Sunnybrow Primary School

We are a maintained primary school with a governor led nursery catering for children between the ages of 3 - 11 years.

Our breakfast club offers hot and cold food and starts at 8.00am.  It's 50p to attend for all pupils.  Any pupil wishing to attend is welcome to do so at any time and advance bookings don't need to be made. We also offer all children a free bagel as they arrive in school each morning, thanks to Magic Breakfast. 

We are committed to the equal inclusion of all pupils in all areas of primary school life. We recognise the diverse and individual needs of all pupils and take into account the additional support required by those children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

 

When is it on?

Time of day
Morning
Afternoon
Session information
Monday to Friday 8.30am - 4.00pm

Who to contact

Contact name
Claire Sim
Contact position
Head Teacher
Telephone
01388 746 413
E-mail
sunnybrow@durhamlearning.net
Website
Sunnybrow Primary School

Where to go

Address
Hunwick Lane
Sunnybrow
Crook
County Durham
Postcode
DL15 0LT

Other details

Cost description
Breakfast club costs 50p and after school clubs are all free of charge.
Age range
3 - 11 years
Related links
Ofsted reports

Local Offer

Local Offer description

At Sunnybrow Primary School, we are committed to the equal inclusion of all pupils in all areas of school life. We recognise the diverse and individual needs of all our pupils and take into account the additional support required by those children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

We believe in positive intervention, removing barriers to learning, raising expectations and levels of achievement and working in partnership with other agencies in order to provide a positive educational experience for all our pupils including those with a Special Educational Need or Disability.

We recognise there are particular group of pupils whose circumstances require additional consideration by those who work with them to support their SEND.

We have appointed a designated teacher for looked after children and SENCO (Mrs Sim) to ensure all teachers in school understand the implications for those children who are looked after and have SEND.

We strive to ensure that all pupils, regardless of their specific needs make the best possible progress.

Contact name
Claire Sim
Contact telephone
01388 746 413
Contact email
sunnybrow@durhamlearning.net
Links
SEND at Sunnybrow

How do you identify Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)?

How does the setting/school/college know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs?

We aim for early identification of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, so our assessment process starts as soon as a child starts our school.

Early identification takes place by:

  • Having conversations with you, the parent/carer, to discuss any queries or concerns you may be having.
  • Assessing Reception children’s on-entry data in the Early Years Foundation Stage and identifying any areas of concerns.
  • Initial assessments when a child transfers to our school and discussions with their previous school.
  • Ongoing monitoring and tests throughout the year.
  • Pupil progress reviews between the head teacher and class teacher, where teachers are held accountable for the amount of progress the children in their class are making.
  • Special Education Need and Disability reviews between Mrs Sim and a class teacher, where teachers are held accountable for the amount of progress children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities are making.
  • Ongoing formative assessments during day-to-day activities.

How will you support my child with their special educational needs and disability?

How will early years setting/school/college staff support my child/young person?

We offer the following support for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities:

We aim for early identification of any Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, and this process starts from the first day children enter our school.

If a child is attaining lower than age-related expectation or progress is slower than expected/usual for the child, but it is felt that the child doesn’t have a SEND, then the child is placed on the ‘Cause for Concern’ register, appropriate intervention is planned for and the child’s progress is carefully monitored.

Interventions are carried out by our skilled learning support assistants and evaluated after each session. These interventions are then monitored by Mrs Sim or another member of our Senior Leadership team to ensure that they are of a high quality.

If we suspect a child might have SEND, then we talk to the people who know the child best - the child and their parents/carers. In that initial assessment meeting, the child, their parents/carers and their class teacher are invited to share their opinions and discuss the child’s strengths, areas of difficult and hopes for the future. This is recorded on a ‘Short Note’ form and forms the starting point for future support planning. We use the graduated approach detailed in the new Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 2014 of “assess, plan, do, review.”

Following the first meeting, if it is deemed appropriate, a Support Plan will be created for your child. This contains 2 or 3 specific, measurable, achievable and realistic targets, outlines appropriate support or intervention programmes and who will be the responsible adult. These targets will be reviewed at least every term with the child, their parents, class teacher and Mrs Sim.

In class, each child’s teacher will be finding ways to support your child to achieve these targets, such as:

  • Changing the way activities are planned and delivered.
  • Matching activities to the ability / need of each child (differentiation).
  • Adapting learning materials such as equipment and activities to suit each child’s needs.

If extra intervention and support is required, then your child will be assigned to one of our skilled teaching assistants. They will work closely with the class teacher to plan a programme of intervention. This intervention will be recorded on our whole-school provision map and will be regularly reviewed. Class teacher’s will also discuss how you can be supporting your child at home.

We track pupil progress through:

  • Every day formative assessments using a system called assertive mentoring, which tracks pupil progress against the National Curriculum descriptors for their age group.
  • Analysing pupil progress data and setting appropriate targets.
  • Using National Curriculum testing.
  • Using tests such as the Year 1 phonics test, reading age and spelling age tests, and Rising Stars optional tests.
  • Gathering information from the child, parents, carers and professionals from other agencies.

With the permission of parents/carers we may seek additional advice from outside specialists such as health professionals, specialist teachers or educational psychologists who would:

  • Carry out further assessment of the child’s needs.
  • Provide advice to schools on how to best support the child.
  • Suggest resources that would help the child make progress.

If your child has Special Educational Needs our SENCO will:

  • Ensure the right support is put in place for each child.
  • Advise other teachers and teaching assistants on how to help each child and ensure they have an up to date support plan detailing how their needs will be met in school.
  • Arrange training for staff so they understand each child’s needs.
  • Work closely with parents on a regular basis to talk with them about their child’s needs and listen to any ideas or concerns they might have.
  • Work with other professionals (if necessary) who may be able to help individual children, for example speech and language therapist /medical professional/educational psychologist.

If a child’s needs are very complex and/or severe we may ask the council to carry out an Education, Health and Care Assessment:

  • This is a very detailed assessment of each child’s needs. Parents or carers, the school and a range of professionals will all be asked to provide written reports.
  • At the end of the assessment phase the Local Authority will consider these reports to help decide whether or not to issue an Education, Health and Care Plan for the child.
  • Parents/carers also have the right to ask the council to carry out this assessment although it is usually best if you can do this with the support of the school.
  • Education, Health and Care Assessment is only appropriate for a small number of children. Your school SENCO or the Parent Partnership Service will be able to advise you about this.

We encourage all children to participate in every activity, regardless of special educational need or disability. Where this might be difficult (such as in the case of P.E.) we strive to remove barriers and put measures in place to support children in their engagement of the activity.

How will you make sure my child's education meet their needs?

How will the curriculum be matched to my child's young person's needs?

Children learn and develop in different ways. Teachers recognise this and use different teaching styles and resources, as well as planning different levels of work in the classroom to cater for the various ways children learn. Children will have adult support within the classroom when tasks require it. However, at times, children may need extra help and may be withdrawn by a teaching assistant to work on specific skills as an individual or as part of a small group. The use of the Special Educational Needs Support Plan, written specifically for individual children, will include short term targets linked to the child's needs.

 

How will we know my child is progressing?

How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support my child's/young person's learning?

You will be able to discuss your child's progress at parents' evenings and appointments can be made at any time to speak to the class teacher or SENCo throughout the year, by contacting the school office.

Progress is closely monitored on a regular basis through:

  • National Curriculum Tests.
  • Other tests, such as Phonics checks, Optional SATs, Speech and Language link, Rigby Star. 
  • Information from parents, carers and other professionals from other agencies.
  • Records from other schools your child has attended.

Staff will help you to support your child/young person with their learning by suggesting ways you can help at home. Mrs Sim (SENCo) may meet to discuss how to support your child with strategies to use if there are emotional or behavioural needs. If outside agencies or the Educational Psychologist have been involved, suggestions and programmes of study are normally provided and can be used at home.

How will you support my child's overall wellbeing?

What support will there be for my child's/young person's overall wellbeing?

We believe it is vitally important to develop the whole child, not just their academic ability.

Pastoral care

We believe that children are entitled to:

  • be involved in the planning of their own health care needs whenever possible.
  • establish a routine individually related to their needs and age.

We believe that parents are entitled to:

  • Be consulted about their child’s personal care, to ensure that it is sensitive to the family’s culture and reflects their child’s needs.
  • The reassurance that children will whenever possible, receive personal care from the staff that know him/her best.
  • Support in managing toilet training.

To support this, we:

  • Work closely with our excellent Parent Support Advisor, Julie Bray, who is there to offer support to children and their families.
  • Have trained lunchtime supervisors who know the school and our children very well.
  • Ensure all our staff and visitors are DBS checked and fully trained in all aspects of their role.
  • Have small class sizes, which we believe are our greatest asset—we have an individual, personal approach.
  • Have a thorough PSHE curriculum, which runs throughout the school and is personalised to our children’s needs. We also run social development programmes such as the Getting along programme for those children who require extra support. 
  • Use Sunshine Supporters to support children at playtimes.
  • Ensure children are provided with an Educational Support Plan where needed and we support families through our links with local community groups, organisations and services.
  • Our range of after school activities promote healthy and safer lifestyles. Visit our website for out latest offering.

Medical needs

  • We work closely with other professionals, both in-school staff, the school nurse, outside agencies and parents/carers to support all public health and medical needs within the school.
  • We have a designated medical officer (Mrs Austin) who keeps up-to-date records of children’s health and medical needs and oversees first-aid and medical provision in school.
  • We can meet with parents/carers to discuss any concerns within a confidential and supportive environment.
  • We ensure staff receive up to date training and we seek advice from the relevant professionals to meet a families’ needs. Two members of staff are fully trained paediatric first aiders.
  • We arrange school nurse involvement and drop in sessions for parents/carers.
  • We can produce Care Plans for those children who have complex additional needs.
  • We support children with additional speech and language needs by working in small groups, on a one-to-one basis or by involving speech and language professionals who regularly work with identified children in school.

Social and emotional support

  • We place great important on promoting and supporting a child’s positive social and emotional well-being. We are a small, friendly and open school. We encourage children, parents and carers to speak to key members of staff each day. We are also happy to speak over the telephone to those parents who work during the day.
  • We have an excellent Parent Support Advisor, Julie Bray, who works in school with children who require extra support for their social and emotional needs. She supports the school in implementing ‘resilience plans’ or those pupils and Julie also offers ‘relaxed kids’ intervention. We use CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health service) and access counselling from the Road Centre alongside this support where necessary.
  • Some of our teaching assistants are trained in delivering ‘nurture groups’ and the ‘Connecting with Children’ programme.
  • Our school Sunshine Supporters support children during playtimes, encouraging positive behaviour and making sure everyone has someone to play with.
  • We support the children fully when they move to Secondary school. We always provide staff to accompany the children on their visits and members of the transition team spend many hours in our school every Summer Term.
  • We hold regular parents’ evenings and provide tours of the school.
  • We have a varied and stimulating PSHE Programme running through the school, as well as programmes to specifically support social and emotional development. 

What specialist services and expertise is available at or accessed by the staff?

What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the setting/school/college?

We work with a number of external agencies and fellow practitioners to help support and develop a child’s pastoral, social, educational and medical needs.

This includes:

  • Our school’s community of learning, where we share resources and effective practice with a number of schools in our surrounding area.
  • Special Educational Needs – Inclusion Team
  • Educational Psychology Service
  • One Point
  • Health agencies
  • Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAHMS)
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Durham Autistic Spectrum Team
  • Behaviour Support Services
  • Durham Movement Difficulties Service
  • Tree Tops Occupational Therapy
  • The Road Centre Counselling service
  • Sensory Support Team
  • Educational Social Workers
  • School Parent Support Advisor
  • Looked After Children Team
  • Learning Disability Service
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Medical Practitioners
  • School Nurse

How are staff trained regarding SEND?

What training are the staff supporting children and young people with SEND have had or are having?

Members of our staff have received training related to SEND including sessions on:

  • how to support pupils on the autistic spectrum.
  • how to support pupils with social and emotional needs.
  • how to support pupils with speech and language difficulties.
  • how to support pupils with physical and co-ordination needs.

Mrs Sim, our SENCo, has completed the National Award for SEND Co-ordination.

What activities outside the classroom will there be?

How will my child/young person be included in activities outside this classroom including school trips?

Activities and school trips are available to all. Risk assessments are carried out and procedures are put in place to enable all children to participate.

If it is deemed that an intensive level of one-to-one support is required, a parent or carer may be asked to accompany their child during the activity.

How will you support my child's needs?

How accessible is the setting/school/college environment?

Our school is wheelchair accessible, with access into the school building by ramps and hand railings located to the rear of the school in the school yard. Taxis are able to drop pupils off and collect pupils from the school car park, which is right next to the school yard and access to the ramps. Our corridors and doors allow for wheelchair access too.

What is available to help my child with their education?

How are the setting's/school's/college's resources allocated and matched to children's/young people's special educational needs?

If a child has an Education, Health and Care Plan, resources necessary are outlined. The Senior Leadership Team will work alongside staff to ensure that these resources are available - this may be staffing to support the child, as well as phycial resources and specialist equipment.

The use of Special Educational Need Support Plans for individual pupils will help class teachers organise specific resources and intervention for small groups of children.

 

What support can I expect for my child?

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child/young person will receive?

These decisions are made in consultation with class teacher and Senior Leadership team. Decisions are based upon termly tracking of pupil progress and as a result of assessments by outside agencies, including details given in Education, Health and Care Plans.

During their school life, if further concerns are identified due to the pupil’s lack of progress or wellbeing, then other interventions will be arranged.

How will I be involved in my child's education?

How are parents involved in the setting/school/college? How can I be involved?

We actively seek to foster positive working relationships with both children and their parents/carers. We believe that children and their parents/carers know best; parents/carers are a child’s first and most enduring educator after all, so we start our assessment process by discussing what the child and their parents/carers think.

We use the following strategies:

  • We have regular meetings and discussions with the child and their parents/carers to learn how the child behaves at home, their strengths, areas of difficulty and hopes for the future.
  • Make close observations during school to identify the types of activities and experiences that most engage each child so these can be developed further and be used inform future planning.
  • Involve SEND children and their parents with setting their own targets.

My child is going to be starting or leaving soon, how will you help them?

How will the setting/school/college prepare and support my child/young person to join the setting/school/college or the next stage of education and life?

We recognise how important a successful transition is to our pupils with additional needs. We want the process to be as easy and stress-free as possible.

We work in partnership with our feeder secondary schools to provide an enhanced level of transition for those who we feel would benefit from this. This may take the form of additional visits for pupils or one to one / small group working with secondary school staff.

The period of transition depends on the individual needs of the pupil. If it is felt appropriate secondary school colleagues will come into school to meet the current class teacher, parents and most importantly the pupil. We have found this strategy particularly useful in easing any worries or concerns parents and pupils may have.

We benefit from being a small school as all staff know every pupil. Transition from each Year Group is therefore easier for the children as they already know their new class teacher. We also have a transition day, so children are familiar with the new classroom environment and organisation.

New starters for Nursery and Reception children are provided with the following opportunities:

  • Parent Open Information meeting.
  • Children’s visits to our EYFS class.

We are extremely flexible and are prepared to organise extra transition sessions or meetings with external agencies to make transition as easy and stress-free as possible.

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  • Sunnybrow Primary School

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Address: Hunwick Lane  Sunnybrow  Crook  County Durham

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