FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1.  What school leaders and governors do to make sure that all students feel welcome, included and achieve their potential

 Q. Who are the key people involved in making decisions about students with SEN/D?

• The Executive Head and the SENCOs have joint responsibility for SEN policy and procedures.
• Our SENCOs manage the day-to-day provision and planning and work closely with the SEN specialist teachers and the targeted intervention co-ordinators.

Q. Who is keeping an eye on my child’s progress at Haringey Learning Partnership?

• Teaching students with SEN is everybody’s responsibility. The Code of Practice highlights that all teachers are teachers of SEN. This is a statutory requirement.
• All members of staff who teach and support your child – including their Form Tutor - will be checking students’ progress every 6 weeks.
• The Deputy Heads for Teaching and Learning bring all the academic attainment information together to get a clear picture of each child’s academic progress.
• Those students who are under-performing will be targeted for support. Support can range from 1:1 literacy and numeracy interventions to specialist intervention from speech and language therapists, clinical psychologists, educational psychologists or occupational therapists.

 Q. What funding and resources does the school have for my child with SEN/D?

• We receive funding at the start of the financial year from Haringey Local Authority for supporting students with SEN/D. 

 Q. How are the school’s resources allocated and matched to students’ special educational needs?

• Our SENCOs consult parents/carers, the students, teachers and HLP’s multi-agency team before making decisions about the support programme. We review with parents/carers and look at how well each student is doing and agree changes if they are needed.

 Q. If a child has a very high level of need; can the school apply for additional funding?

• If the level of needs is high on entry or significantly increases, parents/carers can request an assessment for an Education Health Care Plan. This will probably involve Health and Social Care teams. You can find more details about this assessment on the Haringey Local Offer website.

2.  How we develop the skills, knowledge and expertise of school staff 

 Q. How will you tell staff about my child?

The SEN team provides teachers and Learning Support Professionals (LSPs) with information that describes the strengths and needs of all students with SEN/D and how best to support them.

• Members of the Multi Agency team discuss various needs and strategies with school staff routinely.
• The SEN team attend meetings each week with professionals to discuss interventions related to the three following types of interventions:
• Vocational, learning and multi-agency. During these meetings students are referred in for support, progress is discussed and possible closure of intervention, if needed, due to disengagement, meeting targets or making required progress.

 Q. What are the skills and experience of new staff and what training do they receive?

• All staff new to the school have an induction programme, which includes a meeting with the SENCO/SEN team.
• All staff have relevant experience and are recruited carefully.
• There is a programme of regular training sessions throughout the school year to inform and develop staff skills.
• Staff receive support and training from specialist services to make sure that our expertise is up to date.
• If a child is coming to our school with needs requiring new expertise, we make a plan to develop that expertise and provide relevant on-going training.

Q. What’s an EHC plan?

• An EHC plan is a legal document, which describes a young person’s special educational needs, the support they require and the outcomes they would like to achieve.  EHC plans have replaced statements of SEN.

3.  The contribution that specialist services and teams make to the progress and well-being of students with SEN/D

Q. Who else works with my child?

• We have a team of on-site specialists who can provide assessment, advice and interventions.
• These include: educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, social workers, school nurse, Safer Schools Officers, Youth Justice Service, mentors and creative therapists.

Q. Will I be able to meet the specialist who is working with my child?

• Yes. If your child is receiving support from any specialist in HLP, you will be able to meet them to discuss your child’s progress.

 Q. If my child is going to be seen by a specialist how long will I have to wait?

• As our specialists work on site we can easily respond to requests very quickly.
• Our new referral meeting process supports us to identify need and immediately refer to appropriate team members.

Q. If my child is referred to a specialist service, how will I know what’s going on?

• We will always involve you in any decisions about whether your child needs specialist support.

4.  How we identify, assess and plan for students with SEN/D – working closely with parents/carers

We follow Haringey’s guidance for identification of SEN/D.

You can see more details on how we identify students with SEN/D in our SEN/D policy.

Q. If I feel that my child’s needs have changed who do I speak to?

• Contact the SENCO who will always listen to your concerns and agree the plan of support.

 Q. How does the school decide that a student has a special educational need and goes on the SEN List? Is there criteria?

• HLP follow the guidance in the SEN Code of Practice - additionally, the school has a rigorous battery of assessments in our induction programme where students’ strengths and difficulties are highlighted; we use the results of these initial assessments along with information from previous placement and parent/carer input to determine which students have special educational needs.
• A key sign of possible SEN is a lack of progress; taking into account the pupil’s age and individual circumstances. You can talk to the SENCO about this and get more information in our SEN Policy

Q. Will my child have an individual plan?

• All students with SEN/D have a personal plan. When we have assessed your child’s needs we will meet with you and agree a plan and targets for progress. The objectives will focus on the most important areas of need. If a pupil’s needs become more complex we will involve specialist teams and services to create a Multi-Agency Plan (MAP).

5.  How we review students’ progress

 Q. How often do we talk to you

• We try to talk to you every week on the phone to tell you how the week has gone.
• We will invite you in every six weeks to talk to you about your child’s progress.    

6.  How we make sure that teaching and support help students to learn and make good progress

Q. What kind of support will you be able to offer my child?

• We provide a range of specialist one to one and small group support linked to students’ learning strengths and needs.
• Where necessary we arrange for professionals of specialist services to work directly with students or to train staff on specialist programmes.

Q. How can I help my child with learning at home?

• We can talk at the six week review about appropriate targets and how these can be supported at home.

Q. What happens if my child is not making progress in reading, for example? Is there any extra support?

• We provide additional support through effective one to one and small group teaching sessions   

7.  How we make sure that students with SEN/D enjoy a broad, accessible and balanced curriculum

Q. What will my child’s timetable look like?  

• Within the timetable there is a mix of core curriculum, English, Maths and Science, plus non-core subjects like Numeracy and Literacy intervention, Humanities subjects, Food Preparation and Nutrition, Art, PE, Music and work-related learning. PSHE is on all student timetables.

Q. Are there any activities offered at lunch times or after school?

• There are sports activities daily with basketball, football and table tennis being very popular at break and lunchtimes.
• We have also launched The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.

8.  How we make sure that our school and classrooms are safe, accessible and stimulating curriculum

Q. Will my child be safe in school?

• There is an initial risk assessment for all new students and safety plans are created for students who have high risk assessment outcomes to keep them safe and supported.
• There are high staff ratios.
• There are secure buildings.
• All staff are trained in how to reduce and respond to different types of behaviours and receive regular training in de-escalation.
• Students at Commerce House have a safety check each morning

Q. What if my child needs special resources or equipment?

• We will discuss all requirements and requests with you and do our best to make sure your child’s needs are met.

Q. Is the school safe and secure?

• The school sites have been designed to make sure that all students and staff are safe.

9.  How we work in partnership with parents and carers

Q. Who do I talk to in the school if I have questions about my child’s SEN?

• In the first instance you would contact the SENCO.
• The SENCO will listen carefully to your concerns, explain the different ways in which the school supports your child and when possible and appropriate come to an agreement about changes to provision and/or support.   

 Q. How do we make sure that your views are heard?

• We review every student’s progress every 6 weeks and we will invite you to come to the school to discuss your child’s progress.
• We make every effort to make sure that communication between home and school is clear and helps to meet the needs of your child.

Q. How else does HLP work with parents and carers?

• Our SEN Policy is on the HLP website.
• We will ask you to fill out questionnaires to gain your views about how we are doing and how you think your child is doing.
• We provide opportunities for parents/carers to meet together, to support each other and discuss important issues.
• We have staff who specifically offer support for parents/carers and families.
• You will also find lots of information about how different services in Haringey provide help and support to students with SEN/D and their parents - on the Haringey Council website.

Q. How can you help me to help my child at home?

• We provide practical tips, support and advice to parents/carers around how to support children’s learning, behaviour, relationships, communication and other concerns that you might have.

Q. Is there a special service in Haringey that supports and advises parents about issues such as statutory assessment and provision?

• Yes. It’s called the SENDIASS (Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service) and is offered by The Markfield Project in Haringey.   It is funded by Haringey Council, but is totally independent in terms of giving advice.  You will find information on the Markfield website: https://markfield.org.uk/sendiass-2/

Q. What if I am unhappy about my child’s progress in school?

• We always work hard to make sure that our parents/carers are happy with what we provide for their child. However, we will address worries, concerns and complaints as soon as possible through face to face meetings where we will listen carefully to your concerns and work together on a way forward.
• If you feel that we have not been able to address your concerns satisfactorily, we have a Complaints Policy and Procedure that you will find on our website or from our office.

10.  How we listen  and respond to young people with SEN/D

Q. Who can my child talk to if s/he is worried about something?

• Our work with our students depends on building good relationships as we know how important it is for our students to trust the adults working with them.
• Staff members (Form Tutors, Mentors, Learning Support Assistants and Heads of School) are always available to talk to your child at any point during the school day.
• All staff members are trained in ways to help prevent and resolve conflicts within school.
• Some students are also allocated mentors who work closely with young people to support their academic, social, emotional and mental health needs.
• Some students are also supported by clinical psychologists. 

Q. What should I do if my child says that they do not want to come to school?

• Let us know as soon as you can.
• Talk to your child about any worries or concerns they may have.
• We understand that there may be many reasons why a child may not want to come to school and we will work with you and your child to understand the reason and agree the next steps.  

Q. What will happen if my child says that they are being bullied?

• We do our best to create a school atmosphere that reduces the risk of bullying.
• When we are aware that a child is being bullied we will find out what is happening  and work to resolve the situation with everyone involved including parents/carers.

Q.  How do you listen to my child’s views about their learning?

• We constantly encourage all students to give us their views of their learning, formerly through Student Questionnaires and informally in class every day. Your child’s views are very important to us and are used to help us agree the best plan for their learning. They might not always be able to verbalise their views on their learning, however, we track and monitor their progress daily.
• Your child will be invited to attend their review meetings and think about what’s important to them and what we can do to support them.

11.  How we support students joining our school, leaving our school and making transitions

 Q How does my child get a place at HLP?

• Children come to HLP through a referral to our admissions panel. These referrals usually come from mainstream schools and can be made for a variety of reasons. There is more information about our admissions process on our website.
• Some children receive a lot of support in preparation for their move to HLP that has been agreed in advance.
• All children and parents/carers have an induction meeting at school to meet the Head Teachers and/or other staff.

 Q. What happens when my child leaves HLP?

• Some children return to mainstream school after a period of time at HLP. This happens with significant support and you will be involved in each stage of the process. This is explained fully at induction and/or transition meetings.
• Other children leave HLP to take up places at college, training, apprenticeships, further education or employment.
• Our careers advisor and other staff will support you to understand the range of options and choices available to you.

Q. What if my child’s place at HLP is not successful?

• We will discuss all the options with you and your child.
• HLP offers a range of programmes for students on the  roll and sometimes students will transfer between provisions.
• In some cases HLP may not be the best place for your child. You will be involved in discussing other options.

Q. What happens to my child after 16?

• Children leave HLP to take up places at college, training, apprenticeships, further education or employment.
• Children with EHC plans are entitled to support from until they are 25 years old.

12.  How we support  students’ health and general well-being – including their safety, attendance  and  positive behaviour:

 Q. How can I get hold of these policies?

• All of our policies are on the school website.
• You can also get paper copies from the school office.
• Staff will always take the time to discuss these policies with you.

Q. My child has specific medical needs, what will the school do to support them?

• Our school nurse provides training to all staff.
• Our school nurse will work with you and school staff to agree a health care plan.
• There will always be staff on site trained in first aid.

Q. I have a question or concern about my child’s emotional well-being or mental health. What can you offer?

• All HLP staff are trained to understand the emotional needs of young people.
• We also have mental health professionals on site as part of the HLP staff team.
• If you have a question or concern we will arrange for you to see the most relevant member of staff as soon as possible to discuss this.