SEND (See also SEND Policy)

At WLFS, we believe that every teacher is a teacher of every child, including those with additional needs. The staff work together as a team with collective responsibility to:

  • promptly identify and assess needs 
  • to implement agreed targets and monitor and review pupils’ performance and progress
  • to work in partnership with parents/carers and outside agencies

A Graduated Approach to SEND support

The “Graduated Approach” is a four-part cycle of action: ASSESS, PLAN, DO and REVIEW, where each stage is continuously revisited, refined and revised. At the centre of this cycle is the child, parents or carers and class teacher, with the SENCO to advise and support (See SEND Policy for further detailed information).

Many strategies and resources initially recommended for children with specific needs have been adopted as good practise from Nursery to Year 4. These include visual timetables, the use of table top “tool-kits” and the use of ‘Communicate in Print’ symbols alongside text, as well as the introduction of multi-sensory programmes such as Numicon, Talk for Writing, and Read Write Inc. This provides a strong framework to support all children in their learning journey, as well as adding a robust “safety net” additional support for those children with additional needs.


Precision Teaching Technique

At WLFS, we use ‘Precision Teaching’ to provide a quick and easily administered intervention. It is a technique for collecting detailed information on progress and evidences what progress a child is capable of within a specified resource. It also enables the teacher to evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching strategies used.

Precision teaching asks 6 questions:

  1. Is the child working on the right task?
  2. Is the child learning?
  3. Is the child learning quickly enough?
  4. What can I do if the child is not learning quickly enough?
  5. When can the child move on to a new skill?
  6. Is the child retaining their learning?

Class Provision Maps

At WLFS, we use class provision maps to record interventions undertaken for groups and individual pupils. These provision maps outline precise intervention targets and record both entry and exit data. This enables us to measure and review the success of strategies used in relation to outcomes. 


Communicate in Print

At WLFS, we use ‘Communicate in Print’ resources to support writing with symbols/pictures as an aid to literacy. This is used in the ARP and integrated into school as evidenced in visual timetables, worksheets for intervention groups and annotated displays.


Maths Mastery

At WLFS, we develop the use of a mastery approach to the teaching of mathematics.

We use a CPA - Concrete - Pictorial - Abstract approach to teaching mathematics in all key stages, alongside the use of efficient methods. 

Objects and pictures are used to represent abstract concepts, essential for achieving mastery. Children are expected to represent the same concepts in a variety of ways as evidence of a mastery approach. 

The use of ‘Numicon’ resources supports this approach.

‘Maths Meetings’ are used to focus on communication, using correct mathematical vocabulary and to build confidence in the articulation of mathematical ideas.

We develop the use of ‘Stem Sentences’ to support pupils to articulate mathematical statements.

We use specific ‘Rapid Recall’ resources of calculations across all year groups.

Mathematical reasoning is developed by using a strategy of ‘Explain it, Convince it, Prove it, Use it’.