a child, a pupil centred approach is taken, and parents will be kept fully informed. School staff will act on advice given by the professional and the SENDCO will co-ordinate visits and meetings and ensure that what is being delivered in class is in line which what has been suggested.

Please take a look at the school website which can be found at www.pyegreen.staffs.sch.uk and includes links to websites and resources that we have found useful in supporting parents to help their child learn at home. The class teacher or SENCDO may also suggest additional ways of supporting your child’s learning and these will be indicated on your child’s individual learning plan.

If you have ideas on support that you would like to access to further support your child’s learning, please contact the SENCDO who will locate information and guidance for you in this area.

The school will be organising parent workshops during the year academic. These will be advertised in the school newsletter and aim to provide useful opportunities for parents to learn more about how to support your child’s learning.

We use pupil centered profiles. These are completed by the pupils themselves and identify their abilities and strengths, personal aims and the action they require to be taken by the school to reduce barriers to learning and social success. Each term, this information will be reviewed and the pupil’s views gained on the effectiveness of the action taken so far to meet their needs.

Pupil attainment is tracked using the whole school tracking system and those failing to make expected levels of progress are identified very quickly. These pupils are then discussed in termly progress meetings that are undertaken between the class/subject teacher and a member of the Senior Leadership team and if appropriate, the pupil themselves. The effectiveness of SEN provision will be measured using both qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data will gather the views of parents and pupils on how successful the provision has been in enabling them to attain their outcomes. Quantitative data will examine both progress and attainment levels compared to those achieved nationally for pupils with the same level prior learning level. This data will be shared termly with governors and be judged by external moderators, such as Ofsted.

All pupils will be provided with high quality teaching that is differentiated to meet the needs of all learners. The quality of classroom teaching provided to pupils with SEND is monitored through several processes that include:
1. classroom observation by the senior leadership team, subject leaders and external verifiers
2. ongoing assessment of progress made by pupils with SEND
3. work sampling and scrutiny of planning to ensure effective matching of work to pupil need
4. teacher meetings with the SENDCO to provide advice and guidance on meeting the needs of pupils with SEND

Attainment towards the identified outcomes will be shared with parents termly through feedback regarding their Individual Learning Plan reviews but also through the school reporting system and Parents’ Evenings. Parents may also find the home-school diary a useful tool to use to communicate with school staff on a more regular basis and this can be arranged if needed. Parents are encouraged to arrange an appointment to discuss their child’s progress with the class teacher, the SENCDCO or a member of the senior leadership team if they feel concerned or have information they feel they would like to share that could impact on their child’s success. Please contact the school office who will arrange this appointment for you. The contact number is 01543 227175.

Staff will discuss a pupil’s targets with them where appropriate and support them to complete their pupil profiles. Daily communication with their teachers and any teaching assistants in the class will be focused on how well the child is doing with their learning. There will be regular conversations about what else could be put in place to help the pupil, how they feel that are progressing and anything at that time which may be hindering them.

From time to time, Pye Green Academy will send out parental questionnaires – these are usually in the form of an online questionnaire. Parents are encouraged to complete these to enable to school to monitor what is going well and where any changes need to be made.

The majority of pupils are handed over to parents the end of the day through their allocated door. The class teacher will ensure a parent can be seen and will make eye contact with them before releasing the child. Pupils will line up in order to be dismissed. Should this be unsuitable for some pupils, separate arrangements may be made for the child to be collected from the main school office.

As children get older, some parents decide they would like their child to walk home alone or walk to an allocated meeting point. If this is the case, parents must inform the school in writing that this is their wish. Without this, pupils will not be released.
On entry to the school, parents are asked to complete a Pupil Information Sheet which includes up to four contact details of friends or relatives. On this sheet there is also the option to create a pupil password. Should an unfamiliar adult collect the pupil, they will be asked for the password before children are released. All pupils are asked to inform the school office if collection arrangements are different to usual for whatever reason. Pupils will never be released to unfamiliar adults without a parental phone call.

Pupils in upper KS2 can bring a mobile phone to school but must complete with their parents a Mobile Phone Agreement. All mobile phones are kept in the teacher’s cupboard during the school day.

At break and lunchtimes, the majority of teaching staff remain in their classrooms therefore being accessible to all pupils should they need them. For those pupils who have additional funding allocated to them for break/lunch they will have a named teaching assistant to support their needs during these times.

All corridors are sufficiently manned whilst pupils are moving around. Pupils are continually reminded to following school rules, including walking within the school building. Classes have monitors who keep the corridors free from hazards such as coats and bags.

Our KS2 toilets are unisex and have wash basins within the corridor. This means there are less areas for pupils to congregate and staff can see them clearly should an issue arise.

Pupils eat snack at break time within the main classroom before going out onto the playground. A member of staff will remain in the classroom to supervise this. On playgrounds at both break and lunchtime, there are adequate numbers of staff for the number of pupils.

The school has a bank of generic risk assessments which all staff sign to say they have read and understood.

All pupils with a physical disability, which may hinder them leaving the building in the event of an evacuation, will have a PEEP (Personal Evacuation Plan) written. They will have a named member of staff responsible for their safe exit from the building.

Regular Health and Safety inspections are undertaken by CREST who work with our Office Manager to ensure the school is compliant in all areas. Should a pupil require an individual risk assessment linked to a medical condition, disability or temporary disability (such as a broken limb) this will be completed by our SENDCO, Mrs Yates in 1:1 discussion with the pupil and parents. These will be shared with relevant staff with whom the child will come into contact.

All year groups are staffed by teachers and have some teaching assistant support during each day. This varies across the year groups depending on need within the classes. Pupils are encouraged, in the first instance to go to their class teacher should they need support or to share something important to them. Should a child feel more comfortable talking to a different member of staff in school (Perhaps a member of staff they have had a particular connection with in a previous year group for example) then this can be arranged.

Staff, parents and children at Pye Green Academy work together to create a happy, caring and safe learning environment. Bullying, whether verbal, physical or indirect, is not tolerated. It is everyone’s responsibility to try to prevent occurrences of bullying and to deal with any incidents quickly and effectively and in line with our school values. Where a member of staff other than the child’s teacher is dealing with an incident, their teacher must be kept fully informed about the investigation and its outcomes.

In dealing with bullying, staff at Pye Green Academy follow these fundamental guidelines:
• Never ignore suspected bullying
• Do not make premature assumptions
• Listen carefully to all accounts – several pupils with the same version does not mean they are telling the truth
• Adopt a problem-solving approach that moves pupils forward
• Follow up proven cases to check bullying has not returned
• Keep detailed records

Strategies have been introduced at Pye Green to reduce bullying. These strategies cover raising awareness about bullying and the Anti-Bullying Policy, increased understanding for victims and teaching pupils how to manage relationships in a constructive way. Circle Time, visiting speakers and PSHE sessions are ideal opportunities for raising awareness of bullying, and procedures for dealing with it. Our PSHE scheme (Jigsaw) explicitly discusses bullying in many of their units (Celebrating Differences, Being Me).

The school has an Anti-Bullying Policy which can be found on the school website. A suspected case of bullying will always be referred directly to the Head Teacher or a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

The most important way for a child to learn to develop and sustain friendships is to follow the lead of adults around them. All adults at Pye Green Academy will consistently model appropriate behaviour and demonstrate with colleagues how we interact socially. Staff will, at times, guide pupils towards certain pupils if they feel a positive friendship can be formed and will intervene if necessary to build fractured friendships. By using stories and examples from texts we may be reading, teachers will highlight how we can be a good friend and ways to deal with emotions should our friendships become fraught.

If staff feel it is needed, ‘social skills’ and ‘friendship groups’ are set up as interventions to help facilitate friendships allowing children to explore issues that may arise with friends in a safe manner.

Buddy systems can be set up within school for individuals whereby younger and older pupils are paired. This has been successful in the past in giving quieter children a ‘familiar face’ on the playground should they need it.

The first Jigsaw PSHE unit in September, ‘Being Me’, teaches children to recognise the qualities they are proud of and to reflect on their hopes for the year. It also encourages them to notice when they are feeling worried and what to do. Other PSHE units, which are taught explicitly each week, focus on celebrating differences and what makes them special. Staff in school continue to develop good self-esteem and confidence through regular praise, not just for successful outcomes, but for resilience and trying their best. Staff work to develop a positive learning environment where children feel confident to take risks and know that to make mistakes is how we learn.

Should a child require additional support for their mental health, above and beyond what staff in school can provide, a referral can be made to Action for Children. This referral with be made by the SENDCO.

The school has a newly appointed Mental Health Lead, Miss Beere, who is currently undertaking a Mental Health Leaders qualification. Parents can request a meeting with Miss Beere should they have a concern in this area.

All pupils with a medical condition which may affect them within school will have a personal Care Plan. This will be written by the school SENCO, Mrs Yates, in a 1:1 meeting with the parent (and pupil, if appropriate). The care will be reviewed at least annually, usually in September, unless there is a change in the pupil’s medical condition during the year. It is the parent’s responsibility to inform school should there be a change in the condition.
Any medication linked to the Care Plan will need relevant paperwork completing with the school office staff. Medicines kept in school will be in a locked cabinet and will require two members of staff to sign when being administered.

Should anyone experience a medical emergency within school, qualified first aiders will be called immediately. Within school we have 14 staff with Paediatric First Aid, 2 staff with Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work and 2 staff with Level 3 First Aid at Work. All Care Plans will be followed. Should the first aider deem an ambulance to be needed, one will be called immediately.

When accompanied by medical evidence of the appointment, these will be authorised. Parents are encouraged to liaise with their child’s class teacher if they wish to have additional work provided that the child missed whilst at the appointment.

The Care Plan will be written during an arranged meeting with the parent(s). The pupil’s condition, symptoms and required treatment will be discussed in depth and a plan written during the meeting. Parents will be required to sign the Care Plan and will be given a copy for their records. Following the meeting, a copy of the Care Plan will be given primarily to the class teacher. They will be responsible for sharing this with any teaching assistant or additional adults within school. Additional copies of the Care Plans will be kept securely in the SENDCO’s office and Medical Room.

Care Plans for food related allergies will be shared with the Kitchen staff and Lunchtime Supervisors – a picture of the pupil will be included on all Care Plans.

Pupils with behavioural needs will have a Positive Behaviour Plan – this will include a detailed description of the child’s need, strategies that should be employed for that child and some description of why the child may be displaying certain behaviours. All adults working with the child will be aware of this plan and should be expected to follow it. In addition to this, the pupil will also have an Individual Behaviour Plan detailing targets the pupil will be working on and what support is being offered. All behaviour incidents are logged on Bromcom, our tracking system, and record details of each incident. This can be used to look for patterns and monitor behaviour of the individual and also across school. Teachers at Pye Green Academy recognise the need for brain breaks and sensory activities and, where possible, try to include these within their everyday teaching. For those pupils with more specific needs, sensory snack/sensory breaks are included into the lessons for that pupil. This may be on a 1:1 or small group basis.

A newly introduced reward system focusses highly on doing the right things and rewards pupils for good behaviour ‘Good to be Green’. Within this system, children are given many opportunities to own their own behaviour and make the right choices. They are given thinking time and warnings before sanctions are given out. This allows pupils the opportunity to correct their behaviour and ‘get back on track’.

Pye Green Academy follow the principles of Restorative Practice. We use relationships to prevent behaviour incidents, rather than implement something once an incident has happened. At Pye Green we set limits, outline boundaries, define expectations and explain consequences. This includes asking tough questions, sharing responsibility, giving honest feedback and agreeing shared goals. In doing so, we aim to provide motivation, accountability and the energy to act. We work with our pupils to build self-belief, self-value and confidence, and support pupils by being nurturing, compassionate, empathic, and caring. Our teachers show an interest, make time to listen, suspend judgement, ask reflective questions, and create trust. They key to restorative practice is ensuring that you are doing things with students, not to or for them.

The school employ an Education Welfare Office, Trina Grainger, who works with senior leaders to analyse attendance. Letters will be sent to parents should their attendance or lateness start raising cause for concern.

Should a child be at risk of exclusion, Hayley Tonks (Staffordshire Inclusion Officer) will be contacted. The pupil will be discussed at the Cannock SEND and Inclusion Hub with parental permission, and after a referral form has been submitted. The Hub, mainly consisting of Staffordshire Head Teachers, Deputies and SENDCOs, will give suggestions as to how the pupil can be further supported in school or outside agencies that may be contacted.

Any pupil who is Looked After (LAC) will fall under the care of both the class teacher and SENDCO Mrs Yates, who is also our Looked After Children Co-ordinator. Close communication with the child’s social worker and foster carers is imperative for the child to succeed and regular PEP meetings will be held where the child will be discussed at length. The child’s pupil premium funding will be used to provide additional support for the pupil linked to their individual targets. School work closely with the Virtual School and should the pupil require additional support above and beyond, a discussion will be held to see how the Virtual School may support.

Your child’s main adult in school will be their class teacher. In addition, each year group has a teaching assistant at some point during the day but this may not be for the whole day. The school SENDCO/Deputy Head Mrs Yates will also be available by appointment. Within Early Years, your child will have a named Key Worker and you will be made aware of who this is when your child joins us.

The class teacher will remain responsible for working with your child on a daily basis. Where any interventions involve group or one-to-one teaching away from the main class, your child’s teacher will still retain responsibility for your child. They will work closely with any teaching assistants or specialist staff involved, to plan and assess the impact of support and interventions and how they can be linked to classroom teaching. The SENCO, Mrs Yates will support the class teacher in the further assessment of the child’s particular strengths and weaknesses, in problem solving and advising on the effective implementation of support.

All teachers and support staff who work with the pupil will be made aware of their needs, the outcomes sought, the support provided and any teaching strategies or approaches that are required. This will be recorded on the child’s individual learning plan and the school’s information system.

In addition to parental meetings to discuss individual pupil’s needs, senior leaders also carry out termly Pupil Progress Meetings where individual pupils and their progress will be discussed.

Within school, many staff are trained to use Emotion Coaching with pupils. Emotion Coaching is based on the principle that nurturing and emotionally supportive relationships provide optimal contexts for the promotion of children's outcomes and resilience.

Most staff in school have completed Dyslexia Awareness units of learning online and one member of staff has recently engaged with a local specialist setting to develop their knowledge of sensory processing disorder.

All teaching assistants working with pupils on the Speech and Language Therapy caseload have completed necessary training (including Colour coding) to enable them to work with the pupils they assist in the classroom.
The School SENDCO, Mrs Yates has completed the National Award for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO).

Through our Mulit-Academy Trust, regular sessions are delivered to staff focussing on many areas of SEND. To date, these have included:-
• Mental Health Needs in the classroom
• Attachment
• Dyslexia
• Behaviour

Two members of staff within school are currently part of an Inclusive Teacher Programme being run by our Multi Academy Trust (UWMAT).

School has some access to Educational Psychologists who support staff with regards to individual pupils they work with. This includes wok around sensory needs, trauma/attachment and communication needs.

The school has Dyslexia Friendly Full Status and across all classes reasonable adjustments are made for pupils with dyslexic tendencies as well as those with a dyslexia diagnosis.

The school works with a range of outside agencies – visits etc are arrange by the school SENDCO who also ensures that classroom staff are following through with any recommendations or programmes put in place by these professionals.

Where necessary, school can refer to a range of health and therapy services and this can be arranged in conjunction with the SENDCO and child’s class teacher.

Your first point of contact should be your child’s class teacher. They can be contacted by emailing them via the main school office (enquiries@pyegreen.uwmat.co.uk) or by calling 01543 227175. Your message will be passed on and they will be in touch with you.

Pye Green Academy SENDCO is:

Mrs Yates. She can be contacted via the main office by calling 01543 227175 or by emailing enquiries@pyegreen.uwmat.co.uk - your email will be forwarded to her and she will contact you.

Pye Green Academy are part of a TLAC (Trust Local Advisory Committee). These consist of MAT members, teaching staff and parent members. Meetings are held termly and a fully and comprehensive report provided for each meeting. This includes information about SEND, LAC and safeguarding which is then discussed in the meeting. TLAC members challenge Headteacher regarding the content of the report. These are shared with the School’s Executive Headteacher and also become part of any monitoring visit.

Each classroom has a feelings box into which pupils can put concerns they do not feel they can share verbally with their teacher or teaching assistant within their classroom. For those pupils who require it, they will be allocated a 1:1 mentor who can meet with them weekly, or more regularly if required and enable to share their views, thoughts and feelings. For those pupils who require additional support they may have a member or advocate. This person will ensure that they are able to share their views and are heard within school both by children and adults alike.

Pye Green Academy is part of Children’s University and all pupils are encourage to be part of this. As part of IEP reviews, PEP meetings and EHCP views the pupils are always asked their views and this includes those about their aspirations for the future.

At Pye Green, we have a school council group which meet weekly to discuss pertinent issues, plan fund raising and share the voice of the school community. All pupils will be eligible to put themselves forward to become a school council representative and pupils with SEND will be actively encouraged to apply and will supported in doing so.

Pye Green Academy have an active PTFA (Parent Teacher Friends Association) which parents are more than welcome to become involved with.

For any parents wishing to become parent volunteers, to support with reading, trips etc in school they are welcome to apply for such positons via an application form from the main school office. This would be subject to providing two satisfactory references and a DBS check.

On occasions, positions become available on our TLAC (Governing Board) and positions can be applied for via the Headteacher. Parents will be notified if if/when these positions become available.

For any parents who require support with form completion or access to any information on the school website, parents should call 01543 227175 and speak to a member of office staff. A member of staff will then be allocated to support parents with any needs they have.

Usually support for parents in this manner will be provided by the school SENDCO, Mrs Yates who can be contacted via the main school office.

All activities provided can be accessed by all pupils – including those with SEND. When planning trips etc, staff will be mindful of those pupils in their class with SEND and as such will ensure the trip is fully accessible for all.

The school operates a before and after school club. This provision can be booked via emailing the main school office who can also confirm current pricing. The member of staff in charge of this provision is Miss Beere.

At times, during the school holidays, Progressive Sports run holiday activity clubs. Further information can be found on their website Home - Progressive Sports (progressive-sports.co.uk)

Risk assessments are carried out and procedures are put in place to enable all children to participate in all school activities. The school ensures it has sufficient staff expertise to ensure that no child with SEND is excluded from any school provided activity.

For any pupils with specific health needs, behavioural or relevant SEND needs, parents will be consulted during the planning phase of any trip. An overview of the trip will be given and parents (and pupils, if appropriate) will be given the opportunity to contribute their views. This discussion will feed into the risk assessment and will be included when submitted to EVOLVE risk assessment.

The site is wheel chair accessible, has disabled parking spaces and a disabled toilet.

Within our classrooms we are acutely aware of how some environments can be overstimulating for pupils. Within EYFS we have adopted a natural approach with lots of use of wood and natural, calming colours.

Our corridors are clear and we are conscious that all classrooms follow a similar approach to displays. Similar displays therefore flow through school for English, Maths, Reading and Phonics. This allows our pupils to be familiar with each environment so that when they move up through school, they don’t become too overwhelmed by change.

Classrooms are kept clutter free with resources being clearly labelled so that pupils can access them independently. Each year group are lucky to have a breakout room which can be used for pupils to work in smaller groups away from the main classroom. If children are feeling overwhelmed, they can take a few minutes time out in these quieter area.

Pye Green Academy is all on one level and has no stairs or lifts. All areas or school are fully accessible and all pupils are encouraged to use them. When staff are planning activities, trips or visits they always have inclusion in mind. Nothing is planned that excludes pupils from these activities due to any disabilities.

The school produces a weekly newsletter. This uses a dyslexia friendly format and can be accessed via the school website. Emails and text messages are our main method of communication with parents, and we have recently set up our twitter account @pyegreenacademy

Information regarding admission can be found on our school website by accessing the following link.

For any parent wishing to arrange a visit to the school please email enquiries@pyegreen.uwmat.co.uk and a member of our team will get back to you.

Throughout the year there are open days and various opportunities to meet with teachers.

Before joining Pye Green Academy, school staff will make contact with the child’s previous setting in order to gain as much information about them as possible. Staff may visit your child at their setting or arrange additional visits to our setting for them. Your child may be required to join us for a reduced amount of time to begin with and this can be arranged if needed through the school SENDCO or senior leaders. Your child’s new class teacher will meet the child and any information gathered will be shared with them.

There will be careful planning and preparation for the transitions between phases of education – this includes pupils moving from EFYS to KS1, KS1 to KS2 and Y6 to High School. To support transition, the school will share information with the school or other setting the child is moving to. Schools will agree with parents and pupils the information to be shared as part of this planning process.

When a child moves within phases but still within our school, we will carry out additional transition session should the child need this. All pupils in school have two afternoons in July when they move up to their new class and work with their new teacher. It is recognised that some pupils need more than this. In these cases, additional sessions will be arranged. The child may ‘pop over’ regularly, deliver messages or take work to show their new teacher well before moving into their class. Staff may also produce a transition book which includes photographs and key information about their new class. Each pupil is different and as such Pye Green Academy work on an individual basis knowing what each pupils needs in terms of transition – no one size fits all.

All information regarding a pupil’s health or learning needs will be shared with their new school. In addition, information regarding friendship groups, strategies that work well for the pupil and any fears/worries school know the pupil has will also be shared. If there has been safeguarding during the time the pupil has been at the school, we have a duty of care to also share this with the child’s new setting. How will you support the new setting, school, or college to prepare for my child or young person?
If required, additional visits to the new setting will be arranged by the school. A familiar member of staff will also be on hand to accompany the pupil to their new setting should the child and parents feel this will help. Additional meetings with staff from the new school will be held so that all relevant information can be passed on as required.

Once a child has joined Pye Green Academy, it may still be appropriate to liaise with their previous setting. This may be to discuss appropriate ways to meet the child’s need or request additional information. Until a child settles in our setting, the best people to help are sometimes those who have worked with the child longest.

Further advice and support can be accessed via a range of agencies.

SENDIASS (Staffordshire Family Partnership) are Staffordshire’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service and provide free, impartial, confidential advice and support around Education, Health and Social Care. Their team supports Parents and Carers of Children and Young People with SEND (0-25) and also Children and Young People with SEND. They can be contact on 01785 356921or by emailing sfps@staffordshire.gov.uk

Family Hubs are a virtual space where you can find advice and support and connect with others in your area. The Family Hubs offer a range of information, support and advice for families at a local and county level. This is communicated mainly through the Family Hub Facebook pages but can also be answered by individual queries by email, message or phone calls. Lead contact for our area is Debs Prew who can be contacted on 07570 820173 or by emailing debs.prew@staffordshire.gov.uk

Aiming High is a programme of activities and short breaks for children and young people aged 5-18 years old with a special educational need/disability (SEND) who live in Staffordshire. Children and young people can access a set number of free activities each month, usually one per month with extra during school holidays. To find out what activities are available please visit Staffordshire Connects Website. To book places or ask any questions, please call 0300 111 8007 (Option 2 then option 5).

Information produced May 2022

To be reviewed May 2023 or throughout the year if there are staff or provision changes.

Pye Green Academy welcome parents communicating with school at the earliest opportunity and encourage parents to make contact via the main school office by calling 01532 227175 or by emailing enquiries@pyegreen.uwmat.co.uk

It is important that complaints are shared directly with Pye Green Academy staff in the first instance. Usually, concerns can be dealt with informally, by working in partnership, and a satisfactory resolution can be reached. Occasionally, a concern cannot be resolved in this way and it may become a complaint.

The school complaints policy can be accessed via the school website. This Policy sets out the Framework for the University of Wolverhampton Multi Academy Trust (Trust) complaints procedure for parents, carers and members of the public, to make complaints about any academy within their Trust. The concern or complaint should be directed to the academy that the concern or complaint relates to, in this case Pye Green Academy. Within our Trust, we value our relationship with parents, carers and our local community. We are happy to receive suggestions and comments on what goes on within our academies. This can help us to identify areas of success and where we can make improvements. We are committed to treating all complaints seriously and that these are dealt with promptly, courteously and fairly.