Scunthorpe Church of England Primary School
Our School Offer for children with a Special Educational Need
How does the school know if my child may need extra help and what should I do if I think my child may have a special educational need?
All staff working with your children will have received training on the identification of special educational needs (SEN). If your child is struggling their class teacher will notice, so will the Senior Team and SENCO when looking through data each term.
If you have concerns, your first port of call would be to have a chat with the class teacher. If your concern is of another nature eg behaviour at home then you can speak to Mrs V Austin, who is our Lead Practitioner for Inclusion, or Mrs L Woodgate who is our SENCO.
How will school staff support my child?
The person with overall responsibility for children with Special Educational Needs is Mrs L Woodgate (SENCO). She works closely with the senior team, Mrs V Austin, Inclusion Lead, and Fiona Kirby-Smith who is our governor for SEN.
If your child is identified as needing some additional support it is these staff along with your child’s class teacher and yourself who will decide initially what support should be during the termly SEN review meeting. This support can take many different forms and will be different for every individual child. The school will keep you informed at all times about the support your child is receiving.
How will the work in the classroom be matched to what my child needs?
The most important support your child received to help them to make progress comes from quality first teaching. We feel that this comes in the form of carefully differentiated work to meet the needs of individual children. Your child will work at their own pace and all the adults here in school will endeavour to remove any barriers your child may have that prevent them from making good progress. As always we have the highest expectations of your child as we do of all children here in school.
How will I know how well my child is doing and how will the school support me in helping with my child’s learning and progress?
The easy answer to this is – if you are worried please just ASK. We are always happy to talk to you about your child. It is now always possible to speak to a class teacher at the beginning of the school day when they have already begun to teach, but they are always available at the end of the day. Vicky and Simone from the Pastoral Team are always on the playground before school starts and will happily try to answer your questions or indeed find information for you.
We hold two formal parent meetings each year, one in the autumn term and one in the second part of the spring term. More informal meetings to look at children’s work are held each term. Children who are having any extra support will have three meetings in addition to this plan and assess in detail their additional support – this will be with the class teacher, child, parent and Mrs L Woodgate (SENCO).
The progress of all children here in school is tracked every term. Mrs Atkinson, the senior team, Mrs Woodgate (SENCO) and the class teachers look at the progress of individual children. The success of any additional support a child may have been receiving is evaluated to make sure it has made an impact on the progress they have made and then next steps are planned.
What support does the school provide for my child’s overall well-being?
Mrs Howsham is our lead first aider in school. In addition she offers medical support for all children. She is available to discuss any medical difficulties your child may have. These medical needs will be compiled into a Medi Plan to ensure all staff that have contact with your child are aware of these medical needs. There are also ten staff who have first aid qualifications.
Our Pastoral Team offers support to children experiencing emotional or behavioural difficulties, thereby avoiding exclusions and increasing attendance. This team is very proactive and their high profile presence in school makes them accessible and approachable to all children. They work together to implement a ‘worry box’ system in the school and all classes have School Councilors to provide the children with a ‘voice’.
Every child in the school has had the opportunity to select Talk to Adults who they know they can turn to for help with any issues that may arise.
What specialist services and expertise are accessed by our school?
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Speech and Language Therapy
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Occupational Therapy
- Family Services
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Educational Psychology Service
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Behaviour Support Service
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Autism Team (ASSET)
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Visually Impaired Service
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Hearing Impaired Service
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St Luke’s Communication and Interaction College Outreach
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Parent Partnership
What Training are the staff supporting children and young people with SEN had or are having?
We have staff that have received the following training:
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Autism Awareness
- Attachment Disorder
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Speech and Language Toolkit
- The new SEN Code of Practice
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Recognising SEN
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Social Stories
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Communication and Interaction Issues
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Questioning Techniques
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Problems with working Memory
- Scotopic Sensitivity
- Trauma
- Lego Therapy
- ELSA
- THRIVE
How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips?
Your child will have full access to all activities in and out of Scunthorpe Church of England Primary School. When trips are planned the class teacher will discuss any mobility/behavioural issues with you beforehand. We will work with you. We will make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for any extra-curricular activities, in order to include your child.
How accessible is the school environment?
Our building is completely wheelchair accessible. Every attempt is made to ensure the environment is clear of clutter and is visually bright. Signage is clear and simple. There is an accessible/disabled toilet and shower in the main building. An automatically opening door has been fitted to the front of the school for wheelchair access.
As the school is on the main road we are unable, at this time, to provide a designated car parking area directly outside the school. Displaying a Blue Badge in your car permits parking here. However, a designated space is available in the locked car park at the rear of the school and this can be accessed by contacting the school office on 01724 842526.
We have many parents whose first language is not English. We have Polish, Bengali, Lithuanian and Romanian speaking members of staff who are available to translate. Photographs of these members of staff are displayed in the school office and the office staff would automatically contact the relevant member of staff if needed. Documents are translated into a number of languages and the school website can also be translated into a number of languages. In addition the school holds a ‘Tea @ 2’ session every Thursday afternoon to enable our parents to spend time with staff who share their mother tongue. This session provides an opportunity to find out about children’s progress.
How will the school prepare and support my child to join or to transfer to a new school or the next stage of education and life?
Your child will be part of a transition programme either when coming to or leaving our school to move to the secondary phase. In the Foundation Stage, relevant staff will make home visits before your child starts their learning journey.
When children with a Special Educational Need is moving on to their secondary school, our lead practitioner for Inclusion, Vicky Austin , makes links with the schools, shares relevant information, arranges for parents to visit the schools if requested, arranges meetings between parents and staff at the new school if appropriate and arranges extra sessions in the secondary school in order to ensure a smooth transition.
How are the school’s resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?
Funding arrangements divide funding into three parts, elements 1, 2 and 3.
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Universal services and mainstream funding per pupil at our school.
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Targeted services and support. Each setting is expected to provide support up to the equivalent of £6,000 to meet the additional needs of children who require this.
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‘Top up’ funding by North Lincolnshire Authority. This funding is allocated through a resource allocation system as indicative personal SEN budgets. It provides the additional individual support the pupil’s needs in order to achieve their learning outcomes as set out in their EHC Plan. (Statement of Special Educational Needs)
Parts of the personal SEN budget may be taken as a direct payment and used by parents on behalf of the child to purchase the additional and individual support set out in the EHC Plan. (Statement of Special Educational Needs)
Who can I contact for further information?
Mrs T Atkinson – Head Teacher by telephoning the school on 01724 842526
Mrs L Woodgate – SENCO by telephoning the school on 01724 842526
Class teacher either in person or by telephoning the school on 01724 842526
For further information about SEN within the North Lincolnshire Authority click below.