Sefton SEN and Inclusion Service

This service is comprised of the following specialist teams.  Practitioners work together, to support pupils, parents/carers and schools at each stage of the Graduated Response. 

The Inclusion Team provides strategic advisory support to education settings to support them in fulfilling their statutory duties at each level of the Graduated Approach.  This enables settings to accurately identify needs and provide effective support for children and young people.  In doing this, barriers to learning can be removed.   

Aims 

• To support schools in their delivery of an effective and efficient Graduated Approach. 

• To support schools in the early identification of pupils with SEND  

• To support schools and SENCO’s in improving outcomes for SEND pupils through the development of purposeful and impactful teaching approaches and interventions.   

• To support schools and SENCO’s in developing systems of monitoring SEND pupil progress and attainment to determine effective and efficient provision.   

• To enable the Local Authority and its’ schools to evaluate educational outcomes for pupils with SEND and determine effective and efficient provision.   

• To support schools in developing documentation which complies with requirements of the Code of Practice, 2015 (e.g. School Information Report/ Report to Governors)   

• To support schools in developing inclusive environments that values all learners. 

• To support schools in creating a skilled workforce and increasing school capacity  

• To help schools work in partnership with key stakeholders: parents, pupils and Governors, and with multi-agencies support services. 

What We Do 

We support school staff in developing the most effective ways forward for those pupils who require personalised learning and provide advice and guidance to schools. We support SENCOs in the fulfilment of their role as described in the Code of Practice, 2015.  Our areas of focus include: 

• Co-ordinating Peer to Peer Meetings so that good practice and key areas of focus can be identified, shared and addressed. 

• Providing training and professional development opportunities to practitioners working in school settings (Key Stage 1 and above) 

• Advising the SENCO and Senior Leadership Teams (as required) on effective targeted assessments, interventions, and programmes for SEND pupils. 

• Supporting schools and teachers in the development and delivery of inclusive quality first approaches that benefit all pupils. 

• Advising staff on curriculum delivery, adaptive teaching, personalised learning and adjustments required for SEN pupils to access learning (including those pupils with higher level needs) 

• Assisting schools in monitoring and evaluating data to support identification of ways forward for SEND pupils. 

• Supporting SENCO’s in reviewing the effectiveness of SEND Provision.  

• Supporting school staff and SENCO’s during important transition periods (between classes and between schools). 

• Advising on how best to work in partnership with parents and carers. 

• Signposting schools and parents to additional support from multi-agency teams (including health and social care). 

• Supporting SENCOs in the effective deployment of support staff and inclusion personnel. 

The role of Sefton Early Years Team is to ensure high quality Early Education for ALL Early Year’s children across Sefton including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Everyone has a role in meeting the needs of all children and ensuring a Graduated Approach is implemented and embedded in schools or settings practice.

The SEND Inclusion Consultants are a team of skilled educational practitioners, who are experienced teachers with expertise and additional qualifications in special needs. The team has experience of working with a broad range of pupils, advising teaching professionals and SENCOs, from Foundation Stage to Key Stage 5, in mainstream and in specialist settings.  

The Inclusion Consultants support whole school staff in developing excellence in practice at a universal, targeted and specialist level.  The team work with SENCOs and Senior Leadership at a strategic level, using a range of methods including network meetings, individual and team approaches, with training in SEND available to both Primary, Secondary and specialist settings.  The SEND Inclusion Consultants also support schools with pupil transition and advise on a range of strategic focus groups and statutory panels. 

The purpose of the work undertaken by Inclusion Consultants is to support the Graduated Approach to improve whole school practice for SEND and to impact on the progress of all SEND learners including those with an EHCP. Whole service training responds to the current needs of the SEND population following whole authority data analysis. Please see our portal page for more information about what we offer. 

The Complex Needs Team support and advise staff in Sefton schools and settings to facilitate the inclusion and academic progress of children and young people with physical, medical, and complex needs. The team work closely with parents, carers, and health professionals to consider the physical access needs of a physically disabled pupil in terms of the school site and the curriculum and to ensure that the educational implications of a pupil’s medical needs are understood. This support enables settings to make reasonable adjustments to their practice to effectively include the child or young person. The team receive referrals from schools, settings, Health Visitors and Therapy Services. 

The Autism team provides support to children and young people via a capacity building model which supports parents, carers, schools and academies in Sefton. We are a team of highly specialist staff who work closely with settings to develop good autism practice utilising the Autism Education Trust (AET) frameworks and programmes. We are the only licensed hub for the Autism Education Trust DFE backed programmes for Early Year, Schools and Post 16 within Sefton. 

Support and advice to settings ensures that autistic children and young people can access learning and develop life skills that will enable them to fulfil their educational, social and employment potential. We have developed a specific offer to all local authority schools and academies. We would also work to support other settings and agencies where capacity allows. 

We support schools around those children and young people with a clearly identified autistic profile need which is deemed their prime area of need (although we acknowledge a formal diagnosis may not have yet been reached). Please see our portal page for more information about what we offer.  

The Sensory Needs Team are a team of qualified, experienced teachers with additional specialist qualifications in teaching children with Vision and Hearing Needs. This includes Qualified Teachers of Visual Impairment (QTVI), Qualified Teachers of the Deaf (QToD), an Educational Audiology (EdAud) and a Sensory Support Worker: 

The Hearing Needs Team facilitates the inclusion and academic progress of Children and Young People (CYP) with a clinical diagnosis of hearing loss from birth through to 25 years. This is done through direct support to families, settings and schools. The needs of each young person with hearing loss are different, therefore we offer a personalised level of advice and support to ensure that each young person thrives in their setting. 

Sefton’s Vision Impairment Team supports babies, children and young people with a diagnosed vision impairment and facilitates inclusion and academic progress through direct teaching of specialist skills and support to families and educational settings.   

Referrals will normally only be accepted through hospital ophthalmology departments, which in Sefton is likely to be Alder Hey or Ormskirk.  The severity and impact of vision impairment is considered when assessing whether an individual meets the threshold for involvement.  Support may be offered from birth to age 18, or to age 25 if there is an EHCP. 

If you have a query about whether a particular child needs a referral, please continue to email the lead practitioner for advice: neil.farmer@sefton.gov.uk 

The Specialist Teachers deliver direct teaching to identified students in schools across Sefton who have specific learning difficulties particularly within aspects of literacy and numeracy. They are a team of experienced teachers with additional specialist qualifications and can assess identified students to establish areas of need, deliver a bespoke programme and measure impact through ongoing regular assessment. They can also offer advice to teachers and teaching assistants to support in developing personalised programmes of work for the students they teach. 

It is expected that students who receive specialist teaching would be below standards of functional literacy - 9 years and 6 months in reading/spelling and would be identified through their SEN Support Plan or Education, Health and Care Plan. This would be part of the school's Graduated Approach through the Assess, Plan, Do, Review process. 

The administration, marking and writing up of assessment tests will be carried out as part of the hours bought by a school and not in addition to teaching time. 

For maximum impact it is recommended that students identified for teaching are taught on a weekly basis either individually or in pairs following consultation with the Specialist Teacher. 

The services of Specialist Teachers can be purchased by schools through the Service Level Agreement on an annual basis.  

Educational Psychologists are professionals trained and skilled in understanding the development of children and young people aged 0-25 and in understanding what makes it more difficult for them to learn, make progress and experience positive well- being. Each school has a named educational psychologist.  Educational psychologists offer a range of services: 

• undertaking assessments of children and young people including the completion of psychological advice in line with the SEND Code of Practice 2015; 

• supporting with the planning of provision, including nurture groups; 

• supporting the local authority in strategic areas such as mental health and wellbeing;  

• delivering training across a range of subject areas including trauma informed practice, attachment and resilience; 

• working with other teams within the local authority including the Virtual School and the Youth Justice Service.  

The Special Educational Needs Team is the part of the SEN and Inclusion Service which is responsible for carrying out Education, Health and Care (EHC) Needs Assessments, co-producing EHC Plans and carrying out the Annual Reviews of those plans. When an EHC Needs Assessment is agreed the child/young person has an allocated Casework Officer and Casework Assistant to co-ordinate their assessment. The Casework Officer will be the main point of contact for the school and family during the assessment, and they will attend meetings to co-produce the EHC draft Plan. The Casework Officer can also attend Annual Reviews of the EHC Plan if this is necessary. Each school has a Casework Officer specifically allocated to them who they can contact regarding any queries about the EHC needs assessment, final plan or review process. They can also discuss any children with EHC Plans that they have in their school. 

The Virtual School supports children in the care of the Local Authority through their education journey to help them to overcome barriers to learning and achieve their potential. Every cared For Child has a Personal Education Plan which is developed and agreed by the Social Worker, the child, the school and the carer. The Virtual School will check that the plan is ambitious, focused on the child’s needs and aspirations, and has SMART targets that will help the child to be successful, happy and thrive in school. Where appropriate, the Virtual School will pay a Pupil Premium Plus grant to the school to help with the cost of carrying out the plan. The plan is monitored each term and adjusted as needed. Each Cared for Child has an Education Coordinator who will monitor their progress and work with the child, the school, and any professionals who are involved in their care, to ensure successful outcomes in education. 

Post 16 Support in Sefton is designed to help young people prepare for adulthood by increasing independence and identifying suitable progression routes relating to education, training, and employment.  Sefton commissions Career Connect to provide information, advice, and guidance to young people between the ages of 16-24 where the young person has additional needs and has or had an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP).   

Career Connect delivers individual support from either Year 9 (early intervention) or 3 years from transition with specialist advisors linking with schools and the SEN team. Provision dovetails with existing school Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance Arrangements, and wider partner support for the young person.  

For full details on the Sefton/Career Connect offer, visit the Sefton Directory. 

The Service comprises a team of dedicated professionals who work on behalf of the Children's Services Authority and in partnership with families, schools and other agencies in order to ensure that statutory requirements are met and that support is provided in relation to:- school attendance; exclusion from school; children missing from education; children experiencing bullying; racist incidents; children in entertainment; children in employment; safeguarding children in education and providing bespoke training and awareness raising for all these areas of work. 

Contact: Welfare.Officers@sefton.gov.uk