SEND Information Report (Autumn 2025)
This report outlines how we support children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
School Vision
At Rhodes Avenue, we want our children to:
Know who they are
Respect others for who they are
Never stop learning
School Values:
We will act with cooperation because we are a community.
We will use creativity to learn and grow.
We will show consideration as everyone is of equal value and importance.
Inclusive Admissions Statement
We believe that the admissions criteria should not discriminate against pupils with SEN or any disability and has due regard for the practice advocated in the Code of Practice, in that;
‘All schools should admit pupils already identified as having special educational needs, as well as identifying and providing for pupils not previously identified as having SEN. Pupils with special educational needs or EHCPs must be treated as fairly as all other.
Our school’s approach to supporting pupils with SEND
Rhodes Avenue Primary School has developed a wide range of ways in which we support children with different special needs or disabilities. We provide and monitor support using the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ (APDR) cycle:
• First, we identify what the particular challenge/need is. We ask parents to meet with us in order to discuss their child’s challenges/needs.
• We agree a programme of support that is carefully tailored to address the particular area or difficulty. This describes what we will do to support a child and what we hope the support will achieve.
• The action plan is put into place and monitored using appropriate qualitative/quantitative data to show progress against the support.
• To see whether support is effective we set a time-frame and we review the progress made.
Catering for different kinds of SEND
At Rhodes Avenue we cater for a wide range of needs including:
• Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC);
• Developmental Co-ordination Difficulties (including Dyspraxia);
• Downs Syndrome;
• Emotional Well-being difficulties (including anxiety);
• General Learning Difficulties;
• Moderate Learning Difficulties;
• Memory Difficulties;
• Physical Learning Difficulties/ Disabilities;
• Processing Difficulties;
• Specific Learning Difficulties (including Dyslexia);
• Speech, Language and Communication Difficulties; and
• Social Interaction and Communication Difficulties.
There are four broad areas the school use to plan the provision to support pupils with SEND (cognition and learning; communication and interaction; social, emotional, and mental health; and sensory and physical needs) and sometimes the needs overlap.
Identifying and assessing pupils with SEND
During the summer term before children start at the school, we invite all parents/carers in to the school to meet their child’s class teacher. We ask parents/carers to let us know if their child has a disability or they feel their child has any special educational needs so that we can discuss this and make sure the right support is in place for their child. We contact all children’s key workers in nurseries or pre-school settings to let us know about the children.
Where necessary, the Nursery/Reception Year Group Leader and/or Inclusion Manager/Special Educational Needs Coordinator visit the nursery settings to observe children and meet with their key person. The class teacher and the Inclusion Manager may also visit the child in their home and to meet their parents.
The Inclusion Manager/SENDCO will liaise with all lead professionals and parents/carers to arrange a planning meeting in the summer term prior to admission in order to plan the provision and objectives set out within the child’s plan. The Inclusion Manager/SENDco (and class teacher, if known) will attend any transition meeting in their nursery setting (if applicable).
If a child has special educational needs it is very important that they get the support they need as soon as possible. In order to make sure that any special educational needs not known about before starting school are picked up early, all pupils are assessed in an informal manner. We look closely at children’s speech, language and communication skills. We plan for and put in place interventions needed in order to be able to refer children with parental permission, to Haringey’s Speech, Language and Communication Service, if necessary. Intervention evidence is often a pre-requisite for referrals.
Our termly assessment and monitoring procedures continue throughout the children’s time at the school to look out for any special educational needs that develop later. Each child’s progress is discussed at a termly Pupil Progress Meeting which is attended by the Headteacher, Inclusion Manager/SENDCO and class teacher. The school uses additional assessments and screening tools to explore children’s progress further and these are administered by the Inclusion Manager (INCO) and/or Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENDCo).
We work hard to maintain strong links between home and school and parents are always welcome to speak to us if they have any concerns. Parents’ first point of contact should always be their child’s class teacher.
See appendix for SEN pathway
Consulting with pupils and parents
At Rhodes Avenue Primary we believe in working with parents/carers as partners and our parents share that belief. We are always ready to speak to parents about concerns they have about their child.
Additional to the parents’ evening, parents of children with SEND are invited to meet with class teacher and SENDCO regularly to set clear outcomes and review progress towards them, discuss the activities and support that will help achieve them, and identify the responsibilities of the parent, the pupil and the school. We ask the children to be part of filling out a pupil passport to ensure their voice is heard.
Involving key stakeholders
There is an active Parent/Teacher Association called Rhodes Avenue Primary School Association (RAPSA). Parents/carers are represented on the school’s Governing Body in the form of elected Parent Governors.
Our School Council has class representatives from each class from Year 3 to Year 6. Council representatives meet with a member of the Headship team weekly to discuss issues that pupils wish to raise about any aspect of school life.
Our Inclusion Champions are selected from volunteers amongst the children in KS2 who have a strong sense of inclusion. Inclusion Champions meet twice a half term to discuss issues around inclusion.
We have at least termly coffee mornings for parents of pupils with SEND.
At the end of the year, a parent questionnaire is sent out to get feedback from parents to help improve our practice and offer at Rhodes Avenue.
Progressing towards outcomes
We work hard to maintain good home/school links. We have a regular head teacher newsletter with general news about the school. We have termly curriculum letters where teachers share the learning that will take place across the curriculum that term. We have three parent consultation evenings per year (one per term) where children’s attainment and progress data is shared. Parents also receive an annual report about their child’s attainment and progress.
For children with special educational needs on the school’s SEND register and those with an Education, Health Care Plan we have a meeting each term. We invite parents and external professionals where relevant to these meetings. Due to constraints with cover for staff in school the school sets the dates of meetings and are unable to rearrange these. We endeavour to provide as much notice as possible for these meetings with at least two weeks’ notice
Transition support
Children joining our school from our school nursery visit their new classroom several times before the start of the new school year. Reception class teachers introduce the children to the rest of the school once they start to make sure they are confident in their new surroundings in the early years building. Children joining our school and not from our school nursery are invited to join in with these sessions.
We invite all the parents/carers of children joining the school in EYFS to meet their child’s class teacher at the end of the summer term before their children start at the school at the New Parents Information Evening. We also ask parents to let us know if their child has a disability or they feel their child has any special educational needs so that we can make sure the right support is in place for their child.
We help older children prepare for secondary school through our transition programme. This helps the children understand for example how a typical day works in a secondary school, what their timetable might look like, and how to find out who to go to for help if they need it. Children identified as needing further support are included in additional secondary transfer groups when agreed by their secondary school.
Teaching approach
At Rhodes Avenue, we ensure all pupils have access to high quality teaching by their class teacher and specialist teachers where appropriate. We have high expectations for all pupils in our school.
We work hard to create a positive and supportive environment for all pupils without exception. Class teachers build an ongoing, holistic understanding of their pupils and their needs to ensure they are able to learn and thrive at school.
When needed we complement high quality teaching with carefully selected small-group and one-to-one interventions.
Adaptations to the curriculum and learning environment
Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are taught alongside other children but lessons are designed so that all children in the class learn and make progress.
We do this by adapting mainstream lessons to meet the specific needs of all the children in the class. For example, both a child with special educational needs and a very able child have different learning goals within the lesson. Every class teacher plans, monitors and provides support for pupils within their class including children with special educational needs. Class teachers can access support from the Inclusion Manager or Special Educational Needs Coordinator to help them provide support for children with special educational needs.
Non-negotiables that teachers are using to support pupils with SEN in the classrooms:
• Widgit word mat;
• key vocabulary introduced;
• sentence stems;
• task sheet to avoid copying from the board;
• writing frames;
• talk partners;
• allow thinking time
• differentiated tasks
Rhodes Avenue is committed to ensuring that disabled pupils are not treated less favourably than other pupils.
The school also leads assemblies throughout the year that focus on various special educational needs and disabilities (e.g. Autism, Hearing Impairment, Dyslexia etc.)
Inclusivity in activities
Our aim is for all educational visits we plan to always include children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. We explore reasonable adjustments that can be made in order to include children with special educational needs. We use part of our budget to make sure that any support needed can be provided. The school will undertake risk assessments where necessary and if risk assessments identify that a child cannot be included within an educational visit the school will put in place alternative provision within school. We consult with parents/carers before arrangements are finalised.
Supporting emotional and social development
Children need to be happy and be able to behave appropriately to learn well so all our class teachers work with children in their class on social skills, resilience and wellbeing. If a child has a particular difficulty, their class teacher will have help from colleagues to support the child, e.g. from the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO), Inclusion Manager (INCO).
The school is committed to supporting and improving the mental and emotional health and well-being of all of our pupils. In line with Local Authority policy, the lead in school is our Assistant Headteacher (Inclusion Manager) Jette Rayner supported by our Senior Mental Health Leader (Amber Bowrey-Hall). Jette Rayner leads the work around emotional, health and wellbeing at Rhodes Avenue and liaises with external agencies. As well as accessing external support for children (from CAMHS), the school may provide emotional support in the form of our School Counsellor or time with our ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant). Unfortunately, the school’s own provision is limited and operates a waiting list dependent on need.
Evaluating effectiveness
The provision for our children with SEND is closely monitored and evaluated. Termly meetings between teacher, parents and the SENCo ensure SEN Support plans are reviewed and the progress made by children is evaluated. Where interventions have not been successful, further support or alternative approaches are put in place. This may also include seeking further advice and recommendations from professionals for staff to build into future support plans.
Teaching and Learning is monitored through lesson observations, learning walks and book scrutinies. In addition to this, our SENCo monitors the effectiveness of interventions.
Ongoing assessment of pupils with SEND is monitored by the Senior Leadership Team at termly Pupil Progress Review Meetings. The progress of children with SEN is considered in the context of the whole school, and assessed against national averages. Where necessary, further interventions will be put into place for children who are not deemed to be making adequate progress.
A parent questionnaire is sent out at the end of each school year to help us improve our provision.
Our SEND Governor, Stephen Wan meets regularly with the SENCo and monitor the effectiveness of SEND provision in school. They report to the full Governing Body.
Handling complaints
We are always seeking to improve on the quality of education we provide for children with SEND and are keen to hear from parents about their child’s experience.
Compliments are always greatly received and can be passed on either directly to staff and the SENDCO, or formally recorded via our regular questionnaires to parents or in the form of a letter to the head teacher.
We hope that complaints about our SEND provision will be rare, however, if there should be a concern the process outlined in the school complaints policy should be followed.
Further information can be found in our school complaints policy which can be found on our website.
Spending the budget
Part of the school’s budget is set aside for supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities. This is a fixed amount and so we have to use the money as cost-effectively as possible and make sure we can give help to all the children who need it. Decisions about which support programmes are best for a child are made by the INCO and/or SENCO in consultation with a child’s class teacher and parents/carers. Parents are invited to contribute to planning. The school may also seek advice from the Educational Psychology Service in order to decide which programmes/interventions to use with children.
In exceptional circumstances, where we feel we are not able to meet a child’s needs from our own funds, we will apply to the local authority for additional support for a child. Parents can do this too. We are happy to discuss all of this in more detail with parents. The school will follow the criteria as set out by the SEND Code of Practice when requesting additional support for children beyond school resources and will follow professional advice as part of the process.
Local Offer
The full range of local support available for children/ young people with SEND and their families within and outside of school can be found:
https://www.haringey.gov.uk/children-young-people-families/send-local-offer
Named contacts
• Your child’s class teacher is always your first point of contact;
• The Year Group Leader allocated to your child’s year group;
• The Inclusion Manager – Jette Rayner (Assistant Headteacher)
• EYFS/ Year 1 SENDCO – Kate McAulay
• A member of the Headship team – Maria Panayiotou (Headteacher) and Cigdem Mourat (Deputy Headteacher)
• Inclusion and Diversity Governor – Stephen Wan
• Chair of Governing Body –Fiona Doyle;
If in doubt, please ask the school office. The school telephone number is 0208 888 2859.
Additional support
Sometimes a child will have needs that will benefit from additional help from specialists outside the school. Depending on a child’s needs we may draw on support from:
• Speech and language therapy;
• Occupational therapy;
• Physiotherapy;
• Educational Psychology Service;
• Hearing Impaired service;
• Visually Impaired service;
• Early Help/Social Services;
• School nurse;
• Parenting programmes.
We always communicate with parents if we think additional support is needed and receive permission before we contact other specialists. There is no guarantee that a referral made will be agreed as each service operates its own referral criteria and waiting lists.
The School Offer
Our school offer to children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities was prepared in September 2025. It will be reviewed in September 2026.
School Offer
Useful Information
School SEND Policy
Appendix
