Local Offer - SEND Support (Targeted and Targeted+ Level)

SENDCO stands for special educational needs and disabilities coordinator. You might also hear of them referred to as a SENCO (special educational needs coordinator). 

The main role of the SENDCO is to lead in coordinating special educational support for learners in their setting. The SENDCO also provides professional guidance to colleagues and works closely with staff, parents and other agencies to that ensure learners receive the best support possible.

As a parent or carer, the SENDCO should be your main point of contact if you have concerns regarding your child’s SEND.

The SEND register is a register of learners, in a particular setting, who have special educational needs and/disabilities (SEND). The register contains information on which learners receive support, and the type of support they require.

If your child has been added to the SEND register, their education setting must make you aware of this.

No. Once a special educational need has been identified, your child's setting should work to meet this need without delay.

This completely depends on your child’s need, however, the vast majority of children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not need to attend a specialist school. A very small number of children have needs that can’t be met in a mainstream school so they attend a special school or specialist provision.

All children and young people who have SEND have the right to attend a mainstream education setting. Teachers should use inclusive High-Quality Teaching to ensure that every child has their learning needs met. They do this by making sure their lessons have been planned with all learning needs in mind, and adapting their teaching when needed.

The majority of children with SEND attend a mainstream setting where they receive additional support from specialist education and/or health services. The specialist services who work together with the child's school will ensure the environment is inclusive, and the learner's needs are identified and met. 

Staff should use inclusive High-Quality Teaching (HQT) to ensure that everyone within the setting has their learning needs met. They do this by making sure their lessons have been planned with all children's learning needs in mind and adapting their way of teaching when needed.

If inclusive HQT alone is not sufficient, the setting will create a tailored SEND plan for your child. The SEN support process has been outlined on this page.

There are lots of different services which can support your child in their setting. The types of services who may become involved will depend entirely on your child’s needs. Some of these services may include the Speech and Language Therapy Service, the Behavioural Outreach Support Service (BOSS), the Educational Psychology (EP) Service or the Autism and Social Communication Education and Training Service (ASCETS). You can find out more about each of these services on our Education Support Services page.

If you are unhappy with the support your child is receiving, you should raise your concerns with your their key worker, class teacher or the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator (SENDCO) in their setting. You can request a meeting to discuss your concerns and find a resolution. 

You may also wish to gain independent information, advice or support from Doncaster's SENDIAS Service. The service is completely impartial and confidential, and they can advise you on SEN processes and the law in relation to special educational needs and/or disabilities. 

If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and the support stated in their EHCP isn't being followed, or is no longer suitable, then you may wish to also raise your concerns with the local authority. An emergency annual review may be held to rectify any concerns.

Settings should be continuously working through the assess, plan, do, review cycle to allow them to monitor a learner's progress and make adjustments to the support they receive where necessary. This ensures the child's needs continue to be met. 

You should be invited to meet with your child's setting three times a year (once a term) to discuss their SEN support. These meetings should be in addition to regular meetings offered to all children, i.e. parents evenings. 

Yes, you have the right to home educate if you want to. As a parent/carer, you are responsible for ensuring that your child receives a suitable education. Education is compulsory, school is not.

If your child attends a special school, you will need to seek permission from the local authority before you decide to take your child off the school roll. 

Settings have a duty to meet the needs of all the children and young people on their roll, including those with SEND.

Mainstream school and post 16 settings

In mainstream schools a 'notional budget' for SEND additional support is made up of formula factors linked to the children who are on the school's roll when the School Census is counted in October each year. 

Education settings should be flexible in the use of this funding as some children may need more or less support at different times. Additional interventions may be best delivered in small groups rather than creating an over -dependency on 1:1 adult support.

Early years settings

Early years settings receive place funding for eligible 2 ,3 and 4-year-olds. Early years settings can also claim a top-up amount for any disadvantaged or looked after 3 and 4-year-olds in their setting. This additional funding is called Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) on top of a child’s universal 15 hours funding. Settings can also request a yearly Disability Access Fund (DAF) payment for 3 and 4-years olds who are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA).

The LA's Early Years Inclusion Team (EYIT) provides advice, support and training to these settings. Early years mainstream settings, whether Private, Voluntary and Independent (PVI) or a school-based nursery setting, can also apply for the Early Intervention Allowance (EIA) where additional support may be required. The request is submitted to the Early Years Panel via the EYIT who can also advise on the criteria and monitoring arrangements.

The majority of children with special educational needs (SEN) have their needs met within their local mainstream school. Each school has a designated special educational needs and disabilities co-ordinator (SENDCO), who has responsibility for co-ordinating special educational provision within the school. All local mainstream schools have funding within their school budget to meet the special educational needs of their children.

Where schools have evidence that additional support is required that cannot be funded by the school additional funds may be available.

The deployment of all available resources is the responsibility of the school's governing body and headteacher/ principal. It enables schools to deploy resources flexibly for provision that is additional to and different from that usually available to and required for all the children. Doncaster has published the following guidance: Core Principles - Descriptors Thresholds Document which sets out broadly what schools should provide and when this may need the Local Authority to provide further support. Mainstreams schools in Doncaster may reasonably be expected to make the following provision from within their own budgets for children with SEN but without an Education, Health and Care Plans.

Schools should have the following in place:

• Ordinarily available provision as outlined in the Ordinarily Available Provision Guidance including reasonable adjustments, differentiation and adaptive teaching.
• Termly Assess, Plan, Do, Review (APDR) cycles of the Graduated Approach.
• A SEND Support Plan for each child with SEND at Targeted Level and above co-produced with families.
• Access to specialist services provided by the local authority under agreement with the school, such as the Engagement and Behaviour Support Team or the Educational Psychology Service.

The Ordinarily Available Provision Guidance outlines expectations for all settings and includes the following:

• School policies and programmes that enable children with SEND to be as fully included within the social and academic life of the school as possible.
• Additional support to assist children with health or self-care needs.
• The provision of specialist resources to enable children with SEND to access the curriculum. 
• The provision of smaller items of equipment to enable individual children to access the curriculum.
• Close liaison with parents/carers to support the child with SEND.

Research shows that additional support should enable a child or young person to be as independent as possible and only in exceptional situations would a child need high levels of 1:1 adult support across the day.

Doncaster local authority (LA) funds a range of specialist services to meet the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

All services work in close partnership with families and other agencies including health and social care.

• Specialist teachers and other key workers provide support for early years children with SEND. This includes the Portage Service for children in the home and the Early Years Inclusion Team for children in early years settings.
• Specialist teachers and support staff a) for children with a visual impairment (VI) and b) for children with hearing impairment (HI) provide advice and resources to education settings to enable these children to access an appropriately differentiated curriculum alongside their peers.
• The LA also funds outreach workers from special schools in Doncaster to provide advice and guidance to meet learner's needs in mainstream settings.
• Other services include the Educational Psychology Service, Autism Social Communication Education and Training Service (ASCETS) and Behaviour Outreach Support Service (BOSS).