SEND

At Millbrook Primary School children are identified as having SEN through a variety of ways including the following:

• Liaison with previous preschool/school
• Child performing below age expected levels
• Concerns raised by Parent
• Concerns raised by teacher for example behaviour or self-esteem is affecting performance
• Liaison with external agencies i.e. physical
• Health diagnosis through paediatrician

Talk to us – firstly contact your child’s class teacher or our SENCO (Mrs Thompson). We pride ourselves on building positive relationships with parents. We are open and honest with parents and hope that they are able to do the same with us.

Our SENCO oversees all support and progress of any child requiring additional support across the school.

The class teacher will oversee, plan and work with each child with SEND in their class to ensure that every effort is made to ensure that progress is made in every area. There may be a Teaching Assistant (TA) working with your child either individually or as part of a group; if this is seen as necessary by the class teacher. The regularity of these sessions will be explained to parents when the support starts.

The class teacher will meet with parents at least on a termly basis (usually as part of Parent’s evening) to discuss your child’s needs, support and progress. For further information the SENCO is available to discuss support in more detail.

The progress of children with SEND is reported to Governors termly by our Deputy Headteacher (Mrs Tucker) as part of the whole school data. This report does not refer to individual children and confidentiality is maintained at all times.

One of the Governors (Mrs Hunt) is responsible for SEN and meets regularly with the SENCO to discuss the effectiveness of SEN provision within our school.

All work within class is pitched at an appropriate level so that all children are able to access according to their specific needs. Typically this might mean that in a lesson there would be three different levels of work set for the class, however on occasions this can be individually differentiated.

The benefit of this type of differentiation is that all children can access a lesson and learn at their level.

We offer an open door policy where you are welcome any time to make an appointment to meet with either the class teacher or SENCO and discuss how your child is getting on. We can offer advice and practical ways that you can help your child at home.

We believe that your child’s education should be a partnership between parents and teachers, therefore we aim to keep communication channels open and communicate regularly, especially if your child has complex needs.

We operate a home / school link book (HASP book) which your child will bring home regularly so that comments from parents and the teacher can be shared and responded to when needed. Update September 2020 – due to Covid 19 all communication with the class teacher is via the class email (class name followed by @millbrook.swindon.sch.uk eg – foxes@millbrook.swindon.sch.uk)

If your child has complex SEND they may have an Education and Health Care Plan, which means that a formal meeting will take place to discuss your child’s progress and a report will be written.

As a school we measure children’s progress in learning against National expectations and age related expectations.

The class teacher continually assesses each child and notes areas where they are improving and where further support is needed. As a school, we track children’s progress from entry at FS2 through to Year 6.

Children who are not making expected progress are picked up through pupil progress meetings with the class teacher and a member of the Senior Leadership Team. In this meeting a discussion takes place concerning why individual children are experiencing difficulty and what further support can be given to aid their progression.

If the child has not met the target, the reasons for this will be discussed, then the target may be adapted into smaller steps or a different approach may be tried to ensure the child does make progress.

We are an inclusive school; we welcome and celebrate diversity. All staff believe that children having high self-esteem is crucial to a child’s well-being. We have a caring, understanding team looking after our children.

The class teacher has overall responsibility for the pastoral, medical and social care of every child in their class, therefore this would be the parents’ first point of contact. If further support is required the class teacher liaises with the SENCo for further advice and support. This may involve working alongside outside agencies or our in school Pastoral Support Worker.

The school has a policy regarding the administration and managing of medicines on the school site.

• Parents need to contact the office if medication is recommended by Health Professionals to be taken during the school day.
• On a day to day basis the Admin Staff generally oversee the administration of any medicines.
• As a staff we have regular training and updates of conditions and medication affecting individual children so that all staff are able to manage medical situations.

As a school we have a very positive approach to all types of behaviour with a clear reward system that is followed by all staff and pupils.

If a child has behavioural difficulties relevant support is put in place and targets set.

Attendance of every child is monitored on a daily basis by the Admin department. Lateness and absence are recorded.

We value and celebrate each child being able to express their views on all aspects of school life. This is usually carried out through the School Council.

There is an annual pupil questionnaire where we actively seek the viewpoints of children especially concerning being able to speak to an adult if they have a worry.

If your child has an Education and health Care Plan their views will be sought before any review meetings.

Our SENCo is fully qualified and accredited.

As a school we work closely with any external agencies that we feel are relevant to individual children’s needs within our school including:

• Behaviour Support (Nylands SEMH support team)
• Health – including GPs, school nurse, paediatricians, speech & language therapists;
• Occupational Therapists;
• Social services – including Locality Teams, Social Workers and Educational Psychologists.

All children are included in all parts of the school curriculum and we aim for all children to be included on school trips. We will provide the necessary support to ensure that this is successful.

A risk assessment is carried out prior to any off site activity to ensure everyone’s health & safety will not be compromised. In the unlikely event that it is considered unsafe for a child to take part in an activity, then alternative activities will be provided in school.

The school site is wheelchair accessible with a disabled toilet large enough to accommodate changing. The school is all on one level.

We encourage all new children to visit the school prior to starting when they be shown around the school. For children with SEND we are sensitive to the fact that further visits may be required to assist with the acclimatisation of the new surroundings. If children have an Education and Health Care Plan we also try and visit them in their current school.

We may write social stories with children if transition is potentially going to be difficult.

When children are preparing to leave us for a new school, typically to go to Secondary education, we arrange additional visits. We liaise closely with Staff when receiving and transferring children to different schools ensuring all relevant paperwork is passed on and all needs are discussed and understood.

If your child has complex needs then an Education and Health Care Plan review will be used as a transition meeting during which we will invite staff from both schools to attend.

We ensure that all children who have Special Educational needs are met to the best of the school’s ability with the funds available. We pride ourselves on delivery quality first teaching in the classroom. As a Dyslexia Friendly School we are able to do this based on individual children’s needs. We have a team of TAs who deliver programmes designed to meet groups of children’s needs. The budget is allocated on a needs basis. The children who have the most complex needs are given the most support often involving an TA.

The class teacher, alongside the SENCo, will discuss the child’s needs and what support would be appropriate. Different children will require different levels of support in order to bridge the gap to achieve age expected levels. This will be through on-going discussions with parents.

• By reviewing children’s targets and ensuring they are being met.
• The child is making progress academically against national/age expected levels and the gap is narrowing – they are catching up to their peers or expected age levels.
• Verbal feedback from the teacher, parent and pupil.
• Children may move off of the SEN register when they have ‘caught up’ or made sufficient progress.

• The first point of contact would be your child’s class teacher to share your concerns.
• You could also arrange to meet Mrs Thompson our SENCo.
• Look at the SEN policy on our website

Swindon SEND Families Voice.

Contact the school Admin office to arrange to meet the Head teacher Mrs Pyman or SENCo Mrs Thompson, who will willingly discuss how the school could meet your child’s needs.

Swindon SEND Families Voice.