Schools SEND Information Report
There is a very clear requirement in the SEND Code of Practice for schools to publish an SEND Information Report,
updated at least annually.
Your SEND Information Report should include everything any pupil, parent, professional and Ofsted will need to know about SEND practice in your school.
The Report must include:
- Details of and links to your area Local Offer.
- The name and contact details of the SENDCo. It is useful to include the name of the SEND Governor as well.
- How parents can raise a concern or make a complaint.
- Information about the expertise and training of staff in relation to children and young people with SEND and about how specialist expertise is secured (such as therapists).
- How you make provision for pupils with SEND, whether or not they have Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).
- What interventions you make and their IMPACT.
- The additional learning opportunities for pupils with SEND.
- How SEND is identified and assessed.
- Your approach to teaching pupils who have SEND.
- How you adapt the curriculum and the learning environment for those who have SEND (you may want to reference your Accessibility Plan here).
- How the school enables pupils with SEND to engage in the activities of the school (including physical activities) together with children who do not have SEND.
- Details of the support that is available for improving the social, emotional and mental health development of pupils.
- How you involve pupils and their families in decision-making.
- How you evaluate the effectiveness of your provision, including securing feedback and the views of pupils and their parents.
Setting out the SEN Information Report
There is no prescribed way of setting out this report, but you may wish to consider the following points.
- Use the four areas of need as defined in the SEND Code of Practice to highlight the type of SEND in your school and the provision that you make.
- Use the structure above to describe how you identify and assess pupils in your school, including the role of specialists and other agencies.
- Include details of how you evaluate your provision by including feedback from all stakeholders (including pupils of course), observation/learning walk points and the impact of interventions.
- With regard to your approaches to teaching pupils with SEND reference perhaps the graduated response, starting with quality first teaching to more targeted and specific interventions.
- Remember to try to make it as accessible as possible to pupils and their families. Use illustrations, images and video clips.
Your SEN Information Report needs to tell the story of your everyday practice and provision and ideally go beyond the minimum requirement. It is an opportunity to celebrate with the whole community how inclusive you are!
We will continue to monitor SEND Information Reports via school websites and be happy to provide help and guidance if required.
Michael Purches (Interim SEND Transformation & Compliance Coordinator)
michael.purches@bradford.gov.uk