Key InformationSpecial Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) and Inclusion at Brinscall St John's
Every child belongs. Every child is valued. Every child can shine.
At Brinscall St John’s CE/Methodist Primary School, we are proud to be an inclusive school where every child is known, valued and supported to flourish.
Our Christian vision, “Shine with the light of Jesus,” sits at the heart of our approach to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). We believe that every child should feel safe, experience a strong sense of belonging and have access to a broad, ambitious and exciting curriculum.
We recognise that children learn in different ways and may need different levels or types of support at different points in their school journey. Our aim is to identify barriers early, work closely with families and provide the right support at the right time, while maintaining high expectations for every child.
Our SEND and Inclusion provision is not something separate from everyday school life. Inclusion is everybody’s responsibility and begins in the classroom.
Our Approach to SEND
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Universal Provision First
Our starting point for every child is high-quality, inclusive and adaptive teaching.
Teachers carefully consider children's starting points, strengths and potential barriers to learning. Teaching is adapted so that children can access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers wherever possible.
This may include adaptations to:
- teaching approaches and explanations;
- classroom organisation and routines;
- communication and vocabulary;
- resources and equipment;
- scaffolding and modelling;
- sensory needs;
- the way children record or demonstrate their learning;
- opportunities for repetition, retrieval and overlearning.
Our aim is not simply to help children complete a task. We want to remove barriers while preserving the learning, helping children to become increasingly confident and independent.
Most children's needs can and should be met through strong universal classroom provision. Where this is not enough, we provide additional targeted support. This reflects our commitment to a universal-first approach.
Ordinarily Available Provision Offer
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When a child may need additional support
We know that parents and carers know their children extremely well, and we value the information families share with us.
Concerns about a child's learning, communication, physical or sensory development, social and emotional wellbeing or another area of development may be identified by:
parents or carers • class teachers • the child • our SENDCo • other school staff • health professionals • external specialists
If there is a concern, we begin by looking carefully at what the child can already do, where the barriers may be and what adaptations can be made within everyday classroom provision.
Where a child requires additional support, we use the SEND Code of Practice graduated approach:
Assess → Plan → Do → Review
This allows us to identify needs, agree appropriate support, put that support into place and then carefully evaluate whether it is making a difference.
Our targeted support follows a clear six-week pathway, with SENDCo oversight and measurable outcomes. Support that is working can be continued or developed; support that is not having sufficient impact is reviewed and changed.
Working in Partnership with Families
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Parents and carers are an essential part of our SEND provision.
We want families to feel able to talk to us openly about their child's strengths, needs and experiences. Where concerns arise, we will listen carefully, share what we are seeing in school and agree appropriate next steps together.
Parents and carers are involved throughout the graduated approach and are invited to contribute to reviews and discussions about their child's provision and progress.
We can also help families understand how to access further support, including services provided by Lancashire County Council and SENDIASS. SEND OFFER FRAMEWORK
Who should I speak to?
If you have an initial concern about your child, we would usually encourage you to speak to their class teacher first.
You can also contact our:
SENDCo – Mrs Elin Rounding - SENDCO@brinscall.lancs.sch.uk
for advice about SEND identification, provision, support, referrals and working with external agencies.Headteacher – Mrs Joanna Owen - head@brinscall.lancs.sch.uk
who has overall responsibility for SEND provision and inclusion across school.Please contact the school office via telephone on 01254 830700 or office@brinscall.lancs.sch.uk if you would like to arrange a conversation or meeting.
How do we know our support is making a difference?
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Providing additional support is not enough on its own – we want to know that it is making a meaningful difference for the child.
We therefore monitor SEND provision carefully through:
- children's progress in reading, writing, mathematics and the wider curriculum;
- intervention starting points and outcomes;
- attendance;
- behaviour and wellbeing information;
- SEND-focused work scrutiny;
- monitoring of adaptive teaching;
- pupil voice;
- parent/carer views;
- SENDCo and senior leadership monitoring;
- outcomes from specialist support and EHCPs, where applicable.
We also consider children's participation in the wider life of school. Children with SEND should have access to enrichment, trips, clubs, responsibilities and leadership opportunities alongside their peers.
SEND and inclusion information is monitored by leaders and reported to governors so that we can continually evaluate what is working well and what needs to improve.
Working with other Professionals
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Sometimes a child's needs require additional specialist advice.
With parents and carers fully involved, we work with a range of professionals and services. These may include:
Speech and Language Therapy (SALT)
Educational Psychology (EP)
Children's Integrated Support Services (CISS)
Occupational Therapy (OT)
Lancashire SEND services
ASD and ADHD assessment/support pathways
Health and other specialist professionalsThe involvement of an external professional does not replace the support a child receives in school. Instead, specialist advice helps us understand needs more fully and strengthen the provision surrounding the child.
Our approach is evidence-led, and we maintain clear records of children's needs, provision, progress and the impact of support.
Who is responsible for SEND and Inclusion?
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Supporting children with SEND is a whole-school responsibility.
Our class teachers remain responsible for the progress and provision of every child in their class, including children receiving additional SEND support.
Our SENDCo, Mrs Elin Rounding, leads SEND provision across school, coordinates assessment and support, works alongside teachers and families, liaises with external professionals and supports staff development.
Our Headteacher, Mrs Joanna Owen, has overall accountability for SEND and inclusion and reports to governors.
Our Deputy Headteacher, Mr Lewis, supports the operational leadership of inclusion and teaching.
Our Teaching Assistants and HLTAs work alongside teachers to provide carefully planned support and interventions and help us evaluate their impact.
Our Governing Body provides strategic oversight and holds school leaders to account for the quality and impact of SEND and inclusion provision. Mrs Beth Johnson is our governor responsible for SEND and Inclusion.
SEND Policies and Key Documents
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Families can find further detail within our SEND and inclusion documents.
SEND Policy – explains how we identify SEND and use the graduated approach of Assess, Plan, Do and Review.
SEND Information Report – explains how SEND provision works specifically at Brinscall St John's.
Brinscall St John's Local Offer – sets out the support families can expect and how this links with Lancashire's wider SEND Local Offer.
Ordinarily Available Provision / Our Universal Offer – explains the inclusive provision and adaptations available to children as part of everyday teaching.
Accessibility Plan – explains how we improve access to the curriculum, environment and information for disabled pupils.
All our other school policies can be found here: Our Policies