Last Updated - November 7, 2024
Homelands overarching purpose is to help all our children to fulfil their potential. We do this by nurturing in our children a love and enthusiasm for learning, by encouraging them to become confident and independent learners and by helping them develop care and respect for each other.
DFE : 2455
Contact Name : Mrs Angela Urquhart
Contact Position : Headteacher
Telephone : 01803 328264
Fax: 01803 325244
E-mail : office@homelandstorbay.org
Website : www.homelands.torbay.sch.uk
Notes : Headteacher: aurquhart@homelandstorbay.org
Name : Homelands Primary School
Address : Westhill Road
TORQUAY
DEVON
Postcode : TQ1 4NT
Age Ranges : From 3 years to 11 years
SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) | Homelands Primary School
At Homelands, we believe that the first approach to meeting a child’s special educational need or disability is through ‘quality first teaching.’ We consider ourselves to be an inclusive environment where every child is supported to access the curriculum.
For children who find this more difficult, we can make provision for every kind of frequently occurring special educational need with or without an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP), for instance Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Speech and Language needs, Autism, Learning Difficulties and Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs.
There are other kinds of special educational need which do not occur as frequently and with which the school is less familiar, but we can access training and advice so that these kinds of needs can also be met.
We have allocated Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo), Pastoral and Parental Engagement roles.
Members of the teaching and support staff have the training and/ or qualifications in the following areas:
We have built up strong relationships with the Local Authority, Health and Social Care. This includes the Educational Psychologists, SEN Advisory Teacher, Speech and Language Therapist, School Nurse, Torbay Education Safeguarding Service and Social Workers.
There are additional services and provision that your child may have access to at Homelands, including:
The school also has experience of pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan with the following kinds of special educational need:
There is a table in the downloadable version of this document that sets out dada relating to our experience.
The SENDCo is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the SEND Policy and coordinates provision to support individual children at SEN Support or who have an Education, Health and Care Plan. Mrs Shirley Fowler and Mrs Carolyn Brend are the SEND governors who provide a link between the SENDCo and the governing body.
We are an inclusive provider and will consider placements for any child aged between 3 and 11 years whose parent(s)/carer(s) wish them to access our provision.
All children are welcome to attend our school, regardless of their needs and we follow the guidance as laid out in the Equalities Act 2010. We will discuss the individual needs of a child with their parent(s)/carer(s) and identify how we will be able to support them, working in partnership with appropriate outside agencies as necessary.
The admission arrangements for pupils without an Education, Health and Care plan are administrated by Torbay Local Authority and do not discriminate against or disadvantage disabled children or those with special educational needs.
Decisions on the admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan are also made by the Local Authority.
Once a child’s needs have been established, we can access additional training and resources to ensure that we are able to make every reasonable effort to enable a child to access our school and curriculum.
The school Admissions Policy can be found on our website: http://www.homelands.torbay.sch.uk/policies/
At Homelands we monitor the progress of all pupils at least half termly to review their academic progress. We also use a range of assessments with all the pupils at various points e.g. Y1 phonics screening, spelling assessments and reading assessments, etc. Where progress is not sufficient, even if a special educational need has not been identified, we put in place extra support to enable the pupil to catch up. Examples of extra support include additional reading, small group or one to one support, booster sessions, etc. We follow the graduated approach to supporting children with additional needs as detailed in the Code of Practice using the ‘assess, plan, do, review’ cycle.
Some pupils may still fail to make adequate progress, despite high-quality teaching targeted at their areas of difficulty. For these pupils, in consultation with parents, we will use a range of assessment tools to determine the cause of the learning difficulty. At Homelands we are experienced in using the following assessment tools:
We also have access to external advisors such as the SEN Advisory Service who are able to use additional assessment tools such as the Sandwell Maths Assessment for numeracy difficulties.
The purpose of this more detailed assessment is to understand what additional resources and different approaches are required to enable the pupil to make better progress. These will be shared with parents, put into a SEN support plan, reviewed regularly and refined / revised if necessary. At this point we will have identified that the pupil has a special educational need because the school is making special educational provision for the pupil, which is additional to and/ or different from what is typically available.
If the pupil is able to make good progress using this additional and different resource (but would not be able to maintain this good progress without it) we will continue to identify the pupil as having a special educational need. If the pupil is able to maintain good progress without the additional and different resources he or she will not be identified with special educational needs. Parents will be notified when any change in identification of SEN is made.
We will ensure that all teachers and support staff who work with the pupil are aware of the support to be provided and the teaching approaches to be used.
Here at Homelands we recognise that parent(s)/carer(s) are the first educators of their children and know them better than anyone; we work in partnership with them to support their child’s personal and academic development.
Families are welcome to view the school if they wish their child to join us from another setting or school. If they do choose Homelands, we will make every endeavour to ensure we are made fully aware of the child’s needs via discussions with the previous setting, where appropriate, parents and any other professionals involved. This could be through an arranged transition meeting.
The school operates an ‘open door’ policy for parent(s)/carer(s) to speak to staff when they need to do so. Additionally, formal Parents’ Evenings, daily informal dialogue and conversations at either the request of the parents or the teacher, or communication through a Home-School diary allow opportunity to discuss any questions or queries. Parent(s)/carer(s) will also receive annual written reports. There are opportunities for parent(s)/carer(s) to give feedback about aspects of the school on a regular basis to ensure needs are met.
For parent(s)/carer(s) of children with Special Educational Needs there will be additional opportunities to discuss their child’s progress and development through the likes of SEN Support Plan review sessions, Annual Review meetings if their child has an EHCP, reports from outreach services and additional SEND questionnaires.
If an EHCP is in place, wherever possible other agencies involved with the pupil will be invited to contribute to and attend an Annual Review. Information will be made accessible for parents.
Children play an active part in their own development at Homelands. Children may well take part in pupil conferencing, complete a pupil questionnaire or can discuss any issues or concerns with a teacher or teaching assistant. There is also a School Council made up of pupils representing each of the year groups from Reception to Year 6 to enable children’s views to be heard.
Every pupil, including those with special educational needs receives quality first teaching from all teaching and support staff. Homelands is an inclusive school, so all pupils learn together with a differentiated curriculum aimed to meet their individual needs and abilities. This approach enables the pupils to progress and attain to their full potential; narrowing the attainment gap between those pupils who are behind age related expectations and those that are at or above.
Teaching is adapted in a range of ways to suit the variety of needs of our pupils; this may include using different or additional resources, such as: visual timetables or personalised reward systems; the pace and pitch of the teaching being adjusted; using additional adult support; or using technological aides.
For those children that quality first teaching is not enough and an additional need has been identified, extra support in the form of supplementary resources and/or interventions will be offered to support these needs. These are delivered by additional staff partly funded by funding provided to the school as ‘notional SEN funding.’
For pupils with highly complex needs that require specialist support or equipment to enable them to access their learning, we may need to contact specialist support agencies from the Local Authority or other specialist provision. Where this is necessary, we would have regular discussions with parent(s)/carer(s), the pupil and the Local Authority.
At Homelands the quality of teaching was judged to remain good at our last inspection (May 2018).
At Homelands we adapt the curriculum and the learning environment for pupils with special educational needs so that all children, including those with additional needs, are able to receive a broad and balanced curriculum with access to the full range of National Curriculum subjects, extra-curricular clubs, out of school experiences and residential trips. Where it is necessary, the school will use the resources available to it to provide additional adult support to enable the safe participation of the pupil in the activity.
We also incorporate the advice provided as a result of assessments, both internal and external and, the strategies described in Education, Health and Care plans.
We are a fully accessible site, with no stairs and have an accessible toilet and changing area for children with additional mobility difficulties.
As part of our requirement to keep the appropriateness of our curriculum and learning environment under review, we have recently made the following improvements as part of the school’s accessibility planning:
This year we have identified that there are no current accessibility aspects of the school that need to be improved.
A recently applied for government capital funding grant was successful and we now have a repurposed space in school that is a designated sensory room – we will develop the use of this space over the coming year.
The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) including the SENDCo, work collaboratively with parents, class teachers and support staff to monitor provision. We also have the support of a variety of professionals throughout Torbay for expert guidance and specialist equipment. Where external advisors recommend the use of equipment or facilities that the school does not have, we will purchase it using notional SEN funding or seek it by loan. There may be rare occasions when we do not have the resources or facilities to meet the specific needs of an individual child; where this occurs, we may suggest a more appropriate, alternative setting.
Provision for meeting the needs of pupils with special educational needs is funded by the school’s Notional SEN budget, Pupil Premium funding and the High Needs Block.
The Notional SEN budget is monitored by the Headteacher, Governors and SENDCo, with resources being allocated according to need. This could be in the form of staff training for current staff, appointing additional staff to meet an individual’s needs, or purchasing new equipment.
As part of our budget we receive ‘notional SEN funding’. This funding is used to ensure that the quality of teaching is good in the school and that there are sufficient resources to deploy additional and different teaching for pupils requiring SEN support. The amount of support required for each pupil to make good progress will be different in each case, dependent on their need.
In a small number of cases, a very high level of resource is required. The funding arrangements require schools to provide up to £6000 per year of resource for pupils with high needs and, above that amount the Local Authority should provide top up to the school as required in line with the Childs’ Education, Health and Care Plan.
At Homelands, we understand that an important feature of the school is to enable all pupils to develop emotional resilience and social skills, both through direct teaching, for instance through the PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Emotional) curriculum and, indirectly with every conversation adults have with pupils throughout the day. Additionally, we have several historically trained ‘Thrive’ practitioners – an emotional development programme – who can support children individually, in small groups or within the classroom. We have now started using the Boxall Profiling tool, which is of a similar nature to Thrive. If an emotional need is highlighted, then differentiated support will be put into place, working alongside the pupil and with parents as appropriate. For example, a child might have access to a quiet space that they can go to whenever they are agitated or upset.
For some pupils with a higher level of need, we have staff trained in attachment awareness, as well as access to external support through the Educational Psychologist and CAMHS.
Every child at Homelands is valued for their individuality and uniqueness. “Similarities Unite; Differences Enrich.” We strive to support positive behaviour in school and work alongside the children with their parents to achieve this together. Pupils in the early stages of emotional and social development, because of their special educational needs, will be supported to enable them to develop and mature appropriately in line with their developmental stage. This may require additional and different resources, beyond that required by pupils who do not need this support.
All clubs, trips and activities offered to pupils at Homelands are available to pupils with special educational needs either with or without an Education, Health and Care Plan. Where it is necessary, we will use the resources available to us to provide additional adult support to enable the safe participation of all pupils in the activity.
At Homelands, we work closely with the educational settings used by the pupils before they transfer to us, in order to make the transfer as seamless as possible. Children set to join the Foundation Stage in September will be invited to attend Homelands in June and July to meet the staff and see the environment that they will be using when they start. Our Early Years Foundation Stage Lead has built up good relationships with several local nurseries and contacts them to ascertain any additional needs that the new children might have. In addition, staff carry out home visits in September and the children have a phased start that builds up to full time in the first few weeks of term.
Transition for existing pupils between year groups or Key Stages starts in the summer term, where children get the opportunity to meet their new staff and learning environment. This transition work can be carried out either on a 1 to 1 basis or in small groups for children with additional needs. These children may benefit from a transition booklet containing key photos of new people and places, to support them over the summer. We now also provide ‘welcome’ videos for each class that can be viewed on our website.
Children leaving Homelands that have additional needs benefit from the SENDCo meeting with the SENDCo of their new school to discuss their needs, to ensure consistency of approach as they move on. Children with high level needs may benefit from an additional transition meeting with all professionals involved to develop a bespoke package.
School staff and the SENDCo are able to signpost parents and carers to other services that might be available and will support them to access these wherever possible.
In addition, SENDIASS Torbay provides free, impartial, confidential, advice, support and options around educational issues for parents who have children with special educational needs or disabilities (0-25). They empower parents to play an active and informed role in their child’s education. They can be contacted on: Office:
The Local Authority’s Local Offer is published on the Torbay Family Information Service’s website, found at http://fis.torbay.gov.uk/kb5/torbay/fsd/home.page; this is a good online source for parents and carers to find out about and access additional local services.
All pupils at Homelands are welcome to attend any extra-curricular clubs (some are on a first come, first served basis), residential visits, peripatetic music lessons and school trips. This includes Breakfast Club, depending on availability. Where it is necessary and practical, the school will use the resources available to it to provide additional adult support to enable the safe participation of pupils in an activity or visit; however, this may not always be possible for extra-curricular clubs or activities.
A full list of clubs available each term can be found on our school website at http://www.homelands.torbay.sch.uk/school-clubs/.
Every pupil in the school has their progress tracked 6 times per year by class teachers and the SLT. It is at these Pupil Progress Meetings that progress is monitored and reviewed alongside any targeted interventions or specific support that has been carried out.
Progress is shared with parents and carers through written reports, verbally at Parent’s Evenings or more informally through the Foundation Stage Learning Journals or a home-school book if in use.
In addition to this, pupils with special educational needs may have more frequent assessments of reading age, spelling age etc. The assessments we use at Homelands are listed in Section 3 of this document, as well as accessing additional assessments through the SEN Advisory Service.
Parent/carer meetings are held termly to discuss progress for children at SEN Support, via SEN Support Plan review meetings. Similarly, children with an Education, Health and Care Plan also receive termly meetings with the class teacher, one of which will be the Annual Review meeting. At both SEN Support or an EHCP, the children work with staff to review targets and set new ones. The SENDCo monitors that targets are regularly reviewed and reflect the needs of individual pupils. If these assessments do not show that adequate progress is being made the SEN support plan will be reviewed and adjusted.
Parents or carers with additional concerns can make an appointment to discuss their child’s needs and progress with the SENDCo. These meetings may sometimes involve other professionals involved with the pupil e.g. an Educational Psychologist or the School Nurse.
Each review of the SEN support plan or EHCP will be informed by the views of the pupil, parents and class/subject teachers; the assessment information from teachers will show whether adequate progress is being made.
The SEN Code of Practice (2015, 6.17) describes inadequate progress as thus:
We also measure each child’s progress against their prior attainment data at previous Key Stages to ensure a consistent progress profile.
Classroom observations take place regularly and pupil conferencing and parent questionnaires are completed occasionally in order for us to gain feedback from children and parents/carers about the provision in place to meet their/their child’s needs. Any additional resources or provision and interventions are reported to the governing body on a termly basis through the Headteacher’s Report and through the annual SEND report.
All teachers and teaching assistants take part in a programme of continuing professional development and have received training in the following areas:
Targeted staff have received training in:
In addition, some staff have received the following specialist training:
We regularly review our training needs and address gaps through ongoing professional development.
Where a training need is identified beyond this, we will find a provider who is able to deliver it. Training providers we can approach include Mayfield Special School, Educational Psychologist, SEN Advisory Service, Speech and Language Therapist, Occupational Therapist and Physiotherapist and, Babcock (Devon County Council). The cost of training is covered by the notional SEN funding where applicable.
All parents of pupils at Homelands are invited to formally discuss the progress of their children twice a year at Parent’s Evenings and receive an annual written report. In addition, parents are kept informed of their child’s progress through informal discussions with the teacher or SENDCo on a daily basis where necessary, additional parent-teacher meetings and/ or home-school communication books.
As part of our normal teaching arrangements, all pupils will access some additional teaching to help them catch-up if the progress monitoring indicates that this is necessary; this will not necessarily mean that the pupil has a special educational need. All such provision will be recorded, tracked and evaluated at progress meetings and will be shared with parents at Parent’s Evenings.
If, following this typical provision, improvements in progress are not seen, we will contact parents to discuss the use of internal or external assessments which will help us to address these needs more effectively. From this point onwards the pupil will be identified as having special educational needs, because special educational provision is being made; the parent will be invited to all planning and reviews of this provision. Parents will be actively supported to contribute to assessment, planning and review.
At Homelands, we always aim to resolve any issues informally and we positively encourage parents or carers to communicate any concerns verbally in the first instance. If you are unhappy about anything to do with our school or the support that you or your child are receiving from us, your child’s class teacher is the first point of contact.
Additionally, the SENDCo and/ or the Headteacher are also very happy to meet you to discuss any queries or concerns. Please make an appointment to see them via the school office.
If concerns remain, our Complaints Policy outlines the procedure to follow. This document can be downloaded from our school website (https://primarysite-prod-sorted.s3.amazonaws.com/homelands-primary-school/UploadedDocument/59aaa63eb788470cad7a62868d7c72b3/complaints-procedure.pdf) or a printed copy can be requested from the school office.
If the complaint is not resolved after it has been considered by the governing body, then a disagreement resolution service or mediation service may be contacted, depending on the nature of the complaint. If it remains unresolved after this, the complainant may be able to appeal to the First–tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) if the case refers to disability discrimination or to the Secretary of State for other cases.
There are some circumstances, usually for children who have an EHCP where there is a statutory right for parents to appeal against a decision of the Local Authority. Complaints which fall within this category cannot be investigated by the school.
If your child does not currently attend Homelands and you are considering applying for a place, you are most welcome to visit us for a tour of the school and have a discussion with the Headteacher, Assistant Heads and/ or the SENDCo.
If you wish to find out further information about Homelands, then you can contact us in the following ways:
Homelands Primary School, Westhill Road
Torquay, Devon
TQ1 4NT
You may also wish to read our OFSTED inspection reports on the OFSTED website: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk.
Our SEND Policy is available at: https://www.homelands.torbay.sch.uk/policies/ .
Homelands has a Designated and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL/ DDSL) who are the main points of contact for Children’s Services, Social Care, Targeted Help and other agencies such as Young Carers. These services sometimes contact us following a concern raised either by the parent/ carer or someone else; or we contact them for support and advice if a family is experiencing difficulties. We also subscribe to TESS (Torbay Education Safeguarding Service).
The DSL or DDSL attend all meetings with Social Care (Core Groups, Child In Need meetings and Child Protection Conferences / Reviews) and organises TAF meetings (Team around the Family) with other agencies if appropriate. The SENDCo liaises with medical professionals via telephone, letter or face to face meetings to support children with medical and/ or mental health needs.
The governing body have engaged with the following bodies: –
The Headteacher, Mrs Angela Urquhart, is our Designated Teacher for Children Looked After (CLA). The Designated Teacher attends all review meetings, works with the Social Worker on the child’s PEP (Personal Education Plan) which is updated termly, liaises with Torbay Virtual School for additional support for pupils who are CLA and attends regular training and updates provided for Designated Teachers. Where a Child Looked After has SEND, they would be supported in exactly the same way as any child with regards to the SEND Code of Practice.
