SEND

At Levens CE School we strive to meet the individual needs of all our pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We believe that every child has the right to access a broad and balanced curriculum and ensure commitment to inclusion for all.  We have high expectations for all children and seek to support children and families to make the most of every learning opportunity.

Children experiencing difficulties at any time or in any area of school life are quickly identified and provided with appropriate support. The class teacher is able to draw on the advice and experience of colleagues, particularly the school’s SEND lead and external agencies if required. Each child on the SEND register has a special educational provision log (SEP log), which details their primary and secondary areas of need, the provision and resources which are in place to support them and tracks their progress across each school term.

If you have any queries about the Special Educational Needs provision for your child or require any further information about our provision for children with additional needs please see our SEND Information Report and School offer further down this page.  Alternatively, please do not hesitate to contact School’s SEND lead: Mrs H. Haslam at send@levens.cumbria.sch.uk  or by telephoning the school office on 015395 60694 for further information.

Westmorland and Furness’s SEND local offer can be found here:

https://fid.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk/kb5/westmorlandandfurness/directory/localoffer.page?localofferchannel=0

Free, impartial information, advice and support for parents and carers can be found here:

https://sendiass.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk/westmorland-and-furness-send-ias-service

The Cumbria SEND parent/carer forum can be found here:

https://www.sendac.org/

Our SEND policy can be found here:

SEND policy Autumn 2025

LEVENS CE SCHOOL SEND INFORMATION REPORT AND SEND SCHOOL OFFER
All schools need to provide a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Information Report and a School Offer. The school offer is part of the wider Local Authority Offer, and is based on the requirement for all schools to outline the support available to children with SEND. We have decided to combine these two documents into one, and include information on our SEND Policy also, so you have one place to find out all the information you need.
To make it as easy as possible to find the information you require, we have laid it out as a series of questions parents/carers often ask about a school and what happens for children with SEND. If there is a question you would like answered that isn’t included below or you would like additional information, please let us know.

VISION/MISSION
Will my child go to our local school?

To support you in making a decision about whether you would like your child to attend Levens CE School, we want you to know our vision for children with SEND.
We believe all children are unique and all children are special. We recognise each child as a unique individual with his or her own personal talents, experiences, learning styles and needs. We value their abilities and achievements, and are committed to providing an effective learning environment which promotes their intellectual and personal development. We are an inclusive school – we wish to see children of all abilities, talents and disabilities educated together. We aim to enable all children to participate fully in school life.
Our experience has helped us realise the positive benefits that inclusion brings, enriching and strengthening our community. Where children have additional needs the whole school community is committed to supporting them. All teachers here are teachers of children with SEND. We seek to support all children’s access to the curriculum so that they have the opportunity to progress and achieve success. We strongly believe in involving the children and you as their parent/carer in a helpful working partnership with us.

WHOLE SCHOOL/SETTING APPROACHES

Information on policies, people and statutory guidance
What kinds of special needs are provided for in this school?

At Levens CE School, SEND needs are identified within 4 categories:
• Communication and interaction;
• Cognition and learning;
• Physical and sensory;
• Social, emotional and mental health needs.

Children may have needs in more than one of the above.
Who is involved?

Everyone at school is involved in making sure your child is supported and achieves their full potential. Your child’s class teacher:
• Monitors your child’s progress and (where needed), and where needed, may seek further advice and support from the school’s SEND lead;
• Reviews this support to ensure it is making a difference for your child;
• May ask, with your permission, to refer your child for further specialist help if your child isn’t making progress;
• Keep you informed of your child’s progress, what help and support is being provided and/or needed and reviews how things are working.
The school SEND lead is Mrs H. Haslam. The SEND lead’s role includes:
• Co-ordinating all of the support that we provide for children with SEND and their families and develops our approach so that all children get the best quality help;
• Ensuring children and their parents/carers are included in knowing what’s happening and are involved in checking what’s working/what’s needed next;
• Working with the outside agencies that we sometimes need support from – Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Paediatrics, School Nursing, Educational Psychology, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Specialist teaching services;
• Keeping our school systems up-to-date so we know who in school has SEND and what support is being given;
• Making sure teachers and support staff have what they need to help children with SEND in the school achieve the best progress possible.
Our SEND Governor is Mrs Emma Simpson, she works with the headteacher and SEND lead to provide a link for governors to be informed about SEND within school.

Wider World of School: Approaches to extra-curricular activities and pastoral care
How accessible is this school for my child?

• Our school is mostly single storey. Children are taught in classes with other year groups. We have few steps or stairs inside the building.
• We are wheel-chair accessible, we have toilets for people with disabilities and we ensure that equipment and adaptations are put in place to support each child’s individual needs;
• The school has interactive whiteboards in every classroom and there is access to laptops for children;
• We have previous experience of working with children who do not use speech to communicate and staff can access training as required.

How will my child be welcomed into the school?

We recognise that transition – both into school and from Levens CE School on to other schools – can be both an exciting but worrying time for children and their parents. To help children feel welcome:
• We spend time in the summer term working with new parents/carers whose children will be starting Nursery or Reception;
•  We carry out home visits, to meet the child and their family in the home setting and will arrange to visit any children who attend other nurseries prior to them beginning with us;
• We encourage all new children to visit the school prior to starting where they are shown around the school and meet some key members of school staff;
• For children with SEND, we encourage further visits to assist with getting used to the new surroundings.
If you would like to find out more about admissions to Levens CE School, please click here.

How will my child be supported to be part of the school?

• Most children with SEND are supported through the regular opportunities provided to all children – high quality teaching, excellent play opportunities and supportive and empathetic staff who listen to your child;
• Some children do find the social and emotional aspects of school life to be more difficult than others; we work closely with parents to support them;
• We provide individual and group-based support covering areas such as self-esteem/confidence, social skills and making friends, anger management, coping skills and learning to relax.

How is behaviour managed?

• We want all of our children to grow into responsible adults, who respect themselves and each other;
• Self-discipline is important for learning and behaviour, as is your child learning about cooperation and friendship. This atmosphere of mutual trust between pupils allows us to build the foundations of a clear stance against bullying. Children are carefully monitored and supported within an inclusive whole school approach (for more information please see our behaviour and relationships policy).To help make this happen, we feel it is essential for staff to establish a consistent approach to behaviour, including attitudes and behaviours for learning.
• We want children to want to behave well, and to achieve, because they see the benefits for themselves;
• We need to teach children about social and emotional aspects of development and we use a range of opportunities to do so. For example, every child in school has weekly RSHE lessons.
We use a range of strategies to manage behaviour:
• The most important strategy to ensure good behaviour is to provide the highest quality teaching that fully engages your child;
• We listen and attend to what children say and do, as this provides us with important clues for why they behave as they do;
• We view behaviour as communication – what are children trying to tell us through their behaviour?
• We praise them when they have done well – the children have an opportunity to be recognised for their efforts through the school’s Golden Book system;
• Children are provided with warnings if their behaviour is not in keeping with what is expected of them;
• There are sanctions that teachers and support staff apply when a child is not making good choices;
• We recognise that it is always the behaviour that is ‘undesirable’- not the child;
• Further information on how the school manages behaviour can be found in our Whole School Behaviour and Relationships Policy here.

We cannot manage behaviour effectively without your support and it is essential that you understand and support the policies of the school with regard to learning and behaviour. We need you on board with our system for rewarding good behaviour and sanctioning challenging behaviour and to work together with us. Supporting your child’s learning at home to help them achieve their best is a very important part of the help we get from you.

What support do we offer you as a parent/carer of a child with SEND?

Engagement with parents/carers is very important to us and we make use of a variety of communication methods to do this:
• Regular newsletters;
• Website and school blog;
• Parents’ evenings;
• Parent Governor;
• School productions;
• An ‘open door’ policy;

• Text messaging service

  • Emails
  • Tapestry (for children in Nursery and Reception)

Your child’s class teacher is available to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns you may have. We have regular parent-teacher meetings, where you and the teacher share information about what is working well at home and in school so everyone uses strategies that work for your child.
The SEND lead is available to meet with you to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns/worries you may have. All information from outside professionals will be discussed with you, or where this is not possible, provided in a report. Please make sure you keep your contact details up-to-date with the school office to make sure we can always get in touch with you for meetings etc.

What extra-curricular activities can my child participate in?

We do not discriminate against children with SEND, and all extra-curricular opportunities available for children without additional needs are available to those children with SEND. We have a range of excellent extended services on offer throughout the school year.
It is important to us that those children with SEND access school visits and trips, which are such exciting and interesting learning opportunities for children. We conduct a review of each visit/trip beforehand to ensure we have everything in place to make it a success (e.g. some children with SEND may find periods of walking difficult, or find new environments upsetting); and we make adjustments to our plans to meet their individual needs.

What support is available at less structured times of the day (e.g. playtime, lunch)?

• All children in Levens CE School are well supervised at all times;
• We encourage the older children to help the younger children and we emphasise the social and community aspects of school;
• Lunchtime is led by our support staff and lunchtime supervisor, who engage with the SEND lead to ensure that children with SEND are fully included;
• If needed, we provide a support/teaching assistant to support children with complex SEND who find playtime more challenging;
• We also ensure that children who would find such an approach beneficial have jobs and responsibilities at lunchtime.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning
How will teaching be adapted to meet the needs of my child?

All teachers adapt their teaching for every child – we aim to give each child the most personalised learning experience possible. As such:
• Class teachers use Quality First Teaching strategies which are high-quality, inclusive teaching strategies that effectively engage and support all learners, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
• Specially trained support staff can adapt the teachers planning to support the needs of your child where necessary;
• Specific resources and strategies are used to support your child individually and in groups;
• Planning and teaching is adapted on a daily basis, based on your child’s responses to the previous teaching and what needs to happen next.

How will I know how my child is doing?

• Class teachers meet and greet all children every morning in the classrooms;
• During the Spring and Autumn term there are parent-teacher meetings where you have the opportunity to speak to your child’s class teacher on an individual basis about your child’s progress;
• At the end of each year, you receive a written report of your child’s achievements and their suggested next steps for learning;
• There are opportunities where you can come in and learn more about children’s learning and progress in core subjects such as English and Maths;
• You are most welcome to make an appointment at any time in the school year to discuss your child’s progress or any concerns you may have;
• If there are significant concerns about your child – e.g. a sudden deterioration in their progress or emotional well-being, we arrange a meeting with you to find out how he or she is at home, whether there have been any changes in family life and what we can do to support you as a family.

  • If your child has an Early Help assessment open, you will be invited to regular Team Around the Child (TAC) meetings.
  • If your child has an EHCP, you will be invited to their annual review, which usually takes place in the summer term. For pupils in Early Years, these take place every 6 months.

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What skills do staff members have to meet the needs of my child?

Levens CE School is deeply committed to ensuring that your child is educated by high quality, professional staff members who have the key skills and abilities to meet their needs.
• All class teachers are qualified teachers who are well supported by specialist staff – the SEND lead and teaching assistants in working with your child. They work with the teacher in planning for children with SEND and provide in house training where needed;
• The school also has a school development plan that addresses the identified training needs for all staff to improve the teaching and learning of children including those with SEND;
• This may include whole school training on SEND difficulties or to support identified groups of learners in school, such as attention or literacy difficulties etc. We are keen to provide whole staff training to disseminate knowledge, strategies and experience to ensure consistency of the school’s approach for children with SEND;
• Teachers and support staff also attend training courses run by outside agencies that are relevant to the needs of specific children in their class;

Information about early identification, assessment and intervention
What happens if I am worried about my child?

If you are worried about your child’s progress, please speak to the class teacher. We can then work together to identify what specific concerns you have, what we have observed in school and what we can do next.

How do you identify children who may have special needs?

We use a range of strategies to identify children who have SEND:
• Some children come to school with their needs already identified by their previous setting/school or specialists working with them (e.g. community paediatrics, Speech and Language Therapy);
• We contact these practitioners to find out what goals they have been working towards, how your child has responded and what needs to happen next;
• For other children, we first provide high quality teaching and observe their response to this;
• It is only when your child doesn’t make the expected progress after having had good quality teaching that we start to further assess whether your child has SEND;
• We also use specialist assessments to help us pinpoint specific needs;
• Most importantly, we talk with your child and with you about their learning, what is working/where the gaps are and work together to help remove barriers to their learning.

How will my child manage tests and exams?

In England, schools are responsible for checking whether a child is working at the level of a test (e.g. Key Stage 2 SATS) but is unable to access them. The Headteacher makes the final decision about this, for example if your child has:
• A physical or sensory disability (e.g. a visual impairment);
• Spent lots of time in hospital towards the end of the Key Stage.
Specific arrangements can be put in place to enable children to access the tests. These are based primarily on typical classroom practice for children with particular needs (e.g. if our child uses enlarged print every day in class, this should be available for the exam). Detailed information about each access arrangement and how it can be used is available on the DfE’s website, please click here.

SEND support including students with EHC Plans
What happens if my child does have some difficulties?

The best thing that can happen if your child has SEND is for them to have excellent classroom teaching, known as Quality First Teaching. For your child this would mean that:
• The teacher has the highest possible expectations for your child and all children in their class;
• All teaching is based on building on what your child already knows, can do and can understand;
• Different ways of teaching are in place so that your child is fully involved in learning in class, this may involve things like using more practical learning;
• Specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SEND lead or outside specialists) are in place to support your child to learn;
• The teacher will have carefully checked on your child’s progress and will have decided that your child has gaps in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress.
All children in school should be getting this as a part of excellent classroom practice when needed.
Your child may also benefit from specific group work with a smaller group of children. These kinds of groups, often called interventions, may:
• Be run in the classroom or outside;
• Be run by a teacher or teaching assistant who has had training and is supervised to run these groups;
• Include clear assessment before and after to measure progress;
• Have specific targets or goals set for the children involved so they know what they need to do next and when they have achieved this.
This type of support is available for any child who has specific gaps in their understanding of a subject or area of learning. We also sometimes provide specialist groups or individual support as advised by external professionals if children would benefit from this approach. For your child this would mean:
• Your child will have been identified by the class teacher (or you will have raised your concerns) as needing more specialist input in addition to Quality First Teaching or in place of intervention groups;
• You will be asked to come to a meeting to discuss your child’s progress and help plan possible ways forward.
You may be asked to give your permission for the school to ask for the involvement of a specialist e.g. a Speech and Language Therapist or Educational Psychologist. This will help the school and you understand your child’s particular needs better and be able to support them in school. The specialist will work with your child and the teacher to understand their needs and make recommendations, which may include:
• Making changes to the way your child is supported in class e.g. some individualised support or changing aspects of teaching to support them better;

  • Specialist resources which support your child’s sensory needs;
  • Technology which will help your child to access the curriculum;

• Groups run by the school’s Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) e.g. a social skills group;
• Group or individual work with an outside professional.
This type of support is available for children with specific barriers to learning that cannot be overcome through Quality First Teaching and intervention.

Information on the schools graduated approach – Assess, Plan, Do, Review
How will you find out more about what my child needs?

We work with you, your child, their previous teacher and assessment results to find out what they already know, how they learn best and what their next steps are. We then use a variety of engaging and interesting teaching approaches to stimulate your child’s participation and engagement. Through observing their responses to teaching – both what is taught and how it is taught – we find out more and more about what they need and how best to provide it.

What will you do once you know what my child finds difficult?

Once we have assessed what it is they are finding difficult and why, we work together using a range of strategies and approaches to address these difficulties. We then implement these strategies and approaches and monitor them, reviewing at the end whether it is has made a difference. Usually, this approach is enough to support most children in making adequate progress; it is only when we are not making the difference we would expect that we may ask you for permission to bring in another expert to work with us in helping to meet your child’s needs.

What extra support can be brought in to help the school meet the needs of my child?

There are a range of specialist external support services that we draw upon – Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Paediatrics, School Nursing Team, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Audiology, Visual Impairment, Educational Psychology, Behaviour, Emotional and Well Being Officers, as well as specialist teachers in different areas such as for children who have English as an additional language or who have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Condition.

Who makes sure everything is happening?

Every class teacher teaches all of the children in their class, including the children with SEND and they are responsible for your child’s progress. If we need to involve external professionals, we may need you to take your child to appointments, share information with the practitioners concerned and let us know what they have told you. We also need you to help keep your child motivated and engaged in their learning.
If your child requires specialist assessment and intervention, this is discussed at termly progress meetings with the SEND lead. The SEND lead checks to make sure external agencies are working together as they should be and makes requests for additional resources if they are needed.

How will I know if the provision is making a difference for my child?

You will notice positive changes in whatever areas of need had been identified; that is why our initial identification and assessment is so important. It may be improvements in their reading, spelling and writing; or that they are happier in school. Listening to what your child has to say, as well as what you notice in their behaviour at home, is important in knowing whether the provision we’re making is working. This is alongside the regular tracking of attainment.

What if it isn’t working as much as I’d hoped?

It can be difficult, especially at the beginning of working together, to know exactly how much progress a child is going to make with extra support. It is important to have high expectations for them, and also to be reasonable and realistic in what we all think can be achieved each term or year.
What we do if an intervention isn’t working as we might have hoped, depends on the reason for lack of expected progress. If the extra support isn’t working, it may be that we haven’t given it enough time, or it wasn’t the right intervention for your child or that we uncover another barrier to learning while we’re providing the support.
The most important thing if you are worried is communication – talk to your child’s teacher or the SEND lead. We have to ensure that everyone has a shared understanding of what is happening – do we all have the same common goals and expected timeframes for progress? Have we shared these with each other? Do we share high and realistic expectations for your child? Working together we will come up with a plan for what to do next, and hopefully that revised plan will lead to success for your child.

What happens if I am still worried or disagree?

Again, it depends on what you are worried about – do you feel your child needs further assessment? Do you feel a different sort of specialist advice needs to be sought? Does your child need more time accessing a different intervention? Talking through your concerns with the SEND lead will help you identify what’s worrying you and what we can do about it. Remember that the option of requesting an assessment for an Education, Health and Care Plan is always open to you.
If you cannot reach agreement with the class teacher and the SEND lead, you can arrange to meet the Headteacher, Mrs Farraday and discuss with her your concerns. You can also seek advice from the Parent Partnership Service in the local authority, a link to their service can be found at the top of this page.

Education Health and Care Assessments and Plans
What if I think my child needs more help than the school can provide?

If you think that your child needs more help than the school can provide, there is the option of asking the local authority for an assessment to decide whether an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan is needed. These plans used to be called Statements of SEN. Having an EHC Plan means your child needs a very significant amount of individualised support that cannot be provided from the budget available to the school. It also usually means their needs are very severe, complex and likely to have a lifelong impact on their learning and development.
For your child this would mean:
• The school (or you) can request that the local authority carry out an assessment of your child’s needs. This is a legal process which would set out the amount of support that will be provided for your child if they had an EHC Plan.
• After the school have sent the request to the Local Authority (with a lot of information about your child, including from you), they will decide whether they think your child’s needs are complex enough to require an assessment. If this is the case they will ask you and all professionals involved with your child to write a report outlining your child’s needs. If they do not think your child needs this assessment, they will ask the school to continue with school-based support.
• After the reports have all been sent in, the local authority will decide if your child’s needs are severe, complex and lifelong. If this is the case, they will write an EHC Plan. If not, they will ask the school to continue with school-based support.

What if I disagree with some aspect of the plan, or I disagree about them conducting the assessment?

The best thing for you to do is to talk to the local authority about why they have made the decision they have. The Parent Partnership Service are also available to help you.

Arrangements for supporting transitions for pupils with significant SEND
How will the school help my child to manage the transitions into the school, into a new class or on to a different school?

We firmly believe in using the Team Around the Child or Team Around the Family approach at all stages of a child’s time with us at Levens CE School. This means we work together with the family and all professionals working with them to plan, deliver and review an action plan that is based on the family’s priorities. Relationships are central to this approach – building connections between you and us as a school, as well as trust and openness.
At times of transition, whether within your child’s time here, or on to their secondary education, we meet together as soon as possible to plan the kinds of experiences that the child and family would feel would best help making the transition go as smoothly as possible. It is particularly important for secondary transfer that we include the child as much as possible in the transition and they participate in making the decisions about what works for them.
When your child moves classes in school:
• Information is passed in advance to the new class teacher and a planning meeting takes place. All of the individualised planning is shared with the new teacher so they know what has been tried, what’s worked well and what’s next for your child;
• They visit and meet with their new teacher before the end of the school year;
• Any external professionals working with your child advise the new teacher of the extra support your child needs to make progress.
If your child is moving to another school:
• We contact that school’s SEND lead and ensure they know about any special arrangements or support that need to be made for your child;
• We make sure that all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible.
For secondary transfer:
• School staff work with you as early as possible to identify the choices for secondary school that you and your child would like, including accompanying you to visit a school if that would be helpful;
• We advise you on the processes, deadlines and the paperwork that needs to be completed in advance;
• We bring the team working with your family together to plan the transition approximately a term before your child is due to leave, always trying to ensure we include staff from the new school in this meeting;
• We work together with your child on focused learning about aspects of transition to support their understanding of the changes ahead;
• Where possible, your child visits their new school on several occasions and, in some cases, staff from the new school will visit your child here.

Information about funding and resources
How will the school fund the support needed for my child?

The school budget includes money allocated for supporting children with SEND and the Headteacher decides on the SEND budget in consultation with the school governors, on the basis of needs in the school. All of the evidence and research suggests that one of the most effective ways of using funding for SEND is to use it to improve the quality of teaching. We use the funding we have in a variety of ways:
• Helping every class teacher to improve their teaching so that they provide the best learning experiences for children with SEND;
• Purchasing resources.
We also have some personalised provision for children with severe and complex needs.

How are decisions made about funding and what can I do if I’m unhappy with this?

The Headteacher and Governors discuss all the information they have about SEND in the school, including:
• The children currently receiving additional support;
• The children requiring additional support;
• The children who have been identified as not making as much progress as would be expected.
They decide what resources/training and support is needed. This happens termly so that all of the information about children’s progress and achievement is used to make decisions about funding. All resources, training and support are also reviewed regularly and changes are made as needed. Please see below for what to do if you would like to raise a concern or a comment with the school.

Information on where to find further support
Where can I or my child get further help, information and support?

• The first port of call is your child’s class teacher and then the SEND lead;
• The school website is also regularly updated, and is an important source of information for parents/carers, as well as links to other helpful sites – make sure you regularly check for updates.

Where can I find out about what is available locally for me, my family or my child?

• Each local authority has their own local offer, you will be able to find out more information by looking on Westmorland and Furness’ website and will find the link to this at the top of the page.

Complaints procedures
How do I complain if I am not happy with what is happening for my child?

We hope that every parent/carer is happy with what is in place for their child. If there is anything you are unsure of, or have a concern about, the first thing to do is always discuss this with your child’s class teacher. In most instances, concerns are addressed appropriately at this stage. However, if you remain unhappy you can also speak to the SEND lead (Mrs H. Haslam) or the Headteacher (Mrs Jane Farraday). The schools’ complaints policy can be accessed by clicking here: https://www.levens.cumbria.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Complaints-Procedure-Levens-CE-School-March-2024-2.pdf