If you cannot find the information you are looking for here, please don’t hesitate to contact her:

• By phone at Tidbury Green on 01564 823189

• By email at office@tidbury-green.solihull.sch.uk 

Most children with special educational needs can be taught in mainstream schools. If your child has more severe or complex needs they may need to go to a special school or school with a specialist unit.

If your child doesn't have a statement of Special Educational Needs or Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) you apply for a primary school place in the same way as other parents.

If your child has a statement of Special Educational Needs or EHCP, the school named in it must offer them a place.

If your child is being assessed for Special Educational Needs you should follow the standard process. If you don't apply for a place and your child doesn't get an EHCP, you may miss out on a place at one of your preferred schools.

 Choosing a mainstream school

You should find out:

• whether the school has experience of children with similar needs and what strategies have been effective
• what the school's Special Educational Needs and Disability policy is
• how the SENCO passes information about children to teaching staff
• how your child would be supported in class
• how you'd be involved in your child's progress and development.

If your child has an EHCP and you're unsure if a school is suitable for them, you can talk to your named officer. 

Choosing a special school or school with special unit

Special schools only take children who have a particular type of educational need such as Visual Impairment or Physical Disability. Some mainstream schools have special units to support children with particular needs.

Our special schools and specialist units within mainstream schools only admit children with and EHCP whose needs are very severe and complex.  

How are children with SEND supported at Tidbury Green?

With the Code of Practice emphasising that the majority of children should be educated together, this will always be the first level of support. We strive to meet the needs of all our pupils through high-quality teaching and a personalised approach. Some children however, will still need further support to achieve.

• Wave 1 - Most children: The delivery of high-quality and inclusive teaching, that takes the learning needs of all pupils into account, and strives for all children achieving within the classroom.
• Wave 2 - Some children: Some children may need further support to reach their targets. This may still be provided within the classroom as part of lessons, but more specifically tailored to their needs.
• Wave 3 - Few Children: A minority of pupils may need individualised and highly-tailored interventions.

The support given to each child at Tidbury Green is different, according to their own personal needs. Every child we teach is unique, so dependent on the needs of your child, a range of strategies and approaches may be put in place to support their progress. These may include, but are not limited to:

• Social skills groups or mentoring with our Learning Mentors or Teaching Assistants.
• Structured Phonics Programs.
• Additional one to one reading support.
• Small group support in English or maths.
• Reward charts or report cards to support positive behaviour within school.
• The use of resources or equipment to support a child’s physical or organisational needs, for example.

All staff take into account the needs of the pupils they are teaching when planning lessons, and differentiate the curriculum accordingly. This ensures that children of all abilities are challenged and supported suitably at their own level. At Tidbury Green, we pride ourselves on building good relationships with all of our pupils and ensuring they are happy and safe.

In some cases where a child's needs are severe and of a high-level, an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) may need to be applied for. This will always be discussed with the child's parents/carers in the first instance, and consent gained. If you or the school feel this may be appropriate for your child, then we will follow the guidance from the Local Authority. This process includes using a document called the 'My Support Plan'. This would be completed, monitored and reviewed over a period of at least two school terms in order to gather evidence and information about a child's needs. Your involvement in this process will be encouraged. At the end of the two school terms, the information collected within the 'My Support Plan' document, will be compared with 'Solihull's SEN Banding' document to ascertain whether or not your child's needs meet Solihull's criteria for an EHCP, and therefore whether one can be applied for. 

More information on this process, including the 'My Support Plan' document and the 'Solihull SEN Banding' Document mentioned above, is available here on the Local Authority's Local Offer website.

Dependent on the needs of your child, a range of equipment may be used to support them. Which equipment is most practical, will be determined via conversation with parents, children, class teachers and where needed, outside agencies. This will ensure that the facilities or piece of equipment used by every child are effective and make a difference for them as an individual. Some examples of what this could include access to are:                                                                                                        

• Sensory/weighed cushions
• Pencil grips
• Coloured overlays
• Task management boards
• Key word banks
• High frequency bookmarks
• Sloping boards
• Fiddle toys
• Number lines/number beads
• Numicon
• Timers
• Sensory activity diet

Ensuring that we follow statutory guidance from the Code of Practice, where possible we want all children to be included in everything that takes place at Tidbury Green so that they are able to reach their full potential. To make sure that all children have the chance to be involved, we work closely with our parents/carers, the SEND Governor, the Local Authority and other relevant experts, to ensure that any pupil's additional needs are catered for and any barriers to their attainment are overcome.

Teachers plan to meet the needs of individuals and to ensure that they are able to be involved fully in every lesson, when appropriate, and to ensure that their curriculum is inclusive of all children regardless of their needs. We can also make special arrangements, when necessary, to allow all children to be part of day and residential trips as these often support the curriculum and are a valuable part of any child's education.

Although the total number of children with SEND at Tidbury Green varies due to leavers and new intake, currently around 12% of our pupils have SEND. 

Children with SEND at Tidbury Green perform well and are in line with their peers, usually making expected or better progress each year. 

The views of parents/carers are very important to us at Tidbury Green. If you ever have any concerns about your child's progress (academically, emotionally or socially), please do not hesitate to contact me or, if you feel more comfortable, the class teacher who can then pass on your concerns.

Parents/carers have termly opportunities, either through Parent's Consultation Meetings or Open Afternoons, to discuss their child's progress, targets or any other concerns with the class teacher. Also, Review Meetings are held for children with SEND termly, which parents/carers are invited to, as well as the class teacher and SENDCo. Where appropriate, the child’s view is gained either through discussion or by them attending the meeting. In these meetings, the child's learning is discussed, prior targets are reviewed and new targets are set. Also, parents/carers have the opportunity to ask questions regarding the needs of their child or to raise any concerns, and to receive advice about how they can also support their child in reaching their targets.

As a result of our review meetings for the children with SEND, we update their SEND Profile which includes information about the child's strengths, what support they need and their aspirations for the future. The class teacher, parent and SENDCo all have a copy of this, which ensures that progress can be monitored by everyone involved with the child. Class teachers and the SENDCo are always available to talk either face to face or on the telephone and appointments can be made if there are any further concerns.

We are keen to hear the views of the children at Tidbury Green so that we can make choices with them rather than doing things to them. This means that we endeavour to give all children the chance to voice their opinions through discussions with Senior Leaders, in Parents Consultations and through discussions with subject leaders. Children with SEND have the opportunity to talk about what they feel is going well and areas where they feel they need more support, in preparation for their Review Meetings.

All children at Tidbury Green are supported in their transitions between years, Key Stages and schools. Before children move into their new classes, the previous and next class teacher meet to discuss the class and the individual needs of the children within it. The class teachers specifically discuss the needs of children with SEND and look at what works well for that child as well as areas in which they may need more support. All children spend the last week of the Summer Term with their new teacher which reduces anxiety about moving classes for all children, but is particularly effective for children with SEND. For those children who find change difficult to manage, it allows them to build a relationship with their new teacher before the new school year starts. 

We also support our Year 6 pupils in their transition to Secondary School, they have days out at their new schools and we pass on relevant information to their next school to help in the transition process. 

Our Complaints Policy explains how to make a complaint and can be found on our School Policies Page by clicking here.