
Askham Lane
York
YO24 3HP
I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to inform you about an important change regarding how we review and support children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) at our school.
As part of our ongoing commitment to providing the best possible support for all of our students, we have been reviewing our approach to SEND provision. After careful consideration, we have decided to discontinue the use of the current support plans in the process of reviewing SEND needs. This decision has not been made lightly, and I would like to take a moment to explain the reasons behind it.
Why are we making this change?
My Support Plans (MSPs) were originally designed for use with children who have a number of professionals supporting them and would benefit from coordinated support. They are non-statutory documents which over time, we have found, have become quite dated and have not been as effective in their flexibility of being a working document. We believe that a more dynamic approach will better support the children who need it most and also bring us in line with our feeder Secondary Schools who have done the same.
What will happen next?
We have discussed MSPs with our caseworker at CYC who has advised that many other schools in York are also making this change.
Going forward, we will be adopting a new framework for monitoring the assess, plan, do, review cycle for children whose needs go above that of ‘ordinarily available provision’ and ‘SEN support’. A link for these descriptors can be found in our SEND policy. This new framework will be a one page profile completed in collaboration between the SENCo and class teacher. This will be reviewed each term between parents and class teachers.
Below is an overview of documentation for children with SEND -
Type of SEND support |
Provision in place to support needs |
Children who are on the SEND register for SEN support |
|
Children who require support which is above that of SEN support (previously known as MSPs) |
Provision in place to support needs |
|
|
Children with EHCPs |
Provision in place to support needs |
|
What does this mean for your child?
If your child currently has a My Support Plan in place, we will be reviewing their needs using the new framework. We will ensure that you are kept informed of any changes to your child’s current level of support, where appropriate.
In the New Year, we are also moving to a new system for our learning plans and pupil passports. Therefore, reviewed plans will be sent out in their new format after Christmas.
If you have any concerns or questions about how this change will affect your child, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are here to support you and your child every step of the way.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support as we work together to provide the best educational experience for all our children. We are excited about the potential of this new approach and look forward to seeing its positive impact on our children.
Best wishes,
Rachel Hewston
SENCo, DDSL and Designated Teacher for Looked After Children