Last Updated Summer 2023

The school's Special Needs and Disabilities Coordinator is Miss Helen Talbot.  Should you wish to discuss any SEND issues or arrange a meeting, please contact her using one of the methods below: 

Email: htalbot@glebelands.leicester.sch.uk  or call the school office on: 0116 2340010.

If you require any of the information on this page in writing, using a particular font and/or on coloured paper please contact the SENCO who will be happy to provide the information you have requested. 

A number of children will have special educational needs and or disabilities (SEND) as they go through school. If you have a concern about your child then please discuss this in the first instance with your child's teacher. If you would then like to speak to our Special Needs Co-ordinator, Miss Talbot,  please contact the office or email htalbot@glebelands.leicester.sch.uk

Glebelands follows the Local Education Authority's Offer in terms of provision for children with SEND.

How does Glebelands identify SEND?

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities can be identified in a number of ways:

concern raised by the child

concern raised by a parent / guardian

regular class assessments or work e.g. spellings, reading tests, maths work in class

a child who is working at least 2 years below where we expect him/her to be according to their age

observations and assessments carried out by the SENCO. This includes using School-Based assessments where a standardised score of 84 or below indicates SEND.

information from a previous school or health professional

How will Glebelands Support my child with SEND?

A graduated response is followed after discussions with parents. Differentiated work, activities and other arrangements will be tried in class initially and the child closely monitored.  Class teachers will use the BERA document to help inform their classroom practice, use of strategies, approach and resources. If little or no progress is made then the child can, with your consent, be placed on the school's SEND register at SEN support and the support provided will increase.  This may be in the form of withdrawal intervention groups led by a teacher or teaching assistant, specialist equipment to use in the classroom, different classroom activities and resources and more individualised homework.  For those children experiencing significant difficulties we call on the advice of outside professional agencies to support us in supporting your child e.g. Speech Therapists, Educational Psychologists, Special Needs Service teachers (learning and autism specialists, behaviour management teachers ) etc.

Please see links below for more details on the graduated response

How will I know how my child is progressing?

You will be invited to meet with the class teacher each term to review your child's progress.  Together you will look at the progress made in class and in any intervention groups that your child has attended.  Then the next steps of your child's provision will be planned with you. You can also arrange a meeting with the SENCO. If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), an annual review will be held with you and all professionals working with your child will be invited to attend. Where a child is aged 5 and under, the EHCP reviews happens twice a year.

Will my child be able to take part in the whole curriculum?

All of Glebelands curriculum is accessible to children with SEND and adaptations are made based on the child's individual needs.  After school clubs and activities are open to all children.  Provision is made for children with SEND to take part in off site trips and residentials. The school is accessible by wheelchair, is all on ground level and there is an accessible toilet. Our new mobile has a ramp leading up to the doors.

This year, we have invested in the use of a break away style classroom called The Sunbeams. Children who attend this class remain the responsibility of their class teacher but are able to receive a personalised curriculum based on their individual area/s of need. There is a strong focus of working on the outcomes written in their EHCP, any advice we have received from outside professional agencies and what we know about the child all whilst aiming to develop the children's independence. Planning of these sessions is always catered towards the children's needs at the time. It may be in the best interests of some children to continue attending the Sunbeams class throughout the year whilst other children may need to dip in and out of this provision. We will always allow children at Glebelands to access this provision if it is in their best interest. 

What training have staff received and what specialisms does Glebelands have?

All teaching staff and support staff receive training in different areas of SEND e.g. Dyslexia, Autism, ADHD, Speech, Language & Communication  as the needs of their pupils arise. All adults who run interventions in school will have received training to enable them to deliver the programmes to an exceptionally standard and meet with the SENCO at schedule monthly times and as needed between those scheduled times. 

What interventions could my child take part in?

Glebelands runs a variety of intervention each term and these change depending on the needs of the children at any one time.  Care is taken to match the child to the relevant intervention group and this will be discussed with you at your termly meeting with the class teacher.  We are also careful not to overload the child with too many interventions at once.

The interventions currently taking place are: BRP, Early Words, Lexia, Beat Dyslexia, Toe By Toe, Time To Talk, Let's Talk, Language For Thinking, Lego Therapy, Fun Time, Mindfulness, Big Moves, Play Interaction, Reading Rocketeers, Rising Stars Maths, A Volcano In My Tummy, Talkabout For Children (Social & Friendship Skills Development) and Individual SALT plan work.

Other ways that we can work together to get your child and your family the support you may need:

Parents, Carers and School can all make a referral to the School Nurse who is part of the 'Healthy Together 5-19 Service' and Early Help.

Some of the areas that the School Nurse can help with include: 

Behaviour. Continence, including day/nightime wetting and constipation. Emotional/mental health with onward referrals to CAMHS. Self Harm. Neurological concerns and onward referrals to Paediatricians. Growth and Diet. Parental support with referrals to Early Intervention where appropriate. Physical Health Concerns. Sleep issues.

Healthy Together (School Nurses) also offer health information and advice via its public health website Health for Kids (www.healthforkids.co.uk)  Health for Kids has a dedicated ‘grown-ups’ area targeted at parents and carers.

Parents can also contact a member of the public health School Nursing team via a confidential text messaging service, ChatHealth. For parents and carers, the number is: 07520 615381

Parents, carers and school can all make a referral to Early Help.

All the information you will need about the service that is offered and how a referral can be made, can be found at: www.leicester.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/support-for-children-and-young-people/early-help/early-help-offer/

If you require any support in considering and/or making a referral to either of these services please see your child's class teacher or school SENCO who will be happy to help.

Whilst we will no longer be working with the Sunrise Wellbeing Centre directly, please see their leaflet above for more information and contact them directly if you would like to access their services. 

Children Working below the standard of national curriculum assessments and not engaged in subject-specific study.

Occasionally, within a mainstream school provision, there will be pupils who have severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties. This means they may have serious cognitive impairments and learning difficulties, which lead to significant delays in reaching developmental milestones. From September 2021, it became statutory for these children to be assessed using The Engagement Model. The model is an observation-based assessment tool, which considers five areas of engagement linked to learning: exploration, realisation, anticipation, persistence and initiation. Any children assessed using this method will have individual targets linked to their needs and qualitative data will be collated.  It is also used as a baseline tool to track and support ongoing progress.

Leicester City's Local Offer

A short animation sharing what the Local offer is:

Family Information | What is the Local Offer? (leicester.gov.uk)

A link to the Local Offer website:

Family Information | SEND Local Offer (leicester.gov.uk)

The purpose of the local offer is to enable parents, carers and young people to see what services are available in their area and how to access them. It includes provision from birth to 25 years old, across education, health and social care. The local offer is available on the website: http://www.thelocaloffer.co.uk/ You can also access services that support children with SEND from the website: https://mychoice.leicester.gov.uk

The Balanced System® Speech Language and Communication (SLC) Pathway helps staff and families access the right support at the right time. It includes information and advice to engage parents and wider family members as children’s first communication partners and also local and national information and advice on SLC concerns or needs.

You can access this information by typing: Balanced System® Speech Language and Communication (SLC) Pathway into your web browser.

The following pages contain information about different areas of SEND.

Although the school can recognise special educational needs and make provision to meet those needs, we do not offer diagnoses. As well as sharing your concerns with us, we advise that you contact your GP if you think that your child may have an underlying medical condition or disability. Class teachers and the SENCO will be happy to support you with this by writing to your GP, with your consent, to share their concerns and observations and to share any completed checklists from observations we have made. However, please be aware that what we see in school may not be what you see at home and we can only comment on what we see.