Special Educational Needs

Every Child Matters

Every child has individual needs.  At Lynch Hill School we recognise this and do everything available to us to ensure that every child is safe, happy and achieves to the best of their ability at school. However, sometimes children need extra support for their individual needs, such as their behaviour, their social and emotional development or their learning.  Many children require additional support at school.  This is a perfectly normal part of a child’s development, and we are here to support you and your child.

What you need to know

How children and young peoples’ needs are identified

The school will utilise the ‘Teaching for Neurodiversity’ approach to identifying SEND needs which is rooted in a graduated response. (See the policy appendix – Response to SEND) Those children requiring SEND support will have an Individual Provision Map (IPM) which will detail SMART targets relevant to the child’s needs and are designed to facilitate sustained progress for the child, sharing targets and provision with parents. These IPMs will be reviewed regularly with input from the parents and pupils which will inform the level of support and involvement required.

How their needs are assessed and provision made

Support will be offered to children to respond to their needs. Provisions offered to children are varied and can include: in class, small group, 1:1, after school clubs or with external professionals. The provision offered is based on the observed needs. This can be from the school based observations or from those detailed in professional reports. Support is graduated so that it appropriate and ensures that previous interventions/provisions have been delivered effectively and reviewed before additional provision or involvement is sought. i.e. It is not appropriate to involve an Educational Psychologist or refer to CAMHS when concerns are first raised. This is because:

• these processes take time and in the meantime the child is without support
• earlier school based intervention may be effective and therefore Educational Psychologist or CAMHs involvement may not be required
• these agencies expect the school to have responded to the needs and evidenced what has already been put in place to support the child and that it has not been effective and therefore further involvement is required
• agencies become overwhelmed with referrals, slowing response times

Additional provision is part of a continual assessment and review process which includes the views of parents and the child at each stage.

What is available?

The special educational, health and social care provision for children and young people with SEN or disabilities.

Children with SEND will receive support that is tailored to their individual need, although the following support is common practice within Lynch Hill Primary School:

• Children with Speech and Language Therapy programmes may receive direct 1:1 or small group support from a suitably trained staff member;
• Children may receive small group support in-class from a teaching assistant;
• Children with difficulties in specific areas (for example: reading) may receive small group support outside class from a teaching assistant;
• Children with Physiotherapy or Occupational Therapy programmes may receive 1:1 or small group support from a suitably trained staff member;
• Children with advice from the Educational Psychologist may receive differentiated learning tasks from the class teacher;
• Children with social, emotional or mental health difficulties may receive direct work 1:1 or in a small group from a teaching assistant or outreach worker, or 1:1 with a drama therapist.
• Children with visual or hearing impairment may receive differentiated learning tasks from the class teacher or direct work from a specialist teacher.

Transition support

For children starting our Nursery, our staff conducts a home visit, this is an opportunity for both children and staff to begin to build a rapport and help the child feel more confident about coming to school. The visit is a very useful way of identifying with the parent if there are any concerns about the child starting school. It is a very effective means of initiating intervention at a very early stage in the child’s life if appropriate and necessary.

Transition is important in every year group at Lynch Hill School and as soon as the summer term begins, staff start to plan for their children’s move to the next year group in September.  We recognise that ‘moving on’ can be difficult for a child with special educational needs and disabilities and take steps to ensure that any transition is as smooth as possible.

When moving classes in school:

• Information will be passed on to the new class teacher IN ADVANCE and in most cases, a planning meeting will take place with the new teacher. All IEPs will be shared with the new teacher.
• Where a child would be helped by a personal book to support them and help them understand about moving on then it will be made for them.
• Your child will attend a small group in school, to support their understanding of the changes ahead. This may include creating a ‘Personal Passport’ which includes information about themselves for their new class.
• Where possible your child will visit their new class on several occasions and staff from the new class will visit your child in their current class environment to build up the relationship to ensure a smooth transition. 

When moving to another school:

• We will contact the new school’s SENCO and ensure he/she knows about any special arrangements or support that need to be made for your child.
• We will make sure that all records about your child are passed on as soon as possible.
• Where possible we will attempt to arrange visits.

Lynch Hill Primary School has an experienced team which includes:

In the core Inclusion team:

• Charley Seaman - SENDCo
• Stacey Dean - Assistant SENDCo
• Claire Cargin - SEND Inclusion Lead
• Cathy Dyde - EYFS Inclusion Lead
• Lisa Bunce - Inclusion Officer and Deputy DSL
• Petre Hector - Inclusion and Safeguarding Support Assistant

Other members of the Inclusion team:

• Tricia Johnson Paige - Communication and Interaction Support Assistant 
• Rachel Jolly - Drama Therapist 
• Mandy Parsons - Services Supporting Behaviour, Counselling Psychologist

The Governing Body: 

School Governing Bodies have statutory responsibilities to ensure that the special educational needs of all children in their school are met.  Under Section 157 of the 1993 Education Act, LEA and Governing Body must, by law, have regard to the provisions of the “Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs” all are elements from paragraph 2.6 of the Code of Practice.

How provision is funded:

 

* Pupils requiring or receiving support beyond £6000.00 will require an EHCP in order to fund the provision in order for the provision to be sustained.

Leisure activities and support groups

Where children required additional support during the school day, this will be provided by the school.

If additional support is required for a child beyond the school day, this will be chargeable and needs to be discussed in advance with the Inclusion Team.

The school endeavours to run a range of support groups and provide additional support to wider families. These vary termly. More information can be obtained by contacting Mrs Bunce or Mrs Clack via the school office.

Arrangements for travel to and from school and other settings

As part of our travel plan we encourage all children to walk to school. We use minibuses, staff vehicles and coaches to transport pupils but will always seek consent to do this. We do not organise travel to and from school. Arrangements for school transport should be made directly with the local authority where there is a need.

Where you can get further information

How to find more information, advice and support

• Read our SEND policy

Contact the following people through the school office:

• Your child’s class teacher
• Inclusion Team through the school office
• Governor with responsibility in Disability and Special Educational Needs: Mr G Kaye-Taylor

Contact the SEND team at Slough on 01753 787676 or visit their website http://www.slough.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/sen-our-approach.asp

The help available to resolve disagreements

Contact Slough SEND Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS)

For more information email sendiass@slough.gov.uk or call 01753 787693