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Our SEN Information Report – which is part of Durham County Council’s Local Offer– provides details about how we support children and young people with Special Educational Needs in our school.​
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The SEN Information Report was reviewed and updated in January 2024.
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At Langley Park Primary School, we recognise that all pupils are entitled to a quality of provision that will enable them to achieve their potential.
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Our school ethos for supporting children with SEND is:
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To create a high esteem environment, where SEND pupils enjoy learning independently
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We work closely in partnership with other external agencies in order to provide a positive educational experience for all our pupils including those with special educational needs or disabilities.
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At Langley Park, all teaching staff works closely with the SENDCo and other relevant staff to help support children with SEND.
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Our SENDCo works in close conjunction with Mrs Stirling, the Designated Teacher for Looked After Children, and with all teachers and relevant support staff to ensure all in school understand the implications for those children who are looked after and have SEND.
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This SEND Information Report should be read alongside the school’s SEND Policy, the Equalities Information and Objectives, and the Accessibility Plan.
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Key Contacts​
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Mr Dan Walton is the Head Teacher
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Mrs Lindsay Burnip is the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator
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Mrs Laura Moralee is our designated SEND Governor
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They can all be contacted via our website on the contact us page, or by phone on 0191 373 1398.
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SEND Admissions​
For information on the admission of pupils with a disability, please visit the School Admission section of our website and view the Accessibility Plan in our School Policies section.
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If you would like to discuss your child’s SEN in more detail, please contact the school to arrange an appointment with the SENDCo.
The full range of local support available for children/ young people with SEND and their families within and outside of school can be found in the County Durham Local Offer
Our SEN Provision
All children have a range of strengths and weaknesses, and it is expected that all children will find some elements of the whole school curriculum more challenging than others.
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A child will be identified as SEN if the support they require to achieve is ‘additional to’ or ‘different from’ that of their peers.
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There are four broad areas of special educational need, which help to categorise the types of difficulty children may encounter. these are:
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Communication and Interaction
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This area of need includes children with Autism Spectrum Condition and those with Speech, Language and Communication needs.
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Cognition and Learning
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This includes children with Specific Learning Difficulties, Moderate Learning Difficulties, Severe Learning Difficulties and Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties.
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Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties
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This includes any pupils who have an emotional, social or mental health need that is impacting on their ability to learn.
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Sensory and/or Physical Difficulties
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This area includes children with hearing impairment, visual impairment, multi-sensory impairment and physical difficulties.
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Whilst these areas may help us to support a child at Langley Park Primary school we believe that every child is unique and should be treated as such.​​​​​​​
The kinds of SEN that are provided for:
At Langley Park Primary School, we have experience of supporting children and young people with a wide range of need including:
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Moderate Learning Difficulties
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Autistic Spectrum Disorders
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Specific Learning Difficulties including Dyslexia
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Speech and Language Difficulties
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Physical difficulties including those from disabilities.
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Social, Emotional and Mental Health Issues including ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
The school provides data on the levels and types of need to the Local Authority. This is collected through the school census.
Our approach to teaching children & young people with SEN
Our school ethos for SEND children at Langley Park is; to create a high esteem environment, where SEND pupils enjoy learning independently. We are an inclusive school and believe that all children should be happy, safe, and proud of their achievements across the whole school day.
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Our school aims to provide all children with a well-planned and balanced education taking full account of National Curriculum Statutory requirements. Within the bounds of this we also provide for individual children’s special needs which may require individualised work or additional help.
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Our curriculum also includes the social aspects that are essential for lifelong learning, personal growth and development of independence. Children are given opportunities to broaden their experience, listen and talk about what they explore and investigate, develop skills and practice them. You can access much more information about our curriculum including teaching and learning via our website.
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As a Rights Respecting School, we have embedded the UNCRC (United Conventions of the Rights of a Child) within our planning, policies and practice. The school has a Rights Respecting Ethos, where all children are empowered to become active citizens and learners.
How we identify, assess and review children with special educational needs
Most children and young people in mainstream schools will have their special educational needs met through good classroom practice. This is called Quality First Teaching.
Early Identification of Need
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In deciding whether to make special education provision to support educational, social, physical or emotional needs, we:
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Work in partnership with parents/carers, pupils
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Consult with relevant external agencies
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Use assessment tools & materials
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Use observations of the pupil in the classroom setting.
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Use Short Notes to track any concerns and help identify any difficulties.
Some children may join Langley Park Primary School with parents having a clear understanding of their child’s needs. In this case we work together with parents/carers, the young children/person, and any relevant education, health and social care professionals to design an individualised SEN Support Plan for that pupil. This plan will describe the child’s needs, and define the outcomes and provision needed to meet those needs. The views of both the child/young person, and the parents/carers are integral to this process and as a school we see parents as partners in their child’s educational journey.
Alternatively, school staff or the parents of a pupil may identify a concern which has not previously been identified. In this case, the class teacher, alongside the SENDCo, will discuss the child’s needs at a meeting with parents/carers at the earliest opportunity. During this meeting, a Short Note would be completed with agreed outcomes for the child/young person and next steps. The young person’s opinions and aspirations will be central to this process at this stage. If further support is needed, they will also then move to an individualised SEN Support Plan
How we adapt the curriculum and learning environment for children & young people with SEN
Our ethos is that all children in our school can work independently to produce work they can be proud of. We are aware that this may require personalised adaptations, and we strive to ensure work is challenging and rewarding, yet always accessible.
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Some of the actions we may take to achieve this are:
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Insist that all pupils deserve to achieve to the best of their abilities, despite any difficulty or disability they may have.
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Modify the curriculum to meet individual needs.
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Ensure that teaching staff are aware of and sensitive to the needs of all pupils and guide them to teach pupils in a way that is more appropriate to their needs.
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To make suitable provision for children with SEND to fully develop their abilities, interests and aptitudes and gain maximum access to the curriculum.
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To ensure that all children are offered the opportunity to participate in activities outside the classroom and extra-curricular activities. We ensure that reasonable adjustments are made to enable children with SEND to access a full curriculum and to enrich the experiences of all pupils.
We are always prepared to seek advice, resources, equipment and training in order to provide high quality experiences for our children.
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Many settings might offer support and advice in meeting the needs of children with SEND and offer specific risk assessments which are sent to the school prior to school outings or visits. As a school we ensure that suitable and accessible transport is provided and that comprehensive risk assessments cover travel arrangements to ensure that all children are safe during excursions.
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More details on how we adapt information, our environment and curriculum can be found in the Accessibility Plan, which you can find at the end of this report.
SEN Support
Where a pupil is identified as having a special educational need we follow a graduated approach which takes the form of cycles of “Assess, Plan, Do, Review”.
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This means that we will:
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Assess a child’s special educational needs
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Plan the provision to meet your child’s aspirations and agreed outcomes
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Do put the provision in place to meet those outcomes
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Review the support and progress
At Langley Park we use half-termly assessment to track a child’s progress; then analyse this data to identify gaps in children’s learning and to plan appropriate intervention when required. Different children require different levels of support to ensure they make appropriate and sustained progress at their level.
Class teachers work closely with our SENCO in order to make sure that children’s individual support plans closely match their direct learning need. These plans are monitored and updated on a termly basis.
The next steps may require the involvement of specialist support or advice for example, Educational Psychology, SENDIASS (Parents Advice and Support Service) or another of education health and social care professional. It is important to understand that the involvement of professionals does not always seek to label or diagnose but for school and parents/carers to seek recommendations and strategies to best enable a child/young person to reach their full potential.
A small percentage of children and young people with significant and/or complex needs may require an assessment that could lead to an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
The purpose of an EHCP is to make special educational provision to meet special educational needs of the child or young person, to secure the best possible outcomes for them across education. It is a legal document that describes a child or young person’s special educational, health and social care needs.
For more detailed information regarding Education, Health and Care Plans, please see the Local Offer
The progress of pupils with SEND is very important to us at Langley Park and they are tracked across the school as a distinct group, who’s attainment is matched against other pupil groups within school. Whilst this academic success is celebrated, at Langley Park we place more importance in our ethos that SEND pupils succeed within our high esteem environment, where they produce work which is meaningful to them independently.
How children with SEN engage in all activities?
We believe firmly at Langley Park that all children should engage fully in all aspects of school life. To do this, we ensure that all children with SEND are fully included in all activities within school.
In some instances, adaptations may be made to ensure that this participation is either safe, or to maintain our SEND ethos; allowing every child to experience high esteem, independent learning.
We do not offer targeted extra-curricular activities for children with Special Education Needs, but instead actively try to ensure that all our extra-curricular activities, including any residentials or school trips, are adapted for children’s specific needs.
We are delighted and proud of the number of pupils with Special Educational Needs who participate fully in our extra-curricular activities and opportunities within school (e.g. our Rights Respecting Council). As a Rights Respecting school we value and very actively encourage every pupil’s participation and voice in every aspect of school life.
If you feel your child has specific SEND requirements or adaptations made to better accommodate them at Langley Park, please contact the school to arrange an appointment with Miss Kelly.
You can also access more details via our school SEND policy which you can find on the School Policies section of our website.
Support for Emotional & Social Development
All of our pupils at Langley Park, regardless of their learning needs are given a high level of pastoral and social support for their time at our school.
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In some instances, this may require additional support, specifically focused on the child’s social, or emotional development. As with any form of SEND, this will always begin with a conversation with parents, building a strong link to share what works best for each child.
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Our approach to supporting any child regardless of their difficulty will always be to follow our SEND ethos, of allowing that child to experience a high esteem environment and achieve independently.
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Should further support be required, then external agencies may be signposted, or brought in to support children within school. As a school we will look to any recommendations for how best to support that child to succeed, and to embed this within our assess, plan, do, review cycle.
Looked After Children with SEND
Our designated teacher for looked after children is Mrs Stirling, she works closely with Mrs Burnip our SENDCo, to ensure that all children are supported, and that there is an early identification of any issues within school.
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All LAC have a statutory Care Plan, which is drawn up and reviewed by the Local Authority that looks after them. The Personal Education Plan (PEP) is a legal part of the Care Plan; which is a statutory requirement for LAC in education provision.
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All LAC have a PEP which is also reviewed every term. Any SEND Support Plans and the PEP should complement each other to provide individual support tailored to each child.
How we evaluate the effectiveness of SEN Provision
As a school we continuously ensure that our provision has a positive impact on the outcomes for all our children/young people. We do this in a variety of ways, including:
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Robust evaluation of policy and practice
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Book Scrutinies
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County/Cross-County moderation
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SENCO/SLT/Governor monitoring
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Learning walks
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Performance Management
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Mentoring
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Parent SEND Voice
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Student SEND Voice
Specific SEND evaluation within school takes place on a termly basis, and any changes are fed back to all staff, children and parents where appropriate. This is also reflected in our SEND policy which is annually reviewed at the start of each academic year.
SEN Transition
What we do
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We appreciate that any transition within a child’s school career has a key role to play in their happiness, confidence and general self-esteem around school.
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It is important to us that children are well prepared for the next steps in their educational journey. At Langley Park we recognise that all transitions can be especially important for children with additional needs.
Nursery/Pre-school into Foundation Stage
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Before a child starts with us we try to gain as much insight as we can into the child’s educational needs, stage of development and family background. Class teachers will regularly visit with nursery/pre-school settings to meet the child and family in a familiar environment and if deemed appropriate will undertake home visits.
Parents are always encouraged to visit school on a number of occasions before their child starts with us to allow them to meet people, become familiar with the school environment and of course ask any relevant questions.
Formal ‘meet the teacher’ sessions are held for parents and a series of pre-school visits are organised for the children to come and experience school for themselves.
Throughout this time parents/carers are encouraged to share information regarding their child with us in both formal and informal ways.
Children with SEND may require additional support when moving from their nursery or pre-school setting and we work with staff in these settings to ensure that so that all relevant information is shared. This means that the transition process can be as seamless and supportive for both parent and child as possible.
In- School Transition
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Where a move takes place within school, all appropriate details are fully shared amongst any relevant teachers and support staff.
This is mainly done by the passing on of cohort tracking data (attainment and progress), any class intervention files, and SEND support plans. Pupil progress and wellbeing is discussed on a regular basis in staff meetings so that every staff member is aware of the individual learning needs of all children including those with SEND.
At the end of the academic year each pupil takes part in ‘moving up’ sessions where they meet their new teacher and experience life in their new classroom. Children with SEND are supported by both class teachers and LSA’s during this process, and if appropriate LSA’s will accompany them to ensure this is a positive experience.
Primary to Secondary Transition
We have extensive links with a number of secondary colleagues with whom we work very closely throughout the school year. In past years we have had children leave us to move onto schools as varied as Durham Academy, Framwellgate School Durham, Durham Johnston, North Durham Academy, and Trinity School in Durham.
Each school has its own in-built transition programme and we fully participate in this work to best prepare children for the next step in their learning journey. Children with additional learning needs are fully supported in this process and school staff will accompany them as appropriate on transition visits. Likewise, secondary colleagues are invited into school to share information with parents/carers and to build a positive relationship with key members of staff at their child’s new school.
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If you have any questions specifically regarding transition, please contact Mrs Burnip (SENDCo) through the school office.
Disability and Accessibility
We are committed to providing a fully accessible environment which values and includes all pupils, staff, parents and visitors regardless of their education, physical, sensory, social, spiritual and emotional needs. We are committed to challenging negative attitudes about disability and accessibility and to developing a culture of awareness, tolerance and inclusion.
Admissions
Children and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan follow a different admission and transfer process for a new school. Please continue to complete Durham County Council’s parental preference form, as part of the admission process to a new school. You continue to have a right to request a particular school and this will be considered alongside the information that we have about your child’s special educational needs. The information would have been provided as part of the Education, Health and Care assessment or following the review meeting.
For Children and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan the SEN team can be contacted on 03000 265878.
What we do to prevent pupils with disabilities from being treated less favourably:
Our School is committed to anti-discriminatory practice to promote equality of opportunity, prevent disabled pupils from being treated less favourably and valuing diversity for all children and families.
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Provide a safe, stimulating and accessible curriculum and environment in which all our children can flourish and in which all contributions are considered and valued (see our Accessibility Action Plan)
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Include and value the contribution of all families to our understanding of equality and diversity
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Celebrate the achievements of all our children, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender or disability
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Consult with our children, parents and the School Council that the needs of all our children are being met
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Ensure that children with SEN can engage in activities with all children and are offered the opportunity to participate with activities in and outside of the classroom by making reasonable adjustments to the organisation of these.
The facilities to assist access are outlined in our Accessibility Plan
Our school has ramped access to the main entrance and the dining room. Some entrances into school have steps, however, these are usually accessible using portable ramps, There is a lift in school to aid access to and from the classrooms and a second ramp into the EYFS outdoor area. We have a disabled parking area within the school grounds. We have a disabled toilet and a selection of specialist writing and reading equipment for children to use.
Doors have visibility panels throughout the school to provide ease of wheelchair access if needed. Please contact us if you have any questions about accessibility.
Our Accessibility Plan and the short, medium and long term actions, will be reviewed and adjusted on an annual basis and a new Accessibility Plan will be produced every three years.
The Accessibility Plan contains relevant actions to:
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Improve access to the physical environment of the school, adding specialist facilities as necessary.
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Increase access to the curriculum for pupils with a disability. This covers reasonable adjustments within teaching and learning, specialist aids and equipment and the wider curriculum of the school, such as after school clubs, visits etc,
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Improve the provision of information to pupils, staff, parents and visitors with disabilities. All information will be made available in various formats within a reasonable time frame.
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​If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.​
Consulting with our SEN Pupils, Parents & Carers
When support plans are set within school, any targets are shared and discussed with the child where appropriate, so that they can take an active role in support available to them. Children are always invited to review meetings with parents, so their views can be part of the assess, plan, do, review cycle.
Our SENDCo Mrs Burnip works closely with SEND pupils to ensure that the SEND voice is heard within school, and the thoughts and opinions of all children are valued.
Consultation with parents and carers of children and young people with SEND
We are committed to working with parents and carers to identify their child’s needs and support. Parents and carers will always be involved throughout this process.
There is a range of ways this currently occurs within school, including:
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Termly parents/carers evenings;
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Ongoing discussions with a class teacher and/or SENCO;
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An ‘open-door’ policy, where parents and carers are welcome to come into school to discuss any concerns they may have;
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Through regular termly reviews of their child’s SEN Support Plan/ EHC Plan.
Compliments, Complaints & Feedback
We are always seeking to improve on the quality of education we provide for children at Langley Park and are keen to hear from parents about their child’s experience. We take all feedback seriously, and it is always fed back into our SEND evaluation and audit each year.
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Compliments are always happily received and can be passed on either directly to staff and the SENCO, or formally recorded via our regular questionnaires to parents or in the form of a letter to the Head Teacher.
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We hope that complaints about our SEND provision will be rare, however should there be any concerns or queries, we would encourage you to initially make an appointment through the school office to see our SENDCo,
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If there is still a concern the process outlined in the school Complaints Policy should be followed.
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Further information can be found in the Complaints Policy in the School Policies section of your website or by visiting the Durham SEND Information, Advice and Support Service website.
Key Policies for SEND
All our school policies can be found on the website but the most important ones for parents/carers of children with SEND are listed below.
SEND Policy
Equality Diversion and Cohesion Policy
Equality Information and Objectives
Accessibility Plan
Behaviour and relationship Policy
Supporting Pupils with Medical Needs Policy
Complaints Policy
Inclusion Policy
If you would like a paper copy (or any other format) of any of our documents on our website please speak to the school office, who will provide them to you free of charge.